Help! Need advice! New to RVing
We are new into rving and have not yet made a purchase. I would like any and all suggestions anyone can offer. The 5th wheel we are looking at is a 2018 42ft Forest River Sandpiper 383. It has 2 ac un...
Forum Discussion
LOL. The OP did not say they had experience with towing such vehicles nor that they didn't. All the negative comments that people made that they're now having to defend is interesting because they automatically assumed that their rationale was correct and that the OP is at fault. I guess the forum rules should be amended such that new members must now fully disclose their capabilities, finances, hair color, height/weight and political affiliation in order to establish their credibility.
OP, the Sandpiper is middle-of-the-road quality, which is not a bad thing to dive into for your first unit. I've seen people by low-end for their first unit because they wanted to test the waters, only to upgrade shortly thereafter. Problem is that this method makes little financial sense. Granted, my first 2 rigs were well-used prior to my ownership, but that was more related to financial status rather than trying to test the waters.
I like that the model you referenced allows access to the bathroom without extending the slides. The fridge may be questionable, but probably accessible still with slides in. I would check to see if the slides are operated independently or by a single switch. For that many slides, I would want independent operation. I'm not a huge fan of the kitchen island because it limits the spaces and ergonomics of moving through the camper. I like the 2 bathrooms and the large grey water capacity. It would seem that the cargo capacity for that size of a camper is a little on the low side. I like the 2 AC's for sure.
And the only comment I'll make about regarding the size is that you will be likely be limited to some extent in terms of where you can camp. If your main desire is toward "resort" type CG's, then you should be fine. But if you like getting into SP's and NP's, you might run into a little more trouble finding sites that can accommodate a rig that large. Along those same lines, larger rigs require larger trucks, so just because the camper might fit into the spot doesn't mean that the "entire" rig will fit. Just a thought...
OP, the Sandpiper is middle-of-the-road quality, which is not a bad thing to dive into for your first unit. I've seen people by low-end for their first unit because they wanted to test the waters, only to upgrade shortly thereafter. Problem is that this method makes little financial sense. Granted, my first 2 rigs were well-used prior to my ownership, but that was more related to financial status rather than trying to test the waters.
I like that the model you referenced allows access to the bathroom without extending the slides. The fridge may be questionable, but probably accessible still with slides in. I would check to see if the slides are operated independently or by a single switch. For that many slides, I would want independent operation. I'm not a huge fan of the kitchen island because it limits the spaces and ergonomics of moving through the camper. I like the 2 bathrooms and the large grey water capacity. It would seem that the cargo capacity for that size of a camper is a little on the low side. I like the 2 AC's for sure.
And the only comment I'll make about regarding the size is that you will be likely be limited to some extent in terms of where you can camp. If your main desire is toward "resort" type CG's, then you should be fine. But if you like getting into SP's and NP's, you might run into a little more trouble finding sites that can accommodate a rig that large. Along those same lines, larger rigs require larger trucks, so just because the camper might fit into the spot doesn't mean that the "entire" rig will fit. Just a thought...
