Jim,

It's good to do the research in advance.  A 32 to 34-foot fifth wheel would be a good choice for being able to stay in more primitive places.  We did that for decades with different campers (and tents) until we got our present coach.  While I think I could take it there, our favorite National Forest Campground would only have maybe two or three sites to fit our length, and all but one of those is out in a meadow where folks with horse trailer can "camp."

If one is considering even a part-time full time life in an RV, I wouldn't go for anything less than a 12" frame.  (I can't speak to how good an aluminum frame would be.)  Most of those will be I-beam types, but if I remember right, there is one manufacturer that has a 12-inch double-box frame.  That is a rectangular box that is welded to another like it, both of which are 6-inches high.  Getting into the bigger coaches, one can find some that are 15-inch (DRV Suites) and larger (up to either 16-inches or 18-inches.)  DRV Suites does have both a 32-foot and 34-foot fifth wheel in the Mobile Suites models.  Granted, the DRV's are more of the higher line of coaches rather than mid-range.  If you were interested in a DRV, I'd suggest looking for a used one, although I've seen darn few used 32 and 34-footers available.

In addition to the frame, pay close attention to the suspension, axles, wheels and tires.  All those things make up the very foundation of the RV.  Beyond that, you will want to look at the amenities of the interior.  When looking, also find brochures online or in dealerships that list the standard and optional features for each brand.  On occasion, you may find that some brands don't have quite all the nicer amenities.

If you are really thinking true four-seasons usage, also check out the insulation R-ratings.  As a point of interest, the DRV's Mobile Suites have 3 1/4" walls and excellent R-ratings.  We've lived in our Mobile Suites now for 3 years on a full time basis in Oklahoma City and have been comfortable in temperatures ranging from 6 degrees all the way up to 115 degrees.  Should you happen to decide to "snow-bird," then insulation won't be quite so important for you.

I definitely recommend the dual pane windows, as that is what is in our Mobile Suites.  I'm not really sure what the difference is between dual-pane and thermopane.

Terry

Great thanks! I"ll check them out.

We've been living in our Heartland Landmark for about three years now and love it. We went through last winter- the worst in my lfe- very comfortably. We try to stay in cooler climes during the summer but have experienced upper 90's with no problem. Our two a/c's handle the heat with no problem. We recently saw a new model prototype that sported 3 a/c's!

I think that for your money, you won't go wrong with a Heartland. Check 'em out!

Hi Jim…you didn't say what your price range was either so that's another thing to think about. Higher end models like New Horizons or DRV or Spacecraft(?) will generally be heavier, have stronger frames and components, real wood cabinets as well as other amenities. If you don't have a truck yet then pick out your RV first and get a truck that will pull it.

Service after the sale is also important. If having the ability to pull back into either a Brand X dealership or a Brand Y factory and expect a full service service department then the larger makers are more likely to have one of those. New Horizons…while they build an excellent coach…have a…let's call it less than fully satisfactory service department because they don't have many employees dedicated full time for service work and have to frequently borrow man hours from the production line. Nothing wrong with that of course…but pulling back into Camp Horizons for work is frequently an adventure in scheduling. For example…we just finished a warranty work/upgrade period. Left the rig here for 3 weeks while we were gone to Ireland on vacation and of our 9 or 10 warranty items and 6 desired upgrades only 2/3 of the warranty items and none of the upgrades were finished when we got back. Turns out that 1 of our upgrades wasn't really possible but nobody explained that to us on original discussion of the list. We got back Monday and only then did it appear that things really got rolling on the remainder of our lists.

Again, nothing wrong with that but that's the way NH runs their service department and I would suspect that most of the other low volume higher end builders will be the same as they don't have the production base to better support a fully staffed service department.

Look at a lot of rigs and read the forums here to see what you want and what you might not want. For instance…we've got the electric fireplace option and beyond looking nice and homey it pretty much serves as our only heat source in wintertime; we rarely use the furnaces. We don't frequent the snow belt though, we're in FL for the winter. We also have the built in dishwasher…it does a whole load of about 1.5 days worth of dishes on 2 gallons of water which is less than it would take to hand wash. Washer/dryer is another idea…do you want to do 1 load every day or so or 3 loads every 10 days at the local laundromat? Again…there are many threads on the forum here dealing with various options and their pros and cons but you need to decide what you want to have, what your budget is, and then see how those two lists match up.