Hi all! I just joined this forum and have tons of questions regarding choosing the best fifth wheel for future full time living. We plan to leave in about 18 months and travel full-time for at least a couple of years. Our plan is to buy the RV we want, and then the truck to pull it. My first question is regarding length and basic floor plans. We do want to stay in national parks and possibly work there. What are your recommendations regarding length? Pros and Cons? Also, my husband likes the front living floor plans but I am noticing that DRV, Excel etc. don't offer that option and I am assuming there is a reason for that? What are your opinions regarding FL? Thanks so much - a ton more questions coming as we begin our research into the best RV for us! Still trying to learn the lingo! Jane

Front Living:when we were looking last year, all the FL floor plans seemed to have the least underneath storage available.

You are a new member 1 day 1 post. I would suggest that you make a list of your questions and then do a search using the advanced search and spend 10 days or more looking for your answers. Many questions have been answered by many people many different ways and you will soon get a sense of what has passed before you.

Comfort,comfort,comfort. Floor plans are floor plans. Which one is best for you is up to you. Lots of people like rear kitchen, while others like rear living. You realle need to go shopping, sit in as many different floor plans as you can find. Play house in each one and then pick the one that suits your preferences best. For a weekender little things can often be overlooked, but for full timing those little things can become big issues. So choose carefully. As for NF campgrounds, smaller is better. Just the opposite for living

Be sure to look at your choice with the slides in before it is you final choice. Can you make lunch with the slides in. Can you get to the bathroom. Stock items you just purchased etc etc. Chris

Always lots of comments about access when slides are closed. But so far in 9 yearsi have never found this an issue. With a selector for the slides it is no big deal to open the LR slide to make a sandwich it is just not a big deal. Comfort when parked is far more important to me.

How to Choose a 5er | Good Sam Community

Tgator1
Explorer
Jun 14, 2014
GypsiesAtHeart2016 wrote:
Hi Jane! We just joined and this is our first post too. We are also planning on FTing for 2016 and looking at 5r's and are seriously considering an Open Range Roamer RF346FLR. It has the rear bedroom which you go up a few steps to enter giving it awesome storage capacity below from the rear. There is room for 2 - 10' kayaks and 4 bicycles in enclosed storage. It is 37'7" though. They also have a Mesa Ridge with storage, slightly shorter,but I'm not sure if 2 kayaks will fit (which is what we want). Best of Luck, John & Marie

John & Marie, I checked this model at Open Range's site. I like this floorplan! But, I couldn't tell what the portable dinette looked like or how it was stored. Have you walked through this model? Tell me more!
jcordar2
Explorer
Jun 12, 2014
Thanks so much for all of the very helpful responses! I've started a notebook with tons of notes from your suggestions! So glad to have found a place to obtain help and information from experienced rv'ers!
GypsiesAtHeart2
Explorer
Jun 12, 2014
Hi Jane! We just joined and this is our first post too. We are also planning on FTing for 2016 and looking at 5r's and are seriously considering an Open Range Roamer RF346FLR. It has the rear bedroom which you go up a few steps to enter giving it awesome storage capacity below from the rear. There is room for 2 - 10' kayaks and 4 bicycles in enclosed storage. It is 37'7" though. They also have a Mesa Ridge with storage, slightly shorter,but I'm not sure if 2 kayaks will fit (which is what we want). Best of Luck, John & Marie
JEBar
Explorer
Jun 09, 2014
it might pay to take a look at Jayco's Eagle, Eagle Premiere, and Pinnacle lines .... they offer well built units that come in a variety of floorplans .... there is a FL floorplan in the Pinnacle .... in addition to being tens of thousands less than some of the lines mentioned, they come with a 2 year bumper to bumper warranty and have one of the largest dealer networks out there .... should you have a warranty issue without a dealer around they will make provisions to have a non Jayco facility take care of you

Jim
416Rigby
Explorer
Jun 09, 2014
Check out RVWholesalers.com
Sturgeon-Phish
Explorer
Jun 09, 2014
Make sure you step in the shower and go through the motions of showering. Some showers are deceptivly small.
Go through the motions of meal prep, making beds, and the like. Consider if you'll have company staying over at times.

In the National Parks and old state parks anyting over 30 feet can become a problem unless you're lucky or plan ahead.
Jim
Halmfamily
Explorer
Jun 09, 2014
Our fiver in sig is a front living room. Our next unit will be a rear living room. We enjoy our FL but the lack of basement storage, layout of couches to tv and lack of view from the living room are the three big negatives we have come to find with ours. Most our our trips have great scenery but we can only enjoy from the dining room table, I know go outside but sometimes you just want to be inside. The small windows in the FL don't afford much of a view. Definitely go with best unit you can afford and spend as much time as you can in as many units as you can before you make your decision. Best of luck.
richfaa
Explorer
Jun 08, 2014
Most folks do not like to talk about it but our first determination was how much money do we have to spend or how big of a loan can we handle.The financial aspect will cut down the brands you will look at. If one can not afford a Excel, etc there is not point in looking at them unless you want to go used then the how much can we spend still applies. remember the cost of a tow vehicle has to be considered in the purchase of a 5t wheel.

In our case the financial aspect was the determining factor in what we purchased now or used.
ontariofarmer
Explorer
Jun 08, 2014
Welcome to the forum.......you really need to go to the RV shows and or the dealers to actually sit in them and see what would work for you. No two peoples tastes are the same. You need to make the decision on what you like or don't like.

Make some weekends out of your search and have fun :)
padredw
Nomad
Jun 08, 2014
Our first fifth-wheel was a Prowler Regal with a front living room. In fact, that floor plan was one attraction of our getting a fifth-wheel at all. It was used in 1997, not sure now of the year model but that was 17 years ago so it was at least a model of over 18 years ago. We liked it very much but when we were ready for our first NEW fifth-wheel, the front living room models were longer and heavier than we wanted, so we have had three NEW fifth-wheel since that time--all of different brands. We are still attracted to the front living room floor plan, but they are all larger units than we desire.

I agree with all the comments that floor plan is important and the suggestions that it is time well spent to "sit down" and think in the actual units which are being considered.

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