We have spent an embarrassing number of evenings watching RV walkthrough videos. When you are planning to live in a fifth wheel full time, research is easy to justify, and YouTube makes it endless. But there is only so much you can learn from someone else's camera. So we went RV shopping in person, with four rigs on the list: the Alliance Paradigm 295MK and 340RL, and the Brinkley Model Z 2900 and 3100. The question we carried through every door: could we actually live here, both of us, all year?
Alliance Paradigm 295MK
We started with the Alliance Paradigm 295MK, the mid-kitchen floor plan. On paper the middle kitchen sounds like a compromise, but standing in it, the layout works: the kitchen becomes its own zone instead of sharing space with the living area. The tradeoff is that every zone is a little smaller, and we kept asking ourselves where all of our stuff would actually go. Storage looks infinite until you mentally unpack a whole house into it.
Alliance Paradigm 340RL
Next up was the 340RL, the rear living version. This is the classic full-timer layout: couches and windows at the back, kitchen in the middle, bedroom up front. It immediately felt more open than the 295MK, and the rear living area is the kind of space you could sit in every evening without feeling like you are camping. The extra length is the cost. A bigger rig means fewer campgrounds fit you, and we had just enough self-awareness to know we had never towed anything this size.
Brinkley Model Z 2900
Then we crossed the lot to Brinkley, starting with the Model Z 2900, the smallest of the Model Z line. Brinkley is the newer brand (it launched in 2022 in Goshen, Indiana, while Alliance started in Elkhart in 2019), and it shows in a good way: the fit and finish felt a step above what we had been touring, and small details (the entry, the hardware, the way things latch) read as designed rather than assembled. In the 2900 the question was purely size. It was comfortable for a weekend. Two adults, two remote jobs, and every possession we own is a different math problem.
Brinkley Model Z 3100
The Model Z 3100 took the same build quality and added the room the 2900 was missing. Walking through it right after the Alliances made the comparison stark. The Alliance floor plans are smart, and on price the two brands are close enough that it depends on which floor plans you line up. But the Brinkley felt like the more finished product, and both of us kept coming back to that. We both sat on different couches and tried out different seats, and Nathan opened up the basement doors. Neither of us wanted to leave.
So, Alliance or Brinkley?
We walked in expecting the decision to get easier once we saw everything in person. It got harder. The Alliance Paradigms won on layout options, the Brinkleys won on quality and feel, and we left the dealership without signing anything, which took more restraint than we would like to admit. What the visit really did was sharpen the list: we now know we need a real workspace, more storage than we think, and a living area we will not resent in month six. The rig that checks every box might not be any of these four, and that is a problem for a future video.
Brinkley vs Alliance: what decided it for us
If you landed here searching Brinkley vs Alliance, here's how it ended: we bought a Brinkley. Not one of the two in this video, though. We got as far as nearly ordering a Model Z 3100, and then Brinkley released the Model Z 3515, a floor plan with a dedicated office in the back. We switched the order, and that rig has been our full-time home ever since. The longer story is in how we ended up living in an RV.
Rewatching this tour, you can see the decision starting to form. Here's what we actually said and saw on the lot:
The Brinkleys felt better built to us. A minute into the 2900, we were already saying we liked the quality better than what we'd just toured. Things close with magnets, and the materials felt like they'd last. Even at the first dealer, where the Brinkleys on the lot were bigger than we wanted, we left thinking the quality was pretty good.
The Alliances had some great layout ideas. The 295MK had a spot where we figured we could fit two desks. The 340RL had a big bathroom, a window behind the stove, a deep hallway closet, and hookups for a washer and dryer. The 295MK bathroom, on the other hand, was so tight that it got compared to an airplane bathroom.
Size is what pushed us off the 340RL. We called it more than we needed, more of a second RV than a first one, and the extra three feet over a 310RL was something we'd be towing everywhere. (We then ended up in a 40-foot Brinkley, so take our size discipline with a grain of salt.)
Two people working from home was the real test. The plan was always to trade a couch for desks. The 3100 came with a desk, but it was too tight for both of us to work at once, and that's the exact problem the 3515's back office solved.
We noticed some Brinkley trade-offs and decided we could live with them: a three-burner stove instead of four, a smaller oven and fridge in the 2900, and a TV that drops into a pocket behind the fireplace. We worried things would fall in there until we got a closer look in the 3100. The 2900 also had two A/C units where we thought a lot of Alliances had three, but we were planning to stay out of the hottest places anyway.
One thing this video can't tell you is how either brand treats you after you sign. Our Brinkley's first year included a leveling jack that started leaking three months in and a growing fix-it list, and also a trip to the Brinkley factory where most of that list got handled. It's all in our Model Z 3515 issues check-in. We've never owned an Alliance, so we can't compare their service, and we'd be making it up if we tried.
Brinkley vs Alliance side by side
| Brinkley Model Z | Alliance Paradigm | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What we walked through | 2900 and 3100 | 295MK (a 2023 unit) and 340RL | Our tour |
| Build, first impression | Liked the quality better; things close with magnets | Liked the layouts; noticed a couple of things coming loose on the 340RL we saw | Our tour |
| Kitchen | Three-burner stove; smaller oven and fridge in the 2900 | Dishwasher in both; window behind the stove in the 340RL | Our tour |
| Room for two to work | 3100 has a built-in desk, too tight for both of us | 295MK had a space we thought could fit two desks | Our tour |
| Air conditioning | Two units in the 2900 | Our impression: many have three (we didn't count) | Our tour |
| Length of the models we toured | 2900: 32' 11"; 3100: 34' 11" | 340RL: 37' 10" (295MK no longer listed) | Manufacturer sites |
| Base and structural warranty | 1-year transferable limited base, 3-year limited structural, "warrantied for full-time RVing" | "Typically" a 1-year limited base and a 3-year limited structural; full terms in the Owner's Guide | Manufacturer sites |
| Suspension | CURT Touring Coil Suspension (TCS) | Paradigm TCS (Touring Coil Suspension) | Manufacturer sites |
| Where it's built | Goshen, Indiana (we've toured the factory) | Elkhart, Indiana | Our visit / RV PRO |
| Brand launched | 2022 | 2019 | RV PRO, Alliance |
| What we bought | Model Z 3515 (39' 11") | Nothing | Us |
Manufacturer rows come from brinkleyrv.com and alliancerv.com, checked in October 2026. They describe current models, not the units we toured in 2024, so check the spec sheet for the year you're shopping.
Brinkley vs Alliance FAQ
Did you end up buying a Brinkley or an Alliance?
A Brinkley. We nearly ordered the Model Z 3100 from this video, then Brinkley released the Model Z 3515 with an office in the back, and we switched. It has been our full-time home since. Here's our Brinkley Model Z 3515.
Why did you choose Brinkley over Alliance?
In person, the Brinkleys felt better built to us, and the 3515 floor plan gave both of us a place to work. That's our read on the specific units we walked through in 2024, not a lab test. The Alliances had a lot going for them, especially the 340RL's bathroom and storage.
How do the Brinkley and Alliance warranties compare?
On their own websites (checked October 2026), both brands list a 1-year limited base warranty and a 3-year limited structural warranty. Brinkley's Model Z page also lists a limited lifetime roof membrane warranty and says the Model Z is warrantied for full-time RVing. Alliance says the full terms are in each model's Owner's Guide. Read the actual documents for the model year you're buying.
Which is longer, the Brinkley Model Z 3100 or the Alliance Paradigm 340RL?
The 340RL. Alliance lists the current 340RL at 37' 10", and Brinkley lists the Model Z 3100 at 34' 11". For scale, Brinkley lists our Model Z 3515 at 39' 11".
If you are shopping the same brands, watch the full walkthroughs on YouTube. We also send a short weekly newsletter about where we are and what broke this week. The signup form is on our newsletter page.