Hmmm... I am watching this thread, because we, too, are expecting to trade to a newer probably bigger and heavier 5th Wheel in the next few years. So, DH and I have been looking at the FR Cedar Creek Hathaway edition. It's bigger and more expensive than your shopping specs. We currently have a FR Palomino Sabre, 30 ft, 2008. It's an ultra lite, and it has held up very well for its price and construction level over the years. All RVs need maintaining. Rigs of this vintage do have some problems with graphics as the years go on.
My main comment is this: Rigs in the 30K price range are never going to be as well built and trouble free as ones that are advertised to be Four Season, Full-timer RVs. The price range of these rigs is substantially higher, with new ones falling in the 80K range. The construction in 30K range will be cheaper, inside and out, from the roof to the tires. Now, in our case, DH has become quite expert at fixing/maintaining our current rig. With each repair, he has learned more. If you don't have that same ability and expect to have every small item repaired professionally, you may have different needs than we would. We have taken out the extended warranties in the past, and never found that we got our money's worth for them, because we did not have many issues until the warranty was expired. Having said that, our dealer has always been very easy to work with. So, with this explanation, I have been happy enough with Forest River products and would use them again. My only current issue with FR is the fact that they have very few models that do not have a carpet lip that runs the length of the kitchen slide out. That means an edge of carpet under the stove, which I will not tolerate. Ick! I think it is a design issue that will go away completely in the next few years. The Hathaway Edition has and linoleum lip and no such issues.
In summary, you have the potential of some issues with any model in this price range, depending upon your expectations. The key is a good dealership. Do your homework.
