5th Wheel Build Quality

[Freqz]

Originally Posted by pathvet

Well, we haul our 30' SpaceCraft which weighs about 16k with a 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 dually and it goes fine.

Mind if ask what your pin weight is? I’ve been in contact with SC and I’m looking at +/-5000 at 25% pounds for a 34’ FW. Having them shuffle axle placement a bit I’m hoping to bring that down to 22% to give me a little more margin.

I’m also somewhat underwhelmed by the VanLeigh Beacon I walked through and the rest of the high end builders other than NH don’t want to build one short enough for me.

[consolenut]

Teton made a sunrise thats around 33. That quality will be on par with your newmar class A. I had a Kountry Aire 5ver and its on par with a Teton.

[PS95Bx]

Myspacecrafthasn overall waightof 19,500 with a 5000 pin waight Irun at about17,500 I have a 5500 ram previously a Ford 550dexter hydrolic brakes on trailer. So I stop fine even withouttrailer brakes truck big enough to stop in a reasonable distance.

[Freqz]

Thanks! I like data points .

[HDrider]

Originally Posted by Freqz

32’ is their smallest...475 pounds per foot dry give or take. With a 20% pin weight it’s completely towable by a DRW class 3 truck. Not that a MDT or HDT wouldn’t be better, all thee NH I’ve seen actually moving down the road in the past couple of months have been towed by a one ton DRW.

Spacecraft is 500 pounds per foot and wants closer to 25% which is a little more challenging on a class 3 truck.

Pricing between the two is about the same.

New Horizon Summit models are designed to be pulled by smaller trucks, worth a look see.

[Freqz]

Originally Posted by HDrider

New Horizon Summit models are designed to be pulled by smaller trucks, worth a look see.

I’m talking to them too. They’re both no compromises builders, IMO.

[pathvet9]

Originally Posted by Freqz

Mind if ask what your pin weight is? I’ve been in contact with SC and I’m looking at +/-5000 at 25% pounds for a 34’ FW. Having them shuffle axle placement a bit I’m hoping to bring that down to 22% to give me a little more margin.

I’m also somewhat underwhelmed by the VanLeigh Beacon I walked through and the rest of the high end builders other than NH don’t want to build one short enough for me.

Sorry, I do not have that number for you. I am sure that Marsha (now retired) has that figure in our trailer file. Ask the office. It is the "GG" 30' model.

Cheers, Jake

[Guido Gamil]

Originally Posted by 429CV23

Thanks for all the info!
I was targeting $25-35k for a used unit.
I'll most likely be looking for a late 90s Mountain Aire or Kountry Aire 5th wheel with 3 slides. I'm pretty picky about what I want as far as floor plan etc; waiting to find the right one isn't a concern, nor is traveling a few thousand miles for the right one. Prices for those are <$15k, leaving me plenty of room in the budget to upgrade to auto leveling, new flooring if needed, etc.

It seems like many people are missing the OP's original wishes. He says he is looking for a late 90's model used unit in the $25K to $35K range. A lot of the units recommended here are in the high 5 figures if not more. I have not researched late 90's model RV's but IMHO, I would consider something like this. It would not require big $$ to bring up to OP's standard.
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/201...RLS-5005903689
This is a 2016 Outdoors RV that is a Glacier Peak Platinum 26RLS. I called on this unit and passed because although it says it is a 26, the actual length is a few inches shy of 35'. I know because I had the seller measure it. The add says 26' but I checked specs with ORV. It was longer and heavier than I was willing to deal with. This is an incredible unit, that is well cared for and has a lot of things the OP has asked about, ie quality, functional floor plan, can be pulled with a standard 1 ton pickup. Just my.02 worth but I feel this or something like it might work for the OP. Outdoors RV is a quality RV and seems to be overlooked by many. Cheers and good luck 429!

[PS95Bx]

Originally Posted by PS95Bx

Myspacecrafthasn overall waightof 19,500 with a 5000 pin waight Irun at about17,500 I have a 5500 ram previously a Ford 550dexter hydrolic brakes on trailer. So I stop fine even withouttrailer brakes truck big enough to stop in a reasonable distance.

Pin is 5000 wheighs in at 4500 though with Two Dexter 7000lb axels ea makes 14000 plus 5000 makes 19500 butwith161/2 G rated tires and a 6000 pullrite hitch I have a cushion

[Freqz]

Originally Posted by PS95Bx

Sorry a misspoke pin is 4500 not 5000 Two Dexter 7000lb axels ea makes 14000 plus 4500 makes 19500 butwith161/2 G rated tires and a 6000 pullrite hitch I have a cushion

Thanks for the update!

[Freqz]

Originally Posted by Guido Gamil

It seems like many people are missing the OP's original wishes. He says he is looking for a late 90's model used unit in the $25K to $35K range. A lot of the units recommended here are in the high 5 figures if not more. I have not researched late 90's model RV's but IMHO, I would consider something like this. It would not require big $$ to bring up to OP's standard.
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/201...RLS-5005903689
This is a 2016 Outdoors RV that is a Glacier Peak Platinum 26RLS. I called on this unit and passed because although it says it is a 26, the actual length is a few inches shy of 35'. I know because I had the seller measure it. The add says 26' but I checked specs with ORV. It was longer and heavier than I was willing to deal with. This is an incredible unit, that is well cared for and has a lot of things the OP has asked about, ie quality, functional floor plan, can be pulled with a standard 1 ton pickup. Just my.02 worth but I feel this or something like it might work for the OP. Outdoors RV is a quality RV and seems to be overlooked by many. Cheers and good luck 429!

An older New Horizons, Carriage, Teton, Newmar, etc should be easily findable in that price range if not far less. If you’re willing to deal with a 15-20 year old RV there are lots of good pre-2008 units out there.

[429CV23]

Thanks everyone for the excellent advice!!

We went and did some shopping for units this week. Out of the 100 or so fifth wheels we went though, at 4 dealers, we found only 1 we would even consider. But after selling the MH for ~$20k, I'd still be looking at a $25k investment. Of the 4 dealerships, only 1 had a couple used 5ers. One we really liked, but they must have parked it and forgot about it for weeks with the fridge closed; the entire interior reeked!

One dealer asked what we were towing with, then promptly showed us the $100K+ units with GVWR at least 3000lbs over our '01 F350's capacity. I wasted as much of his time as I could before the DW said it's time to move on.
One sales guy was actually honest. I said I didn't want to stray too far from our current build quality; after telling him what we currently had, he just laughed a little and said he had nothing on his lot that even came close (large dealer in Denver area).
The more I looked, the less convinced I became that it would be worth any investment to make the move. Some of the units were of such poor quality, the floors seemed thin/spongy. One sales guy went on and on about the fantastic build quality; but when I asked about exterior wall construction, he started the whole shpeel about how great the mfg process was for the laminated walls. I asked about delam; the response was a repeat of their super duper mfg process. When pushed further, he wanted to change the subject, which I wouldn't allow. Bottom line is: if it's laminated fiberglass & luan, they're gonna delam someday.

For now, I'm going to buy an inexpensive tow vehicle, base plate and tow bar. We have a nice remote braking system my in-laws gave us when they quit full-timing and sold their MH. The DW will be happy as long as I'm not towing with the tow dolly.

[tjwoody]

Take a look at Americana. It’s a factory order job, so it could take a while to have one made. At any rate they’re interesting and seem to have a great reputation for customer service. They are here www.americanarv.com .

[oldbeek]

late 90s ALPENLITE. Laminated foam with aluminum frame. So what if it delaminates a little at some spot. You are talking about a 20 yr old unit. There will be a lot of mods needed. They are well built older units. mine is a 94 and still going strong. retail current price $8,000.