Buying 5th wheel

We bought a 31 Grand Design Reflection 5th wheel last year at the end of the season and made one trip before winterizing. There were a few issues on this shake down trip that cropped up but some of the things I fixed myself. The dealer resolved the rest. There is not a lot of quality control in my opinion with any manufacturer so they let the purchaser and dealer work out the bugs. After all of our known issues were resolved we took several trips this calendar year and had no issues. One big trip to Utah with over 4000 miles of towing resulted in no problems. I think now this Grand Design is going to hold up well and give us enjoyable trips. Also you should be able to make a deal with about 30% off MSRP. Ours was 52K MSRP and we got it for $37K. It was equipped very nicely and we love the self leveling system. It also has two AC's with 50 Amp service.

My 2005 Cedar Creek has been absolutely outstanding. Only problems have been normal wear and tear. For your budget look at Arctic Fox, or earlier models of Cedar Creek.

My 2007 Montana has been as near troublefree as I could have ever hoped. Not so sure about the newer years. For Montana or any other brand for that matter.

Is used an option for you? You can get a nice used upper tier brand at that length and price range. It may take longer to find but they are out there.

I suggest you attend some rv shows...pick out a half dozen rigs that peak your interest. Now you will have a general idea of floorplans that work, and the "must have's" for your needs. Now go online and search for ALL 5ers with similar attributes and scrutinize their specs, visit owner forums, and be prepared to sort through the fanboys and haters of various models. Once you find 2-3 that really are worth dropping cash on find out who has them...go for a drive and physically spend a few hours in each to really ascertain if they are worth buying. Honestly some folks drop 35k after falling in love at the rv show and have at best spent 15 mins of superficial browsing. Do your homework, find other owners of your top picks and send them private messages for honest like/dislikes of their pride and joy. You have all winter....enjoy

Daryll

For that kind of budget you should be able to get a lightly used mid to upper tier builder. The older you go the more upper tier you can get.

For that kind of money new expect a mid market builder at best.

Finding an upper tier 5er in the low 30'er size will be a tough find. Might want to go as long as 35-36'LOA (model # will be 32-34). Set your parameters like tankage & basic preferred layout & start looking. The possibilities get whittled down very quickly. Be prepared to do some travelling for the right unit.

There are others but the builders I'd start with are ones like Mobile Suite, Arctic Fox, Carriage, even pre 2005 Alpenlites. With a budget of $35K & I picked up a good one needing some upgrades for $20K I'd be happy to put some $ into it for things like new flooring, running gear upgrades etc to update it.

You CAN have luxury.For a budget of $35,000, plus your trade in, you can buy a very nice, well built 5th wheel on the used market. As a plus, you can most likely find a used 5th wheel a few years old, that has way better build quality than most 5th wheels built today.
As an example, last spring we bought a 2005, 33.5' hitch Hiker 5th wheel for $20,000 plus change. This unit is in perfect, like new, condition and was thoroughly checked out at the former HitchHiker factory in Kansas, before purchase.
Take a look at the used units at Kansas RV Center. All of theirs have been checked out and serviced as needed. If they have one that fits your needs, it would be worth the drive, no matter what the distance from your location.
I am a big believer that used RV's nowadays can be much better than the new junk being built at the RV factories.

Best advice I ever recieved was from an RV dealer I trusted (they are out there!) He advised that for $xxxx find the best quality used unit you can find. You will be much happier than with a cheaper new unit.

That was more than 20years ago and it applies even more today!

Ten years ago I bought our ‘05 Newmar Mountain Aire for less than half of MSRP. Two years old and virtually unused It is still going strong. Towed it over 7,000 miles and lived in it for four months this past summer. Spent four to five months a year in it for 8 years and the full year in 2015.

We have put somewhere around 85,000miles on it over the years and it is still in great shape althought outside is starting to show it’s age after 8 winters in the AZ sun

It took me three years to find ours, but the result is worth the time.

Just stumbled across This one over on the escapeesforum.

Here's the one I'd recommend.

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