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mcrivelli's avatar
mcrivelli
Explorer
Sep 17, 2014

Recommended 5th Wheel to live in full time in Alaska

Hey Everyone,

My name is Mary, I am a new member to this forum. Hoping you can help a newbie out here.... Currently I am living in Maryland but am looking to move to Homer, Alaska within the next year or two. My goal is that I buy a used fifth wheel and live in that full time on a 5+ acre piece of property in Homer while I save money to build a log cabin. I am pretty sure I will live in this for 5 or more years so I it will need to be well insulated and roomy. Does anyone have any recommendations on year, make & model? In case you are not familiar with where Homer is, it is approximately 4 hours south of Anchorage. The average winter temperature is around 20 degrees with about 4-5' of snowfall annually. Summertime the average temp is 65 degrees, which means a/c will not be necessary.

I am specifically looking for a 34'+ model that has lots of windows and natural light, at least 3 slides but preferably 4 or more, one bedroom, washer / dryer hook up. Any advise y'all can give would help me with my search and budget.

Thanks,
Mary
  • Jack_in_Alaska's avatar
    Jack_in_Alaska
    Explorer
    Sep 18, 2014
    Mary,
    My son has a 35' 5th.whl. on his lot in Homer, Alaska. Several weeks ago he received a letter from the city of Homer to move his trailer out of the city limits. At least 200 others got the same letter. You may want to check into that before planning on a RV in Homer.
    His 5th.whl. is two slides, about 12 yrs old and kind of used from 3 kids and two dogs. Not one I would want to live in for 5 yrs.
    Homer does not get 5' of snow at one time. It gets 5' over the entire winter.
    Their climate is relatively mild all winter. A lot of rain during the winter. Propane is expensive in Homer. approx. $5/gal. It works just fine there in the winter. Don't believe all of those tales from Florida folks.
    I live 40 miles north of Homer on the ocean.
    Good luck in your move to Alaska. You will like it after getting settled.
  • SDcampowneroper's avatar
    SDcampowneroper
    Explorer
    Sep 18, 2014
    kennethwooster wrote:
    Try for a used Cameo. Made with quality, as well as all season.
    I have an '09 Carriage cameo. Good, not an Alaska winter unit. It isn't that kind of 4 season unit the OP needs.
  • goducks10's avatar
    goducks10
    Explorer
    Sep 18, 2014
    Regardless of the 5'er you choose I think building some kind of permanent cover would sure help. It would help keep the snow and rain off the roof for extended periods of time. I can't imagine what damage would be done with 4-5' of snow on a 5'er roof.

    Do you have a starting price?
  • SDcampowneroper's avatar
    SDcampowneroper
    Explorer
    Sep 18, 2014
    Excel. Arctic Fox. Teton. A couple more,
    Live safe and comfortably wothout worry. Put the big windows in your cabin. Windows in an rv are not well insulated with their aluminum frames.
    Winters in Alaskas short daylight hours wont give you anything to look out at anyways.
  • tsetsaf's avatar
    tsetsaf
    Explorer III
    Sep 18, 2014
    Look for a Teton Home.
    In the 40' range with three to four slides. Very well built and insulated. They are heavy so just hire a delivery to get to your lot. Arctic Fox is a poor suggestion for what you are doing.
  • waltbennett's avatar
    waltbennett
    Explorer
    Sep 18, 2014
    Homer's weather isn't all that bad (compared to Fairbanks), so an Arctic Fox will probably suit you well. Don't think I'd go with much of any other brand for this. You'll have to skirt it to insulate the bottom, but that's not until you get there and put it where you want. Your water and sewer will have to be heated as well to keep them from freezing. Again, not a really hard thing to do, but you've GOT to have power to your site first. And you really don't want a lot of windows since they let in a lot of cold.

    This from someone who's spent three years up there.
  • Oasisbob's avatar
    Oasisbob
    Explorer
    Sep 17, 2014
    Storm windows for sure. Heated tanks, lots of auxillury propane. Generator back up. You can do it!
  • agesilaus's avatar
    agesilaus
    Explorer III
    Sep 17, 2014
    I'd look at Arctic Fox brand, they are heavily winterized. However lots of windows probably does not fit well with winter in Alaska. You might want to ask this over in the Alaska-Canada forum here, they may have some ideas. You would certainly want to install skirting around the bottom of the RV and add heat tape and maybe insulation under it. You have to worry about propane bottles getting too cold as well as the water connections freezing.

    How many hours of light does Homer get in winter? Not many is my guess. I see the sun rises around 10 AM and sets at 5 PM and the average high is 29 deg with a low of 19 (This for mid January)

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