Hopefully, waterproof composite flooring (ala the newer Airstreams) & Azdel will filter through the industry, replacing wood & luann (being among the poorest choices of materials for potential water exposure).
I just bought a used 2015 outdoors rv creek side 26 bks. These factory tours helped seal the deal and helped put me at ease that I bought a quality Camper that will last for years to come. Coming from my 1979 coachman it’s definitely a step up, but the 1979 coachman cadet 23 1/2 is also very stout and bullet proof. But it had some dry rot in the walls from 44 years of the wood studs getting wet and drying between sealing. But everything in it still works. I replaced the refrigerator core and replaced the water heater with a tankless. Everything else still works great after all these years.
Since a 2,000+ mile trip to the factory isn’t in the cards right now, this is the next best thing. Thanks Diana and Matt for reenforcing why we will be going with an ORV real soon.
Good stuff. Well made video. Cannot thank you enough for doing it. Darin Nelson is an articulate spokes person. The work performed by workers on the floor must be complimented. Fast and efficient as far as I can tell. They are the ones doing the actual welding, assembly and quality control. Kudo's to them as well!
Couldn't agree more. We've heard from people that have done factory tours that it's not uncommon to see the staff in the factory literally running to get through their quotas. In the entire time we were there, we didn't see that once at Outdoors RV. Further, we had the chance to speak with several of the workers - they were friendly, they care about what they're doing, and skilled at the job!
Wow. Like you I have been researching a long time. Lots of manufacturing sites. Lots of factory tours, reviews and walkarounds. I had a gut feeling that they were a step above. I was wrong. They are several steps above. This is the product for me, for the same reasons you chose them. THANK YOU!
Wow! Great job guys! I learned a lot when I went on the tour, but this is much more in depth and Matt asks some great questions. Outdoors RV is truly money well spent on a quality product.
Truly an excellent video. We were going to wait until after the tour to purchase the 250RDS... maybe not. The questions were spot on to what I would be asking. Well done!
At 15:23 the rig is going over rough terrain. If the bottom of the rear jacks could swivel straight forward they could act like skid plates to protect the bottom of the rig. Or even weld on big round discs like a dinner plate with upturned edges.
That's not a bad idea, although the jacks have so little lateral strength that I'm not sure they'd survive even if rotated. Have you seen the SaveAJack system? I had briefly looked at those before as they allow you to quickly remove the entire jack. Although that would expose the frame, it would at least increase the ground clearance. www.amazon.com/SAVEAJACK-scissor-jack-quick-release/dp/B005CJOR1M
What a great video! Thank you for sharing this tour! I remember about 2 yrs ago, we were visiting an RV dealer in Poncha Springs, CO....close to Salida. They carried Outdoors RV product; we really liked them! As we are ramping up to actually get a travel trailer, they are high on the consideration, for sure. Initially, the video felt like an Oprah show.......an ORV for you...and an ORV for you! For every employee, and ORV for you! That speaks highly of the product when they all use them. Safe travels!
Good detailed video. I still can’t get over the idea of putting a wooden box on top of a steel frame. It amazes me that it stays together going down the interstate at 70mph. I have owned 2 of the all aluminum toy haulers and trying to talk myself into one like this so the wife can have a stand up bedroom. I love how the frames and suspension are designed it’s just the rest of it that concerns me about longevity.
Another comment... this is a really really god video. It seems you're extremely knowledgeable about RV construction. You might consider doing this with Tiffin, Newmar, Winnebago and others. I really liked this. Thanks.
We knew we had purchased a quality trailer in our Outdoors 24RKS but having not been on the factory tour we didn't know the construction details that you showed in your great video. We are very much looking forward to parts 2 and 3 of the tour video.
We’ve been eyeing the Outdoors RV trailers for several years. After watching this video, I know why. However, is there any way to have cabinets installed that are WHITE? With a small trailer, the darker wood cabinets make them feel smaller. The lighter cabinets will make it feel larger. Thanks for sharing this video!
Unfortunately, not that I know of. We actually recently did a remodel of Outdoors RV 21RBS and we painted the walls white and left the cabinets brown - we are actually pleased how it came out. With white walls the cabinets don't seem so dark. We will have a video on that coming out in a couple of weeks.
Thank you for this inside look into a company I didn't know existed, I'm just starting my 2nd year of research into campers and hope to make a purchase around the end of the year to become a full timer. Outdoors RV is now at the top of my research list
Great job by both Adventurous Way and Outdoors RV. We did the tour about 8 years ago (Northwoods and Outdoor RV) in 2018 we bought a Mountain Series 24RKS and very happy with our trailer.
Absolutely great video. Love the 22FQS plan they stole from the Cougar 22RBS. I love that floor plan and was glad to see them use it. Looks like if they would use the steady steps that fold up into the doorway during transport like the Cougar has, they would have even better ground clearance for boondocking. Looks like their steps hang lower than everything else in video clip of trailer traveling on the uneven dirt road. So glad to see an RV built with quality in mind. I will be buying one.
Yes, indeed, the steps, at least on our trailer 21RBS, are the lowest point. We have had them scrape sand and we had to back out at least on one occasion because of the steps. I hope they fix that at some point. Though maybe that would encourage Matt to go into crazier places!!!
@@deepnature6117 We boondock most of the time and so far the steps haven't prevented us to stay in a spot we wanted to stay as the trailer still has lots of clearance. The one place we had to back out, we just found a different way to get to the spot. But higher clearance would be even better. :)
With the larger holding tanks, is it advisable to travel with the fresh water full?? Especially, if your going off grid for a 4 day weekend? I’ve heard some manufacturers suggest you don’t? That makes no sense.
Awesome in so many ways! Love that they are using a 2-way fridge. 12 volt doesn't work for us being off-grid. I'm a little disappointed to see that there is a soft underbelly - that means any repairs that need access from underneath we'd have to cut into that underbelly. Plus it's vulnerable to damage from rocks and offroading. I would think they would have gone with that paneled hard underbelly. It would also be good to see a second AC as an option with 50AMP service and an inverter that could run 2 ACs. Alliance style. Also, why are the interiors so dated and dark? I love the look and feel of the Alta toy hauler. If we bought an outdoors RV, we would immediately need to paint the walls and possibly even the cabinetry. At this price point, I am disappointed that I would need to renovate. So close!!
It took us a while to get to it, but eventually we did remodel our RV and painted the walls white. We left the cabinets as is and I think it actually looks great with the wood color cabinets and white walls. Here is playlist of our reno: ua-cam.com/play/PLd-PdmPyV1oIZrG06G56417cB8msPA7KA.html
You almost had me sold until I saw all that wood. No wonder they are so heavy. 1/2 tons are the number one truck sold. Maybe Outdoor RV should take notice of that.
You say they’re heavy as though that’s a bad thing. I would disagree. There are plenty of “ultralight” RVs on the market if that’s what you want, but I’d prefer a quality trailer even if it weighs more. And yes, that can make towing with a 1/2-ton truck more difficult but that’s a price you pay for quality.
Thank you! We tow with a 2016 Ford F-150 SuperCrew 4x4 3.5L EcoBoost. We’ve also done quite a few mods to it: www.adventurousway.com/blog/why-we-love-our-ford-f-150
We think so! We've been living full-time in our Outdoors RV 21RBS (towing with a Ford F-150) for over 2 years now, and love it. If we were in the market for a new trailer, we'd be going straight for Outdoors RV again. If you haven't already seen it, you might be interested in our RV remodel series: ua-cam.com/video/aldvPprpuvQ/v-deo.html
I live in Albany OR. and we here have a RV place that only sales ODRV. When I talked to the salesman at Lason RV in Albany, Where are all your RV's? He told me that they were all sold and Lason doesn't sale junk. I didn't put two and two together unlil I saw what he was selling. ODRV is the Ferrari of travel trailers.
I would have ran all the wires thru conduit, used spray foam insulation, and metal studs in the floor and walls, roof. The less wood the less chance of rot from any leaks and if there was a leak it would just be plywood to replace which the rot could be cut away and replaced for a lot less. Great design though Maybe Outdoors will see this and comment.
09:00 The video is quite well-done, and I like Darin and have discussed this part with him in the past, but sooner or later the RV industry needs to take responsibility for thermal science and engineering in its designs and marketing. Mass-market manufacturers like Grand Design are some of the worst offenders, publishing ridiculous numbers they could never begin to achieve in real-world lab testing, but then there is pressure on all their competitors to keep up with the nonsense. What you are seeing at this location is not insulation at all, let alone R-15. It’s just a radiant barrier with an air space. That’s fine-that is how radiant barriers are supposed to be installed, which is good-but it is not insulation, and therefore has no demonstrable R-value above about 1. The only real R-value is in the trapped air, and it is trapped very imperfectly, which is why wind can be a problem. On a bitter windy night in the middle of nowhere, it’s not radiant loss underneath your rig that will bite. It is conductive and convective loss. Convection and radiant heat transfer are the lesser of the three types at issue in this application. The RV industry, especially when using aluminum framing (part 2 of the tour apparently), struggles with isolating its very high thermal transference rate (conductivity) affordably and without increasing wall-delamination risks. It can certainly be done, though, as others have proven. Hopefully they’ll continue improving at Northwood and ORV. I was pleased to hear about them adopting the increased insulation in the storage bay. I would suggest that owners who are using these units regularly in inhospitable temperatures cut a 1/2-to-1-inch-thick piece of cork or an equivalent, fairly durable material to cover the inside surface of the access doors such that it doesn’t interfere with their operation. It won’t eliminate that major source of conductive loss, insulated or not, just due to their sheathing, but should help a bit. High thermal door losses can be readily seen with an IR camera. This is true of nearly all other RV manufacturer’s doors as well.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this sane analysis. I have wanted an offroad trailer like this for full-timing in the northern states and Canada but this industry drives me nuts. No well insulated house freezes water lines at 10 below zero unless the contractor really screwed up and trailers don't have to either. I helped an Arctic Fox owner when his lines froze in the rear bath at about 10F above last winter. I refuse to pay to be uncomfortable or endangering pipes or inefficiently spending lots of energy per cubic foot to heat or cool in winter's lows or summer's highs. I would pay for belly insulation like mineral wool or fiberglass as an option. Putting insulation between an aluminum frame and the interior should be basic. A residential contractor told me that an average RV air conditioner has enough power to cool a whole house in the summer that he had built in Atlanta. That's how inefficient RVs can be despite their size.
R P Thank you for the kind comment. To their credit, though, they did discuss their practical intent as being an extended season for hunting trips, etc., not full-timing through a hard northern winter. Other parts of their marketing with “true” or “certified” 4-season suggest otherwise, I know, but as with inflated R-values, it’s about how the competition markets, also. I agree about the insulation added to the undercarriage bays as an option and already made that suggestion. It should be very easy to do as they have rolls of fiberglass already sitting right where the open chassis enters the production line since it is used in the floor framing there. I believe it is R-7 which should be thin enough not to interfere with existing tank sizes, etc. I suppose coating or taping the interior side of the aluminum framing could possibly be part of that optional upgrade as well, just like dual-pane or additional storm glass used to be a pricey option with windows at Northwood-another way to make more money per unit, especially from their likely customer demographic.
@Reflected Miles, thank you for the thoughtful discussion! I agree on you on the R insulation values. When we started researching RVs it was very hard to compare insulation R values across brands because they rarely explained how they came up with the final number. Your comment got me curious what reflective insulation vs radiant barrier is. For untrained eye they do look similar, but looks like reflective insulation does have R value if installed properly. www.sigmalabs.com/blog/reflective-insulation-and-r-values
Totally agree. We materials guys will also see the wall fasteners as a potential problem long term (37:52). The zinc coatings driven through aluminum here have to remain perfectly intact (unlikely in every install) or dissimilar metals will be in contact that do not play well together. A correctly rated stainless fastener, or hot-dip galvanized, is a much better choice for somewhere that is going to be critical and hidden, possibly for decades, and especially being used in coastal environments like here on the Atlantic seaboard.
@@AdventurousWay Thank you for your response. I realize that it’s confusing and even the article you referenced seems to reinforce the confusion rather than clearing it up: “The only difference between a radiant barrier and a reflective insulation is that a reflective insulation has an R-value. The R-value is achieved by having the low-emissivity, high-reflectivity surface face into a dead air space.“ That’s just another way of saying that the only R-value comes from the dead air space, from another part of the assembly, meaning the reflective material itself is _not_ insulative. There is no difference between the materials themselves in that radiant vs. reflective semantic-only in whether they are installed correctly or not, and how much air is then trapped since that alone determines any insulative R-value. R-values for the US market are standardized precisely so that they can be compared. Otherwise, they are worthless to architects, engineers, builders, and consumers alike. This misrepresentation regarding cheap reflective sheet material supposedly having R-value became a scam in the building trades about 15 - 20 years ago. In applications like RV’s, there is often little to no dead air space available or utilized, or, as in the case of Outdoors frame bays, the air space is not entirely dead (sealed) and that means that even the standardized lab ratings for similar assemblies facing a dead air space won’t be consistently matched. To understand what was happening back in the scam, and why the RV industry needs to be responsible and stop perpetuating it, I suggest reading a couple of summaries from those involved in outing the radiant / reflective barrier manufacturers then, and the back-pedaling from them and regulation that followed. It may need to be revisited for enforcement as I have noticed false advertising claims increasing again recently, and the RV industry has never stopped making those claims. Few consumers are aware of that. They don't fall under the same regulations so they take advantage of that. www.energyvanguard.com/blog/29497/The-Foil-Faced-Bubble-Wrap-Sham-Understanding-Radiant-Barriers and www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/stay-away-from-foil-faced-bubble-wrap
Quality is better than most. Still not perfect, have a new 21DBS that showed up at the dealer with a hole in the black tank. Not sure how this would escape the quality control at the factory. Now dealer needs to replace the tank, hopefully this won't turn into a lemon that is problematic longterm.
That's the most common complaint I read about on forums is lack of quality control. Kinked water lines, holes in tanks, and water heater leaks. I haven't watched this entire series yet, but so far I haven't seen one QC person checking work. How is your rig working out now?
We cheated. We bought our Timber Ridge the previous day on the other side of the pass (Deadmans Pass) from Thompson RV. The next day we stopped to do the factory tour there in La Grande OR. As a added bonus that day they were building our floorplan (24rks). As Darin said at the beginning, if you don't start with a robust frame and suspension everything built onto it is mute. I can say after two years of use, it's as solid as day one.
First off, I'm not trashing Outdoors RV and understand this is a 4 year old video. The statement about the oversized axles in reference to the GVW is not a correct statement for some of the units being sold to day. The max weight for the 2024 25rds is 11,000 lbs, each axle is rated at 5200 lb, which brings the total to 10,400 lb. Again, love the brand not trying to trash it, just a observation.
Personally, I wasn't impressed with what I saw. Wire and plumbing all look a mess. But to be honest, I think the whole RV industry is way behind other industries as far as quality goes. As long as people keep buying them as they are, quality won't improve much.
Why can't RV manufacturers put a dual steering system in diesel pushers and rvs 40' and over with and W/O tag axles. The technology is available and it seems like turning would be so much easier.
I recently found out about this company by Googling “rv companies that don’t use Lippert chassis”. Serious. I’m in Louisiana and the nearest dealer is in central Texas. That same dealer also sells Lance trailers which are highly rated I believe. I’m not an off-roader but to have something built by a bunch of speed demons in a rush is not what I want. I want my rv to last longer than 4-5 years.
These are nice but the price point is steep in direct comparison with arctic fox. With that said they seem well built, which in the rv world is a good thing as most Rvs are completely built garbage. Would be nice if some of these manufactures offered skirting systems on the trailers. Also marine grade plywood on floors
How much price difference have you found? Is the price difference at the same dealer? In the third video of the factory tour next week Darin will talk about roof construction and how they use marine grade plywood for the roof.
I love this RV maker, but hate the name. "Outdoors RV"? That's what the founders thought was best? So I search any selling place for one and I get everybody's ad who wrote stuff like "Enjoy the great outdoors with this RV!" Sigh.. :-)
Very nice nice tour but honestly the most basic fundamental element - the frame. I have never seen such sloppy, cold and just poor welds in my life. Do yourself a huge favor and upgrade to wire-feed welders with a shielding gas and TEACH your guys how to weld. This is basic. A cold sloppy weld is simply NOT strong.
So, they put a thin cover underneath to cover the holding tanks and call that 4 season. There is a slide out, anyone who is an experienced RVer will know that there are rubber seals that may or may not seal very well in the slides, causing air and potential water leaks, if you have a slide, it’s not a matter if but rather when you will have a leak.
After 4 years of living in our RV full-time, including hot desert summers and cold New England winters, we've been really happy with the RV. We were initially also anxious about the slide but it hasn't caused us any issues - I do recommend a slide topper though, and in very cold climates it's worth taking a couple of minutes to seal up any air gaps you find.
Finally an unscripted video about the product. ORV would sell a lot more units if they would do all their videos like this. Honestly, I love the products but the scripted videos are really awkward and creepy. We’re seeing the relatable side of Darren, it’s what people like me really want to see before making a purchase. Thank you.
My God. It would be so cool if a Canadian would be interviewing Darren and going through the plant on tour , and giving a follow up on boondocking and seasonal challenges. Instead of this wierd talking dude from who knows where . 😅
This video makes me so happy that I bought an ORV.
Hopefully, waterproof composite flooring (ala the newer Airstreams) & Azdel will filter through the industry, replacing wood & luann (being among the poorest choices of materials for potential water exposure).
We have owned a 280 RKS for 5 years ASOLUTLETY The best for us. Outdoor RV ROCKS the camping world, Diana and Matt Well said. Love to watch you 2.
I thing this trailers are top notch construction, however, I wish they would begin using the latest more durable materials such as Azdel.
I just bought a used 2015 outdoors rv creek side 26 bks. These factory tours helped seal the deal and helped put me at ease that I bought a quality Camper that will last for years to come.
Coming from my 1979 coachman it’s definitely a step up, but the 1979 coachman cadet 23 1/2 is also very stout and bullet proof. But it had some dry rot in the walls from 44 years of the wood studs getting wet and drying between sealing. But everything in it still works. I replaced the refrigerator core and replaced the water heater with a tankless. Everything else still works great after all these years.
Since a 2,000+ mile trip to the factory isn’t in the cards right now, this is the next best thing. Thanks Diana and Matt for reenforcing why we will be going with an ORV real soon.
I'm glad this was helpful to you! Thanks for watching!
All I can say is it would be money and time well spent when time does arrive. Take Care
Very impressed, nice to see quality instead of junk being built by so many rv manufacturers .👍
Yup, agreed! Thanks for watching Craig!
Good stuff. Well made video. Cannot thank you enough for doing it. Darin Nelson is an articulate spokes person. The work performed by workers on the floor must be complimented. Fast and efficient as far as I can tell. They are the ones doing the actual welding, assembly and quality control. Kudo's to them as well!
Couldn't agree more. We've heard from people that have done factory tours that it's not uncommon to see the staff in the factory literally running to get through their quotas. In the entire time we were there, we didn't see that once at Outdoors RV. Further, we had the chance to speak with several of the workers - they were friendly, they care about what they're doing, and skilled at the job!
Wow. Like you I have been researching a long time. Lots of manufacturing sites. Lots of factory tours, reviews and walkarounds. I had a gut feeling that they were a step above. I was wrong. They are several steps above. This is the product for me, for the same reasons you chose them. THANK YOU!
Very impressed. So happy I bought an Outdoors RV.
Wow! Great job guys! I learned a lot when I went on the tour, but this is much more in depth and Matt asks some great questions. Outdoors RV is truly money well spent on a quality product.
Thank you Kenneth. And we totally agree - money well spent on a quality product.
wzrubicon 1 good thing I have money to waste then!
Truly an excellent video. We were going to wait until after the tour to purchase the 250RDS... maybe not. The questions were spot on to what I would be asking. Well done!
Thanks! I'm glad you found the video useful!
I'm about half way through this video and have to say... you did a really thorough job! Happy travels.
Thank you! Really appreciate the comment!
What a terrific video! Love the questions being asked, the details being provided......great stuff!
I'm glad you enjoyed it Mike!
At 15:23 the rig is going over rough terrain. If the bottom of the rear jacks could swivel straight forward they could act like skid plates to protect the bottom of the rig. Or even weld on big round discs like a dinner plate with upturned edges.
That's not a bad idea, although the jacks have so little lateral strength that I'm not sure they'd survive even if rotated.
Have you seen the SaveAJack system? I had briefly looked at those before as they allow you to quickly remove the entire jack. Although that would expose the frame, it would at least increase the ground clearance.
www.amazon.com/SAVEAJACK-scissor-jack-quick-release/dp/B005CJOR1M
"Darren" is very knowledgeable.
I remember taking the factory tour with ORV, and it was fantastic.
This was an excellent in depth tour which is worth seeing.
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
What a great video! Thank you for sharing this tour! I remember about 2 yrs ago, we were visiting an RV dealer in Poncha Springs, CO....close to Salida. They carried Outdoors RV product; we really liked them! As we are ramping up to actually get a travel trailer, they are high on the consideration, for sure.
Initially, the video felt like an Oprah show.......an ORV for you...and an ORV for you! For every employee, and ORV for you! That speaks highly of the product when they all use them.
Safe travels!
So glad we bought our wind river
Everything I needed to know about how ORV's are being built. Thank you for an in detail factory tour.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Say wow one more time
WoW
Thanks Ian :)
Good detailed video. I still can’t get over the idea of putting a wooden box on top of a steel frame. It amazes me that it stays together going down the interstate at 70mph. I have owned 2 of the all aluminum toy haulers and trying to talk myself into one like this so the wife can have a stand up bedroom. I love how the frames and suspension are designed it’s just the rest of it that concerns me about longevity.
Thank you! Awesome job Diana and Matt! 👏👏👏💐💐💐💐💐
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Really good on the health and safety there in the workshop.
I went on the tour also we bought an artic fox fifth wheel. Sister company to outdoors Rv. Same build basically.
Yup, Northwood Manufacturing and Outdoors RV are sister companies. A few things are different, but definitely have the same high build quality.
Another comment... this is a really really god video. It seems you're extremely knowledgeable about RV construction. You might consider doing this with Tiffin, Newmar, Winnebago and others. I really liked this. Thanks.
Thank you! I'm glad the work I put in into learning filming and editing has paid off :)
Great job! Looking forward to part 2. We live far from any Outdoors RV Mfg dealer, so you’re helping us considerably!
Thanks for watching!
We knew we had purchased a quality trailer in our Outdoors 24RKS but having not been on the factory tour we didn't know the construction details that you showed in your great video. We are very much looking forward to parts 2 and 3 of the tour video.
Thanks for watching Karen!
Nice video guys , thanks for sharing.
We love living in our Outdoors RV.
JT & Jo-Ann
A more than a year later and we still love it too!
@@AdventurousWay
I just shared this video on our Scenic Driveways - Full Time RVing fb group.
facebook.com/groups/308789099968270/
Thanks for sharing!
We’ve been eyeing the Outdoors RV trailers for several years. After watching this video, I know why. However, is there any way to have cabinets installed that are WHITE? With a small trailer, the darker wood cabinets make them feel smaller. The lighter cabinets will make it feel larger. Thanks for sharing this video!
Unfortunately, not that I know of. We actually recently did a remodel of Outdoors RV 21RBS and we painted the walls white and left the cabinets brown - we are actually pleased how it came out. With white walls the cabinets don't seem so dark. We will have a video on that coming out in a couple of weeks.
@@AdventurousWay We love the cabin/lodge feel of these RV's.
A lot of people do! We much prefer the lighter decor in ours now.
Wow amazing!!! Can’t wait to get one of those!
Thank you for this inside look into a company I didn't know existed, I'm just starting my 2nd year of research into campers and hope to make a purchase around the end of the year to become a full timer. Outdoors RV is now at the top of my research list
Awesome! I'm glad this video was helpful to you.
Great job by both Adventurous Way and Outdoors RV. We did the tour about 8 years ago (Northwoods and Outdoor RV) in 2018 we bought a Mountain Series 24RKS and very happy with our trailer.
wow, 8 years - that's a long time ago! A few things probably have changed since then.
Absolutely great video. Love the 22FQS plan they stole from the Cougar 22RBS. I love that floor plan and was glad to see them use it. Looks like if they would use the steady steps that fold up into the doorway during transport like the Cougar has, they would have even better ground clearance for boondocking. Looks like their steps hang lower than everything else in video clip of trailer traveling on the uneven dirt road. So glad to see an RV built with quality in mind. I will be buying one.
Yes, indeed, the steps, at least on our trailer 21RBS, are the lowest point. We have had them scrape sand and we had to back out at least on one occasion because of the steps. I hope they fix that at some point. Though maybe that would encourage Matt to go into crazier places!!!
Yep, they are lagging behind on the best steps. Especially if they are targeting boondockers. Even cheaper built Cougars have better steps
@@deepnature6117 We boondock most of the time and so far the steps haven't prevented us to stay in a spot we wanted to stay as the trailer still has lots of clearance. The one place we had to back out, we just found a different way to get to the spot. But higher clearance would be even better. :)
You guys did a great job on this project! You would make outstanding representatives and ambassadors!
Aww, thank you!
Nice to see a fellow Overland Bound member here, I’m #9644.
Hey, nice to meet you too - we're member #8020!
With the larger holding tanks, is it advisable to travel with the fresh water full??
Especially, if your going off grid for a 4 day weekend?
I’ve heard some manufacturers suggest you don’t? That makes no sense.
Awesome in so many ways! Love that they are using a 2-way fridge. 12 volt doesn't work for us being off-grid. I'm a little disappointed to see that there is a soft underbelly - that means any repairs that need access from underneath we'd have to cut into that underbelly. Plus it's vulnerable to damage from rocks and offroading. I would think they would have gone with that paneled hard underbelly. It would also be good to see a second AC as an option with 50AMP service and an inverter that could run 2 ACs. Alliance style. Also, why are the interiors so dated and dark? I love the look and feel of the Alta toy hauler. If we bought an outdoors RV, we would immediately need to paint the walls and possibly even the cabinetry. At this price point, I am disappointed that I would need to renovate. So close!!
It took us a while to get to it, but eventually we did remodel our RV and painted the walls white. We left the cabinets as is and I think it actually looks great with the wood color cabinets and white walls. Here is playlist of our reno: ua-cam.com/play/PLd-PdmPyV1oIZrG06G56417cB8msPA7KA.html
Must have “ employee pricing “ ? 🤗
You almost had me sold until I saw all that wood. No wonder they are so heavy. 1/2 tons are the number one truck sold. Maybe Outdoor RV should take notice of that.
You say they’re heavy as though that’s a bad thing. I would disagree. There are plenty of “ultralight” RVs on the market if that’s what you want, but I’d prefer a quality trailer even if it weighs more. And yes, that can make towing with a 1/2-ton truck more difficult but that’s a price you pay for quality.
Great video and congratulations on winning the contest!!
Thank you! We tow with a 2016 Ford F-150 SuperCrew 4x4 3.5L EcoBoost. We’ve also done quite a few mods to it: www.adventurousway.com/blog/why-we-love-our-ford-f-150
Nice tour. Excellent processes.
Thank you Jim!
Quality build for sure ! If you can handle the weight and price - they’re hard to beat ? 🤗
We think so! We've been living full-time in our Outdoors RV 21RBS (towing with a Ford F-150) for over 2 years now, and love it. If we were in the market for a new trailer, we'd be going straight for Outdoors RV again.
If you haven't already seen it, you might be interested in our RV remodel series: ua-cam.com/video/aldvPprpuvQ/v-deo.html
GReat tour.. thank you :-)
I live in Albany OR. and we here have a RV place that only sales ODRV. When I talked to the salesman at Lason RV in Albany, Where are all your RV's? He told me that they were all sold and Lason doesn't sale junk. I didn't put two and two together unlil I saw what he was selling. ODRV is the Ferrari of travel trailers.
Congrats on your success! Great video!
Thank you @MWB!
So to remodeled one of these down the road you have to remove the shell to get to everything in order to do the remodel?
I'm not quite sure what you mean, but we remodeled ours about 18 months ago and it turned out great: ua-cam.com/video/65-atnmivl0/v-deo.html
@@AdventurousWay I am talking about gutting it 10 years down the road. This requires being able to get everything out the door.
Thanks, very informative video!
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
@@AdventurousWay I live in Oregon, so I'm going to have to drive over there for a tour soon! :-)
talk about suspension look up Black Series off road trailers
I would have ran all the wires thru conduit, used spray foam insulation, and metal studs in the floor and walls, roof. The less wood the less chance of rot from any leaks and if there was a leak it would just be plywood to replace which the rot could be cut away and replaced for a lot less. Great design though Maybe Outdoors will see this and comment.
09:00 The video is quite well-done, and I like Darin and have discussed this part with him in the past, but sooner or later the RV industry needs to take responsibility for thermal science and engineering in its designs and marketing. Mass-market manufacturers like Grand Design are some of the worst offenders, publishing ridiculous numbers they could never begin to achieve in real-world lab testing, but then there is pressure on all their competitors to keep up with the nonsense. What you are seeing at this location is not insulation at all, let alone R-15. It’s just a radiant barrier with an air space. That’s fine-that is how radiant barriers are supposed to be installed, which is good-but it is not insulation, and therefore has no demonstrable R-value above about 1. The only real R-value is in the trapped air, and it is trapped very imperfectly, which is why wind can be a problem. On a bitter windy night in the middle of nowhere, it’s not radiant loss underneath your rig that will bite. It is conductive and convective loss. Convection and radiant heat transfer are the lesser of the three types at issue in this application. The RV industry, especially when using aluminum framing (part 2 of the tour apparently), struggles with isolating its very high thermal transference rate (conductivity) affordably and without increasing wall-delamination risks. It can certainly be done, though, as others have proven. Hopefully they’ll continue improving at Northwood and ORV. I was pleased to hear about them adopting the increased insulation in the storage bay. I would suggest that owners who are using these units regularly in inhospitable temperatures cut a 1/2-to-1-inch-thick piece of cork or an equivalent, fairly durable material to cover the inside surface of the access doors such that it doesn’t interfere with their operation. It won’t eliminate that major source of conductive loss, insulated or not, just due to their sheathing, but should help a bit. High thermal door losses can be readily seen with an IR camera. This is true of nearly all other RV manufacturer’s doors as well.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this sane analysis. I have wanted an offroad trailer like this for full-timing in the northern states and Canada but this industry drives me nuts. No well insulated house freezes water lines at 10 below zero unless the contractor really screwed up and trailers don't have to either. I helped an Arctic Fox owner when his lines froze in the rear bath at about 10F above last winter. I refuse to pay to be uncomfortable or endangering pipes or inefficiently spending lots of energy per cubic foot to heat or cool in winter's lows or summer's highs. I would pay for belly insulation like mineral wool or fiberglass as an option. Putting insulation between an aluminum frame and the interior should be basic. A residential contractor told me that an average RV air conditioner has enough power to cool a whole house in the summer that he had built in Atlanta. That's how inefficient RVs can be despite their size.
R P Thank you for the kind comment. To their credit, though, they did discuss their practical intent as being an extended season for hunting trips, etc., not full-timing through a hard northern winter. Other parts of their marketing with “true” or “certified” 4-season suggest otherwise, I know, but as with inflated R-values, it’s about how the competition markets, also. I agree about the insulation added to the undercarriage bays as an option and already made that suggestion. It should be very easy to do as they have rolls of fiberglass already sitting right where the open chassis enters the production line since it is used in the floor framing there. I believe it is R-7 which should be thin enough not to interfere with existing tank sizes, etc. I suppose coating or taping the interior side of the aluminum framing could possibly be part of that optional upgrade as well, just like dual-pane or additional storm glass used to be a pricey option with windows at Northwood-another way to make more money per unit, especially from their likely customer demographic.
@Reflected Miles, thank you for the thoughtful discussion! I agree on you on the R insulation values. When we started researching RVs it was very hard to compare insulation R values across brands because they rarely explained how they came up with the final number.
Your comment got me curious what reflective insulation vs radiant barrier is. For untrained eye they do look similar, but looks like reflective insulation does have R value if installed properly. www.sigmalabs.com/blog/reflective-insulation-and-r-values
Totally agree. We materials guys will also see the wall fasteners as a potential problem long term (37:52). The zinc coatings driven through aluminum here have to remain perfectly intact (unlikely in every install) or dissimilar metals will be in contact that do not play well together. A correctly rated stainless fastener, or hot-dip galvanized, is a much better choice for somewhere that is going to be critical and hidden, possibly for decades, and especially being used in coastal environments like here on the Atlantic seaboard.
@@AdventurousWay Thank you for your response. I realize that it’s confusing and even the article you referenced seems to reinforce the confusion rather than clearing it up: “The only difference between a radiant barrier and a reflective insulation is that a reflective insulation has an R-value. The R-value is achieved by having the low-emissivity, high-reflectivity surface face into a dead air space.“ That’s just another way of saying that the only R-value comes from the dead air space, from another part of the assembly, meaning the reflective material itself is _not_ insulative. There is no difference between the materials themselves in that radiant vs. reflective semantic-only in whether they are installed correctly or not, and how much air is then trapped since that alone determines any insulative R-value. R-values for the US market are standardized precisely so that they can be compared. Otherwise, they are worthless to architects, engineers, builders, and consumers alike.
This misrepresentation regarding cheap reflective sheet material supposedly having R-value became a scam in the building trades about 15 - 20 years ago. In applications like RV’s, there is often little to no dead air space available or utilized, or, as in the case of Outdoors frame bays, the air space is not entirely dead (sealed) and that means that even the standardized lab ratings for similar assemblies facing a dead air space won’t be consistently matched. To understand what was happening back in the scam, and why the RV industry needs to be responsible and stop perpetuating it, I suggest reading a couple of summaries from those involved in outing the radiant / reflective barrier manufacturers then, and the back-pedaling from them and regulation that followed. It may need to be revisited for enforcement as I have noticed false advertising claims increasing again recently, and the RV industry has never stopped making those claims. Few consumers are aware of that. They don't fall under the same regulations so they take advantage of that. www.energyvanguard.com/blog/29497/The-Foil-Faced-Bubble-Wrap-Sham-Understanding-Radiant-Barriers and www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/article/stay-away-from-foil-faced-bubble-wrap
Do I see that the framing is stapled together??????????
Why not screwed????
Cabinets are screwed....
Quality is better than most. Still not perfect, have a new 21DBS that showed up at the dealer with a hole in the black tank. Not sure how this would escape the quality control at the factory. Now dealer needs to replace the tank, hopefully this won't turn into a lemon that is problematic longterm.
That's the most common complaint I read about on forums is lack of quality control. Kinked water lines, holes in tanks, and water heater leaks. I haven't watched this entire series yet, but so far I haven't seen one QC person checking work. How is your rig working out now?
We cheated. We bought our Timber Ridge the previous day on the other side of the pass (Deadmans Pass) from Thompson RV. The next day we stopped to do the factory tour there in La Grande OR. As a added bonus that day they were building our floorplan (24rks). As Darin said at the beginning, if you don't start with a robust frame and suspension everything built onto it is mute. I can say after two years of use, it's as solid as day one.
Awesome, I'm glad you are happy with your 24RKS two years later.
***moot***
First off, I'm not trashing Outdoors RV and understand this is a 4 year old video. The statement about the oversized axles in reference to the GVW is not a correct statement for some of the units being sold to day. The max weight for the 2024 25rds is 11,000 lbs, each axle is rated at 5200 lb, which brings the total to 10,400 lb. Again, love the brand not trying to trash it, just a observation.
Personally, I wasn't impressed with what I saw. Wire and plumbing all look a mess. But to be honest, I think the whole RV industry is way behind other industries as far as quality goes. As long as people keep buying them as they are, quality won't improve much.
Do they use Timken USA Wheel Bearings????
I don't know.
Why can't RV manufacturers put a dual steering system in diesel pushers and rvs 40' and over with and W/O tag axles. The technology is available and it seems like turning would be so much easier.
I'm not sure this makes much sense for Outdoors RV as they don't make motorhomes or RVs over 40ft long....
$$$$
Do you use red primer under your black frame paint? Paint looks thin and looks like it will quickly begin to rust.
I recently found out about this company by Googling “rv companies that don’t use Lippert chassis”. Serious. I’m in Louisiana and the nearest dealer is in central Texas. That same dealer also sells Lance trailers which are highly rated I believe. I’m not an off-roader but to have something built by a bunch of speed demons in a rush is not what I want. I want my rv to last longer than 4-5 years.
These are nice but the price point is steep in direct comparison with arctic fox. With that said they seem well built, which in the rv world is a good thing as most Rvs are completely built garbage. Would be nice if some of these manufactures offered skirting systems on the trailers. Also marine grade plywood on floors
How much price difference have you found? Is the price difference at the same dealer? In the third video of the factory tour next week Darin will talk about roof construction and how they use marine grade plywood for the roof.
Thor or FR will buy them up within 10 years and run them into the ground after moving all their production to Indiana.
I love this RV maker, but hate the name. "Outdoors RV"? That's what the founders thought was best? So I search any selling place for one and I get everybody's ad who wrote stuff like "Enjoy the great outdoors with this RV!"
Sigh.. :-)
I have to agree with you! I've often had more luck searching for "ORV" for example.
But are they plumbing them correctly! Pex with proper connections like residential homes. Not that “RV standard” nonsense.
👍👍👍
Very nice nice tour but honestly the most basic fundamental element - the frame. I have never seen such sloppy, cold and just poor welds in my life. Do yourself a huge favor and upgrade to wire-feed welders with a shielding gas and TEACH your guys how to weld. This is basic. A cold sloppy weld is simply NOT strong.
That foil does not add an "R" value...the industry likes to use this term and act as if this foil adds an R factor...it does not
So, they put a thin cover underneath to cover the holding tanks and call that 4 season. There is a slide out, anyone who is an experienced RVer will know that there are rubber seals that may or may not seal very well in the slides, causing air and potential water leaks, if you have a slide, it’s not a matter if but rather when you will have a leak.
After 4 years of living in our RV full-time, including hot desert summers and cold New England winters, we've been really happy with the RV. We were initially also anxious about the slide but it hasn't caused us any issues - I do recommend a slide topper though, and in very cold climates it's worth taking a couple of minutes to seal up any air gaps you find.
37:34 🤦♂️
Finally an unscripted video about the product. ORV would sell a lot more units if they would do all their videos like this. Honestly, I love the products but the scripted videos are really awkward and creepy.
We’re seeing the relatable side of Darren, it’s what people like me really want to see before making a purchase.
Thank you.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video Galen!
talk less and show more jee
My God. It would be so cool if a Canadian would be interviewing Darren and going through the plant on tour , and giving a follow up on boondocking and seasonal challenges. Instead of this wierd talking dude from who knows where . 😅
Well we're not from Canada 🤣