Community Forums

jacobs family · 08-15-2007, 09:01 AM

Just starting to research the brands and types of fifth wheels out there. How did you come to the one that was perfect for you? Did you go with the brand, floor plan or something else I haven't thought of yet? Just wondering the different ways to go about this.

jacobs family · 08-15-2007, 09:01 AM

Just starting to research the brands and types of fifth wheels out there. How did you come to the one that was perfect for you? Did you go with the brand, floor plan or something else I haven't thought of yet? Just wondering the different ways to go about this.

TCayer · 08-15-2007, 09:28 AM

I'm shopping for a Class A, but the method is the same: I typed in "Class A Motorhome" into Yahoo! or Google if you prefer, and then started checking out all the dealer sites with pictures. This gave me a good idea of what's out there. I narrowed down the floorplans I liked, then checked every manufacturer site I could looking for similar plans. Then I compared the ones I came up with for price. As luck would have it, my local dealer has the one I'm looking for, so we went for a test drive. Now all I need is money! P.S. check out www.rvpricebusters.com - they do trailers as well. I found their price to be super low, and it's what I'll take to my local dealer when I'm ready to buy. If he can't match it, I'll be giving them a call... (The second time I've recommended them- and NO I don't work for them :-)

Route 66 · 08-15-2007, 09:34 AM

This can be an overwhelming task.

Although I have a motorhome, some of the decision making is the same.

Some people decide based on the "glitz" factor. That is, looks only, which is the worst way to buy.

Some look for the floorplan they like, without regard to the manufacturer. IMHO, still not the best way to buy.

I believe that a combination of manufacturers reputation, for quality and service, along with a floorplan you like is the best way to decide.

Another critical issue in trailer shopping is the weight of the trailer in relation to the tow vehicle's towing capacity.

If you have your truck already, then trailer weight must be a deciding factor also.

If you're buying truck and trailer, then you are in the best situation to insure a good match.

To answer your question more directly, I decided on the Dutch Star, and then I picked the floorplan I liked.

Rick A · 08-16-2007, 03:57 AM

I started by deciding what we needed and made a list, then started researching on rvtraderonline and manufacturers websites. Once I had a list of trailers that fit our needs, # of beds, enclosed bathroom, size and weight to fit the truck and where we liked to camp, I hit the local RV shows with the list and looked at as many trailers as possible then the wife had the final decision in which one we wanted. We lucked out in that the one that fit all our needs was a brand carried by the local dealer that I had bought my previous 3 trialers from.

TXiceman · 08-16-2007, 05:07 AM

Lots of factors go into deciding on the perfect RV. On a 5th wheel unit, you need to make sure yo have enough truck to handle the pin weight of the trailer. A 3/4 ton truck will pretty well be maxed out with a 32' trailer.

In looking at a trailer, look for quality. Take along a flash light and look back into the corners of cabinet, pull the drawers, and in the corner of lockers. The better built RVs will tend to have wiring and plumbing, secured and bundled. The places in the floor and wall where the wires and plumbing pass through will be neet and not punched out with a hammer. Look at the fir and trim inside. Corners should be tight and even. Construction should be screwed and glued, not butted and stapled.

Now for the floor plan. You need to decide on how you will use the RV. Long term living or weekend trips and the occasional longer vacation trip?

Look to see if it has storage for your food, dishes, linens, clothes and other camping supplies.

Tell the sales person to take a hike and leave you alone. Stand in the kitchen, pretend you are fixing a meal and see where everything would be stored. Is there drawers for the silver wear and cooking supplies?

Check out the bath area, A place to store the linens and toiletries, is the shower large enough to use, is the potty accessible?

Now the sleeping area....is there a place to put all of your clothes, drawers for the under wear or do you have to use bins in the bottoms of closets?

The lower end RVs tend to be short on drawers and cabinets. Cabinets and especially drawers are costly to install, so they skimp to save some money.

Outside...is there room to store the camping gear, BBQ, fishing gear, lawn chairs?

An lastly, since this is a first RV, look at used units. You can usually get a nicer and higher end unit in the 3 to 5 year old range for less than a new entry level unit. RV's values take a real plunge the fist year due to depreciation. So the used one has already seen this.

Have fun shopping.

Ken

450Donn · 08-16-2007, 10:34 AM

First stop was an RV show. Decided on the type of Rv we wanted and what we liked and disliked in floor plans. Once we had a floor plan we wanted, we started looking at the major brand names. Then when we thought we had a brand we wanted, we went and spent some time sitting in it. Looking for things like, where do you put the garbage can in the kitchen? How are the cabinets put together? How good of a job did the manufacturer do in sealing holes in the floors and sidewalls? I guess it was just your basic how good a job of engineering and assembly did they do? From that very short list we picked what we liked and bought it.

jacobs family · 08-16-2007, 02:09 PM

Awesome information guys! Sometimes just looking at all the information out there makes my head spin. We picked out 15 floor plans that we liked from 8 different makers. We are now researching the makers. Went to the dealer today and did some looking around. We told the salesman that we weren't planning on buying for at least 9 months to a year so he pretty much lost interest in us and let us wander around on our own! The next RV show near us is in Jan. up in San Antonio, we will be making that trip for sure! Thanks again for the great information, it will be put to good use!

Sunny · 08-16-2007, 03:40 PM

Something that was not mentioned in the floor plans, look to see where tne TV is in relation to the couch. WE have looked at units that there was no way to see th TV without seating at the booth. Also if the RV has slidouts what can you get to without opening the slidouts, can you get to the bathroom,etc.

Tom

jacobs family · 08-17-2007, 03:24 AM

Thanks Tom!
Didn't occur to me to check the tv placement. When looking at fifth wheels, can you ask the dealer to close the slides?

Roam America · 08-17-2007, 03:10 PM

Comfort when watching TV was an important item for us. Like was said earlier, in some units it is virtually imposible for both to comfortably sit and watch TV. That can be accomplished by scanning floor plans on line. Then comes the RV shows. It is painfully obvious that some of these RV designers do not do any camping. We saw one top end RV that had french doors into the bedroom. The blinds (from the hallway looking into the bedroom) were on the outside (hallway side) of the window. Kinda kills the privacy.

Decide on the type of floorplan then look at RV shows. Personally, I won't buy a unit based solely on the floorplan. I WANT to see one live, in person.

Peaceful · 08-17-2007, 04:42 PM

We did it a little bit different. My wife picked out what she wanted inside and I picked out the storage and the outside. We figured since we were going to live in it that would work out the best.
We did not do it on the net. We went out to dealers and looked at them all. We had fun and we made the right choice for us and it has been great for 9 years.
Peaceful

TXiceman · 08-17-2007, 06:38 PM

One thing I forgot is to check and see how usable the kitchen and bath are with the slides in. Some block the frig and worse yet, all access to the bathroom.

Ken

Froggi Donna · 08-18-2007, 10:24 AM

When I was looking at toy haulers, I was amazed at how many blocked the TV when the slide was in. Definitely an issue if you plan to do much parking lot boondocking. Then I noticed that some regular fifth wheels did as well.