Andrea,

A couple to consider, both of which would be good for full-timing plus colder climates.  The first would be DRV Suites out of Howe, Indiana that makes the Elite Suites, Mobile Suites, Tradition and soon to be toy hauler called the Full House.  If looking at used models from DRV, look also at Select Suites, although they have discontinued that model.  They make up to 43' models.

There are a number of us here that have the DRV Suites products, including my wife, Jo, and I.  Here is a link to the DRV Suites website and links to two different owner's groups forums.

DRV Suites Website

Suites Owners International Travel Club (SOITC)

5th Wheel Forums

(With 5th Wheel Forums, you'll need to scroll down the page to fine the reference to Elite, Mobile, and Select Suites.  It also refers to it formerly being Doubletree RV.)

Another fifth wheel company is New Horizons, which is made in Kansas.  That brand is one where you order directly from the factory and is custom built.  I don't think they have any dealers anywhere.

Jack Mayer here on RV Dreams has one of the New Horizons.  Jack's profile is at this link:

Jack Mayer's Profile

Below are links to the New Horizons RV website and the New Horizons forums on IRV2.

New Horizons RV

New Horizons Forum on IRV2

Welcome to the RV Dreams forums, and good luck with the research and planning.  Feel free to ask questions and make comments.  We all tend to learn from each other.

Terry

Andrea,

While the hydraulic slide is what I preferred as well, there are issues with them as well.  Our unit is a 38TKSB3 with the "SB" meaning "Side Bathroom."  In the side bathroom units of the later DRV products, to make both sides of that long bedroom/washer dryer slide work right, they put in a "flow diverter."  We are cautioned to always allow the slide operation to be fully completed without interrupting the travel in or out.  I'm not aware of what it is with the flow diverter that is an issue with those.

They also tell us to operate our three slides in a certain sequence, both in and out, so as to help reduce air bubbles in the hydraulic lines.  DRV Suites has gone back to electric slides for the bedroom, I think. 

The hydraulic also lets us have the Level-Up system which are four hydraulic cylinders placed before and behind the axles in addition to the two at the front of the coach.  Those are well worth the price of an option, if it is still an option.  Some may have gone to "standard" with that feature.

Something I should have mentioned about forums, though.  It is the very nature of such things to attract people who are looking for a solution for a problem.  Keep in mind that while it may appear that a brand/model seems to have lot of issue, there are probably a lot more owners who aren't having problems.  For instance, on the DRV forums, there are likely up to 1500 "registered" participants, but there have been more than 6000 DRV products built over the years.

When dealing with the owners on RV owner's forums, I tend to ask the question, "If you were buying another RV today, would you buy the same brand/model that you have now?"  With the DRV's, I know that some folks have had problems they no longer wanted to deal with, but a large number of folks have bought the same brand more than once.

Also, keep in mind that most, if not all, forums have the options of "private messaging."  Use that feature if you want to ask questions of a particular person, especially if you think you want some privacy.

Terry