Given your knowledge, would you do it again?

[jonrjen]

We currently have a 2013 Wildcat 353ls that we purchased new. We currently have all of the bugs worked out of it. And I can't say enough positive things about the Wildcat division of Forest River. They have gone way above any and all expectations of service during the initial warranty period as well as offerings of good will gestures after the warranty has expired.

Yet, we are now thinking up upgrading our choice of 5th wheel ownership. Going a little more high quality and bling along the way. To be honest the Wildcat is one of the best values or bang for the buck that I have experienced in RV ownership.

We are looking at Open Range 3X, Big Country and a new old stock Forest River Trilogy by Dynamax.

So now you know some of my latest history of ownership. And yes there have been some bumps and bruises along the way. Some that I could fix, more that I had to count on Wildcat to handle and a deep wallet slide issue that hurt my budget.

Question is, with all that you have gone through, would you go forward, run the other way, keep what you have or rather pull your hair out if giving consideration to starting over with a new RV purchase?

[Twain]

Not sure. Went from a lower end TT to a mid-level 5th. It's nicer and has more room. The kids and dogs got bigger so we were packed in the old TT that was really problem free. The new 5th has lots of bugs that needed worked out and that comes with the bells and whistles. I do miss the open truck bed to haul gear and that is a pain to workout another solution. in the end we needed the space and the 5th gives that with a slightly shorter hooked up length.

[ol_Bombero-JC]

jonrjen wrote:


Question is, with all that you have gone through, would you go forward, run the other way, keep what you have or rather pull your hair out if giving consideration to starting over with a new RV purchase?

"....with all that you have gone through...."..:@

Hmmmmmm have had RVs with wheels since 1971.

I knew right away which ones were short-time keepers and which ones were not - fortunately those *two* were used, and actually make a $3K profit on the sale of one of 'em in the late '80s.
The long-time keepers - I kept for a long time.

You want folks on an internet forum to decide which is best for you?

Post your financial assets & liabilities - and we'll choose one..:W

:C

[FordDiesel250]

I started out low end fiver and as my finances improved and the family grew in size we upgraded. By the time of retirement we purchased our best fiver ever a 29 foot Alpenlite.

[ChuckV1]

We traded this year after having a Coachman 5th wheel for a number of years, it was 12 years old and still in good shape, newer roof only 4 years old, new tires only 2 years old. I had done all the mod's upgrade the power protection with a top of the line surge protector, but it was getting old, an it looked new inside and out.

Saying all the above it was as I said 12 years old and started to look a little worse for the ware in places. We also felt that before we started to put allot of money into it at 12 years old it was time to change.

Thus we bought a new Kz 5th wheel(KZ G384RLT), this will be the last one we ever buy do to our age and we tend to hold onto things an keep them up thoughtout the years ...

Why we bought this 5th wheel is that we had attended a RV show on the 3rd day, we walked thought a number of 5th wheels, high and low end. We saw light already out, trim that looked like it had been fixed so it was not falling down, doors that didn't fit, floor plans that were made for people that were allot slimmer that both of us...

We then came across our now 5th wheel, yes we bought the floor model at the show, it was not fancy but functional, it was solid built without being to heavy, and nothing was falling off it, no light already burnt out and the price was great for what we were seeing.

BTW Our trailer is featured in the May trailer life magazine an on the front cover, they say MSRP is in the high 70'es. Our trailer per a web site with all the add on's was listed at over 80K, we bought it for 60K with 10K trade so out the door at 54k with tax, title, license and I would match it against any high end 5th wheel costing over 100K ...

Will there be problems, yes, figure any trailer has problems, your pulling something over roads at 60, 70mph, bumping up and down you will have problems with any trailer.

[Dayle1]

I have researched new units for over a year now that would work for us. Found nothing better at any reasonable price, and agree with others that quality today is really bad. Too much bling today that is focused on 1st time buyers rather than quality and substance.

So, instead I have focused on upgrades to the current rig. Added a built in surge protector. Replaced the drum brakes with disc brakes. Nothing else planned at this time.

[jrs1871]

Each of us has different priorities on how we spend our money. I am of the camp that if you feel it is time to upgrade your rig, then you don't need to seek justification from others. Both sides have presented valid points in this post. You know what your current unit is capable of and you have the bugs worked out. It isn't to the point that it is costing a ton of money to maintain it. On the other hand there are a few things that you would like to have in a rig that your current rig is not capable of. And I am not talking just bling but valid considerations.
When we decided to upgrade, we didn't jump into it blindly. Our previous rig was solid, served our needs and was not causing problems. But we wanted a couple of things that were not financially justified to add to it. Namely we wanted dual pane windows and the level up system. No way we could justify adding those to a 10 year old trailer. So we upgraded and have not regretted it one bit. And we have been fortunate not to have any major problems with our new rig. It should serve our needs for 10 years or what ever time frame until we decide we no longer want to RV.
So I guess the whole point of all this rambling is that if you would like to upgrade and are in a position to do so, go for it.

[evanrem]

You only go around once. Enjoy it while you can. I'm the kind og guy who has to justify most purchases. We camp with a guy who always says sometimes you do things just because you want to.
Just bought a new rig this year which would be considered an upgrade and has just about everything we want. The older unit fit the bill and would of served us fine for another ten years but this is what we love to do as a family. We spend about 50 nights a year in it so we feel we get the use out of it. It was a tough decision but I'm pretty excited about it now that its all done. Taking the old camper for its final trip this weekend. Go for it.

[Rainier]

Gosh...It sounds like your rig is working great and that you have been very. Keep that feeling...enjoy your current rig and go camping. That is what I would do. I love that my 13' TT is paid for and that I am the only owner...I know its quirks. Did I say its paid for:)

[fj12ryder]

If you have a wallet full of dough and dying to spend it on something, then go for it. It doesn't make much sense to me, but I don't have thousands of dollars burning a hole in my pocket. 🙂

[amxpress]

You don't have to explain or make excuses for wanting to go to an upgraded RV. We went from a Palomino Sabre that we really liked to a Palomino Columbus. The little extra bells and whistles are nice. i.e. Bigger shower, king bed, built in vacuum, fire place, etc.
That being said, a nicer model does not mean less troubles. As mentioned, they are ALL built too quickly with too little QC along the way.
Reviewing the RV brands should be step one, but just as important is choosing the right dealer, as they're the ones you'll be doing business with if/when you have a problem.
I have a friend with a Trilogy fiver, he really likes it and has had little problems so far.

[DutchmenSport]

Maybe I'm a bit different, but I'm the type that will keep something until it falls apart, or becomes too costly to keep any more. When nickle and dime-ing our pocket book becomes a thousand or two here and there, then it's time to consider something different, or new.

Unless you are completely dissatisfied with your current camper, why change? When it is no longer cost-effective, or cost-justifiable, then get a new one.

Put a few dollars into some improvements that meets your wish list and save yourself a bunch of money.

[jonrjen]

ricklord2001 wrote:
I've never owned a 5fh wheel but have had 3 RV's and relly felt like i had to respond to this. I owned a nice middle grade rv very nice, very few problems just not real fancy. I sold it and bought a higb end rv with more bling and stuff than i can list hear. Wd ended up spending a lot of our time in repair shops wait rooms. One of the main problems was getting things fixed. You'd spend time amd money getting somethimg repIred only to find they didn't fix it and start all over again. We got so fed up we sold it and got out of rving. I wish i'd never the other one and if i get another it'll be a lot simplier, nice but not all the fancy stuff. Just my two cents hope it helps.

This is the reason that I sold our last Class A diesel pusher. Cost plus down time for repairs drove me crazy. Sucker was beautiful, but it was a sucker non the least.

[jonrjen]

I will admit that I have price shopped a larger fireplace insert. $329 shipped to my door for the 33" which is the largest offered. Not to mention the largest that will fit in my entertainment center.
Wouldn't mind more comfortable recliners. Currently have Lazy Boy leather, but a side by side theater set up would be nice.
Another nice thing about our current Wildcat is that we plan to take our grand sons with us this summer. The thought of grandsons and white leather don't make a whole bunch of sense.
Surprisinly the trailers that we are looking at are the same basic front bath with a half bath on the lower level that we currently have.

[ricklord2001]

I've never owned a 5fh wheel but have had 3 RV's and relly felt like i had to respond to this. I owned a nice middle grade rv very nice, very few problems just not real fancy. I sold it and bought a higb end rv with more bling and stuff than i can list hear. Wd ended up spending a lot of our time in repair shops wait rooms. One of the main problems was getting things fixed. You'd spend time amd money getting somethimg repIred only to find they didn't fix it and start all over again. We got so fed up we sold it and got out of rving. I wish i'd never the other one and if i get another it'll be a lot simplier, nice but not all the fancy stuff. Just my two cents hope it helps.