Smaller Fifth Wheel

[hankandlisa]

I am looking for a smaller rear living fifth wheel. My last was 36.5 and very hard to get into campgrounds that we like. It had three slides. We hardly ever stay more than 4 nights and don't travel very far from home. Rear living would be great. Slide in bedroom would be good too but not a necessity. 28 to 30 feet overall would be ideal. I have a F250 diesel so pulling won't be a problem. I am not gonna buy new ever again so I am gonna look for one less than 7 years old. I want a good quality camper but will take any suggestions. Thx.

[htowners]

We have the KZ Durango 275 RE with opposing slides in the rear and TV / Ent. center on the rear wall and love it. It's almost 4 years old and have only had minimal issues, but nothing to take to a dealer to fix.
My one gripe was the sofa bed was horrible in either function so we bought 2 wall hugger recliners and what a difference it makes.
The main selling point, beyond the layout was the amount of storage for the 2 of us, so many light weight, smaller units have almost no basement storage.

[goducks10]

n7bsn wrote:

goducks10 wrote:
FWIW the 27-5L Foxes didn't gain weight until the current style.

Em, I know you are wrong

The first models had no bedroom slide and were lighter then the later models with a slide.

Just the weight of the slide added weight to the rig

That's why the earlier models were lighter. Dry pin weight was in the 1500lb range vs 2000+lb weight of the current model.

[Bamabound]

After 10 years we just traded our 35ft 5th for a 26 ft. Holiday Rambler Alumilite 5th wheel. It was just too much of a strain on our 2500 Duramax Diesel truck, plus it was a pain to get in and out of the state parks most of the time.

I hope we like the 26ft cause I loved the room, but it was a little bit of an overkill for weekend camping for 2 people. We still have room for 2 guests, more than that they need to bring a tent..;)

[Parrothead_Mike]

Hope to see manufacturers start making more mid to higher end 5th wheels that are in the 25'-30' range. I like my Cardinal, but they don't make them as small as mine anymore.

Two years ago we attended an RV show down in Elkhart, IN at the RV museum. They had plenty of nice 5th wheels, but they were all 35' and up. One salesman asked me, "How do you like our 5th wheels?", I replied that they were too big. He laughed and said that "people want elbow room so we make them big". I told him we wouldn't be buying any of his "elbow room" RV's.

Grand Design is going in the right direction with some of their smaller units. A friend of mine works in Bristol, IN in the RV industry. He told me that the guys that created Grand Design previously worked for Keystone and are getting a lot of praise from fellow manufacturers. They are making lighter weight well thought out floor plans. I checked their website out and really liked what I saw. Now if I could just find a nice used one.....

[n7bsn]

goducks10 wrote:
FWIW the 27-5L Foxes didn't gain weight until the current style.

Em, I know you are wrong

The first models had no bedroom slide and were lighter then the later models with a slide.

Just the weight of the slide added weight to the rig

[goducks10]

FWIW the 27-5L Foxes didn't gain weight until the current style.
Folks the OP is looking at used. Some of the suggested units are too new to even be on the used market.

[bobx2]

I'll throw out the Heartland Sundance line in case you haven't heard of them. My XLT is a rear living room with one slide, and an overall length of 26.5 feet. Very comparable to the Jayco HT series in floor plans, weights and quality. (I've owned 2 Jayco TT's previously) When I purchased, the XLT was around $8000 cheaper than what Jayco could do for me. Very happy with the Heartland.

[n7bsn]

hankandlisa

Arctic Foxes are rare out your way, friends in Texas drove to Florida to get their used Fox.

They also don't build "small" rigs any more, the smallest (27-5L) is nearly 30 ft long and weighs 12,000 (loaded)

NOTE:
The 27-5L has been made three ways.
Introduction to 2001. Single slide, lightest
2002 to mid-year 2012, Two slides, with the bedroom slide on the door (passenger) side
mid 2012 to date, two slides, bedroom slide on the same side as the main, 2 ft longer and weighs 2000 lbs more.

Also, check out the 24-5N. Downside, only short people can stand in the bedroom, but it has a huge closet and the most storage of any rig that size (we owned one for a decade)

They also used to make a 19-5, 21-5, 23-5, 25-5 (bunkhouse) and 26-5.

[Scott16]

Check out some of the Jayco Eagle HT Fifth Wheels.
23.5RBS 25' or 26.5 RKS or RLS 29'.
Believe were the same lengths in past years also.
Per looking for a used Fifth Wheel.

[hankandlisa]

Thanks for the quick replies to my quest. I think this is the way to go vs the larger campers. Especially since we only camp weekends but still want some room if it does rain. The Arctic Fox is nice. I haven't heard of the Grand Design until now. I still want to stay under 30 overall length though. Keep em coming.

[Second_Chance]

We've had our eyes on two models by Grand Design (Reflection series). At 31'9" and 32'11", the 293RES and 303 RLS (our favorite) are both modest in size and weights (truly 3/4 ton material). We've looked at the 303 at our local dealer and are impressed.

Grand Design floor plans

Rob

[goducks10]

Since you're looking for used 5'ers you might look at older Arctic Foxes like this onehttp://www.rvsnorthwest.com/new_vehicle_detail.asp?veh=232994

[korbe]

hankandlisa wrote:
Crossroads Cruiser is one of the ones that I am looking at. Seems to be a good camper. How many slides is yours? We do want enough room for hanging clothes and drawers for shorts, shirts, socks, etc.

Ours has one slide. And has a closet for hanging clothes. I did make shelves for either side of the bed for folded clothes.

[laknox]

hankandlisa wrote:
I am looking for a smaller rear living fifth wheel. My last was 36.5 and very hard to get into campgrounds that we like. It had three slides. We hardly ever stay more than 4 nights and don't travel very far from home. Rear living would be great. Slide in bedroom would be good too but not a necessity. 28 to 30 feet overall would be ideal. I have a F250 diesel so pulling won't be a problem. I am not gonna buy new ever again so I am gonna look for one less than 7 years old. I want a good quality camper but will take any suggestions. Thx.

I'm considering the Cruiser Aire CAF27RL. Doesn't have a full BR slide, but has a wardrobe slide. Helps with pin wt for my '02 D'max and is about 200 lbs lighter at GVW than my current Komfort, with similar cargo capacity.

Lyle