Slightly different question - fivers & full-timing
Hello, everyone. I've been on the forum for a while, but spend over half my time (and posts) on the travel trailer forum since that's what we have right now. This question, however, has to do with fifth wheel RVs specifically (and less with full-timing or other topics).
Here's the situation: I'm tentatively planning on retiring (again - already retired from the Army) in February or March of 2015... about a year from now. We plan to spend significant amounts of time on the road in the U.S. with an RV and perhaps 4 - 6 weeks a year in Ecuador. (If anyone is interested in the "why" on Ecuador, PM me and I'll be glad to share.) We're even considering selling the house and making the RV home base for the 10 or 11 months we're in the states each year. Our current rig - a Surveyor Sport 220 - isn't large enough (and doesn't have enough storage) to full-time in, in our opinion, so we would move up to a fifth wheel when the time comes. We have a new (6,000 miles) 2013 Sierra 2500HD crew cab with the Duramax/Allison combination for a tow vehicle. I have towed various loads for 40 years and understand towing capacity, trailer dry weight vs. GVWR, tow vehicle GVWR, GCWR, rear gross axle weight rating, max payload, etc., and I'm a believer in staying at no more than 80% of the rated capacity for any of these specs. I also don't want a unit so large that I can't get it into and out of state and national parks, etc.
With the above scenario in mind, I would like to explore less-than-maxi fifth wheel RVs that meet a few requirements. I have seen many posts on this and other forums stating that a full-width bedroom closet is a must for long-term living in an RV. To do this, there really needs to be a bedroom slide with the bed oriented side-to-side (we actually prefer queen to king - it's plenty of bed for us and takes up less space). We would also like a "double-wide" refrigerator (something larger than the 8 or 9 cf camper units) and seating in the living area that faces the entertainment center. While I’m at it, I’m not a big fan of dinettes… we would prefer even a very small table and two chairs.
Here's the question: Is there a decently-built, smaller/lighter fiver with at least the bedroom slide that might be suitable for our purposes? I've been combing the manufacturer's sites and haven't come up with the "perfect" solution. I realize that everything is a compromise and that we won't find everything we want in a small package, but I'd like to find the right balance.
Let the race begin!
Thanks,
Rob
Here's the situation: I'm tentatively planning on retiring (again - already retired from the Army) in February or March of 2015... about a year from now. We plan to spend significant amounts of time on the road in the U.S. with an RV and perhaps 4 - 6 weeks a year in Ecuador. (If anyone is interested in the "why" on Ecuador, PM me and I'll be glad to share.) We're even considering selling the house and making the RV home base for the 10 or 11 months we're in the states each year. Our current rig - a Surveyor Sport 220 - isn't large enough (and doesn't have enough storage) to full-time in, in our opinion, so we would move up to a fifth wheel when the time comes. We have a new (6,000 miles) 2013 Sierra 2500HD crew cab with the Duramax/Allison combination for a tow vehicle. I have towed various loads for 40 years and understand towing capacity, trailer dry weight vs. GVWR, tow vehicle GVWR, GCWR, rear gross axle weight rating, max payload, etc., and I'm a believer in staying at no more than 80% of the rated capacity for any of these specs. I also don't want a unit so large that I can't get it into and out of state and national parks, etc.
With the above scenario in mind, I would like to explore less-than-maxi fifth wheel RVs that meet a few requirements. I have seen many posts on this and other forums stating that a full-width bedroom closet is a must for long-term living in an RV. To do this, there really needs to be a bedroom slide with the bed oriented side-to-side (we actually prefer queen to king - it's plenty of bed for us and takes up less space). We would also like a "double-wide" refrigerator (something larger than the 8 or 9 cf camper units) and seating in the living area that faces the entertainment center. While I’m at it, I’m not a big fan of dinettes… we would prefer even a very small table and two chairs.
Here's the question: Is there a decently-built, smaller/lighter fiver with at least the bedroom slide that might be suitable for our purposes? I've been combing the manufacturer's sites and haven't come up with the "perfect" solution. I realize that everything is a compromise and that we won't find everything we want in a small package, but I'd like to find the right balance.
Let the race begin!
Thanks,
Rob
