Need recommendations please

[whitneykt]

My husband will retire this next year and we are researching to start Full Time RVing for his retirement years. I understand that we can only be the one to decide what size RV (5th Wheel) will work for us. However, hubby wants to go big for comfort but wants to be able to get into 'camping' sites by rivers or in mountain areas. Would you call these State or National parks? I would call them "out of the way" places. His question is this . . . if we got a 40' 5th Wheel, will we be able to 'comfortably' drive those hilly, narrow mountain roads and maneuver "mountainy" campsites? If not, what size would be the largest to get? Thank you so much for your assistance!!! Karen

[jalichty]

As well as length, you probably want to take a look at the room inside. alloy, above mentioned opposing slides and that would be one thing I would want in a rig I would be spending a lot of time in since they open up the FW tremendously. I think, that with a little research, you would be able to find a FW less than35-36' with at least three slides, two opposing in the living area and one in the bedroom. However, every slide that goes into a FW increases the weight of the FW, so you would have to factor that into the tow vehicle that you will have to buy as well. Good luck on your search.

[buc1980]

I got a 35 ft and I can go in a lot of nice area in Colorado.In Houston is a place where you can find hundreds of use RV and you can check to see what will fit you .Check the internet the place is PPL .

[Dick_B]

Two thoughts; 40 ft. is too big for almost anything other than sitting in a permanent site and, I wish I could afford a 40 ft. 5er:)

[alboy]

OURS is 35.5 ft with large opposing slides,lots of room for 2-5 months at a time.Tough time getting into a lot of older campsites, 31 ft previous was much easier.Why not look for a older well cared for unit 30-32 ft give it a try,then move to what works best for your camping.

[Bob_Vaughn]

We have a 32' fifth wheel and took it to Alaska in 2014. We were on the road 4 months and in Oregon at a state park on a weekend there was only one site left and the ranger said if I could get into it I could have it. Just be aware that perpendicular sites are a lot harder to get into than slanted sites. Usually SP,NP,NF etc. leave as many trees as possible so take that into your decision. Longer is nice, but it restricts where you can park it.

[korbe]

We much prefer the out of the way Forest Service campgrounds out west. We only weekend (no retirement yet) but purchased the shortest 5er we could that still gave us the extra room with a living room slide. Our current 25 footer still has problems maneuvering in and around the more secluded campgrounds. A 40 footer, no way.

The way I see it, The longer the rig, the fewer out of the way places you will fit.

[IdaD]

It depends on where you want to go with it. I live in one of those "mountainy" states and from my perspective if you can shorten the rig up you'll be much happier. But if you're realistically going to stick to major highways and large campgrounds a longer unit may not bother you much because it doesn't make much of a difference just driving down a highway provided you have enough truck for the job. And for us our fifth wheel is for camping and vacations, not full time, and that definitely makes a difference when you're only going to be in it a week or two at a time before getting back home.

My personal leaning even for full time use if there is just two of you is to look for something with lots of slides to increase space but a shorter length to allow you to get into more places.

[whitneykt]

P.S. we only have 3-4 RV dealers here. We are planning a weekend trip to the next closest town, which is 1.5 away, to look. Anything else is 4-7 hrs away. Even our camping is about an hour away. Until hubby retires, he works 6-7 days a week!!! So it's hard to get away. I will look online and checks out what I can from there for now.

[whitneykt]

Great tip on the height. Thanks!

[RollandB]

I would suggest to make many trips to RV dealers and look at floor plans to see what works for both of you, then look at some campgrounds if some are near you. Height is the biggest issue IMO for many of today's 5ers. Our 5er is 30', had one 33' rig before and have been amazed at the additional number of site we we can use. Even though our rig is a little smaller, it feels bigger inside than the longer one.

[whitneykt]

Thank you both so much!! I will pass this info on to hubby.

[DonPd]

I can only speak for myself but 40' 5th wheel would be too long. I have a 34' 5th wheel and it is large enough inside for us. There are some State parks that I can not get into but they are few and far between. I do have to be careful because of my length when looking for a campsite. Most campgrounds will tell you if you can fit in their sites. Most 5th wheels are tall and while traveling you have to watch out for low hanging objects.

[donn0128]

We have a 36 foot fiver, and after our(my) last mishap are now effectively shut out of my favorite place. You will find many of the NF camp grounds were built 30-40 years ago when RVs were much smaller and simply cannot accomodate large modern RVs. Heck, one loop of the state park were in now the large RVs have to be really careful to avoid trees.
comfort is really a matter of how well the living space is arranged, not how big it is. As a general rule I think you will find that for every foot over about 30' you will loose available camping sites. At 40' you pool of available sites will be drastically reduced to newer resort type parks.

[SabreCanuck]

I agree with above... Take the time now to think about 'where' you want to go over the next few years. Then start looking around for where you can stay in those areas.. Treat it as if you were going there THIS year, as in search, look for availability, look for pictures (google, tripadvisor, reviews, etc.). I typically consider the RV parks' website as an indication but use other sources to 'know' for sure..

This will not only help you down the road in having an idea of options available but will also give you some idea of availability of those larger spots.

We just returned from a fantastic private campground in Minnesota with all the amenities but the $$ was a little steep. We also spent one night at a small town city park with just electrical but we were all alone and the cost was $15.00/night. You can also dry camp in wide open places in a lot of states but that is typically at least an hour from the tourist attractions. You pick which one you would enjoy the most.

For what it's worth, we are at 37' and the only thing we have had to worry about is HEIGHT not length.

Happy Camping!

[Moderator]

Moved from ATC