Community Forums

Franky55 · 10-06-2019, 03:13 PM

I check and take information to buy a 5th Wheel. I went to a RV show and saw a lot of different company's. I talk a lot with friends and people who have 5th wheel.
The most problem is water infiltration.
A report said and even went directly to the manufactory and the new fifthwheel are done very quickly and with very light products. At the exit of the factory the trailer would take, for several, already the water. It's a bit scary to buy new and put in thousands of dollars and have walls that already have water infiltrations.
Some told me to don't buy new and check for a use one before 2008 because it was made with better materials. I can have it inspected and see if there are any problems and I would save a lot of money and get the problems fixed and in the end it would be a better buy.
I like to buy new but in same time, I'm afraid to buy and have a beautiful inside but between the wall and all the furniture are not good.
What do you think?
What is best, new or used and why? Wich company are better than other? I'll ride with it from Canada to south of USA and maybe Mexico and come back by western Canada to come back to Quebec, Canada. I'll pass winter in south. I don't buy my truck yet so the weight is not important because I'll buy the truck who'll be able to curry it easily.
Thank you all to share your experience.

wynnkin · 10-06-2019, 03:39 PM

i have heard the same thing, franky, about new construction. we bought ours when it was 10 years old but it only had 9k miles on it. we figured it out pretty quickly why it was seldom used...it is a bucket of junk. we invested in the tow car and such right away so we were kind of stuck with it. some friends have a 2008 montana 5er and they love it. (we do too.) they've had their share of the normal breakdowns but leaks aren't one of them.

as to the truck, i would go with the f350, that way you never need to upgrade that in the future. (at least, that would be my excuse to the DW.) 8^)

hope this helps a little, wynn

tuffr2 · 10-06-2019, 11:19 PM

I bought a 2008 small 22' trailer in 2008. I traded that trailer on a 2011 5th wheel. While I owned the 5th wheel I also bought a 25' 2013 travel trailer. I sold the 5th wheel but still have the 2013 travel trailer.
I only had minor issues with the 5th wheel.

I am now looking to trade the 2013 trailer for a bigger newer trailer.

I am looking to buy new. IMHO the trailers I am looking at now are actually built better than my previous trailers. The roofing material is better now with a so called 12 year warranty vs the old 10 year warranty.
I am also seeing better tolerances in the framing I can see.

The Flagstaff / Rockwood trailers are my favorite with Winnebago a very close 2nd.

I would not shy away from RV'ing because I think they are doing better building them.

theboondork. · 10-07-2019, 04:51 PM

I've owned a 2013 Arctic Fox 27 – 5L fifth wheel since it was new, and have full-timed in it for the last four years, and I've never seen any sign of a leak. I'm no expert but I think some leaks are caused by the weak frames that a lot of fifth wheels are built on, flexing and opening up some of the joints in the part we live in resulting in a leak.

My advice is to always get a fifth wheel that has a large strong frame, big axles, and at least 16 inch tires and wheels. One of the ways to tell how strong the running gear is, is to check the carry capacity of the trailer and if it's not very much then the running gear and frame is probably not very strong.

These are just my opinions after owning three fifth wheels and RVing for over 30 years. I used that criteria I just mentioned when I bought the Arctic Fox and so far I haven't been disappointed.

theboondork.com

Franky55 · 10-10-2019, 10:06 PM

Wow thanks for your experiences and advice guys. I really appreciate it.
Nice information about the frame and the weight the fifth are able to carry.
Thanks again