5th wheel considerations? <30ft

[barr0208]

I was just looking at a gd reflection 150 295rl has huge grey water capability and now have 1 inch thick bay doors heated including the utility center 2 grey tank valves and also comes with roof solar prep auto leveling dexter suspension with heavy duty shackles and 50 amp service standard and available dual pane glass.direct tv viewing and a 12 cu ft fridge option as well.Oh also a 30inch microwave motion sensor lights 2 awnings fresh waters is 52 gal grey is 78 gal black is 39gal it also has heating pads on the tanks as well as heated with 35,000 btu furnace.

[consolenut]

Originally Posted by barr0208

I was just looking at a gd reflection 150 295rl has huge grey water capability and now have 1 inch thick bay doors heated including the utility center 2 grey tank valves and also comes with roof solar prep auto leveling dexter suspension with heavy duty shackles and 50 amp service standard and available dual pane glass.direct tv viewing and a 12 cu ft fridge option as well.Oh also a 30inch microwave motion sensor lights 2 awnings fresh waters is 52 gal grey is 78 gal black is 39gal it also has heating pads on the tanks as well as heated with 35,000 btu furnace.

well if the GD is soec as you state above Its lacking all the way around. Why not make it a true 4 season all things you mentioned plus those ive listed ahould be standard and options start after those listed.

Dual furnaces 30k minumum to save propane

All tanks 80 gallon fresh, grey, black

Heated storage and wet bay areas should be standard

heavy duty 8k axles or higher rated brakes etc should be standard

dual pane windows,

50a service

This is just an oponion. and these items are mostly standard on the true 4 season such as, artic Fox in this price range. older rigs no longer made there were many.

[kdauto]

Originally Posted by consolenut

well if the GD is soec as you state above Its lacking all the way around. Why not make it a true 4 season all things you mentioned plus those ive listed ahould be standard and options start after those listed.

Dual furnaces 30k minumum to save propane

All tanks 80 gallon fresh, grey, black

Heated storage and wet bay areas should be standard

heavy duty 8k axles or higher rated brakes etc should be standard

dual pane windows,

50a service

This is just an oponion. and these items are mostly standard on the true 4 season such as, artic Fox in this price range. older rigs no longer made there were many.

I have never seen (or maybe noticed?) dual furnace options. How does that save propane? Is it one furnace per zone or how does that work?

Do dual pane windows make a huge difference? I know in theory they should, but I've never had dual pane on an RV. We did switch from single and dual pane to triple pane at home and it helped.

Do the heated tank pads work only with A/C current plugged in or do they also draw from 12V if needed? This is a consideration for our next 5th wheel.

[mrgrayaz]

Originally Posted by consolenut

well if the GD is soec as you state above Its lacking all the way around. Why not make it a true 4 season all things you mentioned plus those ive listed ahould be standard and options start after those listed.

Dual furnaces 30k minumum to save propane

All tanks 80 gallon fresh, grey, black

Heated storage and wet bay areas should be standard

heavy duty 8k axles or higher rated brakes etc should be standard

dual pane windows,

50a service

This is just an oponion. and these items are mostly standard on the true 4 season such as, artic Fox in this price range. older rigs no longer made there were many.

Your asking for the moon there in today's market - especially in the sub 30' foot space.

These are 12-13k GVWR units.

Even our Alfa doesn't have a 80 gallon black tank (55g lasts 3 weeks? why more?), 8k axles, or dual furnaces and its a 16k GVWR rig. (it does have everything else, including 8k brakes).

Remember, perfect is the the enemy of "good enough". And your asking for 2100lbs in water capacity alone....

That said, I am learning that our unit is rather unique and maybe I should hold on to it lol

to the OP: The only thing I don't love about the 27-5L is the dual slide....man your gonna wish you had 3 after a year of full timing. Our 31' with 3 deep slides (360sq ft) felt a little small towards the end of our travels. Why are you going for under 30'? National Parks?

[drjenk]

Originally Posted by mrgrayaz

to the OP: The only thing I don't love about the 27-5L is the dual slide....man your gonna wish you had 3 after a year of full timing. Our 31' with 3 deep slides (360sq ft) felt a little small towards the end of our travels. Why are you going for under 30'? National Parks?

yes, that and just being able to squeeze in to spaces and campgrounds in general that do not support massive hugeness, having more choices when perusing a spot for a camping space.
Why was it feeling small, did you end up spending more time inside than out? What were the reason(s) you found you wanted bigger than 360sq ft?

[barr0208]

really a fifth wheel that is $25,000 more than the reflection 150 series even optioned out is still $25,000 less than a 29foot artic fox the dual pane and the bigger fridge adds $2500 to the total the gvwr is 10150 lbs and 32 ft has 5200lb axles is full time rated ill take it before an artic fox.this is only an opinion.

[mrgrayaz]

Originally Posted by drjenk

yes, that and just being able to squeeze in to spaces and campgrounds in general that do not support massive hugeness, having more choices when perusing a spot for a camping space.
Why was it feeling small, did you end up spending more time inside than out? What were the reason(s) you found you wanted bigger than 360sq ft?

I mean, there is a couple who recently spend a 2years (full time) in a truck camper - so its really a personal decision. I worked from our rig for the 2.5 years we were on the road, so we weren't out every day exploring. Got a smidge tight with wife and large dog, especially out east when it rained more then you'd think.... If you really are just traveling and not working or spending any time in the rig, then it would likely be fine.

I'd watch that "one year and we'll hang it up" thing though, I expect you'll find reasons to keep going

[consolenut]

Originally Posted by kdauto

I have never seen (or maybe noticed?) dual furnace options. How does that save propane? Is it one furnace per zone or how does that work?

Do dual pane windows make a huge difference? I know in theory they should, but I've never had dual pane on an RV. We did switch from single and dual pane to triple pane at home and it helped.

Do the heated tank pads work only with A/C current plugged in or do they also draw from 12V if needed? This is a consideration for our next 5th wheel.

dual furnaces run so much less. instead of 30k btu of heat you have 60k. Both run but half the time or less. One furnace per zone is correct. Bedroom.on a thermostat and downstairs on one. Heat pads work on 12V . Dual pane windows help with heating and cooling and keep things quiet inside. Helps if your a light sleeper.

[rcheli1]

I guess I will jump in and vote for the Grand Design. Have not had a FW since the 80's. Have been looking for a under 30' FW for quite a while. We just took delivery of a Grand Design Reflection 150 in the 260RD floorplan. We added the second AC, Goodyear tires and chose not to add dual pane windows since it adds weight. It comes standard with a 12 cf fridge, sealed underbody, heated storage, 50 amp service. Price was our major factor as well as dealer performance, floorplan, counter space, fridge size and solar prep for future use. Have had it out once so still have a lot to find out about it. I have had to contact the dealer several times and have been quickly led to a resolution each time. 99% of my problems were self-inflicted, just newbie issues.
Looking forward to doing some traveling!!

[tblocker]

My wife and I have been living in a 2013 Arctic Fox 27-5l for over 2 years spending most of our time boondocking. It's called a 27 footer but it's just under 30 feet long.

We've survived temps near 0 without freezing tanks or valves.

We removed the table and added two Lazy Boy chairs. Have satellite TV, lithium battery, and solar (makes nearly all of out power)
We love this trailer, but it is very heavy. Tank capacities are big enough that we can usually get about 16 days between dump stations.

Mine is not real fancy, but it is built very well.

We love it.

[tblocker]

When I decided to retire to a fifth wheel full time and travel, I had time to research them for more than a year before taking the leap.

One BIG issue that's not always obvious is payload. It's surprising how many fifth wheels are sold with less that 2k payload.

Gross weight - dry weight = payload. And this includes waters, propane, batteries. food, clothes, and etc.

My Fox has a payload of about 3700 lbs. This is on the high side when compared to other 30 footers. I saw some as low as 1400.

There are many overloaded units on the roads and this can be dangerous.

Just my two cents, thanks.

[kdauto]

Originally Posted by tblocker

When I decided to retire to a fifth wheel full time and travel, I had time to research them for more than a year before taking the leap.

One BIG issue that's not always obvious is payload. It's surprising how many fifth wheels are sold with less that 2k payload.

Gross weight - dry weight = payload. And this includes waters, propane, batteries. food, clothes, and etc.

My Fox has a payload of about 3700 lbs. This is on the high side when compared to other 30 footers. I saw some as low as 1400.

There are many overloaded units on the roads and this can be dangerous.

Just my two cents, thanks.

Very similar to ours. We have a 10 800lb dry weight and 14 400 GVWR, so 3600 lbs cargo and payload total. I am amazed when shopping higher end 34 to 38' units and seeing barely 1500-2000lbs payload. It isn't rare for us to carry that much just in water (fresh,gray and black) and food/drink. It really isn't hard to add 600-800lb of clothes,shoes and boots for 2 people on a long trip. Start adding kitchen stuff plus all the crap we put in the underbelly,2500-3k comes fast.

[barr0208]

Originally Posted by dogbreath650

The GD doesn't appear to have any solar options or be pre-wired for it. This and the the lesser ground clearance may count against it if used for boon docking. Otherwise it seems to have better interior features and is price competitive with Northwoods and ORV.

the 2020 grand design reflection 150 series come standard with roof solar prep .

[drjenk]

Originally Posted by tblocker

When I decided to retire to a fifth wheel full time and travel, I had time to research them for more than a year before taking the leap.

One BIG issue that's not always obvious is payload. It's surprising how many fifth wheels are sold with less that 2k payload.

Gross weight - dry weight = payload. And this includes waters, propane, batteries. food, clothes, and etc.

My Fox has a payload of about 3700 lbs. This is on the high side when compared to other 30 footers. I saw some as low as 1400.

There are many overloaded units on the roads and this can be dangerous.

Just my two cents, thanks.

What model of AF do you have?