5th wheeling, any regrets????

[sunblade50]

Hi All!

We are exploring our options when I retire in January. One of them, the one I am most geeked about is purchasing a fifth wheel rig. We have a park home that we can summer in in Homer Michigan. What we are thinking about doing is selling our main house and purchasing a fifth wheel rig and spend our winters traveling.
This has probably been posted before, but what I would like to know is what are the pluses and minuses about this lifestyle?
I understand that if we don't like it we will have to probably take a big hit on selling the rig.
Is there any places that will lease a rig for a year?

Thanks in advance for any help in this matter.

[daily_double]

Be sure to keep us posted!!

[sunblade50]

Thanks again for all your input. We are going to an RV dealership tomorrow to look at the various floor plans available. Might check into the prices of the used ones on their lot. Not ready to buy until next January but we would like to see what is out there. Since this is such a big jump I want to get as much info as possible.

Again, thanks so much for your input.:)

[TomG2]

John&Joey wrote:
........snip..........
FWIW, the slide in camper couple were having a grand adventure, while the other one was complaining about everything.

That is the rule rather than the exception when it comes to truck campers. For whatever reason, most really seem to enjoy the experience.

[John_Joey]

pawatt wrote:
An older 2 slide Wildcat.

LOL, wonder where he could find one of those. :h

To the OP, your 29 foot 5'ver is just fine if you plan on exploring. Sure bigger will be more comfortable, but smaller is more nimble.

I've seen snowbirds spend the winter in slide in campers to quad slide diesel pushers. Your enjoyment will depend more on the weather you have, and the type of couple that you are then the rig.

FWIW, the slide in camper couple were having a grand adventure, while the other one was complaining about everything.

[pawatt]

An older 2 slide Wildcat.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

sunblade50 wrote:

Can you recommend a good model for a first timer like us? Don't want to go any larger than a 29 footer to start with.
Thanks,

My advice would be find the floorplan you like - that was "someone's baby"? Ours was a Keystone Laredo 28'RE and it was perfect for the two of us! The lady we bought it from took incredible care of it; and so did we (which is probably why it sold in under 12 hours....) Personally, I like the forward kitchen because it put the majority of added weight (food/beverages/cookware) in the middle of the trailer. Ours pulled like a dream. But if you are really into cooking - a rear-kitchen model gives you more space. Our 5er was a "mid-profile" - not quite as tall as other models - which meant that 6'3" Ed was going to bump his head on the ceiling of the bedroom if he didn't remember to duck - but in theory, got slightly better mpg by having less wind resistance?

The only thing I didn't like about ours (a 2003 model) was the short pass-through storage. I had to carry my inflatable kayak (about the size of a large duffle bag) stuffed in the dinette.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Well, here's our "journey": we were mile-gobbling sightseers for almost a decade in our Class C, including yearly trips in the winter, to FL. Then when we decided to spend a bit more time in FL in the winter - we bought a used 5er. LOVED the room it provided, after all those years in a no-slide "C". But last January, we grew disenchanted with the whole 5er experience: the worst issues were the lack of decent wifi in many RV parks; and having to use our quad-cab, long-bed diesel pickup as our daily driver. At 22', it excluded quaint little restaurants and shops with limited parking....

And by then, we knew which areas in FL we really liked. After checking into the costs of buying a permanent RV space; or simply renting someplace (either an apartment or RV space) for the winter - we decided to buy a small condo with low HOA fees. When we got back to Michigan - Ed listed the 5er on a Saturday, and it sold the next day. We figure we lost about $500, simply because we had JUST had a Fantastic Fan installed...LOL!

I guess MY advice is to explore, explore, EXPLORE - then once you've found a great area, look into what it will cost to stay there for an extended time?

We're still camping (couldn't give that up EVER) - but now that it's mostly weekends jaunts, we've put a truck camper in the back of a pickup.

[jeb5]

29 is small for Snowbird. It is also a lot of "togetherness". A 34 ft. to 37 ft. is probably a better size. You also need a 1 ton pick up to tow these units. You really need to do a lot of study, discussion, and tips from others. You are off to a good start by posting on this site. You will need a budget of $50,000 to purchase a good used tow vehicle and a used 5th wheel.

[sunblade50]

Thanks all of you for the great input. We are going out this weekend and look at some 5th. wheelers to get an idea of floor plans and whatnot. We won't be buying until next year unless we come across a great deal. I am going to be doing a lot of research on this before then as this is going to be a big move for both of us!
We will also look at the 5th. wheelers at our own campground, might come across a great deal at the end of the season.
Can you recommend a good model for a first timer like us? Don't want to go any larger than a 29 footer to start with.
Thanks,

[tomman58]

We do a 6 X 6 that allows us to leave our TT on site anytime or all the time and we stay there 6+ months of the year if we wish. BUT like this year we went to see DD in Maryland then to DS in Asheville then to Las Vegas for friends and then to Tucson Az for son then off to our nest in Fl. Bottom line we had traveled almost 9000 miles, set up no less then 13 times by the time we got to our winter home. To much to see and do in the US before locking into even our 6 X 6. If you think you have "done it all" just post that here and get an earful!

[Falcon35]

I always said that when I didn't need to go to work anymore I wanted to go where it didn't snow. I didn't know where that perfect place was so I wanted to do it with wheels under us. After more than 15 years we still like to go to different places. (Hitch itch)We did switch to class A a few years ago because we did not need the big pickup for anything else.

[arnko37]

Park models are fine but not until you have been around enough to know for sure you want to stay in one spot.

[BarbaraOK]

Why a 5th wheel? Have you done a lot of RVing before? If not, what made you decide on a 5th wheel.

We have full timed for 9 years. And we found that we always spend the winter in Arizona (Phoenix area) and then explore the rest of the country during the spring, summer, & fall. Didn't like Florida or south Texas and S. California gets pretty expensive.

This past fall we decided that we would get a park model for the winter, when we really don't move much, and then travel in the MH the rest of the year. Having a PM in Michigan will mean you have limited your chances of seeing the rest of the country during the summer. When you can no longer travel do you want to end up back in Michigan? You may want to rethink where to have a PM as well.

Barb

[John_Joey]

sunblade50 wrote:
...I feel that if we don't do this it will be something we will both regret for the rest of our lives...

Then do it and don't look back. I think you'll love it, and adapt to the lifestyle in no time at all.