Looking to Purchase 1st 5th Wheel

[Gigattime]

We just purchased a 2016 Grand Design. It includes a lot of what you say are requirements on your list. The heat registers come out under the islands/cabinets, etc. so you don't have floor registers at all to deal with. Extended stay approved as well and has solid R values all around. Grand Design is relatively new to the market so time will tell how solid their builds are and how good customer service will be in the long run; however, all of the ones we looked at were solid. I was able ti talk to a couple of service techs at different dealers and all have said that there are very few corrections needed when they arrive before delivery to the customer. There are definitely pros/cons to all of them, but I would suggest at least giving them a look and see what you think.

[Lanny1763]

Ken and Louise:

I'll give a plug for the Van Leigh folks, they have a fulltime version of the length you're looking for, including quite a few of the off the grid amenities, solar prep, etc... It should be in your price range. These folks really go the extra mile to make sure your rig is right and what your want.

[3thumbs]

Originally Posted by kgreylgrey

Thanks everyone for the input. I'll check out your recommendations.

Cumminsfan, roger that on the CCC. In addition to the total capacity is the usable physical size and individual load capacities of each bay.

What is "CCC?"

[jpharley]

Look at some of the high end full timing rigs like Excel, Carriage, NuWa HitchHiker. None of these are manufactured anymore but are quality rigs. I can speak for NuWa and the factory has morphed into an RV dealership (Kansas RV Center in Chanute, KS) with a fantastic service center and may have something in their inventory that might fit your criteria. I think Excel has also kept open their service center too. These 5th wheels hold their value because they were quality made products. DRV, Lifestyle, and Teton are also quality units.

CCC is cargo carrying capacity.

[Btipton]

Like jpharley said, check out Kansas RV Center - they may have something in inventory that's just what you're looking for. We bought our 31.5 HitchHiker from them in 2013 and have never looked back. Great folks to deal with, great service department. I know that if I ever have a question about our rig, I can call them up, give them the VIN number, and they can tell me exactly what I need to know as they built it. I think they stopped building in 2013, but they partnered with Excel for a year or so and built some nice rigs.


Bob & Karen Tipton
2011 NuWa Hitchhiker 31.5 UKTG
2010 Dodge Ram 3500 DRW 6.7 CTD

[cb1000rider]

From what I can tell (I've been watching the brand for 6 months) - their customer service is absolutely top tier.

[Fulltiming1]

I'd would highly recommend Augusta RV. I bought from them and we absolutely love our new rig. We follow them closely on facebook as they are a new company but everything seems positive about them so far. Plus you get to buy it directly from them and they can probably do most of what you want done. Anyway, good luck and welcome to the lifestyle!

[kgreylgrey]

Many thanks to all that are trying to help us. We are still looking and learning. Every time we think we are zeroing in a short list, we read something on one of the forums that re-focuses our attention to issues that we hadn't fully considered in our selection process.


From the volume of posts we've read, periodic inspections and maintenance seems to be the most important steps necessary for a long and pleasant 5'er experience. All makes seem to have problems. Some, more than others and some, more serious problems than others. Water problems followed by structural issues seem to be the most serious. Which brings us to the next question for the group.


Are there any specific makes / models that make inspections and maintenance easier? For example: Modular under belly panels that allow for easy removal and re-installation, basement inspection panels, inspection panels in the coach (walls, floors, ceiling), inspection crawl spaces, etc? In short, 5'ers that are designed with ease maintenance in mind.


By the way, our short list was Teton, Excel Limited and DRV. Luxury, floor plan and structural integrity were our main concerns. Now we need to add water issues and ease of periodic inspections/maintenance to the concerns.


Thanks!


K & L

[clifford j]

Hi K& L Been reading your responses. In short I understand your concerns about buying the "right" 5er. I think you have recognized that there is NO perfect unit. The brands you listed are fine brands. Don't keep beating yourself up,,,,bite the bullet. If the floor plan meets your needs and you go thru inspection of the unit and it passes , BUY IT!
If your in camping for the long haul this won't be your last.

CLIFF

[donnandon]

We have owned a Augusta Ambition 38RL for a little over 6 months now and it has been great. The construction and design is top notch. At the RV show they had the basement wall off to show the underpinnings of the trailer. Everything was neatly routed and secured. It was a dealer show model so when we did the PDI there were not many problems found.

We recently toured the factory and were impressed there as well. Their workforce is paid hourly vs piecework like most of the rest of the RV industry. That means they take the time to do it right!

If you have any questions, let us know!

[kgreylgrey]

Hello Everyone!

We have been busy looking at various 5'ers and have all but signed a contract for a 2012 DRV 36RSSB. The unit is about 180 miles from our house and we have only seen it once. One thing we did notice was some 'wrinkles' in the part of the roof that rolls over the sides of the unit (length wise). The dealer said that it was not uncommon for the vinyl part that covers the edge to pull loose and wrinkle. The bottom of the vinyl is held in place with cover trim that runs the length of the coach. He said it would be fixed (trim removed, vinyl pulled tight, trim replaced and re-caulked) as part of the sale. Does his explanation seem reasonable or should we walk away from this DRV?

Here are some pics from the dealer's web page with pictures of the problem. The 1st 6 pics show the wrinkles. The last pic shows the top of the roof, which looks perfect to me.















Your thoughts?

Thanks,

Ken & Louise

[Larry Mac01]

Thought this might be similar to my thread at first, but don't really expect to do much dry camping.

[wingnut60]

Can't tell much from the pics, but 'wrinkles' are not common, and to pull the trim along both sides is not a 'quickie' situation, nor is there any guarantee they will put the trim back correctly. On the other hand, if the dealer has a good tech for roofing, it may be put back better than new.
You mentioned dry-camping--doesn't look like this one has a generator. But it sure is nice looking. 100 gal fresh water sure helps when not hooked up.
Joe

[kgreylgrey]

Originally Posted by wingnut60

Can't tell much from the pics, but 'wrinkles' are not common, and to pull the trim along both sides is not a 'quickie' situation, nor is there any guarantee they will put the trim back correctly. On the other hand, if the dealer has a good tech for roofing, it may be put back better than new.
You mentioned dry-camping--doesn't look like this one has a generator. But it sure is nice looking. 100 gal fresh water sure helps when not hooked up.
Joe

Thanks Joe. If you click on the pictures a couple times, they get bigger. I forgot to mention, but there was another DRV on the lot, and it also had some wrinkles on the length wise edge of the roof, but not nearly as bad as this one. This is Arizona. Could it be heat related? Don't know if these vinyl edges were originally glued down or just stretched and tacked down with the trim.

As for the dry camping aspect, we are negotiating with the dealer for upgrades including 4-6 deep cycle batteries (260 AH each), switching out the dumb converter to either a smart converter/charger or an inverter/charger and either a mounted LP generator (3.6 to 5.5 Kw) or just going with 2 Honda 2000's. Without solar panels, we will have to use some kind of generator to charge the batteries when dry camping. Leaning towards the 2 Honda's for now, and upgrading later on if they are too big a hassle. Also thinking about 1 or 2 non mounted portable solar panels and charge controller. And with all this, we also have to consider the possibility of exceeding the CCC.
But nothing will happen unless we feel confident about the roof.

K & L