karsten vs. skyline

[Sue]

Randy and everyone,

Would you comment on these two manufacturers? I've heard great things about Karstens, but prefer Skyline's floor plans. Which is better built, has better customer service, and how do they compare pricewise?

Thanks a bunch. I found your book to be quite helpful, by the way.

Sue

[Randy Eaton]

Hello Sue,

It depends on which models you're looking at. For the most part they are rated about the same in quality construction. If you like the floor plans of Skyline I would go with them and choose your sales center carefully and follow my suggestions in my book. Skyline has a good reputation in the industry overall. Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

Randy Eaton

[Joy]

Sue you might want to read Richard's post further down the board. He has had plenty to say about skyline.

[Bill W.]

We purchased our Skyline DW Model #9711 last August and are very pleased with it. All the problems we have had have been small (normal for a new home) and corrected by the dealer very quickly. There habve been no major problems. The most important thing to do is find a quality dealer. That makes the difference between big problems (Richard's Story) and having a good experience with your new home. Which ever home you deside on make sure the subfloor is made of T&G plywood. Depending on the area you live, we live in So. Cal. Zone-2, Choose either 2X4 or 2X6 exterior walls. We choose the 2X4 with an R Value of 11 and a ceiling value of R-22. Our gas bill for Jan. was $36 and electric was #$34. This is about 1/2 less than in the condo we rented before. If you live in a colder area you will automatically get the Zone 3 Insulation package. One reason we decided against Karsten is it would have been shipped over 400 miles to us while Skyline is only 60 miles from us. Besides we liked the Skyline floorplan better. Good luck with either one you choose.
Bill W.

[Troy]

Some of the Skylines from the Halstead Ks plant seem to be built pretty good. We are in Nebraska. We have been considering either a Skyline, Patriot or Highland, but Skyline raised the base prices of their homes in this area by over 15%, I haven't seen any 2002's so I don't know if there has been a dramatic quality improvement. Does anyone know why such an outrageous price increase?

[KD]

RANDY,

READ YOUR BOOK, VERY IMPRESSIVE.

[Sandy]

Hey Bill,
We are also in So. Cal and had our home upgraded to R-38 in the ceiling, R-19 in the floor and R-22 in the walls and our gas and electric bills are even less then yours monthly. We have only used our heater a handful of times all thru the winter and it amazes friends and family that use their heaters everyday. Plus in the summertime our house stays much cooler so we dont have to use the A/C much.