Quest for the perfect 5th wheel

Very good points made by all. Just my $.02 as well, but I agree w/ taking notes, pics, make some kind of spread sheet if need be of what you like/dislike on current models/brands for both you and better half. Do same thing next year as well. Note changes made from year to year if any. How many will be w/ you traveling in 2 years? We went from a 35' BH w/ 4 people to a 41' w/ 2 and LOVE it.

On brands you looked at, I would agree (IMO) the Creek's quality isn't what it used to be. We had a '06 Silverback that like FTG and his Redwood, no problems when we owned it. Considered going back w/ Creek when we upgraded, but nothing really hit us w/ floorpans and thought the quality went south and didn't like some changes they made. Factory rep doesn't like me---will leave it at that. Went to Hershey show in the mindset w/ Creek, and DW said, "Let's look at Heartland/Big Horn". Def liked the larger 1/2 bath, lots of bling and we kinda left it at that too.

Month later at last outing for the season, was raining so decided to go to local RV dealer just for the heck of it. Ends up they were having some kind of open house thing. So w/o a salesperson in tow, we headed out to the lot to browse thru units. Sone, DW and I in one and all I heard was "THIS IS IT!" I was in front BR w/ the other 2 in back. Was same unit as in sig. Sat on it all winter till Feb and got serious then. Ended up buying same coach after ordering it and picked it up in May of '17. Admittingly, we do not put gobs of miles on it each year, but has gone to ME and FL, rest here in upstate NY. Overall, she's been a great coach and 1 issue we had HL took care of, Dexter too. Serves our needs very well.

Couple other things to consider and some my disagree are: 1) 16,000 GVW trailer weight is DRW territory. Yes SRW have come a long way, but in terms of safety w/ this weight and long distance travel......DRW. IF and I say IF you do not travel long distances, then a SRW may suffice. 2) Was told once that a heavier RV translates into a better built and ride RV. Hopefully others will offer their take on this, but ours weighs 14k empty and 16K fully loaded and rides/tows great. In fact, DW has a knife/kitchen utensil spinny thing (I don't know exact name, but it's darn close) that sits to right of stove on counter (slide houses ET center, pantry, stove, fridge) and that hasn't moved since she placed it there in May of '17.

Just some other things to add upon/consider. Many will agree tho, get your truck you want 1st, The more HD the better,. Then look at RV's that will work best for you.

At least 2 years out is a good place to start. Do the shows & dealers wherever you may be. Take notes on builders & model numbers that you like. In 2 years time when you are ready to buy you might find a 2 year old model on your short list, lightly used & in very good condition, for a fraction of the price of buying new.

philh wrote:
Really excited for the Novi MI RV Show.

Our top 3 choices to look at
Cedar Creek 38EFK
Riverstone FK don't recall the exact model
and a new one, Solitude 344GK

Complete wipeout, none were there, and worse, it looks like cedar creeks quality has slipped.

Did see a Landmark, and chatted with the factory rep for quite awhile. He was really proud of the construction and quality. It seemed to be ok, but the 3rd time I went back to it, noticed in the pantry cabinet, staples on the shelf came from the bottom up and the points actually came through the boards... That was a boneheaded construction!

Went to go look at the Riverstone again, and while waiting for someone to come out, wife looked across the aisle, "hey look, it has a wine fridge". Brand didn't matter, it had a wine fridge :) Anyway, it was a Redwood RW3901WB. While we were looking around, a current owner, who was there to buy a new one, was selling us on all the nice features.

We're still about two years away, but narrowing down to what we like.

We are on our second Redwood and LOVE it. Our first gave us 4 years of trouble free pleasure while glamping, it was a 38RL.

We really thought we would have that RV for a long time, then our neighbors tree had something to say about that, that's a whole different thread.
We now have a 2020 Redwood 3991RD and like it just as much as the first, perhaps a bit more.

Jump over to - The Redwood Owners Group Site and poke around.

You find many owners there that can answer any type of question you have.
Like stated, they are built out in Topeka Indiana, in the heart of RV world. that means that they ALL use the same work force for the most part.

With any RV, you will have real bad units, and real good units, real proud owners, and real angry owners..
Find what is best for you, research it, go visit the factory and see how they are built if possible and then decide

With you being 2 years out thiings will change by then, seeing you have so much time before have you considered a trip to In. to see how they are made? Cedar Creek, River Stone and Redwood are all made in Topeka In. less then 10 minutes apart, plus lots more to see touristy things in the area as well.

The search is half the fun.
Any decision or narrowing down now will likely change two years from now.

But, that's okay. It's all part of the experience.

Good luck

Mike

Does a perfect RV exist? IMO nope. Does a perfect RV need to exist? IMO nope. The best RV fits your camping desires.