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Review:
2025 KZ Sportsmen 130 RD Camper,
2025 Forest River Auora 13RDX and Coachmen Catalina 134RDX,
and 2025 Sun Lite 13 BD
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2025 KZ Sportsmen 130 RD
When shopping for a under 3,000 pound camper I found a floorplan that was agreeable to both my wife and I.
The floorplan is everything. Coming from a T@B 320S, my wife wanted something taller that had a larger bathroom.
We also wanted something that had a dinette that could be made up with a single bed for a granddaughter. Note that this floorplan typically
also has a version with two bunk beds in place of the dinette but we wanted the dinette as it's usually just the two of us.
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As you can see on the left, several manufactures make a 2025 lightweight camper with a similar floorplan.
KZ Sportsmen, Sun Lite, Forest River, etc.. These are the three that I was able to do a walkthrough before making a final choice and purchasing. Note that I found
Forest River makes this same floorplan under different names (Auora, Coachmen) but they're basically the same camper with different graphics.
Shopping in January and February isn't much fun. Most dealer's Spring inventory hasn't arrived and smaller campers under 3,000 pounds tend to be in high demand so finding any is a trick.
Still I was able to track three of these down and do a walk through.
After having a nuCamp T@B which is a very high quality camper for a few years, I knew that I could not expect the quality construction of the T@B that I love in a camper a third of the cost. Still, Happy Wife, Happy Life...
I went in expecting to spend a few thousand to modify whatever I found for our boondocking use including adding solar and a bank of Lithium batteries.
My goal was to find one that even though it had shortcomings, I could easily make changes to overcome them.
None of these three were perfect but the goal was to find one that although it had problems, those prpoblems wouldn't be anything I couldn't change. Of the three, The KZ Sportsman is the only one that had nothing too overwhelming
in the design or construction that I couldn't modify or upgrade myself for our boondocking use.
Note that all three of these also offer this floorplan with bunks instead of the dinette.
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2025 Forest River Auora 13RDX - Link (also Coachmen Catalina 134RDX Link)
This is the one I was most interested in when searching on-line. Looked like it had a nice finish.
I liked the GE Air Conditioner/Heat Pump combination. It has a low profile and the heat pump would come in handy the few times we're on shore power.
Still, we have used a small ceramic heater for years so the lack of a heat pump wouldn't be a deal breaker.
I also liked the fact that the Forest River has a stove vent to the outside. That is a plus for the times we are forced by weather to cook inside.
I took the two hour drive to see it. First thing I noticed going in the door is the width of the mattress and it hanging a few inches off the bed support. Kind of cheating on the bed width specs there.
It didn't have a bathroom sink but everything else looked great until I looked underneath. The fresh water tank hangs exposed below the frame toward the front
with the water outlet hanging down a few inches lower from the tank bottom exposing it it road debris.
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A design flaw I could not rectify was not what I wanted to see. Going on-line I found a couple Forest River owners who had already had their water outlets broken off. Not something I could correct and combined with the dealer's higher than normal "Prep Charge" the Forest River Auora 13RDX was out of the running.
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Sun Lite 13 BD - Link
My next stop was to a dealer closer to me to see the Sun Lite 13 BD. Pretty much the same floorplan and from a dealer I like and have delt with before.
First thing I noticed was still no bathroom sink though.
A plus was the larger 12 volt refrigerator with a separate freezer. BTW: A 12 volt, non-propane fridge is a must for me having had one for three years.
They work great with a solar/lithium set up for boondocking.
A negative was the location in the back next to the dinette. I had to really squeeze between the rear dinette table and fridge to sit down.
The second negative was the table. It had a poorly designed bracket attaching it to the wall with a couple of cheap foldable legs. It fell off while I was there and the dealer had trouble reattaching it.
It would have to be redesigned and replaced for my use with a totally different way to attach it and a smaller size so I could access the rear seat. Their floor plan doesn't show the lack of clearance between the table and fridge.
There's a third negative which is also design flaw. The two burner stove is located right next to the bed.
A divider would be necessary to keep splatters away from the bedding and that would cut down on the space for using the burners. It was a firm NO from my wife.
It did have a 100 watt solar panel already installed where the others just had the wiring from the roof for one.
The search continued...
KZ Sportsmen 130 RD - Link
My last and final trip (and choice) was a 370 mile round trip to see the KZ Sportsmen 130 RD. I've now had the 130 RD over three months and have made most of my modifications for boondocking.
We just got back from our first 2,500 mile trip with it.
There's more details but I'll go through why I chose the KZ at the time over the others.
Finally a sink in the bathroom along with a cabinet!. Yes the KZ is the only one I found with a bathroom sink.
Windows! The KZ has five windows. One at both ends of the bed (others did not), A larger one at the dinette, one over the sink (others did not), and a window on the door.
With five windows this one didn't feel like you were stuck inside a box. Note that I like lots of windows but I dislike front windows as they tend to become a water problem down the road at 65 miles per hour.
None of these I've mentioned have front windows.
The dinette table was better. It has a sturdy tubular support and plenty of clearance to get in and out on both sides of the table.
The 12 volt fridge is located under the counter. Not quite as big as the others but still a good size for our use and much larger than we had with our previous camper.
A negative was the tires. It came with cheap $49 imports which came off as soon as I got it home and were replaced with quality tires.
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I did not notice the front 7 pin connection box on the tongue of the others but KZ uses a cheap 99 cent non-waterproof electrical box that's exposed to the weather.
To make it worse, all of the connections are non-waterproof and some are wire nuts. Still nothing I couldn't fix myself.
I changed it before it left my garage again using a proper 7-pin connection box with binding posts for each connection.
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The gas stove is much nicer than the Sun Lite 13 BD and on the opposite side from the bed. There's also more counter space than the others above.
There are two ceiling vents. One in the bathroom over the shower and one in front of the air conditioner. Both can have fans added without removing the vent. See my modifications link below.
All in all this was the best choice for us and we found a dealer (although not close) that did not charge any prep or delivery fees.
You can check out the KZ 130 RD changes and modifications I've done to it so far here.
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