Northwood Arctic Fox 27-5L reviews

I bought this Unit new and looked forward to all season RVing. Previously I RV'd in a Northern Lite that served us very well but climbing in/out of the bunk got to be a real challenge at 3 AM thus the move to Artic Fox. After a year we've found the ceiling light lenses vibrate lose and fall to the floor, but my biggest complaint is the Propane Locker...it takes an average of 30 minutes to put refilled propane tanks in the locker and get the door to close. The propane locker is too tight for the tanks to fit properly. When you attempt to close the door the latch on the door hits the tank and won't latch. The locker is poorly engineered causing a safety concern if the latch fails during an emergency stop or a quick maneuver to avoid a hazard. Show less

If you looking for the best all around fifth wheel, for a couple, this is it. Looking at construction and overall livability, it's hard to beat. As for being a 4 season camper, it's up there, if not the best in class. Floor plan makes it roomy, with high ceilings, and has a walk around bed. Storage capacity has never been an issue. Driving it is simple due to size and the custom built frame and suspension. It's under 30 feet and can get into just about every private, state, and national park campsite. We have dry camped in this for 5 days, using the shower daily, without issue. It took us a year to purchase it as we compared it to the competition and Arctic Fox has kept it's design virtually the same since its inception. Many competitors have copied the floor plan, but not the quality of the product. Definitely a great, long term investment in RV camping. Show less

2021 Arctic Fox slide out box not square. Northwood MFG in bad faith won’t take care of it. Being out of square the gearbox and rails Slowly grind down. Making impossible to seal when open. The One year warranty is a SCAM. If you Only use RV 3/4 weeks a year unaware of the slow grinding damage caused by out of square box and will be continuing problem no matter how often I replace gears. Using slide out in 4 weeks, that’s only 16 times of bring slide out in and back out. Really sad for American made product. Northwood would rather gaslight you then take responsibility. Many of the other issues with the 5th wheel we repaired ourselves including, plumbing, wiring, and bubbling floors Show less

BUYER BEWARE!!! 2021 Artic Fox and the slide rails need replacing already. Northwood MFG insisted that it was just a simple adjustment. I payed $800.00 for the simple adjustment (Northwood told me it was not covered under warranty) and now the slide doesn't open all the way leaving a gap that allows cold air in. The slide takes two people to open. One on the button and the other pushing, so the gears don't skip. Two service departments have suggested that new rails and gears MAY fix it. The first found that the slide stop was improperly welded along with the rails being prematurely worn down, again I paid for the fix of the slide stop. Then Bish's RV Service suggested that the box was out of square (appears so to me), but after talking to Northwood MFG they CHANGED their mind and strongly stated it was a "simple adjustment". Do not use service departments that sell Northwood MFG RV's and just stay away from Northwood MFG RV's all together. Since purchase I have had to replace a broken shock(from tire wear it appears to have been broken when I purchased it) that wore the original tire on the inside and the tire needed to be replaced. A defective wheel with small hole in the metal. Northwood MFG response "Contact the manufacture of the wheel" and made some reference about "just use the spare". MANY minor issues that I've either paid to have fixed or done myself. Worst RV ever and WORST RV COMPANY! They do not stand behind their RV's, they just hope you don't notice the problems or get them fixed in the first year when the warranty runs out. Even if the the RV is not under warranty they give BAD advice and have been wrong every time. Sad day for "Made in America" Show less

This is our 9th or 10th trailer we've owned in the last 30 years. The last three have been Arctic Fox trailer. The first one a 22GQ took us to Alaska and back and several more trips totaling 15K miles without any problems. The next was a 26X that took us on a three month trip around the US as well as other trips totaling 28K miles without any problems. Last is the current 27-5L that took us to most of the states in the west totaling 11K miles. The only issue is we lost a wheel due to not checking and torquing the lug nuts. The only reason we are selling it is health and vision problems. Northwood product quality is due to a very substantial frame and structure framing and cabinetry. The appliances are the same as everyone elses. The 27-5L has some of the largest holding tanks in this size trailer. The grey water tanks are 67 and 35 that can be conbined to provide 102 gallons of capacity. This makes longer off grid camping possible. Fresg water and black tanks are also large. Show less

We bought this 5th wheel used, in 2017. We bought it mainly because the Arctic Fox is so well insulated. We lived in it for over a year while our house was being built. The A/C could never keep up with cooling the 5th wheel off in the summer heat, and drew in the bad odors from the drains when it was on. The automatic holding tank drain valves never did work right, and would either stick closed or open. Then, if they did stick, you can't manually open them! We had to order new ones, and they aren't cheap. My husband had to pull off insulation under the 5th wheel to replace them. Also, the holding tank gauges never worked, either, in spite of doing EVERYTHING suggested for fixing them. For towing, we consider the height too high at 12'8" inches and it is a wide body at 8.6 ft., which sometimes is a pain to park if the slideout is hanging out in a street or in a cramped RV Park. Arctic Fox's are also very heavy 5th wheels. The bed has an air mattress which keeps leaking air. On the positive side, it was fairly comfortable for a small living space and most of the 5th wheel was well-built. Show less

I've had this RV for a year and it has been solid! Great insulation and no problems with the build. I've been shocked to hear the horror stories from my friends about the problems they've had with their rigs from other manufacturers. I'm so glad that I made the choice to buy from Northwood, nothing but great things to say! Show less

My wife and I decided to downsize last fall from a 33' 5th wheel to this 27' rig. The skylight placement and windows provide more daylight than our last 5th wheel. The galley has lots of room to move around with plenty of cupboard space and a huge pantry. A Solar Panel monitor keeps batteries charged up. The only drawback for us is the closet space; but hey, we decided to downsize and this is the only drawback we have. Show less

We liked the fact that it was 29.5 ft in length, the kitchen and storage is adequate, it has a queen size bed,and prewired in the bedroom for a 2nd TV. We've had multiple problems with our unit per the following; 1. Refrigerator failed on our first trip which took nearly 2 months to repair. 2. The shower continually leaks. 3. Many screws throughout the unit have been stripped. 4. The plastic finish around the door casings were not screwed or glued in place. 5. This unit should be outfitted for 50 amp service in order to run your coffee pot and the microwave at the same time. There are also problems running a coffee pot and a curling iron or almost any other electrical service. 6. The table utilized within this model was removed and replaced with a custom credenza as our knees scraped the underside of the table. 7. The couch was replaced with two recliners in order to be more comfortable while using this unit. 8. The light switch which controls the lighting over the recliners should be moved to a more convenient location, it's a royal PITA. 9. The air conditioner should be replaced with a 15.5 unit along with a 50 amp service. 10. The height of this unit is extreme and should be lowered for safe use. Show less

The build quality by Arctic Fox is not good. The toilet fill line leaked and, several times, cabinet doors would be on the floor. The assembly at AF had left many screws stripped. The generator (under the bedroom) is quite loud and does not cool well. The generator chamber gets quite hot. Perhaps my largest complaint is the air conditioning which is totally inadequate if the outside air temperature is above 90. One time in Zion National Park the air conditioner was run for many hours and cooled the coach to a balmy 95 degrees. The 27-5L overall height is 13'6" such that one must be very careful about clearance. Not a problem for interstates and modern gas stations but small towns and older facilities can be a problem. On the trip above in Zion we wanted to leave eastbound through the Mt Carmel tunnel. While Prevost buses go through regularly the 27-5L will not clear; even using the drive-down-the-middle approach. In summary: I sold the trailer. I expected much more from AF. Show less