Planning on fultime RVing and workamping - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Planning on fultime RVing and workamping

gdhill · RV-Dreams Family Member

Me and my wife are planning on selling our houses and traveling and for me working since she is retired and I am not. We plan on buying a fifth wheel and probably a ford f350. I have been researching trucks and assume a 350 will be enough to pull the fifth wheel. I am looking for any feedback on the subject and if this is better than a RV and towing a second vehicle. Since I have to earn at least a bit of money, how easy is it to find work. I have a class a cdl with two years over the road experience however; I was a warehouse manager for 23 years. We both like traveling and have done quite a bit of it. This forum was exactly what I was looking for and look forward to any input you can provide. I have so many questions I'll leave it at this for now. Our plans are for spring 2013 to hit the road. Thanks for all your help. Gary

PIEERE · RV-Dreams Family Member

Always buy more truck than trailer---fiver and go diesel; even if you get a diesel Class A and a toad. The only thing with work camping; just remember the boss is the boss and wants things done their way. Don't try to change their way of doing things. Workamper News is the place to look for more of the paying type jobs; but their is a yearly service fee. Work for Rvers is free but more volunteer jobs. Happy Vagabonds is another free site. And welocome to the best forum on the web. Ask ?'s and we can give you a variety options. Pieere

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Gary,

Welcome to the RV Dreams forums. If you have questions, you couldn't find a better place to ask them. There is a lot of knowledge in the minds of the participants here and they are really friendly and helpful as well. We do run across an occasional "stinker," but for the most part, you won't have any problems.

There are no "dumb" questions except those that aren't asked in order to get an answer, so fire away. You will find that in addition to answers to questions, you may also get alternate suggestions as well.

As for truck sizes, an F350 (preferably a dually) will tow most fifth wheels without any trouble until you start getting into the really heavy trailers. If you look at my signature, you'll see an F450 with a 2010 Mobile Suites. Our Mobile Suites has a GVWR of 18,500 lbs, so I insisted on an F450 because we plan to handle mountain passes on occasion.

I really suggest finding a trailer first before purchasing a truck, if you don't already have a truck. I've known of some folks who tried to pull their fifth wheels/travel trailers with 350/3500 series trucks that had problems "safely" handling them. I remember one that traded up to an MDT because he couldn't get stopped in time at a traffic light, even though he really had the room to do so.

Good luck with the research and planning, and enjoy the company of your new RV "family."

Terry

gdhill · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you for the feedback so far and will take it all in. My wife is set on a Holiday rambler fifth wheel and I believe it is around 17000 lbs. Diesel is what I would buy and expect to travel to Alaska and do quite a bit of mountain driving so thanks Terry and Jo. Thanks Pieere for the advice and I will look into workamper news.

RVRon · RV-Dreams Family Member

Welcome to the forum, Gary! Although we're motorhome people, I'd agree with Pierre... buy a bigger truck than you need to haul the 5th wheel. You'll never regret having more truck but not having enough could be a huge safety risk!

As for the workamping our plan is to work or volunteer 6 months out of the year. So far we have had no problem finding opportunities but then we're not looking for income - just trade for a campsite. A subscription to Workamper News is worth it even if it's to only give you an idea of what is available out there. Howard and Linda (founders of this website) are part of their concierge program so contact them before you join WKN. We actually got our first 2 positions just by talking to friends and folks at campgrounds where we stayed.

Good luck!

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Gary,

One more thing I forgot to mention. Truck manufacturers (and dealers) like to talk about their truck's towing weight. Be careful that you look at GCVW (Gross Combined Vehicular Weight) instead of towing weight.

Some manufacturers used to now even list their truck's GCVW in their brochures. They may be better now, but back in 2008 and 2009 when I was looking, only Ford did.

If I was at full towing weight on my F450, which is 24,600 lbs, I would be very close to my GCVW, which is only 33,000 lbs. So, with GCVW in mind, you want to know the GVWR of both vehicles to be right with weights.

Like they say, it is better to have too much truck than too little. But, you have a CDL, so you know that.

Terry

Racerguy · RV-Dreams Family Member

For what it's worth I towed a 15,000lb fifth wheel with an 08 1 ton dually Dodge.It handled it fine in the Mountains going up and down and stopping on short notice(idiot drivers),but in my opinion I would not pull any more than that.I've seen many Mobile Suites being pulled by trucks just like I had and I always wondered how they managed.I wouldn't pull that much with a one ton.Long answer short in my opinion I feel 15,000 is max for most 1 tons depending on year and make.Do your homework.

gdhill · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Ron and Terry for the feedback. I will pay very close attention to gcvw ratings. My wife will find the fifth wheel she likes and go from there. Workamper news should be what I need for lining up work depending on where we are going. She wants to start in Alaska somewhere like Skagway for next summer. Wonder what the roads are like in Canada to get there. We rented an RV when we were up there and the frost heave was horrible for driving. I guess there is a fairy for an alternative route but it is rather expensive. Thanks and if you think of other things to consider let me know. Thanks Gary

gdhill · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks racerguy, will see what she settles on and may think about a diesel 450.

gdhill · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Terry, do you know some reliable manufacturers? She is going by a friend that bought one and she loves it. Actually they are on their way to Maine right now in her rig. Any help would be appreciated and it will give me time to check them out. Thanks Gary

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Gary,

I think the list of reliable manufacturers is pretty long, and the biggest limiting factor may be price. For instance, New Horizons is probably the most expensive fifth wheel since it is pretty much a custom build. There are no New Horizons dealerships, so their website or a visit to their factory are the most common ways to see them, unless one can find an owner that will show theirs. (Jack Mayer and his wife are selling theirs to buy another, so you might check out the "Classified" category for a post by him advertising his for sale.)

Next in line, pricewise, would probably be the DRV Suites models. Our Mobile Suites is a mid-range DRV Suites model. There are dealers around the country for DRV Suites. One here in Oklahome called Rolling Retreats deals with both new and used DRV Suites models. They got their start by buying used DRV's at auction after they were repossessed.

While I'm not really knowledgeable about a lot of the other brands, others to consider that I think are quality are models made by Keystone and Open Range. (Those comments are based on my researching back in 2008 and 2009)

If you can find a good used Carriage product, those are quality as well. While the company went out of business, most of the internal components and appliances would still have support in the way of parts available. Body and trim parts would likely be scarce though.

If you would pose your questions in the "Buying an RV" category, you will likely get a lot more recommendations. In honesty, there is no way for me to be the judge on all the brands.

If you are considering used as well as new, PPL Motorhomes in Texas gets a lot of good reviews from folks on the forums. I think they sell all kinds of RV, not just motorhomes.

Good luck with the research and make sure that the two of you look at a lot of RV's because one person's opinion (even mine) of the quality of a product is sometimes biased by what that one person owns.

Terry

gdhill · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks Terry, I seem to have a lot of research to do and will take your suggestions and advice. As I said my wife is in maine right now with a friend of hers and she has a holiday rambler presidential. If she likes it I will get into the nuts and bolts of it. Keystone makes the Denali doesn't it? It's a year away and I think this is going to be a tight schedule the way it looks. We are determined to do it though and look forward to the lifestyle.

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

Excel is another great 5'er. When we move to another 5'er from our Carrilite, my vote will be for an Excel model somewhere in the 34' size. Of course my vote can be veto'ed.

gdhill · RV-Dreams Family Member

I look at the excel and carriage as well as the keystone. She wants a 5'er to be 34 to 38 feet since we will be doing it fultime. I really appreciate the feedback. Thanks Gary

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

Another one I would consider, but am personally unsure of for fulltiming is a Jayco Designer/Pinnacle series.
My question is the transfer of heat and cold thru the aluminum studs vs the wood that helps insulate but can have water issues.
Also I would rather have a fiberglass roof BUT my Carrilite is 16 yrs old and the roof looks great. So decisions abound!