Getting ready to buy 5th wheel for full time living

[takethehill_rvl]

After kicking tires for 3 years our journey is almost complete. We have looked at Class A, Super C's, and 5th Wheels and we have finally decided that based upon our current situation a 5th wheel is going to give us the maximum space, most quality for the least amount of money to live in an rv full-time.

We don't own a truck but we are planning on being stationary for the first few years at an rv park (we do plan on taking it out occassionally once we get a truck - but will live primarily in one location). We are now trying to decide on which floor plan is best for us. We really like the rear kitchen floor plans but are having a hard time finding a good used one, we don't want one over 2-3 years old and would be willing to get new if it is in our price range. QUALITY is our biggest concern since we will be living in it full-time as we are not fixer upper people.

My wife and I are empty nesters about to turn 50 so we have a few more years to work, but are also looking into opportunities that will give us the freedom to work on the road. We would appreciate any advice and wisdom on the best 5th wheel manufacturers, so far we are looking at the Open Range 388RKS, Montana 3735MK, and the Palomino Columbus 340rk.

Thanks for your help as we close in on the purchase of our rv and begin the journey of full time rv living.

[Jack_in_Alaska]

soos has it correct. We purchased a new 2004 Mobile Suite in 2004. We absolutely did not want a rear kitchen or did we want to have to open the slides to eat or potty.
THe MS was such a nice and well made unit that we bought it even though we had to open the slide to get at the side kitchen. As it turned out it was never a problem. We towed that trailer for 10 yrs all over the US, Mexico twice and the Alaska Hyw. Never a problem with the kitchen and we opened it 300 times at least.
The potty was accessible w/o opening any slides. THat is most important. You eat usually once a day but the other function is many more times.
Our MS stood up well to the rigors of long term living as well as lots of traveling. I would definitely buy another MS but we have decided to try out more permanent RVing in a destination RV. We now have a Jayco Bungalow 40FER and love it. Much more reasonable price and much more room in it than a 5th.whl. THere are other brands of destination RV's but we liked the one we bought the best of all.

I will change my signature pic when I figuire out how to do it.

[soos]

FWIW
I agree that if you want a unit of suffiicient quality to hold up to full time living, look at used Mobile Suites, HitchHiker, Excel, Carriage.

If you buy used you won't have to worry about voiding a warranty by living in the unit, but many of the units that will hold up best are those that are warranteed for fulltime living, It just makes sense.
Our first 5th wheel was not for fulltiming, and it literally fell apart.

Lifestyle, as mentioned, is another good one, but they are a new company so you won't find many affordable used ones.

I am not sure why you are set on a rear kitchen. They can take a beating going down the road, with all that weight aft of the axles.

Our preference is to be able to open the refrig and get to the bathroom with the slides in, but on the flip side, its not usually much trouble to open a slide if needed.

Sue

[lynndiwagon]

Nuwa is pretty much out of business and the Hitchhiker II's all had Lippert frames. Lippert makes the frames to the manufacturer's spec.

All of this business with poor welds could be stopped if the manufacturer inspected all of the frames that Lippert made for them and rejected the ones with poor welds. Engineering flaws that cause excess stress to frames are the fault of the manufacturers specs. Of course IMO.

[Cummins12V98]

takethehill_rvlife wrote:
Cummins12V98, can you please clarify, "If you really want "QUALITY" I would suggest you look elsewhere if full timing."

Are you saying that the units we are looking are not quality? If not which would you recommend, because the last thing we want to do is to purchase a unit that will not hold up to LIVING IN IT EVERYDAY, or are you saying that living full time in Georgia is not the best place?

We are a little confused by your comment

There are different levels of quality. With your word "QUALITY" I thought you wanted something that would have a high build quality and be able to handle full timing.

I am sure several, will say the ones you mentioned will be fine. My opinion would be to look for a high end QUALITY used RV that will cost less than the ones mentioned and hold up far better to full time use. NUWA, EXCEL, Carriage, DRV,and others that have high quality frames and build. They will hold their value much better and will hold up better also.

Bought our 07.5 MS in late 2011 for less than 50K and should be able to get close to that after 3 years full timing. Was our DRV perfect? No I needed to replace a caliper and brake pads along with a few minor things but I know it's condition and has held up well.

[C_Schomer]

I'm with you on the RK. Thas is our first and we love it. We can get to everything but the microwave with the slide in and we wouldn't use the microwave when stopped for a quick lunch anyway. I'd also look at Lifestyle, the old Carriage outfit, and Peterson Excel. Craig

[drillking]

We've had our Lifestyle for a year now and traveled a lot of miles. No problems. We full time. We trade out every 5 years. At this point I'd get another Lifestyle. One of the better ones on the market.

[hitchup]

While normally I'd say find a floorplan that you want to make you happiest. But since you'll be stationary in Atlanta for a few years, make sure the unit is a 4-season.

We tried an inexpensive new Open Road 5er in FL and quickly found after moving it to NC for the winter, that we needed better insulation and two AC's.

Since I'm in the RV 24/7 - DH allowed me to do research and we went new 2006 Elite Suite. At the time, Suites were fairly new and used Teton's were hard to find. We're on our 3rd and final Suite, our retirement home. The 2009 needed a few upgrades, so we bit the bullet and ordered a 2014. A month later, DRV came up with even more features, but we lucked out and got a few new features added on ours when it went on the line.

We worked with a great dealer who specializes in DRV 5ers in Elk City, OK and got a decent deal. They are taking in quite a few Suite trade-ins.

[mayo30]

ReneeG wrote:
You're welcome. This just came out today - Heartland Debuts Full Time , not rear kitchen and not sure if slides in give you access. Worth a look though.

Interesting they mention a Dexter axle,is it still a Lippert frame?

[RLGetman]

Forgot to say, I bought a Mobile Suites and will again.

[RLGetman]

What I did: I bought a 5 year old, top of the line, 5er for 30% of original cost. I replaced tires, bushings, bearings and shocks. I updated the interior to meet the wife's needs and to facilitate our 3 small dogs. I bought a new truck spec'd to handle 30% more than the loaded 5er. I purchased extended warranty on both the truck and the 5er and I get all my truck maintenance done and documented by the dealer. Over the last 3 years full timing, the warranties have more than paid for themselves. I have a kitched in the middle and it has worked great during on the road stops and Walmart one nighters. My next upgrade will be at 5 years and I plan to do exactly the same thing. One change would be to ensure the load capacity (CCC) exceeds 2k pounds as we have had to downsize original load to stay within limits. Good Luck! (Send private message for Q&A) Safe Travels!

[ol_Bombero-JC]

.

Suggest you visit the Escapees Forums due to the *numerous* full-timers and full time information.

Although it's more oriented to technical aspects, Jack Mayer's site has lots of excellent information as well as links to other full timers sites which are more oriented to "lifestyle".

Jack and Danielle Mayer

BTW - Jack can be found on the HDT forum there - along with lots of others who own *QUALITY* 5th wheels.
The MDT forum (there) would also be a location for owners of *QUALITY* fifth wheels.

Lastly - those forums have a for sale section which is always worth a look see for all types of RVs.

Good luck with your search...;)

~

[mdamerell]

Many 5ers are not designed to be lived in full time. Some will void the warranty if do (excessive wear?). Some higher end 5ers like Mobile Suite's, Landmark's, NuWa and Redwood which come to mind (not an all encompassing list) are designed to be lived in full time.

Personally, I'd look for a used Mobile Suite. Also other than getting to a toilet while traveling, I don't care if I have limited access with the slides in. For some this is a deal breaker.

[ReneeG]

You're welcome. This just came out today - Heartland Debuts Full Time , not rear kitchen and not sure if slides in give you access. Worth a look though.

[takethehill_rvl]

Thanks ReneeG, we had not thought about whether or not we would be able to get to the refrigerator with the slides in on a rear kitchen model on the road. We will check into this before we buy for sure.

Thanks again