Lots of responses here and all good advice. Funny, we too never thought we would have one of those monster fifth wheels we'd see while we were traveling, but after looking at a Class A we changed our minds. The Class A made me car sick and the storage for us was minimal. Smart for you to consider it with the slides in, having had four previous travel trailers before purchasing the FW, we had the salesman bring in the slides several times while we imagined what it would be like to stop en route at a road side rest for lunch, or sleep at a truck stop while on the road. In our unit, we can do everything, but get in the living room, with all the slides in. I can open the fridge, cook, use the shower, restroom, and get on the bed. There's room for the dogs too with all the slides in.
My only one word of advice is to never love anything that can't love you back. Instead of falling in love with that Alpine, step back and objectively look at it and be open to change. You've got time to look, but once you've purchased it'll be more difficult to change if you're not pleased.
With that said, though, I don't blame you for being excited. I would too! We can't get enough of this lifestyle and it is a lifestyle. We spend money on things that others think are expensive. Just maintenance alone can be spendy especially for those things that you can't or won't do yourself.
Have fun and keep us posted.
