I plan to buy a 2008 Cameo F35SB3.  I have a few questions:
 
1)	Now that you've owned yours for awhile, are you happy with the quality and the floorplan?  Anything to beware of?

If you’ve read my whole discussion of the purchase, changes and warranty problems, you know we’ve owned the Cameo since April 18, 2007. We are fulltime RV people so have been in this unit since purchased. It is everything we had hoped it would be and yes, the floor plan is perfect for us. I’m not sure I would choose this floor plan, however, if I was only a part time RV user. Anything to beware of … see below.
 
2)	Are there any options that you definitely recommend (or suggest to avoid)?

I’ve included the list of options we got in my description of the purchase. I would repeat all those options with the exception of the central vacuum. It was about $425 option in the 2007 and not worth $50 in my opinion. The CV option is worth it but the Dirt Devil brand is a piece of junk.  I was warned before the purchase that it would not work on pet hair, it has a “rug rat” and we are on our second one, it works only marginally. The machine makes a gawd-awful noise where you almost need hearing protectors. You might try to get the Intervac brand installed, it’s nice and quiet. Intervac makes a battery powered power head for about $180 which we will probably purchase to make this Dirt Devil work. That mean we have nearly $600 invested in a central vacuum system and hope it will work as well as the $60 vacuum we owned for our King of the Road.    
 
I'm trying to decide whether to get dual pane windows and astrofoil.  I'll only be a part-timer and won't likely be doing cold weather camping, but would like to keep the rig cool in summer and reduce noise.  Are these options worthwhile in your opinion for my application?

I did not purchase the dual pane for two reasons, the factory rep said we would not need them if we bought the Astrofoil and dual pane windows would have added another 300 – 400 lbs. We are right at the maximum weight with our one ton Dodge. If you can afford the weight and the price tag for the dual pane windows, I’d say go for it.

There are a couple of options we should have purchased. We should have upgraded to the better microwave/convection oven and a burner top without the oven. Also, individually controlled front jacks. You should also have dimmer switches installed for the overhead lights over the headboard of the bed. Finally, have a 110 electrical outlet installed in the bathroom on a separate circuit specifically for a space heater in the bathroom to provide electric heat in the bathroom. You’ll see I did both of these myself in the “changes” section.
 
3)	Has Carriage (the company) been helpful in resolving any problems?

OK … hard for me to say. You’ve read our warranty problems, they cost me over $400 for repairs that would have been free (I assume) had I taken the trailer back to a dealer which would have cost me at least two days travel time and at least $300 in diesel. I think, if you follow their protocol of having the repair man call Carriage for permission to repair, you would be out a minimal amount. Note, both my warranty repairs were with the Suburban brand water heater and furnace. 

We did not want to buy the Cameo brand … it is now Carriage’s entry level fifth wheel but Carriage did not offer the SB3 floor plan in any other unit and it’s the SB3 floor plan that we HAD to have. The Cameo is basically half the price of the Carriage model so I believe you should expect the Carriage model to have twice the quality in one way or another. For example, the faucets in the Cameo are entry level quality; the handle on the kitchen faucet has stripped and currently held on by epoxy. The carpet is entry level, about 3 threads to the inch and might last a couple of years at the most and not sure it will survive a shampoo. The ceiling is the same ceiling found in $20,000 units, we tried to upgrade but Carriage refused. On the other hand, I hope the undercarriage is quality and it’s only the cosmetic stuff which is entry level and can be slowly replaced. At the same time, if you are considering the Carriage model, I would hope all the fixtures AND the frame are far better quality. You should certainly get something for twice the price.
 
4)	Have you had any problems with the TowMaxx tires?

We have only about 1,500 miles on those tires and no problems so far. We plan a trip in December/January where we will put about 4,000 miles during the trip. I hope they hold up. I had enough problems with tires on the King of the Road.

Good luck with your purchase.

Gary’s reply: BTW - You said you wouldn't get this floorplan if you were only a part timer?  Why is that (cost or size, I assume)?   Also, did you notice any other 5th wheel in the Cameo's price range that did not have the "cheap" faucets, carpet and other cosmetic stuff?  I also like the Hitchhiker but there are no dealers close by.

I might not choose the SB3 floor plan for a part time RV because it has three separate living areas. Everything in an RV should be multipurpose especially for the part time traveler. Three separate living areas are not multipurpose. Yet, the three separate living areas are precisely the reason why this floor plan was so attractive to us.

No, for the Cameo price range, I don’t think there is any other brand which is higher quality. Additionally, I think there are more expensive brands with the same medium quality appliances.