all, we're looking to get our first RV, preferably a 5th wheel. a travel trailer isn't out of the equation. the biggest issue we have is I'm 6'5" and my daughter is 6'1". my wife doesn't want the shower to be in the bedroom and would prefer a bunk house layout for those occasions that we vacation with another family. we looked at the Montana High Country 338DB and that seemed to fit most of the needs except for the budget. we'd like be in the 30k or less price range so that's most likely going to put us into used. I have a 2013 Ram 3500 SRW diesel so i'm not too worried about the weight. would you have any other suggestions on makes/models to consider?

Check out also trailers like Cedar Creek, Cardinal as both of those have offered split baths and bunch houses. Personally if you getting a bunk house for "occasional" guests you will hate yourselves in short order. They take up a lot of floor space for occasional use. Let them sleep on a hide a bed and get the coach that fits your needs. Remember, unless you are charging them to visit you, it is you paying for this thing, so get what works for you and the others be darned!

My experience with Sunnybrook RV is that the headroom in the travel trailer is `barely' enough for my 6' 4" frame. The fivers have much more room and can even have a ceiling fan in the living area!

Re-think the bunk house layout. A lot of them are for kids and are short, narrow and have limited weight capacities. Our old Jayco TT had a limit of 150 lbs per bunk and that along with them being short would be really uncomfortable for adults. I'm 6'4" and we looked at all sorts of fivers. I wanted a side isle bath that was all inclusive(sink, toilet and shower)all in one enclosed area. There are mid and high profile fivers out there, each with their own pro's and con's. The mid profile's have the bed usually on a raised platform in the bedroom which reduces head room dramatically and I found I'd be whacking my head on an ill placed tv antenna handle and\or ceiling lights. The plus is that they are overall lower in exterior height keeping you safer in areas with low bridges. For instance, my current fiver exterior height is 13'4". A similar mid-profile fiver might be 12'8" or less. That might not seem like much but in reality it's a lot of breathing room when sailing down an interstate at 60mph. High profiled fivers although taller outside offer very nice interior headroom in the bedroom. As the OP stated, don't be too concerned with guest accommodations. There are real comfy king sized sofa\air beds in the living room that will sleep 2 comfortably. Our 'bed-in-a-bag' sofa inflatable comes with it's own pump and inflates in under 3 minutes. If additional guest accommodations are needed, if it's warm, a tent works well especially if they are kids or teens. Adults may prefer an adjoining cabin. There are grandparents that enjoy camping with theirgrandkids all summer long and in that kind of situation I can understand a bunk bed layout. Other than that IMHO I wouldn't waste the precious floor space with a bunk layout. Good luck in your search!Mike

I am almost 6'-5" myself. You will definitely need a high profile 5er to get adequate headroom thru out. And even some of those will not work. Bedroom ceiling will be the biggest issue. Looked at a lot of 5ers at RV shows. Some that might have been ok otherwise had the antenna crank handle hanging down right where you walk.I agree that having a bunkhouse, while great for your kids, takes up a lot of your valuable living space. And some of those bunks don't look overly large.With your budget it is going to take a lot of looking at used units until you find one that fits your needs.

thanks for the information so far...with my daughter being 6'+ already at 13, we were leaning towards the bunks for her and a friend to be comfortable. they would have a separate "room" so they're not right in the middle of everything. i'm not so concerned about the guest accommodations as i am my daughters. many of the trailers are short and the showers are tight. i was looking for anyone else's experiences/suggestions with a particular brand/model that we should look into and stay away from. i know with our budget it's going to be a challenge!

Buying first RV for TALL family | Good Sam Community

MinnCamper
Explorer
Mar 10, 2014
We have a Laredo and love the height in it. Our shower is open to the bedroom and I agree with your wife - I'd prefer a separate bathroom/shower. We had a bunkhouse when our daughters were younger, but the beds were pretty narrow and tight. We love having more space in the living area and can even move around with the hide-a-bed out. I know they make a layout with a pull out bed in the 2nd bedroom space on some which would give your daughter alot more space. 2014 Sandpiper 365SAQB
Gsport
Explorer
Mar 05, 2014
Another to check out is the Solitude, made by Grand Design. King size bed, large rectangle shower, tall slides almost 7' height, flat floor all the way around the bed. I'm 6'3" and totally love my Solitude.. Oh yeah, taller/wider entrance door too.
billyjoeraybob
Explorer
Mar 04, 2014
I am 5' 17" and our Heartland Sundance 3270RES works well for me. It has a king size master and a pull out queen size and a separate bath with a nice sized tub.
pbo_Mo
Explorer
Mar 04, 2014
We recently switched from a bunkhouse to a Cyclone toy hauler because our kids have out grown the bunks. The bunks in hauler portion are queen width but king length. I highly doubt we will ever use the hauler portion to haul anything, just liked the floor plan, high ceilings and larger beds.

Whatever you buy, it will be some of the best money you spend for your family. Best of luck.
jmac2009
Explorer
Mar 03, 2014
I have the same problem with height, I'm 6'6". The only trailer I was comfortable in is the 5th wheel from Forest River, Silverback, 33RL I believe. I still have to duct going into the bedroom but everywhere else is fine. Even the full size shower allows me to stand straight up and get wet.

Also consider the slide outs. sitting a the table is ok but when you stand up, WHAM. The Silverback and Cathederal slides outs so that does even come close.
TheBeag5plus
Explorer
Mar 03, 2014
I would definitely check out toy haulers. We have one and love it. Lots of room and the "garage" beds are nice! Ours has a sliding glass door between garage and living room and set up to put a t.v. in there as well. Some newer ones will come with that already in. Our bedroom ceiling would be too low for you though. We have a friend who is quite tall, he owns a Fuzion and is very happy. I am not sure what the bedroom ceiling is like in that one. Something to watch for I guess. We have a MVP Vortex toyhauler. This company is no longer in business so check that out as well when you are buying used. You will not be able to get parts from a company that is no longer in business. It has not affected us at all yet. Mostly I would guess that would affect something like matching the interior colors etc. We bought our th brand new. I think you are smart for looking at used. You will save a ton of money!!
tallpall888
Explorer
Mar 03, 2014
Maybe out of your budget range, the Alfa 35RLIK Gold is what I chose at 6'6". This fifth wheeler allows me to walk thruout the unit (maybe bend a bit in the bedroom), and stand in the shower. I'm not even in danger of getting hit by the ceiling fan in the living room. This is a 2006 model, 36 ft, three slide, about 15000 lbs. It needs a one ton truck to pull it. It's been our love since purchase, living 6 months a year down where it's warm....then back up to Massachusetts where it's lovely (when it's warm!). Getting the urge to buy a second house down here in the warm area so willing to sell the Alfa if anyone is interested.
Krease
Explorer
Mar 02, 2014
Have you considered a front living room? Ours has very tall ceilings throughout, and the front living area has a curtain to turn it into it's own "Bedroom". I'm 6'5" and got our Montana after I got sick and tired of hitting my head in our old Cougar. Well, other reasons too, but our Montana has ample head room.
fred42
Explorer
Mar 02, 2014
I am 6' 4" (76"). The living area is fine, but the bed/bath area is only 75". Having a skylight in the shower helps.

Watch out for the entrance doors. My entrance door opening is only 68 1/4" and comes up to my chin. If you forget to hunch over when entering you can bang your head on the top strip of metal while rising up on the steps. I had the same problem on my previous truck camper and glued a piece of rigid foam to the top of the door opening.
mustangglp
Explorer
Mar 02, 2014
I second the toy hualer I am 6.0 and I have use a step stool to turn the fans on! Haven't found any 12 volt pull switches yet.