First time camper purchase - Thoughts on Brinkley?

[Dawg Water]

Hey Gang, was lucky enough to finally join the group with my 2026 F250 Tremor purchase last week. My wife, two young kids, and two pups are looking to get a camper in the next few months. Seems like Brinkleys are highly thought of and we are looking at purchasing their new 2027 I 290 Model from Bish. Brinkley I 290 MSRP is $95k but Bish price is considerably less. We really have to have a King bed and bunkhouse for the kids and my wife and I. Other than that we’ve been pretty open to layouts.

Does anyone have a Brinkley or similar cost camper that could provide a perspective on what they’ve enjoyed or what they wish they did differently?

 

[mrmag00]

Have a buddy with a Brinkley had it about a year, they’ve had a couple of little issues a tank valve issue and a water leak. All of these rigs have issues it’s a house on wheels you pull down the road.

 

[Hatbox]

We purchased an I275 in April. This is our first travel trailer and we had put a lot of research and company reviews into our determination.

I'll be straight forward, 90% of the trailers out there are Lippert frames with various different names. They are all going to have issues, just some have less than others. Brinkley appears to be in the "less than others" category, but they aren't flawless.

Pricing I"ve found is a made up number. We got about $25k off ours and that was in the spring. I would think with us entering fall, you could do even better.

We have towed about 3,000 miles this year to Acadia National Park, Alleghany National Forest, Mammoth Cave National Park, and hitting Shenandoah National Park later this month.

We have been lucky enough to have no current issues. The tankless water heater gets finicky, but often thats due to the lack of water pressure at campgrounds. The roof caulking split after some really bad bumpy roads in Rhode Island, but that was considered a "maintenance item" and was easily fixed. While Brinkley has rain sensing vent covers, get yourself some maxxair covers or else you'll be screwed when it rains but need air movement. I did have a screw shear off on the slide, likely due to vibration as well in Rhode Island, just looks to be a high stress point. After talking to some mobile RV techs, the recommendation was to seal that one off and just drill another in. Brinkley sent me like 20 screws, and that was fixed.

The F350 6.7HO doesn't even notice the trailer is back there. I do tend to go heavy on tongue weight because the I275 is a rear kitchen model, so it does love to tail wag if you don't have weight up front. With your F250, the I290 is going to take a decent amount of your payload, thats actually why I went with the F350 instead. You'll have to consider that depending on how much you load the truck up as well. I personally throw everything including the kitchen sink in the bed, so the extra payload works.

Feel free to DM me if you have any Brinkley specific questions.

 

[soulezoo]

Hello!
As it happens, I bought a Brinkley I275 a year ago. Overall, I have been very happy with it. (As an aside, I purchased through Bish's as well, they treated me very well through the process- so I am happy with them. It's really hard for me to praise dealerships at all, but they deserve it)
As with anything, there's going to be plusses and minuses.
That said, as with any RV, they all use industry suppliers that are common. For example, Dometic, Suburban, Norcold, BAL, Lippert, and ect. Brinkley uses a lot of Lippert and Furrion in their builds. So I will allow the reader to decide the merits and quality of those items and I'll speak to just Brinkley specific.
One thing though, that Furrion chill cube 18k btu air conditioner is terrific! From soft start and variable output to quiet and able to run through the inverter on battery, it's the best on the market IMO.
Plumbing is about as good as it gets. Many RV manufacturers have substandard to miserable plumbing. My last coach was a Montana 5th wheel. It developed several leaks from bad plumbing practices. Live and learn.
Slide styles. Brinkley uses a through frame rack and pinion style slide mechanism. This is what you want. Always avoid cable driven or Swintech. Total garbage. I won’t go into why.
Brinkley will give you 30lb propane tanks. Many are just 20.
Inside build quality is about a 8.5/10. Solid surface counters in the kitchen are great, but the thermofoil tops in the bathroom merit a down thumb. I wish for more clothes closet space in the bedroom. The underneath the bed storage is more novelty than practical.
I have a projector for a TV. Hate it. Brinkley has moved away from that due to all the complaints. If you're tech savvy you can make it work and it does have some upside, but I still think it's not user friendly. If you have Wi-Fi, it works best with that connection.
The memory foam mattress they provided is great. On the firm side but far better than the standard RV mattresses that put springs in your back.
Suspension is Road Armor shackles on leaf springs. Not the best, not the worst.
Much of the other furniture and cabinets are good, not the best, not the worst.
There's much to praise about Brinkley and they are innovative, but they are not life changing either.
Negatives: I mentioned the projector. I believe the I295 now uses a regular TV, so less an issue. The industry has mostly moved to tankless water heater away from tanks. I do not like tankless. They waste a lot of water. Not a good thing if you're dry camping/boondocking.
The refrigerator is 12v Furrion. Some prefer the 3 way fridge for boondocking, but with the solar and a big lithium battery, I have no issues.

On edit: I actually really like the 12v fridge over the three way. Temps are more consistent, more room inside for same floor space and I like solar over propane and no issues having to turn off fridge when traveling. I know many people keep the propane on when traveling, but you're not supposed to for fire safety reasons. When it's hot outside, evaporative systems sometimes can't keep up and you don't maintain temperature. And 12v doesn't take 24-36 hours to reach temp. Also, on the water heater with tanks, if you're plugged into shore power, electric heat is better than using your propane.

 

[Hatbox]

Hello!
As it happens, I bought a Brinkley I275 a year ago. Overall, I have been very happy with it. (As an aside, I purchased through Bish's as well, they treated me very well through the process- so I am happy with them. It's really hard for me to praise dealerships at all, but they deserve it)
As with anything, there's going to be plusses and minuses.
That said, as with any RV, they all use industry suppliers that are common. For example, Dometic, Suburban, Norcold, BAL, Lippert, and ect. Brinkley uses a lot of Lippert and Furrion in their builds. So I will allow the reader to decide the merits and quality of those items and I'll speak to just Brinkley specific.
One thing though, that Furrion chill cube 18k btu air conditioner is terrific! From soft start and variable output to quiet and able to run through the inverter on battery, it's the best on the market IMO.
Plumbing is about as good as it gets. Many RV manufacturers have substandard to miserable plumbing. My last coach was a Montana 5th wheel. It developed several leaks from bad plumbing practices. Live and learn.
Slide styles. Brinkley uses a through frame rack and pinion style slide mechanism. This is what you want. Always avoid cable driven or Swintech. Total garbage. I won’t go into why.
Brinkley will give you 30lb propane tanks. Many are just 20.
Inside build quality is about a 8.5/10. Solid surface counters in the kitchen are great, but the foil tops in the bathroom merit a down thumb. I wish for more clothes closet space in the bedroom. The underneath the bed storage is more novelty than practical.
I have a projector for a TV. Hate it. Brinkley has moved away from that due to all the complaints. If you're tech savvy you can make it work and it does have some upside, but I still think it's not user friendly. If you have Wi-Fi, it works best with that connection.
The memory foam mattress they provided is great. On the firm side but far better than the standard RV mattresses that put springs in your back.
Suspension is Road Armor shackles on leaf springs. Not the best, not the worst.
Much of the other furniture and cabinets are good, not the best, not the worst.
There's much to praise about Brinkley and they are innovative, but they are not life changing either.
Negatives: I mentioned the projector. I believe the I295 now uses a regular TV, so less an issue. The industry has mostly moved to tankless water heater away from tanks. I do not like tankless. They waste a lot of water. Not a good thing if you're dry camping/boondocking.
The refrigerator is 12v Furrion. Some prefer the 3 way fridge for boondocking, but with the solar and a big lithium battery, I have no issues.

I intentionally got the 2026 to get the TV and fireplace standard haha.

I agree with pretty much everything you have here. I will say I do not like greasing wet bolts. haha. I will also say that the under bed storage can work, once you get rid of those chairs that come with the trailer, my goodness do they take up too much space. We got little stools and that opened that entire area up.

2027 got self leveling...really unhappy to have missed that.

 

[soulezoo]

Hello!
As it happens, I bought a Brinkley I275 a year ago. Overall, I have been very happy with it. (As an aside, I purchased through Bish's as well, they treated me very well through the process- so I am happy with them. It's really hard for me to praise dealerships at all, but they deserve it)
As with anything, there's going to be plusses and minuses.
That said, as with any RV, they all use industry suppliers that are common. For example, Dometic, Suburban, Norcold, BAL, Lippert, and ect. Brinkley uses a lot of Lippert and Furrion in their builds. So I will allow the reader to decide the merits and quality of those items and I'll speak to just Brinkley specific.
One thing though, that Furrion chill cube 18k btu air conditioner is terrific! From soft start and variable output to quiet and able to run through the inverter on battery, it's the best on the market IMO.
Plumbing is about as good as it gets. Many RV manufacturers have substandard to miserable plumbing. My last coach was a Montana 5th wheel. It developed several leaks from bad plumbing practices. Live and learn.
Slide styles. Brinkley uses a through frame rack and pinion style slide mechanism. This is what you want. Always avoid cable driven or Swintech. Total garbage. I won’t go into why.
Brinkley will give you 30lb propane tanks. Many are just 20.
Inside build quality is about a 8.5/10. Solid surface counters in the kitchen are great, but the foil tops in the bathroom merit a down thumb. I wish for more clothes closet space in the bedroom. The underneath the bed storage is more novelty than practical.
I have a projector for a TV. Hate it. Brinkley has moved away from that due to all the complaints. If you're tech savvy you can make it work and it does have some upside, but I still think it's not user friendly. If you have Wi-Fi, it works best with that connection.
The memory foam mattress they provided is great. On the firm side but far better than the standard RV mattresses that put springs in your back.
Suspension is Road Armor shackles on leaf springs. Not the best, not the worst.
Much of the other furniture and cabinets are good, not the best, not the worst.
There's much to praise about Brinkley and they are innovative, but they are not life changing either.
Negatives: I mentioned the projector. I believe the I295 now uses a regular TV, so less an issue. The industry has mostly moved to tankless water heater away from tanks. I do not like tankless. They waste a lot of water. Not a good thing if you're dry camping/boondocking.
The refrigerator is 12v Furrion. Some prefer the 3 way fridge for boondocking, but with the solar and a big lithium battery, I have no issues.

I intentionally got the 2026 to get the TV and fireplace standard haha.

I agree with pretty much everything you have here. I will say I do not like greasing wet bolts. haha. I will also say that the under bed storage can work, once you get rid of those chairs that come with the trailer, my goodness do they take up too much space. We got little stools and that opened that entire area up.

2027 got self leveling...really unhappy to have missed that.

Yeah... me too on self leveling. Jealous on the TV and fireplace... that accordion table is also nice.
At least Brinkley listened to their customers and made the changes. Many companies will not.
I liked the merch though.

 

[Moe32]

We bought the I294 back in March and love it!! So far, zero issues. We were coming from a transcend, so this was a big upgrade for us.

I just saw the other day they came out with the I290 and I’m a little jealous. It’s very similar to the 294, but with some pretty nice upgrades. L shaped sofa, no giant doors for the bunks, etc.

I will say this though, if y’all are not dead set on a 290 I bet you could get a 294 for a steal right now since they are “dealer stock only”. My guess is they will want to move them fast since they are being replaced by the 290. If you go that route I wouldn’t settle on anything less than 40% off msrp. We were able to get 30% off on ours back in March. Either way you go, I would get quotes from multiple dealers and have them fight for your business.

I would also get a pre purchase inspection. These are nice units and built well, but if the inspector does find anything it puts you in the front of their service department line to get it fixed. They want to get that unit sold and out of there. If you don’t, and happen to find a few issues on your first outing, it may be a while before they can fit you in for the work.

Also, they call them king beds, but they aren’t “true” residential king beds in these things. 66x80, and I think a residential is around 75x80.



Overall these are very nice rigs and would not hesitate to buy it again. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

 

[Dawg Water]

We bought the I294 back in March and love it!! So far, zero issues. We were coming from a transcend, so this was a big upgrade for us.

I just saw the other day they came out with the I290 and I’m a little jealous. It’s very similar to the 294, but with some pretty nice upgrades. L shaped sofa, no giant doors for the bunks, etc.

I will say this though, if y’all are not dead set on a 290 I bet you could get a 294 for a steal right now since they are “dealer stock only”. My guess is they will want to move them fast since they are being replaced by the 290. If you go that route I wouldn’t settle on anything less than 40% off msrp. We were able to get 30% off on ours back in March. Either way you go, I would get quotes from multiple dealers and have them fight for your business.

I would also get a pre purchase inspection. These are nice units and built well, but if the inspector does find anything it puts you in the front of their service department line to get it fixed. They want to get that unit sold and out of there. If you don’t, and happen to find a few issues on your first outing, it may be a while before they can fit you in for the work.

Also, they call them king beds, but they aren’t “true” residential king beds in these things. 66x80, and I think a residential is around 75x80.



Overall these are very nice rigs and would not hesitate to buy it again. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Thanks man! Thats good info. I told my wife we should look at the 294s but she’s dead set on the 290 due to the couch. I agree with you though.

 

[Dawg Water]

We purchased an I275 in April. This is our first travel trailer and we had put a lot of research and company reviews into our determination.

I'll be straight forward, 90% of the trailers out there are Lippert frames with various different names. They are all going to have issues, just some have less than others. Brinkley appears to be in the "less than others" category, but they aren't flawless.

Pricing I"ve found is a made up number. We got about $25k off ours and that was in the spring. I would think with us entering fall, you could do even better.

We have towed about 3,000 miles this year to Acadia National Park, Alleghany National Forest, Mammoth Cave National Park, and hitting Shenandoah National Park later this month.

We have been lucky enough to have no current issues. The tankless water heater gets finicky, but often thats due to the lack of water pressure at campgrounds. The roof caulking split after some really bad bumpy roads in Rhode Island, but that was considered a "maintenance item" and was easily fixed. While Brinkley has rain sensing vent covers, get yourself some maxxair covers or else you'll be screwed when it rains but need air movement. I did have a screw shear off on the slide, likely due to vibration as well in Rhode Island, just looks to be a high stress point. After talking to some mobile RV techs, the recommendation was to seal that one off and just drill another in. Brinkley sent me like 20 screws, and that was fixed.

The F350 6.7HO doesn't even notice the trailer is back there. I do tend to go heavy on tongue weight because the I275 is a rear kitchen model, so it does love to tail wag if you don't have weight up front. With your F250, the I290 is going to take a decent amount of your payload, thats actually why I went with the F350 instead. You'll have to consider that depending on how much you load the truck up as well. I personally throw everything including the kitchen sink in the bed, so the extra payload works.

Feel free to DM me if you have any Brinkley specific questions.

Quick question on the payload, the 250 tremor and 350 tremor have the same payload capacity. I understand from the legal sticker notice we have to say it’s different but it’s not really right? Just confirming you have the same understanding.

 

[Phillbo]

F250 Tremor rear end is the same as an F350.

 

[mattagc]

There’s a few posts on the are they the same or not, and I believe the consensus is they are functionally the same.

The issue comes in with that little sticker, because it says what you can legally carry. If something goes wrong, and you’re over that sticker, what’s the repercussions, will insurance help you or wash their hands of you, etc.

All depends on your comfort level with that stuff. Hell, look at how much our numbers have been downgraded from a non-Tremor. Seems to be definitely erring on the side of Ford covering their asses.

Would be nice if there was someway to recertify load numbers after upgrades.