Venture RV Stratus Travel Trailer reviews

We bought this new in 221. We have used it for 2 trips of at least 30 days, 2 trips of at least 10 days, then several weekend trips. So we’ve traveled quite a bit. Pros: this had the layout we were looking for. In that area we are pleased. Electric heater does a great job, so we rarely have to use propane. We also like the comfy lounge chairs that have heaters. Cons: most are quality and design problems. Cabinet door above TV fell off during first week of travel. Undersized hardware was used, and repairs made after our return. Another quality issue was use of machine screws to hold metal skirt on outside of trailer. Several failed, so I replaced with nuts and bolts, which should have been used in the first place. Cabinet door to left of slide doesn’t stay closed, so we have to be careful when moving slide in or out. AC was temperamental at first, but has come around. We have been pleased with our Stratus. That being said, we would buy a better known and higher quality RV if we had to do this again. We’ve put about 15,000 miles on it and have had no major problems. Show less

Here is an incomplete list of the problems I have had. I purchased this terrible rig at Leos Vacation Center in Gambrills, Maryland. Just about everything that could fail has failed on this unit. The manufacturer has paid Leos to repair things that they just fixed poorly or not at all. It has been a nightmare. The manufacturer installed a TPO roof with PVC adhesive. When the roof heated up in the sun a reaction occurred and the TPO disintegrated. The roof material was replaced on the rig by Leos, but they refused to replace the bump out roof claiming it was installed with the proper adhesive. Leos messed up the replacement roof by cutting the material too short, now the roof is releasing from underneath the gutters and exposing the roof wood. The awning lights failed. Leo replaced them but soon afterwards they failed again. Leos then claimed they were not out, yet they were. I replaced the LED strip myself at my cost. The recliner lighting shorted out. Leos claimed to fix them but did not, I repaired them myself. The wall storage box was installed incorrectly from manufacturer. Leos did repair this properly. The kitchen table mounts broke. Leos replaced the garbage plastic mounts with metal mounts correctly. The ceiling skylights were cracked during the roof replacement. Leos replaced them but then broke the bezels that I had to replace myself. The City water inlet cracked and leaked inside the coach. Leos repaired it properly. The manufacturer installed the ceiling in the bedroom incorrectly and it started to de-laminate. I fixed it after Leos messed up the repair. The awning on the rig catastrophically collapsed. The manufacturer paid Leos to repair it, but one side still is loose, so another repair failure. The gray and black tank sensors are erratic, the manufacturer refused to repair them. The manufacturer took an over counter sink, drilled holes in it and mounted it under the counter-top with clips and screws. They did not seal the laminated kitchen counter however. Leos attempted to seal it, but did it incorrectly causing water damage to the particle board substrate. The manufacturer placed the shower frame rivets incorrectly and some broke. Leos messed up the repair and I had to do it myself at my cost. The slide out somehow loosened and racked. Leos fixed the racking but did not repair the seal correctly, I took care of it at my cost. The dinette LED shorted out. Leos claimed to fix it and charged me for the repair, however they did not fix it and I had to fix it myself so I paid twice for a repair I did myself. There were several more issues with manufacture defects that Leos claimed to repair, but never did, I am just tired of typing. This KZ Venture Stratus SR261VRK is a complete lemon and I will never do business with KZ/Venture nor any other Thor subsidiaries. This ban also extends to Leos, their service is awful in my opinion. Now that I have personally repaired almost all the manufacture defects, maybe this coach can finally be "recreational". Show less

1 month past factory warranty. 4th time using it and noticing leaks. Toilet flush valve, outside sink hot water fitting. Had issues with minor glitches from the start. Faucets plugging with debris, sticky windows, vent screens falling, fridge door latches, CO/gas detector going off for no reason even with propane tanks off and all windows open. Show less

Since I have been a child I've always gone camping and was my dream to own my own and travel trailer. In 2020 I finally saved enough to purchase my first and to be completely honest It has been a nightmare since I got it here is a list of things I have had to deal with. Cracked skylight leaked water into the unit, nails coming up through the floor, front of the furnace floor gave out, entertainment stand falling apart, kitchen cabinets cracking amd crumbling, wall separates from cabinets, the fresh water tank connection outside was leaking into the wall and in the room, the pipes leaked under the kitchen sink, and for the kicker both pipes behind the toilet and the connection to the outside sink broke when I was at work and flooded the unit end to end and my dog sitter got ahold of me when they were going to take my dog out and let me know what happened I called my insurance and it was totalled now I'm homeless very upset with the quality of this unit over the two years Show less

I like the overall size of this unit being a 28 footer. It’s shorter, and lightweight to pull. The interior has a fairly spacious design other than the bathroom. Would help if they redesigned the sink cabinet a bit but it’s ok with the extra space it holds. Show less

This is a great family trailer. The bunks are very large and if needed, could accommodate 2 small children on each bunk. We like the tri-fold couch as this is an additional sleeping area for another child, or even an adult. The dinette also makes out into a bed that could fit a small child as well. The master bedroom has a queen bed and has a lot of storage space. The kitchen is stylish and the cabinetry is modern, along with the flooring. Plenty of overall storage in this RV, large amount of payload capacity. The slide out is very large, pretty much the entire side of the living room/kitchen area. Show less

This stratus 281vbh is built better than most that we have seen it’s very comfortable the interior is very nice theater seating is nice just an overall nice camper. The dull air conditioners cool the camper very quickly. My wife likes the kitchen layout and the walk-in pantry it has plenty of storage. Show less

Overall camper is nice and we do like it . I am not to happy with the finish workmanship . Brad nails popping out , night light in bathroom hole cut to big for the trim to cover . I have been in construction for over 35 years . The quality with trim workman ship is low standard on our camper . Trim is usually the easiest part in construction . I am not sure why this unit was ok to leave production factory . I will be bringing unit back for proper repairs to be made . Show less

I’m not very impressed with the manufacturer of this trailer, when I was shopping for a new trailer I found the stratus in witch I fell in love with it or most of it a few things I would change but overall it was my choice of all trailers I looked at and that was a lot. We first noticed a leak inside one we looked at and it was just the awning had a small problem that silicone fixed ok can deal with that, then I get a call from the dealer stating that they found little spots on the floor caused by some sort of screws the manufacturer used on the trailer that are bleeding through the flooring. The manufacturer was aware of this didn’t notify the dealer until the dealer called them to report it. And now they are offering a small rebate off for that in witch won’t cover the cost to replace. I’m not even sure what the long term affect to the floor will be that’s scares me even more.i guess it’s back to shopping 😡ps had to fill in all the review blanks but not accurate as I haven’t even got the trailer yet and probably won’t get it either not happy Show less

We have owned several new RVs, and every new RV is going to have some kind of warranty work. Warranty Guru "Mike" at KZ is by far the best representative we have ever dealt with in ANY industry. He listened to our concerns and immediately jumped into action. Thank you Mike! We will be purchasing another RV in a few years and plan on staying in the KZ family because of great customer service. Show less