Need help narrowing down 5th wheel

[Vpolio90]

Good evening all,

My wife and I are going to be in the market to purchase our first camper and are super excited. I have a 2022 ram 3500 SRW that's getting built as we speak (hopefully) and we are having a hard time picking the right 5th wheel.

We both like the lighter interior color schemes alot of manufacturers are coming out with and we want a camper that sleeps at least 8. Unfortunately due to the market what once was affordable for us campers like the GD Reflection 28BH, GD Reflection 150 278BH, and cougars seem to be out of reach for us.

We are really like the layout and the interior color schemes of the Keystone Sprinter 29BH and the Coachmen 274BH. We want to stay below 45k after a discount off MSRP. For me I like the Coachmen 274BH to me it seems built better however, I am completely new to this and need guidance as far as determining which is better quality or if there are any 5th wheels that sleep 8, have a light interior color schemes, and that are good quality/ fit our budget. Please share yalls thoughts. Thanks!

[ACZL]

What does everyone think about OP taking a look at mid bunk/multi purpose room 5ers? Offers 2 in mid room, 2 on loft and 2 in rear. Although, I'd tend to agree that a toy hauler (TH) would probly be his best best overall.

[valhalla360]

jdc1 wrote:
Also, a 28' RV is going to be really small once you shove 8 people in there. Mine seems small with just the two of us.

I would look into toy haulers. Many come with 2 queen size beds in the garage area that can be raised to the ceiling when traveling. That buys you 4 sleeping spots. Assuming the parents are in the front bed, that means just 2 kids have to sleep in the living room area.

Of course, you are probably looking something more like 35ft.

It also gives you places to put bikes and other stuff for the kids.

Out of curiosity, what is the plan for 8 while in transport. Even the big 4 door pickups are really only good for up to 6 people.

This also has an advantage as toy haulers tend to have more cargo capacity and with 8 people, you likely will be cramming a lot into it.

Definitely, don't forget about people and gear in the truck when looking at payload. 6 adults are likely to be 800-1200lb of payload before hooking up the trailer or putting anything in the truck bed.

[laknox]

Vpolio90 wrote:
Thank you for the pro tips Lyle!

Victor

I wouldn't call them "pro", just experience from nearly 5 years of shopping! 🙂

Lyle

[laknox]

Vpolio90 wrote:
Yes, I have read articles of how bad the build quality has been especially during the pandemic.

I've had multiple people steer me towards KZ so I will definitely check them out.

If you can find a pre-'16 KZ in good condition, you're much better off. Thor bought them out in '15 (along with Jayco), and, IMO, quality started to suffer after about '16. They're still better than average, though. My brother fell into a "deal" on an '18 Reflection, fully kitted out with =way= more than necessary. He could sell it today, a year later, for easily $2-3k more than he paid for it.

Lyle

[Vpolio90]

Thank you for the pro tips Lyle!

Victor

[Vpolio90]

Ken, the maximum payload capacity will be from about 3800lbs to 4000lbs. It will most likely be at 3900lbs from the videos I've seen with people with the same trim level. The 5wh GVWRs I've been looking at have been no more than 11500lbs therefore, having a max pin weight of 2300lbs (using the 20% rule). So I would have around 1600lbs not including passengers, extra cargo, 5wh hitch etc.

Yes, I agree we only plan to have 3 to 6 people when using our camper but the capacity of 8 would only be a just in case situation.

Victor

[laknox]

BurbMan wrote:
Look at used like a 2019 or 2020 model, a lot of folks bought RVs and are getting out of them. Start a search on RV trader, you may be able to find what you are looking for below budget, and 1-2 years old is just like new, and in some cases better since the original owner had all of the warranty issues taken care of 🙂

Don't forget to search RVT, as well. Their search engine is =far= superior to Trader's, with many fewer false positives. Only downside is that Trader is still the 600 lb gorilla as far as postings.

Make sure you use their advanced search tools to filter down to an exact model, unless you want to do a more general search.

Another useful tool that I've used is called SearchTempest (www.searchtempest.com) that searches ALL Craigslist listings in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as well as evil-bay and Amazon. Depending on what you're looking for, it's possible that it will return a huge load of irrelevant hits, but you can pare it down by using "-x -y -z", etc., to reduce the number of hits. Personally, I open =all= tabs at once and just close them as I look at them.

Lyle

[TXiceman]

What will limit you on trailer weight is the rear axle GAWR on your truck. You need to load it for normal travel, passengers, cargo and full fuel and get the truck weighed.
GAWR - actual rear axle weight = maximum loaded trailer pin weight.

Do not use any sales literature for pin weight. Take the trailer GVWR (sticker on left front corner) and multiply by 0.22 (22%) to get an estimated loaded pin weight. It typically runs about 20% but can be as high as 25% of the trailer GVWR. A SRW truck will reach its rear axle weight limit long before it will reach the advertised maximum towing rating.

Now that you have an idea of how much trailer you can tow and carry in the bed, I would look for gently used 2- to 5-year-old used trailers. These will have the factory bugs pretty well worked out of them.

Putting 8 people in a 35-foot trailer will get pretty tight. Our 40 foot 5we is set up for cocktails for 6, dinner for 4 and sleeps 2.

For reference, our 5er weighs about 19,200# and the pin weight is 4100#. So, for estimating, if you get a 5er that has a GVWR of 16,000#, expect a pin weight of 3200# to 3520# when fully loaded.

The main thing is to not buy too much trailer for your truck.

Ken

[jdc1]

Also, a 28' RV is going to be really small once you shove 8 people in there. Mine seems small with just the two of us.

[BurbMan]

2112 wrote:
Do yourself a favor, take the wife to PPL Motorhomes at 59 and West Belt and look at used campers. Not just the 5th wheels but TTs as well. Pay close attention to the build quality of the units 5 years old or older. Keep in mind a lesser priced, entry level unit will look/feel cheaper than a high end unit. Look at materials used and how well, or not, they are constructed and how well it held up, or didn't.

Great advice here, I forgot PPL was right in OP's neck of the woods. You might even find a unit that you'd be interested in owning.

We just bought a 2008 Heartland Big Country. It needs some updating, and we'll spend some time and money fixing it up, but it's well made.

Our Terry TT was also a 2008 model, and that was supposed to be the "new" Fleetwood, where they re-dedicated themselves to their legacy of quality from the 90's. Well, the recession got them right after we bought the unit and that rig turned out to be a giant POS over the 12 years we owned it.

We added every option they offered when we ordered that Terry new in 2008 and it stickered at just under $30k. This Big Country was just under $60k brand new. Heartland is still around, Fleetwood is not. I see that Big Country 5ers now start at $104k MSRP....I know nobody pays the MSRP but it's a way to compare apples-to-apples.

[Vpolio90]

Yes, I have read articles of how bad the build quality has been especially during the pandemic.

I've had multiple people steer me towards KZ so I will definitely check them out.

[2112]

I would seriously consider prep-pandemic used. The quality has greatly suffered the past few years. A Forest River parts rep even pointed this out to me. If a manufacturers representative says they are selling junk, I would listen.

Do yourself a favor, take the wife to PPL Motorhomes at 59 and West Belt and look at used campers. Not just the 5th wheels but TTs as well. Ignore the smells, filth and floor plan. Pay close attention to the build quality of the units 5 years old or older. Keep in mind a lesser priced, entry level unit will look/feel cheaper than a high end unit. Look at materials used and how well, or not, they are constructed and how well it held up, or didn't.

Then go look at a new unit you would consider buying and pay close attention to the quality of materials and construction. As you walk around looking at it, think how well this would hold up compared to the used ones. What failed on the used ones and what didn't.

We have a well constructed 32ft 2013 KZ. It's held up well and still looks/feels like new inside with well constructed materials and a clean fit and finish.

I was at a KZ dealer buying a water heater switch and had time to look through their new units. I could not believe the shoddy constructed junk they were trying to sell. Cheap materials, poorly assembled. One had the king dinette upholstery busting at its seam. The fit and finish was horrible. It was like they handed a monkey a staple gun. And that's just what you can see

[Vpolio90]

I will try that thanks for the input!

[BurbMan]

Look at used like a 2019 or 2020 model, a lot of folks bought RVs and are getting out of them. Start a search on RV trader, you may be able to find what you are looking for below budget, and 1-2 years old is just like new, and in some cases better since the original owner had all of the warranty issues taken care of 🙂

[Vpolio90]

Will do, do you think 55 will be enough?