2018 Palomino Columbus Compass 5th Wheel reviews

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

Current owner for 2 years and big fan of these trailers. Well made with lots of essential features. Roomy with lots of internal storage. More than enough heating and AC to be comfortable. Having the electric fireplace allows you to use the campground's electric to heat instead of your own propane. Plumbing and waste systems are simple and easy to use. Annual winterization was simple. Electrical system has provided no issues. Mostly LED lighting inside. Slides move easily in and out. Awning is great with full power including LED lighting. These come with G-Rated tires, so they are not the China Bombs you get on the smaller trailers. Tows easily and tracks perfectly. I had a gooseneck ball in my truck already so I swapped out the fifth wheel hitch and installed a Goosebox. Very nice ride and easy to hitch and unhitch. Very large and comfortable shower. Ceramic toilet for easy cleaning. I wish the bathroom sink was a bit bigger, but they are all that small. Very large closet (full width) in Master so plenty of clothing room. Additional wardrobe in Bunk house is nide sized. The master's mattress is a Sealy Destinations which is a really fantastic mattress with a memory foam pillow-top. Best I've ever felt in a trailer. Didn't use the washer/dryer prep so can't speak to that, but that provided another whole closet. Massive under master bed storage for less used items. Ours has been fully waterproof for our full ownership. No water leaks that we know of. Fabric of chairs and sofas not showing signs of wear yet. Residential fridge is huge at 20 cu ft. We never come close to filling it. Nice double bowl sink with removable covers to give you even more working space in kitchen. Doesn't have dishwasher prep, but honestly don't see the need as we quickly wash after each meal. Maxxair fan in kitchen is easy to use and works well to provide fresh air and remove humidity. Hydraulic auto-leveling system is great. Push a button, trailer lifts off hitch. Push another, trailer auto levels. Push another trailer raises back up ready to hitch back up. Push one last button and trailer retracts all levelers. Pretty slick operation. Very stable on 6 levelers. I do carry a simple single jack stand to put under rear bumper...and that stops virtually all the remaining shakes. Don't need those between wheel chocks or even a fifth wheel tripod. Solar prep is included, but we never used it. Wired for Satellite as well as Cable hookup. Really love the StepAbove entry steps. Very wide and stable. At about 12,500 lbs empty, it's average for a 42' fifth wheel, I pulled with a 2500 RAM with a diesel and stayed under limits and had plenty of power when needed. Has a large pass-thru storage area and the front storage holds a lot too if you don't have the generator option (which we do not). Lots of outdoor lighting. Honestly have had no issues with the trailer other than some trim that needed better attachment when we first got it, and fixing that was part of the pre-purchase inspection. We did add slide toppers which are great to reduce heat on the slides in the summer as well as keeping them clean for quick and easy departures. Also upgraded to Disc brakes. The original drums were fine, but I wanted the extra safety the disc provided both for quick stops as well as no-fading on steep downhills. All-in-all, we've had a very good experience with our Compass and would buy another Columbus readily. Show less

I believe I have a lemon unit. Had this unit since April 2017. Paid cash same day and have had problems since we purchased this unit. Seriously. Can someone please point me in the right direction to talk to someone who can help me on this? Thank you Show less

Great trailer. We have now had for two years. Stay in unit 80+ nights per year. To date issues have been latch on shower door and converter. Both covered under the Columbus 2 year warranty with no issues. This is our secound rv. Quite pleased with both build quality and factory support. Show less

Great rv. 1 year old no issues so far. Traveling about 5-8000 miles per year. Delivered from factory with several very minor issues that were fixed by dealer before delivery. My wife and I are really enjoying this one. Show less

Air conditioners don't work properly have them set on 65 to keep the camper at about 77. Have 3 leaks 2 are in the bedroom. Where one of the light doesnt work anymore due to water leaks from it. The other is from the air conditioning intake over the bed. The other is in the living room area. Only 3 out of the 8 air vents work in the living room. The door the bunk room is falling for the track. Trying to work with the dealership. Forest river hasn't returned phone calls or emails. Have had the unit less at 3 weeks and nothing but problems have happened. This unit I have is a lemon and not being helped at all. Have the emails I have sent and will post them. I ask if the unit could replace and they said to make a service appointment so they could fix it but the water damage is probably worst than I can see. Wouldn't recommend these to anyone. Show less

NEVER.... NEVER, NEVER WOULD I EVER consider purchasing one of these units again. The number of complaints are too numerous to list. The furniture is complete garbage. The air conditioner and fridge only work properly if it's not hot outside. It's so cheaply made, the longer I look at things, the more perturbed I get. The worst quality control, by which I mean there couldn't have been any. Chips and scrapes and warped slide outs and off kilter door frames, leaky taps. The list goes on and on. I have to honestly say the only thing I like about this unit in the mattress. I'm gob smacked that is of any value because the rest of the quality... is not any quality at all. This unit could never be hauled. It just wouldn't stand up. We have ours parked. We bought it for floor plan with den/bunk so we could have family. They couldn't sleep in it because the furniture was so bad they had spasms in their backs. They couldn't sit on the couch because it's so poorly made it destroys your back to sit on it. I absolutely hate this RV in every way. It's been a long time since I've been this disappointed in something, but this genuinely gives me potty mouth. We don't know yet if any of this is going to be resolved. We are working with the place that sold it to us. They seem very genuine, but remains to be seen if any of this gets resolved. I'm hopeful only because of the RV place that sold this unit. I'm still writing a review based on the lack of quality in these things. I would never ever recommend this unit to anyone and neither would any of my family that came and tried to visit with us. They all ended up sleeping in the backs of their cars because the furniture in here was so bad. Show less