Choosing 5th wheel for full-time, 4 season

Thank you all, ultimately we would love to consider a custom unit and took a look at a couple companies. Looks like a lot of fun to design! But, to see if we like it, we went with a wonderful 5 year old grand design unit. After looking at many used units with clear mold (I assumed it would be unusual...), we found one with no remaining off gassing and no mold. I was about to give up and/or spend more than I would like, but we found what seems like a great unit. We have lived it so far!

Thank you all!

Since you didn't mention a budget I'll assume that price isn't an issue. Have a look at New Horizons or Spacecraft. They can build whatever you want. You will need a class 3 dually for their short units and larger for 38' +

As mentioned, .buying used ( several years old), should have allowed the chemicals of the adhesives “gas-off”.....which should help considerably! I’m not aware of any rv’s with copper piping for water lines. Hard piping (copper) is “very unforgiving” in cold weather use. If you experience a problem with heating the unit, the copper lines will quickly burst....whereas the “pex- type” plastic lines are much more forgiving!

4-season use! I guess it depends upon what temperature extremes you expect. There are a few brands/models designed for “true” 4-season full time use. But, most of these will be in excess of 10 years old and will be quite heavy....requiring a good tow vehicle. There several that offered -20 F guarantees....Teton Homes and Excel immediately come to mind. We’ve had Tetons since 1993, lived in one for two Wyoming winters seeing several -30 F mornings and many below zero mornings. We never froze a water or sewer line! We did minimal extra cold weather preventions.... primarily heat taping and insulating the water line from spigot to the camper. This would also require a spigot (heat traced and insulated down to the feed line) that is deep enough to prevent freezing (around here water lines are put in at 6 feet depth. And...this was a 1990 year model, windows ( the old louvered, crank-out design)and slide seals, etc. have improved since then. For extended use in cold weather you will need a large capacity propane tank, or you will be filling the RV bottles quite often.

For short term use in cold temps.....merely fill the water tanks from a local source, then drain and store your fill hose. We still winter camp (in our 2004 Teton) with water tanks filled.....the coldest being -20 F ( ice fishing trip) .

The big upside to buying one of these older units is that......they can be purchased for a fraction of the original price. This will leave you with lots of extra cash to do “specialized” modifications to fill your (boyfriends) needs. Obviously, when buying an older used unit, is to thoroughly inspect (perhaps by a professional) ......to make certain that there are no “hidden” major defects!

Another plus for the Teton Homes unit ( we are most familiar with) is the huge storage area....which is very beneficial for full timing use! Though, most of the larger, quality 5th wheels have pretty generous storage areas.

Good Luck in your quest! memtb

Four season...”minimal plastic, solid wood, no particle board, etc.”

Closer to impossible to find an RV that will meet your requirements IMO. Consider a custom built trailer if you can find someone and afford it.

Probably better off buying a used rig. The new ones all have that "new car smell" which is just off gassing. If you get a rig a few years old, the worst of it should be done.

Even high end rigs typically have break in warranty work and expect that work to be done when the dealer gets around to it. Friends bought a $75k 5er this winter (I think it was $120k msrp)...fridge went out in the first month when they got it out this spring. Dealer says drop it off an he will take a look at it. I could go on but we seen this as pretty much standard every time friends get a new rig.

I've yet to see an RV with copper piping.

Likewise, the exotic woods and granite counter tops are typically lipstick on a pig. About the best you can expect is solid wood framing for the cabinetry but expect it to be stapled together.

4 Season...with proper setup, having a night time low in the 20F's is viable. Much lower than that and you can make it work for short periods but it's not fun.

What's your budget?
What are you going to pull it with?
Where do you plan to travel and how often will you move?
Are there any other medical issues that would impact his ability to live in an RV?
What is your RV experience?

I suspect by your questions you don't have any RV experience. These answers might help us point you in the right direction.

With the construction being almost all from materials known for off gassing and containing many different versions of pressed and laminated materials, both wood based and plastics, I would doubt any new unit would be acceptable to someone who is extremely susceptible to Formaldehyde or other possible construction materials.
Used units with a lot more time open to the outside air would help, but with used possibility of molds and other issues crops up.
Good luck