Advice for a short Premium Fifth Wheel

[work2much]

Any advice? Looking for a true 4 season trailer with good tank sizes built on a high quality frame and construction. Weight is not an issue but would like to stay at under 30 feet.

[Snowman9000]

It's all relative. We have 44 + 6 FW and have gone a week dry camping in the desert. Yes, we have to be judicious. It's dry enough that we can shower every other day. So while I would like 60-80, I could live with 50.

[TurnThePage]

There's easy ways to bring and refill fresh water too. I wouldn't let a 50 gallon tank get in the way of an otherwise ideal RV.

[laknox]

goducks10 wrote:
Grey tanks are more important than fresh water tanks. You can always fill the fresh, but without a sewer connection the grey needs to be able to hold a lot.

To me it's t'other way round, especially for boondockers. BLACK needs to be larger than grey. Unless you're in a CG, you can always dump the grey without making an environmental mess, if necessary. Unless, of course, you =like= using the outdoors as your bathroom which, to me, defeats the purpose of having an RV. :B When we boondock, we rarely do more than rinse off and use wipes for "washing". If I get especially sweaty from cutting wood or hiking, I'll strip down to my skivvies and use the outside shower for a quick rinse. Dishwater goes in the black tank and I carry extra jugs of fresh water. Tooth brushing is outside, as is pre-dinner hand washing. Drinking water is bottled. Always had plenty of fresh water, but have nearly filled my 45 gal black tank on 2 occasions.

Giving up 13 gal of black capacity over my current FW is what makes the Jayco I'm looking at #2 on my wish list, and a KZ #1.

Lyle

[goducks10]

Grey tanks are more important than fresh water tanks. You can always fill the fresh, but without a sewer connection the grey needs to be able to hold a lot.

[Veebyes]

gmcsmoke wrote:
I wouldn't consider 50 gallons of fresh water from GD a good tank size

That all by itself would eliminate GD from my 'possible' list. 50gal is only a couple of days dry camping without scrimping on water.

[RVcrazy]

Hitchhiker (Nuwa) had a 265 model that you might be able to find used. Otherwise, I think the 275 AF is about the best new choice in under 30'. I especially like that they do not use Lippert frames.

[laknox]

Durb wrote:

work2much wrote:

laknox wrote:

work2much wrote:
Any advice? Looking for a true 4 season trailer with good tank sizes built on a high quality frame and construction. Weight is not an issue but would like to stay at under 30 feet.

I'm with you; more mfrs need +/-30' OAL high-quality FWs.

Lyle

Agree, but the market must not demand it. Looking at the big surge in class B vans like Roadtrek (see these things everywhere) and people looking for smaller RV's to get into more remote spots mabye that will change.

The trailer in my signature is 30 ft. and meets the above description. Carriage introduced it as a high end small 5er and the MSRP approached 6 figures in 2008. It lasted two years. Might have been the financial crash or the market wouldn't support it. I know I wouldn't pay that kind of money for it even in 2017 dollars with the competition now days.

Dunno, but a month doesn't go by without at least one person looking for a high-quality +/-30' FW... My #1 choice is right at 32'; my #2 is 31'. I can live with either, but I'll likely need to be sure to have a saw and ladder with me for branch trimming to get into my favorite spots. 🙂

Lyle

[Durb]

work2much wrote:

laknox wrote:

work2much wrote:
Any advice? Looking for a true 4 season trailer with good tank sizes built on a high quality frame and construction. Weight is not an issue but would like to stay at under 30 feet.

I'm with you; more mfrs need +/-30' OAL high-quality FWs.

Lyle

Agree, but the market must not demand it. Looking at the big surge in class B vans like Roadtrek (see these things everywhere) and people looking for smaller RV's to get into more remote spots mabye that will change.

The trailer in my signature is 30 ft. and meets the above description. Carriage introduced it as a high end small 5er and the MSRP approached 6 figures in 2008. It lasted two years. Might have been the financial crash or the market wouldn't support it. I know I wouldn't pay that kind of money for it even in 2017 dollars with the competition now days.

[work2much]

laknox wrote:

work2much wrote:
Any advice? Looking for a true 4 season trailer with good tank sizes built on a high quality frame and construction. Weight is not an issue but would like to stay at under 30 feet.

I'm with you; more mfrs need +/-30' OAL high-quality FWs.

Lyle

Agree, but the market must not demand it. Looking at the big surge in class B vans like Roadtrek (see these things everywhere) and people looking for smaller RV's to get into more remote spots mabye that will change.

[work2much]

rickeoni wrote:

work2much wrote:

rickeoni wrote:
Any OSB in an RV is a giant cut in quality and is price driven.
Very few short quality fifth wheels on the market. Quality is what is under the skin, not the bling on the outside.

Exactly. I see from your sig you have a Outdoors RV. Honestly I have never heard of them but looking through their website they seem well made and shorter floor plans are available. Maybe this is what I have been looking for!

Have you been happy with yours?

Other than a couple of teething issues, we have been very pleased. We wanted a shorter fifth wheel to get into provincial campsites. Too many units cut corners with OSB, lack of insulation etc. It is just the two of us and DW loves the floor plan and I love towing a fiver compared to a BP.

Sister company to Northwoods and they have a lotal following. PM if you have any questions.

Thanks. It looks like a new strong contender for us.The internet tells me that AF and ORV may be both owned by Nash and share some production pieces. I think we will have a look at a local dealer and maybe take another look at Arctic Fox. We are looking to special order whatever we get with a company willing to work with us on furniture/fireplace/microwave delete so that may come into factor as well.

Appreciate your info!

[laknox]

work2much wrote:
Any advice? Looking for a true 4 season trailer with good tank sizes built on a high quality frame and construction. Weight is not an issue but would like to stay at under 30 feet.

I'm with you; more mfrs need +/-30' OAL high-quality FWs.

Lyle

[rickeoni]

work2much wrote:

rickeoni wrote:
Any OSB in an RV is a giant cut in quality and is price driven.
Very few short quality fifth wheels on the market. Quality is what is under the skin, not the bling on the outside.

Exactly. I see from your sig you have a Outdoors RV. Honestly I have never heard of them but looking through their website they seem well made and shorter floor plans are available. Maybe this is what I have been looking for!

Have you been happy with yours?

Other than a couple of teething issues, we have been very pleased. We wanted a shorter fifth wheel to get into provincial campsites. Too many units cut corners with OSB, lack of insulation etc. It is just the two of us and DW loves the floor plan and I love towing a fiver compared to a BP.

Sister company to Northwoods and they have a lotal following. PM if you have any questions.

[Me_Again]

work2much wrote:

Me Again wrote:

work2much wrote:
Any advice? Looking for a true 4 season trailer with good tank sizes built on a high quality frame and construction. Weight is not an issue but would like to stay at under 30 feet.

You state "high quality frame and construction" and then talk about buying a GD Reflection which is just a mid range unit!

Confused????

Chris

Fair enough. Do you have a recommendation for something 30 feet or less?

Only AF, which you indicated you were down. The AF's are not as fancy as some of the products available, but they are heavy for there size and well made from everything I have read or heard.

Or look for an used Hitchhiker, Excel, or Cameo.

Chris

[work2much]

Me Again wrote:

work2much wrote:
Any advice? Looking for a true 4 season trailer with good tank sizes built on a high quality frame and construction. Weight is not an issue but would like to stay at under 30 feet.

You state "high quality frame and construction" and then talk about buying a GD Reflection which is just a mid range unit!

Confused????

Chris

Fair enough. Do you have a recommendation for something 30 feet or less?