Picking a 5th wheel for full timeing - RV-Dreams Community Forum

elames1 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Picking a 5th wheel for full timeing

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

First off "Congrates" on getting ready to take the leap!!!!!!!

looking for a home will take a little leg work. You want to look at as many units as you can....Try E-Bay for a visual and as many websites as you can....then you have to get into each one....sit laydown ...stand in the shower , pass each other ....everything it takes to let yourself know this is what we want.....

Then your budget will come into play.....find your unit get your weight factors.....then and only then.....Find your truck to match the trailer..

if your looking for a really nice unit , there are several very nice units right on here for sale....check with Jack mayers , he will fill you in.

Please dont be afraid to ask,ask ask!!!!!! Better to buy it once and get it right than to buy it and then say this is not right.....and We are all here with each of our own tales and years of play to help each other out!!!

igotjam · RV-Dreams Family Member

Everyone has a different idea of what is "best". I think the Alpine is a good choice. We have talked to a few full timers with Alpine's and they were all happy with them. My suggestion is to visit a few area RV parks and hopefully talk to owners of the units you are interested in. Most will gladly tell you the pros and cons of their rv. I have found that website gained info, while useful, is not always the most candid like a face to face discussion. Good luck on your search.

GENECOP · RV-Dreams Family Member

Welcome to the Forum.....there is currently a large RV Show in Hershey PA....go to as many shows as you can, it's a great way to compare brands .

elames1 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thank you Lucky Mike, I feel at Home already because of a quick responce. I am sure I will have many questions as time goes on. Evan

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Welcome, Evan.

Glad to have you as a participant at the RV Dreams forums. You will find this to be a site full of friendly, helpful, and very knowledgeable folks with knowledge of just about every kind of RV.

Take your time in looking and decide what your full-timing lifestyle will be. If you plan on wintering in cold climates, pay close attention to the construction and insulation factors of the various RV's. In any of them, pay close attention to the frame, axles, suspension, and wheels and tires. All of those form the very foundation of one's RV.

Feel free to ask questions and never feel that one is too "dumb" to be asked. The only dumb questions are those that aren't asked and thus received an answer.

Terry

elames1 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks for the help. Evan smile

elames1 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thank you all for making us feel welcome. I will have many guestions to come . Evan

PD CFK · RV-Dreams Family Member

I wish that we had taken a vacation to Indiana to visit the manufacturers of units that we thought we liked, first, before buying. As it turned out we took that trip six months after we bought.
Seeing the units being put together, then comparing the factories to one another was an eye-opening experience. We could have driven up there and stayed in a motel for a couple of nights, and gained a whole lot of useful information, and just a "feel" for what is going on in the different factories. I would recommend the investment of that time and expense. There is so much to learn and it is not a decision to make uninformed. Enjoy the search :) Pat K

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

Excel, New Horizon, DRV, to name a few.
My wife and I are having the same debate, We can/could afford last years model of most Jayco, Montana, Elkridge etc,
OR we could go with a 2006-2008 Excel, Mobile Suite, New Horizon. Its a tuff decision as to what fits us.
You have picked a great site to gather info though.
Safe travels

Mallo · RV-Dreams Family Member

We like the Nu Wa products (Hitchhikers) that said the trip to the Factories in Elkhart IN was well worth the time we did five factories in like four days and made notes on everything. Some companies we really liked going in KZ for example we dropped because of the tour others that we were interested in became very high on our list.

Sit in them get a feel for them before you buy make sure your activities all fit.

Mallo

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Let me add something related to Mallo's post. While you spend time sitting in the units, keep in mind that you will be living a lot in the coach. Thus, pay attention to the furniture and its comfort factor. We used to have a 26-foot fifth wheel that we liked for week-long camping trips, but a 2 week vacation showed us pretty quick that the furniture was not comfortable for spending longer times. Even with our Mobile Suites, we found that the "standard" furniture was not up to par. We've since replaced the two recliners and the couch. Also, Jo liked the new style dinette so we replaced the old table and chairs with the new style with a cabinet against the wall.

We've now got a La-Z-Boy Reclinaway love seat, a single recliner, and we built a sewing center for Jo. The La-Z-Boy recliners and love seats allow the backs to come off so that it is easier to get them through the RV entry door.

Shoot, we've even replaced the regular RV refrigerator with a residential Samsung...oh, and we replaced the ceiling fan as well. We found a Hunter 5 blade fan that moves the air better than the old 4 blade one did. By the way, if one wants to consider the possibility of a residential refrigerator, one is likely to need an inverter and extra batteries. So, if you end up ordering your unit as we did, you might consider adding those items. Some manufacturers put in 1000 watt inverters, but I'm not sure those are big enough.

Terry

elames1 · RV-Dreams Community Member

All the help is great, our heads are spinning. Thank so mush.Evan

FastEagle · RV-Dreams Family Member

What kind of fulltiming are you considering? Will it be from point "A" to "B" and then back to "A" with stops in between? How much weather below freezing are you going to put-up with? Are you willing to get a dually truck or something larger? Will you be doing some boondocking?

We fulltimed for almost five years. A one ton dually was as large as we were willing to go truckwise so we searched for mid-level units. Our fiver is 38' with three slides. We traveled all over the country (43 states) and put more than 70,000 miles on our trailer. Neither one of us can take high altitudes or we would have done 48 states.

We never boondocked or dry camped so a little Honda 2000 generator was our only emergency electrical power.

Here is a picture of our trailer at Whit's End CG near West Ossipee, NH. The site had 50 amp electrical connections, fresh water connections and gray water dumping connections. We can normally stay in a site like that for 7-10 days without having to dump the black water tank. This CG has a mobile black water tank service truck that worked extremely well for us.

http://www.irv2.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=17642

To view some of our travels click on this blog site.

http://fasteagletravels.blogspot.com/

FastEagle

elames1 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Do a little. Of both, primitive and thin soft would make us both happy.I was a Ranger where we would be with out power or water for days. We are of.ca and want to get off the grids. I moved from KY to CA for family. Oops. ,

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Check out the Classifieds here on the RV Dreams forums. I know there are some good units in there, one of which also has a truck available.

Oh, and JayC's signature area includes the type of truck he is using.

Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Thursday 13th of September 2012 02:00:45 PM

jayc · RV-Dreams Family Member

Please check out the Heartland Landmark for a full time unit. They are rated and warranted for full time use and offer a 2 year bumper to bumper, 5 year frame warranty. We have been full timing in ours for almost a year, formerly in a Heartland Bighorn which also offers more choices in floorplans and also rated for full time use.

elames1 · RV-Dreams Community Member

I will check it out, I have a lot of work to do. Thanks so much for your help. Evani

Rob_Fla · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are newbie fulltimers having only fulltimed a little less than a year at this point.
Our house took quite a bit of time to sell so we had lots of time to shop and research a 5th Wheel that worked for us.
There are many fine 5th Wheels out there that people fulltime in and all kinds of price ranges too.

In the end there were a few different brands / models that met our wants, needs and were in our budget range.
Some how the stars and moon were in the right postion for us, when we put together a soild deal on our house sale, we found a 5th Wheel on a dealer lot that met our wants, needs and fit our budget range. Most of all in the end, it just felt right.

At almost a year or fulltiming, we have not regreted our choice at all and have been very happy with our 5th Wheel and our new lifestyle.
We have been very pleased with the construction, durability and reliablity with only had a few minor warranty issues.
Our 5th Wheel has exceeded our expectations and performed great.

-- Edited by Rob_Fla on Thursday 13th of September 2012 07:06:57 PM

elames1 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Hi jayc, Great information!!! What to you use to tow your Heartland Landmark. Thanks Evan

Ann-Hank · RV-Dreams Family Member

Welcome to a great forum! Check out the RV Consumer Group at rvgroup@rv.org, they have a great data base for rv's from 2000 to 2012. The cost of the "Membership Plus with RV Ratings for Towables" was $139.00. I feel it's well worth price when your looking at a used home, you will want the best quality for your money. The data base rates each unit with 1 -5 star and lets you know if it Full time, Snowbird or Vacation. Also a lot of info about the company that makes the rv. There is also a book called "How to Select, Insprct and Buy an RV". Good luck.

elames1 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks for the information. We will have lot of time to shop. I will have many more questions. Thanks everyone. Evan