32 vs 38

PaulD1 wrote:
Grand Design has a couple of "x" series 5ers in thier Solitude line which are the higher end wide body series. They have option for King beds, big front closet with washer dryer prep and a bigger bath/shower.

This is the 320x which is 35' and might be a good comprise for you:

http://www.granddesignrv.com/solitude320-floor.php

Cheers,


Paul

Clicky

GVWR * 15,000 lbs.
Dry Weight 11,580 lbs. **
Hitch Weight 2,480 lbs. **
Exterior Height 12' 11" ***
Exterior Length 34' 9"
Axles 2 X 6,000 lbs.

Lets see, two 6K axles and a 15K GVWR. That is cutting things better tight. 20 percent of GVWR is 3K! 15000 - 3000 is 12000 and the axles are fully loaded. Why did they not use 7K axles for a few bucks more?

Chris

Grand Design has a couple of "x" series 5ers in thier Solitude line which are the higher end wide body series. They have option for King beds, big front closet with washer dryer prep and a bigger bath/shower.

This is the 320x which is 35' and might be a good comprise for you:

http://www.granddesignrv.com/solitude320-floor.php

Cheers,


Paul

It really depends on what type of camping you'll do. If you like to have full hookups most of the time then going bigger will be better. If you spend some of the time camping without hookups then going smaller will be better. We cam mostly dry so we don't want a big 38' 5er. We have a 28' now and while it's fine for our limited stays if we decide to go the extended stay route we'll limit our length to 32-33'. That will leave us the room inside as well as still being short enough to get into more spots. I would rather be in a smaller 5er and be in a nice spot as opposed to being in a large 5er and getting stuck in a bad spot. We hate RV parks because they cram everyone in so close. Going to FS type CG's is more our style. Some have water/elec so that helps. Bigger isn't always better, and I rather have the option to get into a nicer CG than being forced into a CG/RV park I really don't want to be in. If we were full timing then I think I'd go larger simply because I would need all the storage I could get.

Looking at Wildcat's site the spec's show the one in the 32 range and the one that is 38+ feet to have less than 500 pounds difference in GVWR. So I would question the 38 footer for extended stay use. Maybe you should be moving up the ladder a bit on quality if you plan on keeping it for many years. Forest River has a extensive list of brands from entry to high quality. We winter in the SW in a 2005 29' Cardinal and do just fine!

If buying new, be sure to get the right one, as you real take a hit if you have to trade in the first couple years to want you REALLY wanted. Chris

You seem to know the limitations of both. Maybe a tough decision. Get one with more room inside or get one that can go many more places.

The big one limits you much more to the private CGs where there is very little space between sites. The smaller one allows you into SPs & NPs where sites are roomy & have great separation of sites.

JMO but size does matter & bigger is not necessarily better.

Sounds like we are in the minority, but our first 5th wheel was a 30'. It didn't take us long to figure out that claustrophobia set in after a few days. Since that 30 footer, we've owned two 36' 5th wheels and our current MS 38RSSA (actual length within an inch of 40'). Personally, there's no way we would go back.

Rusty

I went from a 30' to a 38' and have no regrets, but I knew from the get-go I would not fit into a few CGs. The bedroom and bathroom in the 30' was miserable for me so my decision was easy.

We stay about four months out of the year in our fiver. We have the wonderlust and don't stay in one place for more than a week to ten days. We do like to see things we have never seen before. So, my wife and I traded down from a 34 ft CarriLite to a 30 ft Cameo. For us, it is just the right size for traveling and taking care of our needs. Our fiver now has over 140,000 miles on it and we are getting it ready to leave in May for another tour of the country. Bigger is not better for us.

My FW is 31' long. When I camp in SPs, I could usually be 6' longer, and still camp on the same sites.

The bigger problem I see is height (low hanging tree limbs). If the 38' FW is not much taller, than the 32', I don't see a problem going the extra 6'.

Jerry

My RV is 30 feet from tip-to-tip, and I have been in many campgrounds during my coast-to-coast trips.
Some sites were a breeze to pull into, and some were a (lets see, what's another word that starts with b ?).
A very few were impossible. Older campgrounds built for tenting, or pop-ups.

Most of the camp sites where I parked my 30 footer, I could just as easily have parked a 38 footer. But not all.

So if you are going to spend time in older campgrounds, or state/federal parks, you might want to stay small.
But if you camp in newer, resort type campgrounds, get the big one, assuming your truck can carry the weight.