5th Wheel for fulltiming?

[Otoole]

We have decided to go fulltime in a 5th wheel in the next year. We already have certain floorplan requirements and know that storage is an important factor. What I haven’t been able to determine is: What makes a 5th wheel worthy of use for fulltime living? What construction materials and methods should we be looking for? Are there particular components that are more desirable than others? I imagine it is the same as a house in that you need to start with a strong foundation and the whole is the sum of the parts. Knowing very little about RV construction makes it difficult to evaluate one unit against another. We have seen some that are “Warrantied for full time use”. But just what does that mean? At this point I don’t know what to look for and what questions to ask dealers/manufacturers. Simply put….I don’t know what I don’t know. I would like to evaluate units to ensure we are getting the biggest bang for the buck.
We plan on doing a fair amount of traveling the first year or so and then more or less settle into a routine of north in the summer and south in the winter.
Thanks in advance for any insight.

[jesilvas]

First question; how much do you want to spend? Because if you're looking at $20k, this will be very hard.
Then other questions; what vehicle is going to pull it, and do you want new or how old do you want to buy?

[myshaggydog]

Welcome to the Forum. We started fulltiming about 6 months ago and decided on a used MH and a Diesel pusher. We plan on traveling around alot. We probably will only stay at a campground for no more then 2 weeks and move to another area. If you plan on staying at one location for more then a month, the fifth wheel is the way to go. Of course some RV'ers will probably disagree with me but that is how we made our decision. Also the MH, IMHO is easier to back into a spot and to travel with.

Best of luck on your decision.

Happy RV'ing and fulltiming.

[missourijan]

I would say the best components of any rv, 5th wheel, TT or MH, are the insulation and dual pane windows. Insulation will keep you warmer in cold weather and cooler in hot weather. Even the floor insulation is important. Dual pane windows are just as important. No rv is completely sealed, because of the slides you have air gaps, that's where you need good insulation to keep that to a minimum. Buy a good quality used unit, look for a floor plan that looks liveable to you, live in it for a year. Then you will know what you really like and don't like. There are lots of people that spend lots of $$ then don't like the rig. You can always buy a new one later. Drv makes a quality, well insulated unit, also HEAVY. Excel, Jayco, Hitchiker are good quality units. Look at the owners' forums like www.suitesowners.com, you can see what issues actual owners are having. Almost every brand has an owners forum to share info with each other. There's also an rv consumer book/website that you can join that will give you info on each brand. Another suggestion would be to rent a class a or a class c, go camping locally and talk to people in the campground. You will be getting valuable experience and talking to actual owners. Don't know of anywhere that you can rent a 5'r.

[go4dsnow]

Check out the Jayco Pinnacle, huge amount of storage and carrying capacity. Great insulation and double pane windows. You should be able to find one thats getting close to being non current. Price should be in the high 50's for an all cash deal.

[JEEPOHOLIC]

OTOOLE >>> “Warrantied for full time use” . I would be interested to see these fifth wheels as well, we went with a fifth wheel toy hauler so we could use the loft bed as storage, and have the universal extra room in the garage, I wanted a side aisle so the bathroom would all be in one room, but sometimes in life you make your choices depending on cash flow at the time of buying, we payed cash for our truck and trailer as we didnt want any payments while traveling across America building one power plant at a time

[Jim2]

"We have seen some that are “Warrantied for full time use”. But just what does that mean? "

Many RV manufacturers have some fine print in their warranty terms that state "This unit is not designed or intended for fulltime living". Not all of them enforce that clause in all cases, but its there for them to use as an out if they think your fulltime use contributed to the failure. The clause you quoted & asked about removes that condition.

We all approach these decisions somewhat differently. In my opinion. its decided 1/3 by your budget amount, 1/3 by personal preference and 1/3 by actual construction quality & components.
Shopping for $60,000 rigs involves a completely different set of components & standards, than shopping for $120,000 & up rigs. First establish your budget range, find your 3 favorite rigs in that range which have the layout & features you prefer. Then use quality & components to filter the final choice.

[twogypsies]

Full-timers travel in all kinds of RVs. If you don't plan to stay long-term in places with extreme temperatures - hot or cold - you'll be just fine. Double pane windows will help a lot.

As for storage space - even though you have a huge compartment don't think you can fill it to the brim with heavy things. You will need to watch your weights very carefully and figure out how much you can carry and how much your truck can pull before loading it up. You can roughly figure on 1500-2000 lb per person. Weigh your RV and truck fully loaded, including water, fuel and propane.

We did it for 8 years in our 33' Travel Supreme but then we're minimalists.

[JFXG]

Originally Posted by Otoole

We have seen some that are “Warrantied for full time use”. But just what does that mean?

It means as much or as little as any other marketing slogan.

Originally Posted by Otoole

.......What makes a 5th wheel worthy of use for fulltime living? What construction materials and methods should we be looking for? Are there particular components that are more desirable than others? ........Knowing very little about RV construction makes it difficult to evaluate one unit against another..... At this point I don’t know what to look for ......... Simply put….I don’t know what I don’t know.

Otoole, enjoy your adventure! You are embarking on a great deal of fun and excitement. You will learn things in the next year that will astound you.

In point of fact there is a single organization that can answer these questions, or at least the important ones.

Go to RV.org and enroll in the RV Consumer Group. Pay their nominal fee, read their materials, and start delving into their reports and evaluations.

They address exactly the questions you have raised, and their evaluations categorize different models based on suitability for particular purposes-- fulltiming, snowbirding, vacationing, etc. They also look closely at factors such as highway handling, fit and finish, owner reports.

They do NOT do field testing a la Consumer Reports. They rely on manufacturer provided data, owner information, and (when possible), factory observation. They DO, however, offer straightforward opinions, based on data, without equivocation. IMO, they are a very valuable tool in the selection process. I consider RVCG to have been the single most valuable source of vehicle data when we were shopping for our motorhome.

Good Luck, and keep us posted as the search progresses!

[mikell]

My advice is always the same . Make sure you get one with a heat pump AC unit. This morning it was 42 outside and it's supposed to go up to 78. Thermostat set on 68 and it's always 68 and no propane to make it happen. I'll never have another rig without it

[Otoole]

I appreciate the feedback. We spent yesterday looking at Big Country, Pinnacle, Bay Hill, Solitude, and Redwood. The Solitude and Redwood stood out from the rest. The Redwood also had a much better fit and finish on cabinetry and DW liked all the storage in the 38GK. It was also the most $$$ of the lot. Each unit had its pros and cons. We still would like to look at Mobile Suites, Big Horn, Montana, and Landmark. Are there any others that we should consider?
As far as a tow vehicle, we've decided on a 1 Ton dually, diesel, crew cab, 8' bed. Although we won't purchase the truck until we decide on the 5th wheel. At which point I will size the truck appropriately but given what we have seen so far a 1 Ton dually is probably the territory we'll be in.
Would really like to tour some manufacturing facilities but that is a 1,200 mile trip we won't be able to make.
Lots to consider.

[Serengeti]

You have a good list so far. The only others that I can think of are Excel, NuWa (not making any more new RV's, but still open to handle warranty issues), and Northwood (Arctic Fox). We have a Landmark that we love, which has dual pane windows and "Yeti" package along with a bunch of other options. I have some recommendations; (1) first chose the RV you want then buy then the TV. We have a GMC Denali 3500 diesel CC/srw for our Landmark, which has a GVWR of 16,250 (we are at 15k loaded), however a lot of the other brands are 18,000 or higher, which would require a 450/4500. You do not want to be over either the GCVW, GRAWR, or GVWR of your TV, otherwise you will be overloaded, which causes more wear and tear on the TV, more stability problems and if in an accident possibly liable if it is found out that you were over the TV limits. A good place to go for this info is Fifth Wheel Street (http://fifthwheelst.com/). (2) Not only do research on the RV, but also the dealer. Find one who will not just sell you an RV but take care of you after the sell. We drove 500 miles just to buy from a dealer in Knoxville. They are a family owned business who only sells Landmarks and DRV's. They even give out their private cell number to their RV owner to call at anytime if we have any questions or problems (http://www.rvsforless.net/). (3) Are you going to be a "seasonal" full-timer? Meaning staying at cool places in the summer and warm in the winter? If so, then you don't have to worry as much about the insulation, dual pane windows, or cold weather options like the "Yeti" package (extra insulation, heat pads for the tanks, etc). (4) Finally, read the posts on the owner forums, which will give you a good insight into what owners like about their RV's and the problems they encounter (all RV's have some problems since when it is being towed an moderate "earthquake" is occurring in the RV). In addition, if will also give you a good idea as to how well the company takes care of their RV owners and handles warranty issues. We decided on our purchase in part from the posts we read on the Heartland Owner's Forum (http://www.heartlandowners.org/forum)..
Hope this helps and wish you the best on your new journey!

[Newmar2856]

Have you considered A Forest River Cardinal?

[go4dsnow]

Jayco Pinnacle specifically warranted for full time use. 2 years bumper to bumper.