We recently purchased a 35' 5th wheel for full time living. When I was working we travelled in a 35' and it served us well but now that full timing the unit we have now doesn't have the floor space to easily move around in. I'm not going to mention any brand names now but we might be looking for something a little bigger and we wanted to put out the question to other full timers on what type of 5th wheel do you full time in. Although its only 2-3 feet longer we are considering trading in for a 37 or 38 foot 5th wheel, not over 16,500 lbs gwr, 3-4 slide outs and suitable for four season living. I have a paid off 2011 1 ton Chevy pickup, single wheel drive, therefore I don't want a bigger truck for a bigger 5th wheel. Thanks for your useful thoughts, be safe out there!

We have a 38 foot with a 14 foot long X 4 feet deep slide out in the living area and a bedroom slide out. The other model we were looking at was the 35 foot 5th wheel by the same manufacturer. By going to the 38 footer it provided a dedicated closet for a stackable washer/dryer and a foot deep counter at the rear in the kitchen area plus cabinet beneath.It is a perfect unit for fulltiming. No bottleneck areas, plenty of storage, great heat & A/C plus other amenities. We have added some items to meet our needs- Replaced the dining table with a combination dining table and desk. We also added an electric fireplace/space heater for ambiance.We have enough floor space in the living area that we set the dining table and chairs in the middle of the floor which provides great access to the desk area.We can also place one of the recliners out in the floor and still have room to walk around comfortably.It's amazing what the extra 3 feet provided towards a more comfortable RV.

The bear brings up a point about the stackable washer and dryer, this is high on my list for full timing, convienant and saves money - at $10 a week to wash and dry at a laundramat( probably low) , this pays for one free month of camping.

the bear II wrote:We have a 38 foot with a 14 foot long X 4 feet deep slide out in the living area and a bedroom slide out. The other model we were looking at was the 35 foot 5th wheel by the same manufacturer. By going to the 38 footer it provided a dedicated closet for a stackable washer/dryer and a foot deep counter at the rear in the kitchen area plus cabinet beneath.It is a perfect unit for fulltiming. No bottleneck areas, plenty of storage, great heat & A/C plus other amenities. We have added some items to meet our needs- Replaced the dining table with a combination dining table and desk. We also added an electric fireplace/space heater for ambiance.We have enough floor space in the living area that we set the dining table and chairs in the middle of the floor which provides great access to the desk area.We can also place one of the recliners out in the floor and still have room to walk around comfortably.It's amazing what the extra 3 feet provided towards a more comfortable RV.Who manufactures your unit? Sounds like something worth looking at. We have a 3'x2'x2' dog kennel in the living room, would there be a place in your unit to keep the kennel and out of the way? Thanks for your input.

It has been well established here and on other forums that trucks and RV's are in the eye of the beholder. We are full timers, don't have a bricks and stixs so our RV is our only home.I would not pull with anything but a Ford or Dodge, we use the F450 Ford, the truck would need to be a Dually. RV building regulations restrict the square footage to 430 square feet. How much living space will you gain by going up 2' in length?, versus the refinancing or added cost? We RV'ed for years in bumper pulls, longest was 32'. We now have a 39' 5th wheel toyhauler which has a 12' garage which gives use 27' of living space, we find this more that adequate. We used the RV rule of 6 months, if you haven't used, wore, or touched a thing or device in 6 months then you don't need it. We did include a Splendide washer/dryer in our required needs, we also have the ability to add another AC in the bedroom but have not done so yet because we don't see the need, we do live 60% of the time in Rockport, Texas.

You might want to check out this line up. They are prepped for Washer and Dryer, are set up for four season living, and fall into your length and weight restrictions.New FWs

Maybe Made a Mistake(?) | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

The_Works
Explorer
Mar 05, 2014
the bear II wrote:
We have a 38 foot with a 14 foot long X 4 feet deep slide out in the living area and a bedroom slide out. The other model we were looking at was the 35 foot 5th wheel by the same manufacturer. By going to the 38 footer it provided a dedicated closet for a stackable washer/dryer and a foot deep counter at the rear in the kitchen area plus cabinet beneath.

It is a perfect unit for fulltiming. No bottleneck areas, plenty of storage, great heat & A/C plus other amenities.

We have added some items to meet our needs- Replaced the dining table with a combination dining table and desk. We also added an electric fireplace/space heater for ambiance.

We have enough floor space in the living area that we set the dining table and chairs in the middle of the floor which provides great access to the desk area.
We can also place one of the recliners out in the floor and still have room to walk around comfortably.

It's amazing what the extra 3 feet provided towards a more comfortable RV.

Who manufactures your unit? Sounds like something worth looking at. We have a 3'x2'x2' dog kennel in the living room, would there be a place in your unit to keep the kennel and out of the way? Thanks for your input.
rr2254545
Explorer
Mar 05, 2014
The bear brings up a point about the stackable washer and dryer, this is high on my list for full timing, convienant and saves money - at $10 a week to wash and dry at a laundramat( probably low) , this pays for one free month of camping.
the_bear_II
Explorer
Mar 05, 2014
We have a 38 foot with a 14 foot long X 4 feet deep slide out in the living area and a bedroom slide out. The other model we were looking at was the 35 foot 5th wheel by the same manufacturer. By going to the 38 footer it provided a dedicated closet for a stackable washer/dryer and a foot deep counter at the rear in the kitchen area plus cabinet beneath.

It is a perfect unit for fulltiming. No bottleneck areas, plenty of storage, great heat & A/C plus other amenities.

We have added some items to meet our needs- Replaced the dining table with a combination dining table and desk. We also added an electric fireplace/space heater for ambiance.

We have enough floor space in the living area that we set the dining table and chairs in the middle of the floor which provides great access to the desk area.
We can also place one of the recliners out in the floor and still have room to walk around comfortably.

It's amazing what the extra 3 feet provided towards a more comfortable RV.

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