2014 Northwood reviews

We bought this 5th wheel used, in 2017. We bought it mainly because the Arctic Fox is so well insulated. We lived in it for over a year while our house was being built. The A/C could never keep up with cooling the 5th wheel off in the summer heat, and drew in the bad odors from the drains when it was on. The automatic holding tank drain valves never did work right, and would either stick closed or open. Then, if they did stick, you can't manually open them! We had to order new ones, and they aren't cheap. My husband had to pull off insulation under the 5th wheel to replace them. Also, the holding tank gauges never worked, either, in spite of doing EVERYTHING suggested for fixing them. For towing, we consider the height too high at 12'8" inches and it is a wide body at 8.6 ft., which sometimes is a pain to park if the slideout is hanging out in a street or in a cramped RV Park. Arctic Fox's are also very heavy 5th wheels. The bed has an air mattress which keeps leaking air. On the positive side, it was fairly comfortable for a small living space and most of the 5th wheel was well-built. Show less

Great trailer overall in terms of floor plan for a bunkhouse. Good features such as fully insulated/heated plumbing. Coach and windows are well insulated - slept in several snow storms and hardly knew it with no frozen pipes. Nice gas access w/ the quick connect toward the back. Problem is that Northwood seems to have put bad leaf springs in the suspension system on those manufactured around this time. Had one break had it and its twin on that axle replaced and now the other broke on the other side. The repair people said it was pretty unusual on a trailer of this age and even said that they've seen most trailers go their whole life span w/ out broken springs. I see others post the same problem with their 2014 Nash trailers. On a dual axle, a broken spring is very dangerous as the wheels can contact each other in tow. I called Northwood and they said to contact the company that made the suspension - no response. I posted a bad review on Google and a Northwood rep responded dismissively saying they didn't install "bad" springs and suggesting it must be something I did - overloading the trailer - which I've never done - admitting that they "upgraded" springs for more capacity on later trailers which I get for marketing to new buyers but does nothing for MY trailer and ME! My trailer has been very pampered with very few miles on it and covered in storage most of its life so far. I get that these things require maintenance and can cost quite a bit to do so - but it seems only fair that Northwood should offer some way to make good on this. Not happy right now. Show less