Questions for mountaineer owners

[jh1802]

I have a question about the mountainer's suspension system. My 1999 jayco eagle I am trading in had shock absorbers and it rode very smoothly. My question is that since my mountaineer will have a rear kitchen does the suspension system on these do a good job of suppressing bumps? Back in '99 when I got my Jayco I used to here stories of peoples cabinet doors flying open and/or thing getting slung around in the cabinets and falling out as soon as the door is opened. Has suspension systems improved over the years?

Also, Has anyone had any problems with rocks flying up and hitting the fiberglass front end? Alot of TT's now are coming with the metal protectors in the front but the mountaineers are fiberglass all the way down in the front and do not offer any type of protector. This is a big concern, Because I can imagine it would be very costly to repair a crack in the fiberglass.
THanks in advance for your comments.

[azstar]

Hello jh1802,

Welcome to MOC and congratulations on your new 327RKS.

We have the 335RLBS with a little over 10,000 mi. on it. A couple of long trips, AZ to New Orleans and AZ to NY ADK's. No damage on front cap. We tow with a Long Bed. Don't know if that would make a difference or not.

As for the suspension, ours rides very smoothly. I too had some concern about this, but it turned out to be a non-issue.

Welcome Aboard,
Happy Camping

[sreigle]

We've not had any serious problem with rocks on the front, either.

Ours is also a rear kitchen. We run the stock suspension and are satisfied with it. We put a small pad of non-skid between stacked breakable bowls and the like. We use tension bars from side to side in the cabinets over the rear kitchen peninsula so things don't slide forward. The only cabinet we strap the handles closed is the one under the TV where we have many DVD/VHS movies. They're heavy enough to push the doors open.

We also found that if the male to female connection of the cabinet door latch is not exactly centered the spring loading on each side of the latch is not fully effective and those doors may open. Adjusted properly it's not been a problem at all in 18 months of fulltiming.

We broke one dish before we figured out we need the nonskid for padding.

Hope this helps. Others may have a different experience and I hope they chime in.

[Montana_593]

Don't have the rear kit, but do have cabinets above the rear living area. They have never come open during towing. Have not had a problem in the kitchen either. No visible damage to fiberglass front cap but most of towing on highways.

Good Luck

[fulltimedreamer]

We have the 335RLBS. The suspension seems fine. I have not had any damage to the front fiberglass with a year and a half's use.

[Ed Benson]

We have the Mountaineer 305FKS and have enjoyed for more than a year. No problems with the front cap - I traded an Arctic Fox on this one and it had the aluminum diamond plate across the front bottem. I guess if you were doing alot of gravel road travel - damage might be a risk - but who beats these coach's up anyway ?

The cupboards stay shut very well and we also use the antislip shelf linings and also under the TV.

Enjoy your unit!

Ed Benson

[Montana_1190]

We have the center kitchen so can't comment on that. We did have a couple of cabinets open on the shakedown but my hubby stuck a screwdriver in the male connection and widened it and the problem was solved. Ours rides very smoothly and have had no problems with rocks hurting the fiberglass either.

[jh1802]

Thanks alot everyone for your input. I figured as heavy as these TT's are they wouldn't bounce around to much. I'm glad to here no one has had any issues with the fiberglass front either.