My 5th wheel is like new inside but the exterior is suffering from window seal leakage that has allowed water to get behind the gel coat. This water moves through the the Filon by osmosis and "pops" little circles off the gelcoat as it breaks through to the surface. It would be very costly to replace the Filon so I am thinking about replacing my 5ver. I would consider my Citation Supreme a middle of the road RV and would not want to buy anything of poorer quality than what it is. My limited understanding of other makes tells me that other middle of the road trailers would be Mobile Suite, HitchHiker, Arctic Fox, Carriage. Are there some other mid level RV's I might consider? If I wanted a higher quality trailer what is out there other than Continental Coach. I really don't want anything larger than 36 ft. In the past I considered the insulating value and type of glass (mirrored windows being an indicator of quality)as indicators of quality. Now I am thinking full body paint might be an indicator as well. What are some other quality indicators?Edit: buying slightly used could be a consideration.

Water damage is generally considered a lack of proper maintenance. Any RV can experience the same thing you are seeing by lack of keeping all openings properly sealed with the correct products.DoubleTree products are not considered mid level. They are more top of the line products. Hitch Hiker and Carriage are no longer in business, so unless your looking at used your out of luck. Northwood does make an excellent product. But again lacking proper care and maintenance it can fail just like your experiencing now.

donn0128 wrote:Water damage is generally considered a lack of proper maintenance. Any RV can experience the same thing you are seeing by lack of keeping all openings properly sealed with the correct products.DoubleTree products are not considered mid level. They are more top of the line products. Hitch Hiker and Carriage are no longer in business, so unless your looking at used your out of luck. Northwood does make an excellent product. But again lacking proper care and maintenance it can fail just like your experiencing now.If DoubleTree is top of the line than I probably will want to consider top of the line. In the past I have looked at Mobile Suite and felt it was comparable to my Citation Supreme.

Just remember, new mobile suites is going to run 135-150K US prerry well loaded. And demand at minimum a one ton dually. They do offer one model that can be had for 65-70K but you still need a dually to handle them.

Donn0128 wrote:They do offer one model that can be had for 65-70K but you still need a dually to handle them. . X2 "Dry" pin weights start out at 3500#. Loaded you will be 4000 at a minimum. Good luck.

Oh oh now you have done it Don :B :B If I were to get another 5er it would be a MS.

Ranking of 5th wheels | Good Sam Community

34 Replies

Atom_Ant
Explorer
Dec 09, 2013
Bank repo could be an issue, especially if they stripped it for any items of value.

Might be worth a flight out there.

We sold our 2007 Montana 3400 to a great couple in Georgia and they flew into Denver to take a look. Ours had been garaged so I was confident it would sell, and they turned out to be great folks we would like to visit again.

The Big Sky in 2008, if I remember correctly, got you exterior paint, larger tanks, leather furniture, better tires, bigger microwave, bigger fridge I believe. It was hard to track because everytime they added something to the Big Sky it would be added to the Montana the next year, and it got to the point the Big Sky is just a feature option with paint, levelers, and a few extra things for ~$10K add on. If RichFAA is on, he knows more about the Big Sky than I do as he recently bought one. Also the Montana Owners Club can give you an idea of what the differences were.
cummins2014
Explorer
Dec 09, 2013
4x4ord wrote:
I stumbled across what I think might be a very good deal on a 2008 36.5 rear entertainment quadslide Big Sky by Montana that that I could purchase for a very reasonable price. ($23,000). Is there anything special about a Big Sky vs a Montana? I take it these RVs would be considered in the lower bracket for quality?

Owing a 2008 Montana fifth wheel, I couldn't be more happy with it, but as always you will probably hear from others who feel differently. Have owned it since new, and have had a few minor problems with it.

The Big sky is basically the same fifth wheel as the Montana with more bling.
4x4ord
Explorer III
Dec 09, 2013
Atom Ant wrote:
That is actually a pretty good price if it is in good condition.

The pictures look very good. However, there is a couple problems with the deal. First off it is a bank repo and secondly the rv is about 800 miles away.
Atom_Ant
Explorer
Dec 09, 2013
That is actually a pretty good price if it is in good condition.
4x4ord
Explorer III
Dec 09, 2013
I stumbled across what I think might be a very good deal on a 2008 36.5 rear entertainment quadslide Big Sky by Montana that that I could purchase for a very reasonable price. ($23,000). Is there anything special about a Big Sky vs a Montana? I take it these RVs would be considered in the lower bracket for quality?
NJRVer
Explorer
Dec 08, 2013
kakampers wrote:
NJRVer wrote:
cruz-in wrote:
When we were out in Northern Indiana getting some work down on our Open Range 5er at the manufacturer, I got to talking to one of the techs. He said that he (and his extended family) have worked at just about all the manufacturers in Northern Indians.

He said the general consensus of all of them was, from a build quality and material used standpoint,....Redwood was the best.

P.S. I do not own a Redwood.

The guy broken down in AZ would probably disagree:)

Uhh...he has a Rushmore...not a Redwood...

:S
kakampers
Explorer
Dec 08, 2013
NJRVer wrote:
cruz-in wrote:
When we were out in Northern Indiana getting some work down on our Open Range 5er at the manufacturer, I got to talking to one of the techs. He said that he (and his extended family) have worked at just about all the manufacturers in Northern Indians.

He said the general consensus of all of them was, from a build quality and material used standpoint,....Redwood was the best.

P.S. I do not own a Redwood.

The guy broken down in AZ would probably disagree:)

Uhh...he has a Rushmore...not a Redwood...
kakampers
Explorer
Dec 08, 2013
Atom Ant wrote:
With full fresh water, we are at 4,300 lbs on the pin box (dry was 2,650). Our 104 gallon tank is forward of the axles under the basement unfortunately. It accounts for 850 lbs of weight, with a good share of it going to the pin box.

The generator, W/D and standard cargo alone pushed us to the maximum capability of our SRW, and water would have pushed us over. We hit our 7,000 lb axle weight first before the other specs. We went to the dually so we can carry water and extra cargo when we need to and not worry too much about it.

We are at 4,200 lbs on the pin without water in our 104 gallon tank...we also have a W/D, generator and full cargo bay. We are towing with a 1 ton DRW, 2011 chevy...we have been able to stay well below the ratings of the truck, except for GVWR which we are just a hair below. We are also under on our trailer axle weights, but we have added the additional structural steel of Mor Ryde IS and disc brakes for our towing peace of mind.

As you can see it is easy to get above the capabilities of a SRW even in the upper mid-level fivers like our Landmark and the Redwood...when you start out with even heavier units like MS, Excel, etc...you are DEFINITELY in DRW territory...as for Continental Coach you need to be prepared for Medium Duty or even Heavy Duty towing and a REALLY big price tag.
Atom_Ant
Explorer
Dec 08, 2013
With full fresh water, we are at 4,300 lbs on the pin box (dry was 2,650). Our 104 gallon tank is forward of the axles under the basement unfortunately. It accounts for 850 lbs of weight, with a good share of it going to the pin box.

The generator, W/D and standard cargo alone pushed us to the maximum capability of our SRW, and water would have pushed us over. We hit our 7,000 lb axle weight first before the other specs. We went to the dually so we can carry water and extra cargo when we need to and not worry too much about it.
4x4ord
Explorer III
Dec 08, 2013
Cummins12V98 wrote:
4x4ord wrote:
Me Again wrote:
4x4ord wrote:
We have a Redwood dealer close by. I have never taken the time to look close at one but I guess now I will. I think I will start with getting to know the Mobile Suite construction inside out. Then when I look at other manufacturers I will use MS as a benchmark for comparison. I like thidea of owning an RV that is well known for quality so that when the time comes to replace it the selling is easier.

So you are planning of a dually truck? Chris

No...my plans are to keep my SRW but if I end up needing a dually to handle the pin weight, I am willing to put up with one.

My pin weight is just over 4,500# with our 36' MS. MEE thinks Dually is advised.

The original RV's you mentioned in my opinion are at the top of the quality list.

Wow, 4500 lb pin weight would push me into a dually. I thought the Mobile Suite would be in around 3600 lb pin weight.
I have seen HitchHiker, Mobile Suites, Article Fox and Excel and thought they were all fairly decent quality and on about the same level as my Citation Supreme. I assumed these RVs were more middle of the road guessing that the Continental Coach, NewHorizon and Lifestyle might be a step above. But I have never actually seen any of those RVs that I am suggesting might be of higher quality. I did see the price list from Grand Forks and although I don't remember the exact prices of the Continental Coach I do remember it was scary.