2006 Carriage Carri-Lite - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Ckerr · RV-Dreams Family Member

2006 Carriage Carri-Lite

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

to put the range back would be a cheap simple fix (under 300).....fireplace another cheap simple modification(under300)........carri- lite is a decent mid range fulltime unit

Ckerr · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have a great cabinet maker we use for all the homes we build at Esperanza Homes. He does a lot of work for the RVers too.

SnowGypsy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Over the years, I have heard nothing but good comments about the Carriage brand. It is a beautiful trailer!

K & E · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have friends that have a very similar Carri-Lite, same floor plan. They have been very happy with it. Looks very nice!

jayc · RV-Dreams Family Member

I have friends that have Carriage trailers. Some love them and some have had many problems with them. When looking at a used trailer, you might want to check the caulking and any evidence of water damage. Good luck in your search.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Carol:

Sounds like a good plan. You know, and yes you could say I am biased by looking at the sig although we bought our rig new, but in some cases newer isn’t necessary to get good or even reliable. You always have to fix new rigs. Something(s) is always defective on a new rig - or will be.

I’ve now had experience with helping people purchase a number of “used” 5ers and travel trailers and trucks. The results have been very good and they have saved a LOT of money. It’s been fun as a little hobby and those people have become friends.

You need to be careful and check the things that are deal killers: Things like, but not limited to: roof condition – evidence of leaks – tires – holding tank(s) condition - suspension – “does everything work?” Not an exhaustive list by any measure.

If you are willing to fix things that will go bad from age, like the refrigerator and AC units, etc. you could save a bunch of money. In general – most rigs in the middle price class were all built with the same equipment – AC units – heaters – stoves – hot water heaters - from two or three vendors at the most. There is little unique or special in the area of accessories.

What I am saying is, if you know how to choose a “used rig” and are willing to refurb it a little, you can save $50,000+ in a heartbeat. Then use some of those savings to upgrade the rig’s suspension, new “H” tires, Big-Foot Levelers, solar – things like that.

In fact, IMO, some of the older rigs are better built than the newer ones as they were built before the age of “lighter is better.” I guess that’s why we haven’t got a newer one. The one we have still works – all of it. But it has been significantly upgraded through the years and we can’t find anything we like better.

Best of luck - Bill

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Not to take away from the Carriage line, because they were a consideration for us when we were looking, but are the windows in that dual-pane ones? If you plan to be in warm areas during warm weather, that could be a factor. Our Mobile Suites has the dual-pane windows and the heavier insulation, but it still gets pretty warm inside when it really gets hot outside.

At the time we made our choice, we went with DRV because they would "customize" our coach where Carriage wouldn't. Now, by customize, I mean that some changes were made in a floor plan but not real major ones. Also, we just felt that the interior "fit and finish" on the DRV's were just so much better than the Carriage. Now, nothing in this paragraph means a lot because we purchased new and ordered our coach with the amenities and options that we wanted.

Again, Carriage made good products, so I'm not meaning to disparage their units. I know a number of folks that are very happy with their Carriage products. Like any other brand, some have had their problems as well. The biggest issue to me would be that if something went wrong with certain areas of the coach, there would be not a factory to help with repairs.

Terry

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry and Jo wrote:
The biggest issue to me would be that if something went wrong with certain areas of the coach, there would be not a factory to help with repairs.
Terry

While I agree with what Terry said above, for the most part, one place I deviate is on the "orphaned" part.

The only really proprietary things to go wrong that might cause a problem would be the caps, and the wheel well trim. The rest of the coach is pretty much standard stuff that can either be found anywhere, or replaced with items that are common. Delam's of the walls would be an issue, but that would be a "killer" on most any coach - orphan or not.

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jack Mayer wrote:
While I agree with what Terry said above, for the most part, one place I deviate is on the "orphaned" part.
The only really proprietary things to go wrong that might cause a problem would be the caps, and the wheel well trim. The rest of the coach is pretty much standard stuff that can either be found anywhere, or replaced with items that are common. Delam's of the walls would be an issue, but that would be a "killer" on most any coach - orphan or not.

The point of my post, exactly, Jack. Even the slides are not “special.” But end caps and perhaps some special trim with logos are about the only things not repairable or directly replaceable on most coaches. The rest are just parts and you can patch fiberglass if you know what your doing. "Delamed" walls, not so much.

Interestingly enough I was given the name of a “repair shop” by two different RV manufactures, one manufacture based Howe, the other in Elkhart, to whom they send their rigs when insurance companies or owners require they be repaired when damaged. We’ve been to that shop to check it out – “just in case.” They do some amazing work. Most factories don’t do much of this major repair work. Too much trouble and it slows down the line. To quote one: “We’re just not setup for that kind of service.” Same for some warranty work. Seen that for some brands as well. All these comments come from direct experience with multiple owners.

As far as “customizations goes,” having been through this discussion with a number of manufactures the only two that really do true customization are New Horizons and Forks. At least that build “RV’s.” Others may do some basic modifications, but as you are well aware from your work, most changes must be based on an already designed chassis / slide system. Not a true layout customization. And naturally you pay for that kind of service.

Anyway, Howard and I had an interesting conversation about this at the last Kerrville Rally and the gist of it was, it’s a lot less expensive to fix them then to replace them and you can fix almost anything as you said. That’s why I believe, for some, “used” rigs are not that bad of a deal. It depends on the person and their situation.

Bill

Ckerr · RV-Dreams Family Member

I am personally not concerned with the manufacturer being out of business. As several of you have mentioned, most parts are manufactured elsewhere and put together by the manufacturer.

I have the luxury of working for a builder who works with a cabinet maker that is capable of some truly amazing work, so those sorts of modifications/repairs are not a big area of concern in the near term for me.

As far as the de-lamination issue. I wouldn't buy a rig with those problems, but should they arise... In the past I had a Keystone Fuzion that suffered some de-lamination of the slide end walls due to damage from a severe ice storm. Bob Jones RV Repair in South Houston did the repairs and frankly did a much better job than the original construction. They built new end panels in the shop and then rebuilt the slide. They doubled the floor structure in the slide so while it ended up with a slight bump up, it was much sturdier. Not only did they do quality repairs that looked great, they also did battle with the insurance company who did not initially want to cover the work and claimed it was due to negligence. They were able to demonstrate to the insurance company that it was not a negligence issue and got the repairs covered 100% -- a total of about $17K for the one slide.

So if anyone is in Texas and needs work, that's where I would go!

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill, the other manufacturer that does true custom coaches is Spacecraft - don't forget about them....they are also the only ones that will customize a semi-trailer frame.

-- Edited by Jack Mayer on Saturday 22nd of June 2013 12:23:03 PM

Bill and Linda · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jack Mayer wrote:
Bill, the other manufacturer that does true custom coaches is Spacecraft - don't forget about them....they are also the only ones that will customize a semi-trailer frame.

-- Edited by Jack Mayer on Saturday 22nd of June 2013 12:23:03 PM

Jack: Yes, you’re indeed correct. I was aware of Spacecraft. I visited them at the Tampa show this year. Let’s just say I was non-plussed for reasons we’ll discuss someday around a campfire so it sort of wasn’t in my thoughts.

To be clear, Forks does customize semi-trailers. I’ve been in two of them, one of them 53’ long, at the factory. It was something else to say the least. Not a “5’er” as such, a true semi – pin plate, landing gear and all. They will build from scratch and I was in one during the initial build up. Only a Volvo HDT for these monsters that's for sure.

Bill