full timer 5er noob looking for some expierenced advice

Not a fan of the front end living room either. Think about demand for it when the time comes to sell.

Also in favour of buying an upper tier slightly used like DRV over a mid market but new for the same money.

Hard to find, but well worth a look if you don't mind buying older, are Alpenlites built between 2000 & 2005. 2006 & later Alpenlites are Lippert framed & generally not as well built as the earlier generation.