Newbie from Minn! - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Jpdkmd · RV-Dreams Community Member

Newbie from Minn!

Trabuco · RV-Dreams Family Member

Welcome to the forum! Take your time on deciding about your new rig. Once you have it narrowed done to 1 or 2 brands get on the mfg's forums. Lots of great info specific to the rv you may decide to get.

jayc · RV-Dreams Family Member

We spent some time at a rally at a very nice RV park in Two Harbors with great views of Lake Superior.

Good luck with your choice.

Jpdkmd · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks,hope to narrow down our search soon.Its difficult with all the models and manufacturers.They start to look alike real quick! Looks like from what I read so far that all fifth wheels or rv's in general have problems.They all use the same manufacturers for the chasis and components.Thanks for the welcome!

JD

rlaughlin · RV-Dreams Community Member

We had our trailer choice narrowed down to an Outback by Keystone or a Jayco Eagle then asked for advice on a FB page and we were told to check out Grand Design before making a decision. We decided to go with Grand Design as they seemed to have all the options we were looking for while the others just had some of the options we wanted! Two of the three owners came from Keystone to start a new manufacturer just a few years ago. Sounds like they have some kinks they are working out but from everything we read their customer service is outstanding! In our opinion that matters a lot when making a choice! You might want to check them out... they have 5th wheels, travel trailers and toy-haulers. We are ordering our GD in July and will live full-time in it!

Jpdkmd · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed your trip.Hopefully we can be on the road to see our great country!

Jpdkmd · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks, we have looked at the reflection an solitude models.We like them,I have read that they are a very responsive customer service company.That does matter from what I read on different forums.Good luck with your GD maybe I will see you at a rally once we hit the road!

thnks

JD

marianne57 · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'll put our 2 cents in for what it's worth for Grand Design as well. We looked at countless models but the Solitude was our choice, and everything they say and you read about the customer service is real! It's not a come-on. They are truly a caring company to do the right thing for the customer. Good luck JD in your search whatever you decide, and you'll know when you find the one that's best for you!

RVKevi · RV-Dreams Family Member

Be sure to spend a good amount of time in any model you think you would like. Pretend to do the things in it that you would do in your fifth wheel. Pretend to prepare and cook food, to sit watching TV, to take a shower. I mean it, spend time acting like you're living in it. Where will you store the things you use. We actually counted cupboards and drawers and compared how many different models had. Don't get so focused on the eye candy that you miss the things that make for livability.

I've heard some say that it's a good idea to look at the brand you're interested in a few years older than you'll buy. See how it's held up. Gives you a little better idea of the quality.

If you possibly can, go to an RV-Dreams rally. I'd recommend going BEFORE you buy. We learned so much that helped us as we made our decisions.

Have fun! You're in an exciting time. The time will feel like it is going slow and then, suddenly, you'll be on the road!

Offtosmelltheroses · RV-Dreams Family Member

JD - Welcome to the forum! We're newbies also, having begun our research several months ago, hoping to pull the trigger on a DP within the next ten months and I believe we're on about the same time line that you are, hoping to hit the road late next year. There's so much great advice on this site - I'm amazed at how knowledgeable everyone is. It's a super resource. Keep us posted on your search, and safe travels!

Jim

Antoan · RV-Dreams Community Member

Welcome! I agree with RVKevi, spend time in the RVs you are looking at. We did alot of looking on-line but nothing beats seeing the real thing. Attend as many RV shows as you can. We settled on a 39' Mobile Suites 5th wheel made by DRV. This one is made for living in full time which not all RVs are suited for. We felt the 5th wheel actually had more room than the coaches we looked but it's totally a matter of what suites your needs.

I also agree with going to the Rally. We attended to Spring 2015 Rally in Tennessee which was awesome. We learned so much about FT RVing and met so many people that have become friends already.

Bob and I are shooting for Spring of 2016 to be on the road full time. Lots of work to do getting the house ready for the market and downsizing, it's a little overwhelming but exciting at the same time. We just bought a 3500 Dodge RAM turbo diesel to pull the RV and installed the 5th wheel hitch yesterday. We will order our RV in Dec which should be ready in March, hopefully the house will sell quickly and we can retire on our targed date of April 1, 2016.

Best of luck as you move forward, looking to following your adventure!

Bob and Anita

gilljr · RV-Dreams Family Member

Check out DRV, top of the line and one of the best built. You can find good deals on their used models. As others have said, take your time.

MNdrifters · RV-Dreams Family Member

Look into carrying capacities, axle weight ratings, tires and suspension upgrades if any. Also look at the type of king pin you have. We have put on a lot of miles our first year and every time you travel down the road it's like an earthquake for your trailer.

mds1 · RV-Dreams Family Member

I'm in the process of narrowing down just to the floor plan, so a long way to go. I'm wondering if you can narrow down the list just by throwing out any manufacturer that does not have exceptional service after the sale if that be through the factory, dealership network or whatever.

We looked at the Solitude as well. Don't like the looks of the back cap and have no idea if not being a full wrap around cap could cause water issues or not. There is a lot to like about the Solitude however. Here is a link to my notes on it because I'm to lazy to retype them.

Quality control appears to be a major factory issue. I'm sure they all are no better than the employees that put the things together. Grand Design, and I'm sure others, brag about having a separate facility to inspect their units after they are built.

-- Edited by mds1 on Tuesday 21st of July 2015 09:24:07 AM

-- Edited by mds1 on Tuesday 21st of July 2015 09:47:46 AM

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Mark,

We've known of folks with DRV models now for about 7 years or so. I can't say that I recall anyone mentioning on any of the forums that they had a problem with the refrigerator in the slide. The only thing that I recall about the refrigerator's location is with the water line for the ice maker/water-in-the-door freezing up. In our case, our water line has never frozen up (that I know of) in 4 years of full-time living in our Mobile Suites, and we've been as low as -6 degrees. Others on the forums with DRV have talked of finding the line in the slide and adding insulation around it.

As for quality assurance, like the manufacturing process, the quality checks are also done by humans, even if they are in a separate facility.

Terry

NWescapee · RV-Dreams Family Member

Welcome and have fun with the research. We actually have the same model/mfg/year of 5th wheel as Terry and honestly the issue with the fridge in the slide is an ongoing issue for us. Terry changed out to a residential fridge, we like boon docking for part of our time and aren't ready to do that quite yet, but get a warm sunny day with the sun shining on the fridge side of the RV and we're rethinking that as we see the fridge temp climb. Honestly, that's our biggest pet peeve with our DRV, other than that we love it. And this is after having the circuit board, cooling unit, adding fans, etc. and still have fridge issues. But if you Google the make/model of our Dometic fridge you will find pages and pages of complaints, it's not just a DRV issue.

So for us, we made it "ours" with trading out furniture, etc. We also bought used, again, we lucked out there because we liked a certain floor plan and Terry just happened to know a dealership 2 hours from our daughter's that had one in stock that was used and we could buy it while on our Christmas vacation. Sometimes these things just work out, and for us, we couldn't have planned it better to buy a 2 year old unit, 2300 miles from where we lived.

Where we learned the MOST about what we wanted or didn't want was at the RV Dreams rally we attended and the Big Rig walk thru. Talking to people who had been FT for a while, knowing what modifications they had made, what they loved / hated about their rigs, what they would do differently if buying now, helped us make a much more intelligent decision. Loved the rally and all the info shared, but honestly for us, the biggest value was that walk thru and talking to people who "had been there, done that" and listening to their honest answers. I think it helped us make the right decision for us, at that time, and saved us from what we've heard is a common mistake, of making the wrong decision the first or even second purchase.

gilljr · RV-Dreams Family Member

We also replaced our Dometic with a residential and couldn't be happier. We have driven as much as nine hours with no problems, ice cubes were even still frozen and we do not have an invertor.

hasanchez · RV-Dreams Family Member

As a Newbie myself (have NOT purchased a Tow Vehicle or 5th Wheel yet).............I really enjoyed your reply. It was VERY helpful and certainly stimulated my line of thinking. Thank you!

Henry Sanchez

Sacramento, CA

hasanchez · RV-Dreams Family Member

"DRV"?? What does this stand for?

Thanks.

Henry Sanchez

Sacramento, CA

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

hasanchez wrote:
"DRV"?? What does this stand for?

Thanks.

Henry Sanchez
Sacramento, CA

DRV is an 5th wheel manufacturer - http://www.drvsuites.com/.