Voltage 3905 and general advice for newbie

[PNGento]

We are strongly thinking of selling our home and hitting the road. We don't want to give up our ATVs, so thinking of a toy hauler as the vehicle of choice. We have a 2012 Ford F350 diesel, so think we could pull most of the 5th wheels we've seen so far. To this point, the Voltage 3905 is the best we've seen but will keep looking for a bit longer before we spring. A couple of questions...some dealers like to bad-mouth the brands they don't sell, which I find very unprofessional, but can't discount if there might be validity to some of their claims. I've not found negative reviews on the Voltage so far, but other brands seem to have their fair share...some more than others. So, what I'm looking for:
1. any specific concerns about the Dutchman products.
2. as the unit we buy will likely be around 36-40 ft long (add in the 10 ft cargo door) and a concern is how much trouble will we have finding places that will be able to handle so long a rig (not to mention to length of the pull truck). Is this a big issue? Most of what we like to do is dry camp and in Idaho, it won't be that big a deal finding a site that can handle this, but if we travel east where dry camping is likely not going to be as accessible...will the length be a big deterrent?
3. How noisy are the Onan 5500 generators? None of the models we've looked at have these able to be spun up...before we buy, we'd insist on hearing, but would like to hear opinions on this generator...it seems to be the standard on virtually ALL the toy haulers we've looked at, so it may not be an issue, or if it is, there may not be much we can do about it (or IS there?)
4. Are there some areas where we could find better values than others? We don't specifically need to buy new (lightly used would be ok), but wonder if certain parts of the country are known to have better pricing.
5. I apologize if these questions have already been answered. I just joined and will be browsing but hope to get these specific issues addressed quickly so we have those answers in hand as we continue our search. I look forward to being a part of the group and hope to add as much as I take.

Regards.

[KennyGolub]

We own a 2013 Jayco Seismic 3914, but haven't had it a full year yet. However, the few places we've been to so far (1 state park and two private) were not a problem in pulling in the 44ft beast.
The generator is very quiet. I can't imagine being able to get it any quieter.
That's about all the info I can supply with our limited experience with this one.

[RetiredFPD]

Been full-timing for a little over two years now in a 40' KS Fuzion 383 pulled by an '07 Dura HD2500 (with some mods I've done). We chose the 383 because of the floor plan (garage becomes living room when unloaded - much more living area), and Fuzion had above average reviews. We love it. I have a big quad but mostly haul a dresser Yamama RSV. The onboard Onan Gen 5500 is reasonably quiet and works well as long as you maintain basic service (oil, oil & fuel filters, etc). Couple things to remember.
ALWAYS completely drain the filling station hose after filling up toys. Get the nozzle down on the ground and drain it out as fuel left in the pump will cause the nylon/rubber gears to swell and bind.
ALWAYS keep Sta-Bil or Seafoam fuel stabilizer in the station tank and run the gen once a month for a while.
ALWAYS disconnect shore power when using Gen...I know, the rig mfg says you don't need to....trust me, you need to. One other thing. Get yourself a good surge protector for the shore power line, either portable or hard-wired. Don't go cheap. $300 is much better than $3000 to replace appliances due to elec. voltage surge, low or high. Rigs are rigs....some better than others but even with good ones you can always get stuck with a problem rig. Luck of the draw sometimes. We've had great luck with our Fuzion, but I've heard others have not, so do your homework and research floorplans carefully, after all you're going to be living in it. Good luck

[wincrasher]

Please do not pour gasoline on the ground so you can save a few bucks on the life of a pump. We argue constantly on weather it's ethical to release greywater on the ground in some places, but I don't ever recall someone suggesting to do that with gasoline! Put it in a gas can and use it in your toys.

[RetiredFPD]

Ground, gas can or whatever blows your skirt up....the point is to get those few ounces out of the hose and pump so the pump is free of fuel.

[Scottybdivin]

I was told this week by my pump manufacturer that the alcohol in gasoline is what's causing the gears to swell. They are sending me new gears that are made from a different material.

The added bonus of having a garage is, "it's a garage". You will find more uses for it than just hauling toys. It's a mud room when it's raining. It's a doggy day care. It's a buffet room for serving a crowd. It's a place to store things.

The 5500 is very quiet. I just ran mine 72 hours straight. The BR AC drowns out the noise of the generator as well as the boat engines that were being fired up right outside our rig.

[BCooke]

DW and I looked for 2 years before we purchased our Voltage 3200 on 6/24/13, so we can not give you longevity but......
1. There have been complaints that the seals on the slides are not long enough to clear most of the water from the slide if it is raining. Check, 1st hand experience.
2. We stuck with the 36' overall due to length of the unit. Where we are (north east PA) many of the older campgrounds can not accommodate us at 36. I also have to turn it around in our yard.
3. The genny (5.5) is not to bad inside, outside it is louder than our Hondas as it is open under the generator for cooling (my guess).
4. We picked ours up from Holman motors in Ohio. After 2 years of looking they were about 5k cheaper. I will becoming most of my own service though.

Findings:
No brakes when pulling off of lot, turned around and went back carefully. That was a conversation. Came down to while sitting in your lot now I held the trailer brakes and the truck idling pulled the trailer. They were good about it, I just know more than they were expecting, they stayed past closing to fix (they were closing in half an hour).
Trail-air takes out the jolts but causes more pushing.
If you are dry docking, change out the bulbs in the puck lights. We have 29 puck lights at 1.66 amps (checking for LEDs now).
Wireless camera, works great for backing, not so good on the road. For people that do not care to see behind them on the road not a issue, I use it to replace my rear view mirror.
While nice, keep an eye on ground clearance with the rear jacks.
Outlets in the bedroom are OK but you can not sleep with a plug and cord in your head.
With the shape I got better mileage with it than the Wildwood Sport (out versus back, eastern PA to OH).

We will be making some changes. I already had to replace a propane line I drilled that I could not hit if I tried when I installed the battery bank selector with the 6v batteries. LED strip lights in the battery area. LEDs in the garage......

[WPRam]

We went camping last week it was hot, I have a W&P 28ft w/9 ft garage. I have a 15k A/C in kitchen it is not enough, we are putting a 15k in garage also it's already wired for it. We have a 50 amp system. I suggest if you can get them to put one in for you it will save you the hassle later. 1 A/C is not enough!

[BCooke]

Originally Posted by WPRam

We went camping last week it was hot, I have a W&P 28ft w/9 ft garage. I have a 15k A/C in kitchen it is not enough, we are putting a 15k in garage also it's already wired for it. We have a 50 amp system. I suggest if you can get them to put one in for you it will save you the hassle later. 1 A/C is not enough!

True forgot about that... do not know how.
We have 2 units and they still ran all day (was warm and humid in OH). Appears to be common duct.