Outdoors RV Creek Side reviews

In general, I like Northwood Mfg. products like Arctic Fox and Outdoors RV, relative to the RV industry generally which does a very poor job of engineering products, quality control, and being truthful in marketing. The Outdoors 21RD has a utilitarian floor plan with a couple of options at the big windows in the back. The option for recliners is strange in that they don't turn around to take advantage of the great view that those windows provide. Like all Northwood products, this also isn't a "4-season" coach except in the Southern US. It is a mostly comfortable coach for 3 seasons if you add insulation to the storage compartment. It loses enough heat through its frame to outline its location on the outside walls with melted lines on a frosty morning. Perhaps most importantly, though, this unit has a gross-weight problem. It only has 3,500 lb. axles but huge, boondock-ready fresh water and waste water capacities. With axles less capable than even their smallest unit in the line-up, they can't legally carry the full weight of the coach, a full fresh-water tank, and a normal family's load of clothing, food, gear, etc., let alone take all that weight off-road. Something has to give. If you get the Titanium package, now its aesthetics are even heavier and the coach will usually be maxed out all the time, which is not a good way to tow a trailer, especially into any rough backcountry. It needs an expensive dual 5,200 lb. axle retrofit to really function as it should. Show less

We have owned 2 Outdoors RVs. The first one was the 21RBS and now the 22FQS. Both are very strong and well built. We usually spend 3-4 months boondocking in our trailers. They can handle rough roads because they’re built tough with beefier support beams , stronger suspension and bigger tires. I would recommend them to anyone who cares about quality. Show less

This RV gives us the most out of a small RV with a full Kitchen, Bathroom, Living area and Queen Sized bed. There is enough open floor space for 2 large dog beds as well. It is very well built and insulated making it feel like a home. Huge fresh water storage and black and grey tanks to be off grid often and effortlessly. Show less

Worst part was a spring hanger that broke away from the frame while on the road. It caused the two tandem tires to slam against each other and destroyed them both. Could have killed us if it happened on the freeway. Outdoors acknowledged that the failure was due to a faulty weld, and agreed to pay for repairs. However, they were only willing to pay me $250, toward my cost of $1500. We had 16 separate warranty issues the first two years, some of which were never resolved to my satisfaction. Show less

Overall I think the trailer is of fair quality. Most everything works as expected and it is comfortable for the most part. We switched out the mattress, and are thinking of switching out the couch which as it is quite uncomfortable. There are lots of nice ammenaties that make the 'camping' experience comfortable. however there are some issues. -The lack of light switches on the walls is a serious bummer for us older folks with old shoulders trying to reach the switches on the overhead lights, especially over the bed!! -The gray and black water tank monitors are basically useless, and I have tried all the tricks to get them clean (if that is actually the problem). -I pull the trailer with an F350 and thought there would be no problems at all as I have towed very large trailer loads with this truck. To my surprise there was a significant amount of impact on trailerability, especially if there is any cross-wind, even with my large 1 ton truck and distribution hitch. I have tried different loading to see if that helps, but to no avail. One wierd issue is that they put the sizable fresh water tank (80 gal) well in front of the trailer axles, which makes the tongue weight significant if you dont have any waste water in the back tanks. That seems a bit foolish to me. I had to put overloads on my truck. - Nonetheless, although the trailer is fair in quality and we like it, I was completely appalled when I removed some of the cabinetry to get at the wiring and the converter. It was a complete rat's nest of wires that were not cut to length, nor routed in a reasonable manner. Behind the fuse box it was impossible to trace out a wire or even get in to the space as the mass of wires were merely crammed into the space and mixed up in a horifying ball. It is so bad that it is hard to imagine someone doing it, unless they were purposfully trying to sabatoge the trailer or the company, or just didnt give a damn. I might consider looking at another one of these outdoor trailers, but would go to the effort of taking off some of the cover panels and seeing if the workmanship falls apart behind them. It sure did on this one. Show less

My wife and I bought our creekside 18 ck brand new. Had some issues with hot water tank lines leaking due to unsupported tank(fixed myself). 2 years afetr purchase noticed fiberglass on front curve at top of trailer starting to delaminate.I have always resealed any areas that looked like they would maybe leak.Contacted dealer who then directed me to home company in Oregon. They said they would not cover anything after 1st year. Trailer is now 10 years old,fberglass from the first 12 inches from the top is completely delaminated and side of trailer delaminating at front corner,feels like no structure left behind fiberglass.I,m not sure if it can even be repaired but I,ll have to try,very dissappointed with our"forever" trailer. this trailer has seen very little use,I would hate to see what it would look like if we had travelled more. Show less

I bought an Outdoors RV brand RV because I heard good reviews about their quality. Most of the interior is well made but exterior and structure are of a very poor quality. First thing I noticed was one of the aluminum trim pieces hanging down on the edge. When I checked some of the screws were not actually hitting anything other than the wrap on the bottom of the RV. Outdoors RV manufacturers don't even bother screwing into structure. Then after 4 years of ownership the front curved Fiberglas panel just pulled out from under the aluminum strip that is at the transition between the rubber roof and front curved panel. I checked all sealed edges before storing the RV for the winter and there was still a good seal on the joint. But over winter under the cover the panel separated and ripped the sealant since sealant was the only thing keeping the roof and front panel connected. Then some water got inside limited only by the cover I put on for the winter. Dealer wants many thousands of dollars to fix the issue and ORV don't cover their defects past first year. Outdoors RV is not worth the premium price they charge for their RVs as they leak more than much cheaper RVs. I liked the large water tanks and drain valves located inside heated space. However the water pipes for draining they system hang down outside the floor and can freeze. It is strange that after going through the trouble of making sure the drain valves are inside the heated space ORV would put water pipes exposed and uninsulated outside. Another unexpected problem is the insulated shower door. It sounded good to protect the shower with insulated door but it has been a recurring problem. The door has a water tight seal on the door but compartment is opened to the inside. If shower leaks even slowly the outdoor shower box gets filled up with water and water pours inside the RV without you knowing it. So if your family members left a slow drip in the outdoor shower you wake up to a flooded interior of the RV on ORV models while any other outdoor shower would just drain to the outside where no damage is done and you can see the drip. Another problem was with poorly supported water heater. The water heater broke off from the wall mountings due to weight of the water and leaned back inside the RV. All water from the water heater exterior was channeled inside the RV. Several of our extended family bought RVs so we could go camping together so I got to see what other people had problems with. My Outdoors RV had more problems than cheaper RV brands from the big RV manufacturers. With ORV I paid a premium for a product of lower quality. Show less

I’ve seen a lot of trailers in my day. But our 2011 creekside is the best trailer I have ever seen. Quality of this trailer trumps all others of its size and age. Its a little heavy, but that just stands to the quality. Still going strong 10 years later with heavy use. No breakdowns and everything is still working great. Will never trade. Show less

Although I have only owned two travel trailers(the other one being a Casita) I have been in and around many. For me this was the perfect unit. Well built, no slides, and very nice to tow. I have several friends that have travel trailers and every one of them have stated that they wished they had looked further after seeing my unit. The countertops, windows, the use of wood instead of plastics, screws and not staples, insulation, and a frame built for the model...not some catchall frame. Most of them have their trailers up for sale and are going the Outdoors RV route. I'm very happy that I did. Show less

This is a great RV. After 6 months of extensive use, nothing has needed repair. Well-insulated. Double pane windows eliminate condensation. High level of craftsmanship is evident in finishes and joints between surfaces in interior/exterior. Love the real wood cabinetry. As a first time RV buyer, I had read many forum comments, saying to expect a number of repairs or punchlist items with an new RV. But apparently quality control at Outdoors RV is a level above. I spent 5 months, maybe 20 hours a week, visiting RV dealerships with 250 miles, but I kept coming back to the apparent quality and extra insulation and double pane windows of Outdoor RVs. Sumner RV dealership was great to work with too. Warranty is supposed to be great too, but I have never had the need to use it, so I can’t comment on that. Very happy with purchase. Show less