switching from tent camping to 5th wheel

Tibbs54 wrote:
We are in the market for a small-ish 5th wheel and the truck to tow it...We are looking at the Northwood Fox Mountain 235RLS and a 2015 F350 Diesel. We have only tent camped to date - but I just turned 60 and feel it's time to go for more comfort. :) Plus we will be retiring soon and want to spend a lot of time traveling and camping around the country.

My question is more of a "how does it feel" to camp in a 5th wheel. Ours would be about 28feet long. Can I plan to wake up in the morning and open the door to the smell of pine trees and fresh air or, because we aren't in a tent, will I just be looking at my neighbors 5th wheel, travel trailer or motorhome? I'm hoping a 28 foot FW won't have many restrictions and we can stay out of crowded RV parks and 'get away from it all'. We considered a truck camper for this reason, but feel we want the room for when the grandkids camp with us. Any thoughts on this? Any resources I can check? I don't want to hit the road only to find that I won't be able to get that 'in the woods' feeling when stopping for the day. Can't wait to get started --- what's it like?

Obviously, you won't be able to get into some areas where you tent camp, but, if you choose the right FW, you can still get into some very nice areas with one that's < 30'. I just got back from a long weekend boondocking with 30 other family and friends in the AZ high country, and my 29'3" rig has no problem getting in and out, provided I do =my= job right. :-) If you like to boondock, or otherwise be in less improved areas, one of the real issues you might face is tank capacity. Many otherwise very nice rigs have ludicrously small holding tanks, especially the black, that can limit your time away from hookups. If you like full-service campgrounds, then many of them will be cheek-to-jowl, no doubt about it. You'll pay more for ones that have larger spaces. I'm sure you're aware that older CGs may have tighter roads and access, but oftentimes the landscaping is mature enough to give decent privacy whereas newer CGs, may have much less mature vegetation, so you have less.

Lyle