My wife and I are about three years from retirement at which time we are going to sell our house and become full time RV's. We presently own a travel trailer that we want to upgrade to a fifth wheel next year. Here's our problem we want to go with a lite weight fifth wheel but we are not sure that a a lite weight fifth wheel can hold up to the constant earth quake that a full time RV'er puts them through. Please, if you know that one manufacture/type is better than another I'd like to hear your opinion. As you fifth wheel owners will tell me the truth and not a sales pitch. Thank-You and Fair winds and Following Seas.

I've only ever "looked" at "lite" units, but I suspect you are correct that none are up to full-timing. I don't recall ever seeing a "lite" that was rated higher then "vacation" use (week-end, vacation, snow-bird, full-time)There are lots of ol sailor types around here.

Good evening Shipmate,,, If you plan on full timing it I would recommend spending a little more money and get a fiver that will keep you and the wife comfortable with better hardware and creature comforts. The heavy rv's do keep out sounds at campgrounds when you are trying to sleep. The interiors are a little nicer on some of the Mid to Upper level fivers. Not sure what you plan to tow the new fiver with, but you will want something comfortable as well. There are a lot of light fivers, but you may not be able to get some options like automatic leveling or washer/dryer hookups. You are smart asking questions now. It will be too late once you buy your new unit. Welcome to the forum and if you have any other questions, just ask the Chief...

As for a tow vehicle we are lucky our son is the Sales Manager for a large group of dealerships. So we will be able to get whatever we will need at a good price. I just want to make sure that whatever 5th wheel we get it last us for a good long time.

etcssw wrote:As for a tow vehicle we are lucky our son is the Sales Manager for a large group of dealerships. So we will be able to get whatever we will need at a good price. I just want to make sure that whatever 5th wheel we get it last us for a good long time.If your planning on using full time get a high quality FW. You don't want to be messing around with cheap materials in your "home". Not getting cheap materials means a heavy FW in your case.My family spends a lot of time on the road showing horses and we have a mid-level FW. Works very well for us but I wouldn't want to deal with it as a full time rig.

ETCSSW Welcome To RV.NET There are many options available to you, but alot depends on your wants and needs and budget.Where you plan to spend the bulk of your time will make a big difference in the onboard amenities and the audio and thermal insulating values of your fifthwheel that will make your fulltime living comfortable.Where you plan to spend the bulk of your time also will dictate the maximum size of fifthwheel that you will want to purchase. If state park are your type you will want ot limit your size to 32-34 ft maximum.If you plan to go off the grid quite a bit boondocking you will want weight capacity for a generator and solar panelsWhat brand of trailer do you now own and how often do you currently use? With lite weight units all components are not biult for constant day after day of use. Cutlery drawers in low-end lite vacation units with plastic runners and plastic brackets are opened and closed 15-25 times per day which for a vacation unit which equals 600-1000 times per year assuming 10 weekends and 2 weeks use during the summer time.Fulltime use would result in you opening and closed a drawer full of all your fulltime cutlery needs 5000-9200 times per year. How well do you think a lite weight unit with plastic hardware will stand up to this quantity of use.Make sure you purchase the correct unit once and not waste your money on the wrong unit and become very disillusioned.What do you plan to use for a tow vehicle? The size of TV will determine the weight of trailer that you can safely stop and control while towing.I strongly suggest a used (3-5 year old) mid to high-end unit and a TV capable of the weight.Keep asking questions as that is the only way to learn and avoid costly mistakes.

buying a 5th wheel trailers | Good Sam Community

Buckeye_Chuck
Explorer
Jun 26, 2013
X2 on RV consumers group.
etcssw
Explorer
Jun 26, 2013
My wife's aunt and uncle had to move and live in Colorado due to alergeis and that is why we are looking at Idaho. the way my vacation orks is I save vacation from one year to use it all he next so we have spent 1.5 to 2 months at a time in Idaho with our daughter so we know that my wife is a lot better there. and yes anything west of the cascades would be worst for my wife. I do love the Olympic Pen. but it's to wet there.
n7bsn
Explorer
Jun 26, 2013
etcssw wrote:
I agree that renting out the house would be a great idea, but my wife has come down is some serious alergies here in Virginia due to the pollen during the spring and summer. So even if we did not go full timing we'd sell the house and move to Idaho were the alergies don't bother her. ...

I'm not an Allergist, but I know that people can develop new allergies after they have lived in a new area for a couple of years. The first year makes them sensitive and they they start reacting the second year.

Which is why people with broad-spectrum pollen allergies shouldn't live here (wetter washington), our pollen season starts with the winter blooming plants in Jan/Feb and runs through fall.
Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Jun 25, 2013
My opinion, light weight equals light use.

Heavy use they start falling apart.
Blackcell
Explorer
Jun 25, 2013
My wife also had bad allergy/asthma problems which is why we had to move back to the mainland from Hawaii :(. Oh that hurt.
Can't offer much help other than what has already been said but owning a previous lite Fiver I would not recommend for full time or half-time. The occasional weekend warrior adventures and a couple week trip in the summer worked fine but beyond that no way. What I have now I consider a full-time RV unit but that is just me and I'm a long ways from retirement. I'm sure your needs are far different from mine.

Mobile Suites, Carriage (redwoodrvfamily.com), Alpenlite, NuWa, Lifestyle, Heartland, Landmark are the one's that ranked high on my list for full-time.

In my experience (somewhat limited compared to some of you here) Going the cheap route has it's pro's & cons just like anything new these days. We live in a throw-away society and nothing is built to last very long these days. Warranties are more critical but they sure as heck don't cover everything. Just got to be willing to accept and plan for the inevitable consequences regardless of which path you venture down. Chance favors the prepared mind.
Atom_Ant
Explorer
Jun 25, 2013
BusaGuy wrote:
Is there a free site that gives reviews of rvs?
Yes - RV.net :B
BusaGuy
Explorer
Jun 25, 2013
Is there a free site that gives reviews of rvs?
etcssw
Explorer
Jun 25, 2013
I agree that renting out the house would be a great idea, but my wife has come down is some serious alergies here in Virginia due to the pollen during the spring and summer. So even if we did not go full timing we'd sell the house and move to Idaho were the alergies don't bother her. We are putting our house hold in POD storage so if something does go wrong we will have them sent out west. That way we wont be starting completely over. Thank you for reinforcing this idea. Fair winds and Following Seas
n7bsn
Explorer
Jun 24, 2013
Thought of another point...Uncle Sam's Canoe Club taught me many things, like back-up plans and risk management.
An amazing number of "full-timers" don't last a year. I would guess the number at like 20-25% of the people that start out, quit quickly. Maybe you might want to wait a year before selling the stick-&-brick (ie the house).
One of the guys I worked with leased their house out when they "hit the road", 15 years later, as they passed 70, they kicked the renters out, remodeled the house, and moved back in. They still do some traveling, but not like they did 20 years ago, and they still have the house, now paid for by the renters.
I always get worried when I hear of starting out full-timers having to sell the house to afford the rig. Selling a asset that does increase in value, for one that always decreases appears to be a really poor idea.
slarsen
Explorer
Jun 23, 2013
I have a 5th wheel that I really like, a Mountaineer, but I wouldn't consider full-time living in it. And it is a good deal 'heavier' construction than so-called 'Lite' trailers.

Last Thanksgiving, I set it in our driveway for the grand-kids to sleep in. It was cold, and two 15 watt heaters couldn't keep it at a residential temperature. More like maybe low to mid-60's. Just not heavy enough for winter use. I think it got down to the low 40's at the time.

Even Texas will have sub-freezing weather in most winters. That would mean heavy use of the furnace, and keeping a trailer in propane is an expensive proposition.

I'm with the others: if you plan to full-time, you need a lot more trailer than any 'Lite' will offer.