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Dutchmen RV Review: Is Dutchmen A Good RV Brand? Power Tongue Jack
As the recreational vehicle (RV) market grows increasingly crowded, there are still a few established names in the industry. One of those is Dutchmen–a manufacturer that has been a prominent name in the mid-range camper market for more than three decades.
In this Dutchmen RV review, we take an in-depth look at the company’s RV models, cost, build quality, and industry and customer ratings to see how the manufacturer stacks up to the best RV brands.
Buying an RV is a huge financial decision whether it’s for weekend camping or full-time RVing. Even if you’ve already settled on one of the company’s campers, this Dutchmen RV review can help you understand all there is to consider about the brand and its models.
Our Dutchmen RV review found the company has several strengths that make it a good RV brand. Dutchmen only makes towable campers and fifth-wheels, so if you’re looking for a motorhome like a Class A RV, Class B RV, or Class C RV, you’ll need to look elsewhere. This allows the company to focus exclusively on its travel trailers, fifth wheels, and toy haulers. Within those towing categories, Dutchmen offers models at every price point through its imprint brands.
While some questions about build quality exist, the brand’s popularity has given rise to active online forums and social media groups that offer advice, experience, and insight into all of the Dutchmen RV models. Considering all of this, our review team rated Dutchmen RVs 4.0 out of 5.0 stars overall.
Based in Goshen, Indiana, Dutchmen RV opened for business in 1988. By 1990, the company had already become the second-largest manufacturer of fifth wheel and travel trailers in the United States.
Today, Dutchmen–which is now owned by Keystone RV via Thor Industries–continues its focus on the larger towables category, adding only toy haulers to its portfolio. The company offers its campers across the price spectrum through its nine imprint brands, which include well-known names such as Coleman, Kodiak, and Yukon.
One of the most appealing aspects of the Dutchmen RV brand is its broad range of price points. The company offers trailers for just about any budget–ranging from the sub-$20,000 Coleman travel trailer to the six-figure Voltage luxury toy hauler. You can save money by buying a used RV, as well.
Dutchmen does not produce any RV models under its own brand. Instead, the company offers its towable RVs through nine imprint brands.
There is a lot of variation in price and amenities across Dutchmen’s various brands and models. As a result, the build quality tends to vary between those brands and models.
The company mentions a 253-point pre-delivery inspection as part of its process, but it does not mention whether this inspection is undertaken by a separate team or by the same assembly team. This is a critical distinction, as independent teams are typically seen as providing a more thorough inspection.
Dutchmen as a whole has a reputation for being a mid-level manufacturer. Build quality issues are a somewhat frequent complaint on customer review websites like RVInsider. A large portion of these complaints seem to center around smaller details, like caulking and hardware such as drawer slides.
Overall, it’s important to remember that many of these issues are simply RV issues and not specifically Dutchmen issues. Problems with mechanical awnings and slide-outs are especially common. Dutchmen may not have the same sterling reputation for quality that some other RV manufacturers do, but according to Dutchmen RV reviews, it doesn’t appear to be particularly bad in that arena either.
Similar to the company’s build quality, Dutchmen is about average when it comes to customer support. You can call the company’s customer service line during regular business hours (EST) or use a contact form on the company’s website to get help with your Dutchmen RV issues.
However, several comments in online forums suggest that it may be more effective to reach out to Dutchmen’s parent company Keystone directly for help with parts and other issues. If you find yourself having a difficult time getting what you need from your dealership or Dutchmen customer support, you may want to consider reaching out to Keystone.
While it’s not a source of official company support, the popularity of Dutchmen RVs means that there is a large, active community of Dutchmen owners online. The RVLife-affiliated forum at Dutchmenowners.org gives owners of the campers an opportunity to ask questions about their RVs, source parts, get tips related to their trailers, and more. A Facebook group for Dutchmen owners is also a good source of information and support from other owners.
If you visit the Dutchmen website you’ll see the company’s three-year warranty featured prominently. Advertised as the “industry’s best warranty,” it certainly does surpass the one-year limited warranty offered by most manufacturers. But as with any warranty, the actual details of that warranty are a little more complicated.
Once you read the fine print of the warranty, you’ll see that it breaks down to two separate warranties. With every Dutchmen RV model, what you actually get is a one year bumper-to-bumper warranty and an additional two-year warranty on the structural components. That might differ a bit from what you’d expect when you see “three-year warranty,” but it’s still superior to what most RV manufacturers offer.
Overall, the Dutchmen brand has a 3.6 out of 5.0 rating on RVInsider. This is about average compared to the rest of the industry. While there is variation between the imprint brands and their models–which is to be expected–some consistencies do emerge in Dutchmen RV reviews, both in terms of things they like about their RVs and the things they don’t.
Owners who report being satisfied with their campers in their Dutchmen RV reviews tend to mention the layout and floor plans as major positives.
“Great indoor kitchen with enough counter space, spacious bathroom, and a very comfortable bed.”
– Alberto, 2018 Dutchmen Kodiak Cub
“Lots of space, huge garage, and plenty of room to sleep eight-plus. If you want to live and travel on the nice side of life, this is the vehicle for you.”
– Blake, 2019 Dutchmen Voltage
Unfortunately there are also some strong consistencies among owners who aren’t as satisfied with their purchase. Build quality issues–a common complaint about many RV brands–is the most frequent reason for negative Dutchmen RV reviews.
“Our trailer has been in the shop more than it has been camped in. It has had several issues including the studs in the walls not being in the right place and the wall panels falling off.”
– Chrystle, 2020 Dutchmen Aspen
“We are now at another dealer trying to resolve…water leaks, covering up water damaged material with diamond plating, holes in mattresses from the factory, unfinished trim, cracked and split trim, drawers that don’t fit, thermostats that don’t work, etc.”
Our review team found that Dutchmen is overall a good RV brand, giving it 4.0 out of 5.0 stars. The company earns points for offering fifth wheels, travel trailers, and toy haulers at a wide range of price points, giving people from a wide range of financial situations access to RV life.
Dutchmen may not offer the most bulletproof, full-featured RVs on the market, but for RVers looking for a nice balance of size, amenities, and costs, it could be the perfect choice.
While Dutchmen RV reviews do frequently mention issues with build quality across most of the company’s brands and models, most of these issues are not abnormal for the RV industry. Dutchmen’s “three-year” warranty also provides some remedy for those concerns. Beyond that, it’s hard to find many other downsides to the brand.
Dutchmen RV is owned by Keystone, which is in turn owned by RV industry giant Thor Industries .
Dutchmen RVs are manufactured at the company’s plant in Goshen, Indiana.
Once separate companies, Coleman is now owned by Dutchmen. Dutchmen, in turn, is owned by Keystone RV which is a subsidiary of Thor Industries .
The first Coleman camper was made in 1966. By 1979, the company’s travel trailers and pop-up campers were some of the top-selling RVs in the United States. Dutchmen RV bought the licensing rights to Coleman in 2010 and has owned and operated the brand since.
*Data accurate at time of publication.
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