Buying used 5 th wheel

[Queens_Carriage]

Looking at buying a used 5th wheel. Was looking at a 2004 Carriage, Carrie lite 38 ft. Is this a decent brand and model? What to watch out for on this brand. Would they be considered a low end or high end unit?

[Gooselover]

Carri Lite is a Great unit! Our first 5'ver was a 1994 Carri Lite Emerald. We didn't know anything about RV's at the time we bought it, but became VERY educated about them since buying it. We were LUCKY....we bought a high end unit, less than NADA, that was in perfect condition.

Unfortunately, sadly we sold it in 2007.

We have now purchased a 2004 Gulfstream Yellowstone that I am in love with. Again, immaculate condition, GREAT price! And, know that we were educated, we knew what to look for, what we did NOT like about our first one (living room entry) and what we wanted in this new one (mid entry into kitchen).

If the Carriage is in GREAT condition, you can't go wrong with the way the unit is/was built. I think what is also important is DO YOU LOVE IT????

[Cummins12V98]

Be sure to check the springs. Friends 36' CarriLite's springs were shot and the axles were actually beating a concave indention in the bottom of the tube frame.

[partsman01]

I will add, take a kid with you, I say that because for my first time looking at used units I had my daughter with me who was about six or so, I think.
Anyway took a friend who had owned a fifth wheel for quite some time and looked at units because I figured he knew more.
And we thought one unit looked pretty good at one of these outfits that sell cars and trailer that dealers don't want to deal with.
But daughter said she smelled something, and being smaller she got right into a corner and said that is where the smell was, well turned out it had stains, and had leaked at some time, and then when I started checking inside the cupboards we found soft places, so friend was quite impressed and said the best thing I did was bring the daughter, they seem to have good sniffers.

[GreyHairedGeek]

Greetings QC,
I am new at this but would like to share what I have recently learned. Painfully learned I might add. The already posted points do not need repeating but here is a couple more I have learned about.

1. Flashlight in hand, ready to get on your hands and knees, inspect every nook and cranny. Checking for any soft spots in the flooring. Inspect along the walls at floor level especially behind the kitchen cabinets. Pull out drawers, open doors, and be meticulous about your inspection.

2.Do not only check the quality of seal on the roof, but walk around the outside looking at every point a receptacle or any other place where the sheet metal skin has been penetrated allowing a possible entry point for water. Is the seal tight or has the caulking pulled away from the skin over time? If it has that does not mean there has been a leak but calls for closer inspection in that area.

3. Look for any place that the interior skin of the walls may have ripples where the facing of the paneling has pulled away from the wall. This may indicate water intrusion.

4. Inspect the connection points between the cabinets and the ceiling looking for sagging or anything other than a straight consistent joint between the cabinets and the surface they are attached to.

To be honest the list goes on and others may point out key areas. But the most important thing is your common sense, do NOT be in a rush, do NOT be enamored with how nice it looks as you approach the unit. Stay objective and inspect every surface you can. Especially those that are not in direct sight, behind cabinets, behind drawers, in storage areas like the basement.

What recently happened to me:
I had a professional look at the trailer for me this time. He spotted a small (so he thought) soft spot in the floor in the area of the outside shower attachment. However everything else looked great from the roof to the basement. But when I was looking for the power converter to see what was actually in the 5er I noticed a place the plywood surround of the storage area for the electrical cord for shore power had signs of water stains. Well as you can guess the “small area” of water damage turned out to be a much larger problem. When I followed the trail of water stains I found that the caulking between the exterior door for the shore power cord had shrunk, pulled away from the sheet metal, and allowed water penetration. The rest is history =/

The lessoned learned:
You cannot be too meticulous, you will not spend too much time inspecting, and if the seller gets impatient with your efforts that is your first sign to keep looking. Now these are blanket statements and need to be balanced with commonsense, but valid nonetheless. You may decide to purchase anyway but especially with water damage, the repair costs can mount up quickly and can easily exceed the value of the older units.

Not doom and gloom but with a wise approach you can find yourself a very nice older unit. One other point of advice given to me on these forums that is worth repeating. With the age of the vehicle you are looking at, the care with which it has been maintained is most often more important that the reputation of the manufacturer.

Success to you on your future purchase,
GHG

[fnswhitfield]

We've owned a Carri-lite for several years. It's a pretty well made unit, considered high end. You might want to look closely to the slideout motors and see if they could be easily replaced or even accessible at all. My slides are electric motor/gear driven. I recently had a bolt break on the end of a slideout arm. In investigating what was going on before discovering the broken bolt, I couldn't figure out how I was going to access the motors or gear boxes if I needed to. The motors or gears have never been a problem, I should add.

[stripit]

Queens Carriage wrote:
Looking at buying a used 5th wheel. Was looking at a 2004 Carriage, Carrie lite 38 ft. Is this a decent brand this model and? What to watch out for on this brand. Would they be considered a low end or high end unit?

Carriage was always considered a high end trailer. As with anything used I would get up on the roof and inspect the condition looking real close for any splits, tears and deterioration.A roof material replacement is expensive and could allow water intrusion into the trailer. Inside I would look for any signs of water leaks in the ceilings. A normal inspection of tires, shocks, under belly issues, would be in order. At the age of this unit I would expect normal replacement of wear and tear items including appliances should be factored in. If it was a vacation unit then items were not used like a full time unit would have been, but it is now a 10 year old rig.