Palomino Columbus reviews

This fifth wheel has been phenomenal for me! Very high quality, real wood interior with linoleum floor. The craftsmanship is exceptional and has withstood the test of time. Appliances are residential size as well with a full sized kitchen, not the smaller fridges/ovens/microwaves you find in most models. This is great for living in for extended periods. The living room with slides out is ample space, I've even placed a 5ft Christmas tree inside for the holidays! My wife and I have created a lifetime of memories in this trailer and unfortunately have to get rid of it because of life style changes. The bedroom has extreme amounts of storage for a full his/hers wardrobe. There's a 10 gallon water heater compared to the average 6 gallon heater, lots of hot water for normal showers and doing dishes, never worry about running into cold water while showering again! We mounted a TV in the outside storage for outside grilling and viewing. The TV and wall mounts come with the trailer! Make an offer today! The price is very negotiable, schedule a tour today! Show less

We loved the 2021 Palomino Columbus Compass F374BHC. It is a true luxury RV and great for full time travelers, and is good for all season camping. Our family of 6 traveled 15 states in 2 yrs and enjoyed every minute of it. The RV pretty much came with every wishlist item, my wife and I had for a 5th wheel that can accommodate a large family. King bed Bunkhouse Fireplace Theater seating Big screen tv Bath and a half(nice when you have kids) Kitchen island Kitchen pantry Kitchen coffee station Large residential fridge Outside kitchen including a Griddle for cooking outside and a small fridge Rear bumper Tow hitch for our Bike rack Show less

Wow! Difficult to accurately convey the level of cheap workmanship and chaep parts used on our fifth wheel. We had stuff failing, falling off the walls and coming off (trim) the walls on our very first outing. I am not sure how the others rate but Forest River should be avoided! Show less

We bought a 2018 366RL 1492 in 06/21 as a used unit from a private seller. Due to the pandemic it was only used for 6 months. It still smells new. We paid $45k which included 3 years remaining on the factory warranty and a Reese Goosebox hitch thrown in. The dishwasher and outside burner top had never been used. The sellers were very nice, and the unit had not had time to delapidate from owner neglect, which we had ran into so many times it was ridiculous. We had it out camping about 6 times last year, and just opened it up after wintering over. The only issue we had so far was a wiring problem with the outdoor microwave. My husband and the neighbor were able to fix it. It was mis-wired from factory. I love the kitchen and layout of the RV. Our unit was ordered with two upgrade packages, so there are a lot of bells and whistles that we now would not want to be without. The outdoor kitchen is handy. I love the dishwasher, the on-demand water heater means adequate hot showers without waiting, leveling happens in seconds at the push of a button, and setup is quick and simple. We have no complaints. I do feel bad for those who've had issues with their units. We are part of the Columbus FB group, so we get to see when problems arise. So far, so good, thankfully. I was dismayed when we were still looking to buy and I saw more negative reviews than I thought for the Columbus units. I was afraid but all has worked out thus far. Do watch if you buy one that the sealant was applied to the bottom outside trim piece on the bed slideout. I've heard of a rotted bedroom slideout floor due to missing sealant on the exterior bottom trim piece. Another common problem is soft floors in earlier models, which is remedied by adding additional floor joists and is relatively simple as a DIY project. Our neighbors bought a new, inexpensive stick and tin trailer just before the pandemic broke out, and it gave them numerous problems and was cheaply made, then the dealer gave them a hard time about doing warranty repairs. They won't recommend a stick and tin trailer to anyone now. They were surprised that we did not find a bunch of problems with our trailer every time we took it out, but I think for the most part you get what you pay for. I would not buy anything made during the pandemic or since. The RV industry as a whole needs to be regulated, and I am not one to advocate for government intervention. Do your due diligence and try to find a seller who took care of their unit. We had no warranty issues so far that were not minor and that we could not remedy more quickly ourselves, so that's why I left three stars for that. Show less

Columbus 383FB offered a terrific interior design but TERRIBLE QUALITY IN DESIGN. WATER SEEPAGE has become a disaster for us due to POOR EXTERIOR DESIGN on the bedroom and bathroom slides which has created MAJOR DAMAGE to the floors of both. The lower trim plate allowed RAIN traveling down the exterior walls to GO DIRECTLY into the bottom WOOD PANEL of each slide. This issue would not be evident for 2 years since the damage could not be seen on inspection. The cause of this situation was the fact that there was NO CAULKING at the seam between the wall and the trim plate FROM THE FACTORY. The evidence of this issue became apparent only after the second year of ownership when items stored under the bed were moved and finding BLACK MOLD on the plywood shelf and throughout the linens. The MOLD also TRAVELED under the carpet across to the WOODEN DRESSER on the opposite wall. We had a local RV mobile service inspect and fix any caulking. THEY even MISSED the seam on the slides and only CAULKED them when WE POINTED it out. We also went to the CLOSEST DEALER who only suggested an INTERIOR MOLD TREATMENT. The REAL DAMAGE was YET TO BE SEEN.. This problem RESULTED in COMPLETE DETERIORATION of the bedroom slide bottom panel due to DRY ROT. The same is true under the bathroom slide. FOREST RIVER DENIED any responsibility saying the issue was not reported during the warranty period. However POOR FACTORY PERFORMANCE in 2017 ALLOWED WATER TO INVADE our unit for 2 years before any problem was found. NOW we are returning to the original dealership to see : IF ANY REPAIR IS EVEN POSSIBLE. THIS FEELS LIKE A CAMPER'S WORST NIGHTMARE. Show less

After owning two Highland Ridge Travel trailers ..which we had no issues with and great costumer service we wanted to upgrade to a fifth wheel and found the Columbus 1492 366rl. It is a beautiful fifth wheel with great amenities. The problem is the customer service and quality if workmanship for what you pay. 3 days into our first trip the refrigerator and freezer went out. We were going to be gone 3 weeks so we had to outcast a small refrigerator freezer. No help from customer service from the dealer we purchased it from (Funtown RV Cleburne Texas) from the time we pi ked this RV up the customer service and lack of was apparent. So on the road the refrigerator freezer went iut the pipe that drains the washing machine slooded the bedroom. The bedroom door came off its hinges and broke. The exhaust fan in kitchen stop working, handles on shower doors fell off and to cap it off the auto leveling system failed halfway through the trip. Other small items as well. Got home. Complained to Palomino. No help there. Ended up in the repair shop with Funtown for 3 months. Finally got it home and you guessed it . Nothing was fixed properly. Auto leveling didn't work as told. Door fell and broke..again. etc etc. The only that got fixed was the refrigerator which LG had to come out to them and fix. So unhappy with this company and it's product. Going to try and sell it and go back yo Highland Ridge Show less

If I can get away with zero stars for quality and service I most certainly would… had issues with electrical the lippert one control system right from the start … has been pure hell trying to get any answers or assistance with any customer service or support they pretty much emailed a reply after numerous requests and said I was on my own paid out of pocket to fix the situation. Still could not fix the problem with out having to take it all the way back to a shop . Regret ever trading my grand design for this piece of crap and having to deal with ZERO customer service after just purchasing this junky fifth wheel. Best advise would be to look at another brand of rv save yourself the trouble! Show less

Proud owners of a 38 foot 5th Wheel. Purchased this baby new, and filled it with all the bells and whistles. What prompt me to write about my Columbus was one day this past summer, I was parked next to a Forest River River Stone Fifth Wheel. It is the luxury model although I considered the Columbus to be luxury too. My first encounter with our first excursion was to our annual trip to the Florida Keys. At our very first stop, the fridge was found open and stuff on the floor. The Dometic double wide fridge uses plastic door locks. Found that if you stuff a sponge between the locks, fixes this problem. The next problem was the string LED lights on the awning. Failed. Ordered some higher rated LED's tape string and fixed that. After a month in the Keys, retracted the auto levelers (electric jack screws) and one if the tires were flat. Learned real and quick how to change the flat tire. The spare is mounted under the trailer and was fairly easy to get too. But, the winch and tire holder will not hold the regular Columbus tire. I now know how heavy the trailer tire is since I had to pick it up and put in the bed of my truck. Headed over to Sanibel Florida knowing there was an RV place I could get the tire repaired. The RV place called the next day and said that the tire and wheel was OK. The air valve stem is metal and the nut that holds it on place was loose. That prompted me to check the other wheels and yes, they too were loose but not enough to allow the tires to loose air. Easy fix. Heading back home to PA. Stopped in Jacksonville, FL at Flamingo RV Park, one if the nicest parks in Florida. Notice uneven wear on the driver side rear wheel on the Columbus. Need to keep an eye in this. Once back home and the Columbus was in driveway, checked the tire again. The inner part of the tire was bald. Made an appointment with a local RV dealer and they said the the torque on that wheel bearing was loose. Had all the bearings checked, repacked. Confidant that shakedown problem was resolved. Since that first outing we have made repeated long trips up to 2020. Little problems like leaking water in the bedroom AC unit. Fixed. AC fan motor failed on bedroom AC unit. Fixed ( only after two previous fixes were attempted before the motor was replaced). Central vacuum system failed. Manufacture wanted to replace the entire system because the failed control PCB was our of stock. Being an electronic engineer, I fixed it myself. Been good since. The wear on the tire did not stop. Changed tires to Goodyear Edurance. No help. Swapped wheels with other positions thinking a wrapped wheel. NOT. Then on a return trip on I 295 around Richmond, VA. (which no one should ever take) the roughness of the road made the truck and trailer rock several times. When I stopped In DC for the night I notice my trim on the overhang holding the pin box was slightly seperated. I can fix that too, maybe. Lived with the tire problem and trim problem another a few years until the summer of 2020. The tire wear suddenly accelerated and I had to change and rotate tires on that position three times. Now I am worried. And two of my four auto levelers jackscrews either fell apart or siezed up. Worked my way through that and had a good vacation. Made an appointment to the original dealer we purchased our Columbus. To make a long story short, cracked frame sections in the overhang. Axle is damaged. Jack screws worn badly. All four. So I read up on the River Stone luxuary model by Forest River. Many of the same problems with no attention to detail was reported by many write ups. Columbus is still in the shop. Still don't know if the trailer can be repaired. New axle and Jackscrews required.... Oh, I almost forgot that our gray water tank developed a leaked and filled up the belly of the trailer which has insulation. Cleaned that up, but I could never drive the trailer with any water in the tank or accidentally over fill it. Told to live with it. Too expensive to replace. Love My Columbus. Perfect interior layout. Even with the interior wall paper cringing and most of the drawers falling apart with wood screws too short to work. Yep, fixed that too. Remember this name. Forest River. Show less

When I first received notification from RVT regarding a unit I was interested in, I foolishly thought they would connect me with a seller. After a few days of nothing I emailed again to Laurie at RVT assuring them I was a cash buyer very interested....after many more of these emails to RVT with no response I gave up. I suggest you do not waste any time with RVT as they do not offer a timely service. Show less

Worse rv we have had. Have been full time rv’ing for over 20 years, this is our 5th rv and the worse one. The design of interior is great and offers nice aesthetics but that’s where it stops. Since purchasing, starting from the very first day, we have had constant problems.....you name it, it has gone wrong. Leaks have been horrendous, not quite in it 3 years and still working on them, really concerned about what could be going on in areas we can’t see. We have had problems with everything....plumbing systems, sewer plumbing (still working on it), converter, trim, fresh water tank causing extreme bowing of floor and still trying to fix. Seems I wake up each morning to a new problem or continuation of an old one. Feel we definitely got a ‘lemon’ and definitely would not recommend its purchase. Not sure where the fault is........Forest River, Palomino, or Columbus..... but not a company to trust. Show less