How much will a big fifth wheel limit us?

[billy79]

I don't currently have an RV but have borrowed my in-laws Class A before...so though I am not in the owners club I am not a total newbie either.

My wife and I are around 40 and are self employed. As long as I have an internet connection we can work and no kids (other then the 4 legged kind).

We've always said that when we retire we would like to get an RV and do some extensive traveling. But due to some unexpected changes in our personal life we are seriously talking about taking the plunge and getting an RV next year. We figure if we do we will make a one year commitment and go from there....maybe it is just a one year adventure, maybe it is a new lifestyle that we embrace for a decade or more, who knows.

Anyways the big issue now is RV size. We both agree on a few things:
1.) We want a fifth wheel.
2.) We need a toy hauler (both to haul our toys during travel and also to use as a separate office during the work day....my job can be stressful and it is best if it is separate from our living space).
3.) We really want to be adventurous, we don't always want to be in rv resorts. We want to spend our fair share of time in state and federal campgrounds, including national parks and national forests.
4.) We would like to try some boondocking out in the woods....(This is probably an 8 or 9 to me in importance and probably a 6 or 7 to her.

Lastly we both agree our RV should be comfortable and homey since we will live in it but this is where the ideas start flowing. While I would be willing to live with a little less comfy trailer if it means losing a few feet and getting into more campgrounds my wife would rather be limited on campgrounds and have a more comfy / roomy rv.

So I am finally to my question. How much will having a big truck, pulling a big fifth wheel limit us?

My wife and I both love the Road Warrior RW390 but where she sees an easy place to call home I see impossible to get into a lot of campgrounds.

Now we drive around a lot of campgrounds in our area and even though many have 30 and 35 ft limits I see lots of big 40ft fifth wheels and rv's jammed in them. But not sure if we are just lucky to have stretchable campgrounds or if they tend to underestimate their size requirements.

Any feedback on how much this will limit us is appreciated. If it only cuts out some campgrounds (10 - 25%) I figure may as well just get what she wants. But if it cuts out a lot (50% or more and most boondocking opportunities) I think that I need to give her a nudge towards looking at other units.

[billy79]

I don't game, latency will be a bit of an issue but not a killer for me.

I figure it will be a little bit before we get into the solar, the sat internet and really start boondocking, so something may change between now and then, but I know that is a direction we want to work towards.

We did pick up an older, very clean, low mileage Dodge Ram 3500 with the Cummins diesel.

[ITguy]

tsetsaf wrote:
If you will be working from the road the boonies is not an option. Satellite internet has terrible latency issues.

If you're a 16 year old kid trying to get your xbox online, then, yeah, latency is a deal breaker.

If you're a grown up trying to get some work done, the most likely latency will fall somewhere between "minor annoyance" and "latency? what's that?"

It's never hard to tell who the gamers are....

[4x4ord]

calewjohnson wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:



You're gonna need a hefty truck to tow this. Even a 3500 / f350 dually will be near or over it's max. You may have to go bigger.

You don't need an F450...save the cash, an F350 will do you just fine... I am picking up a new F350 (DRW - 4.3 rear) today...I want to say the max towing for 5th wheels is around 27k and my CCC is near 6k (IIRC). As a matter of fact, the F450 has a less Rear GAWR than the F350 (9100 vs 9600) and the F35 has a higher max payload (6670 vs 5450).

The link below has selector tabs for the 2015 Super Duty Specs

Ford Towing Capacities


Cale

Agree. An f450 is designed for heavier work than an 18000 lb rv. The new f350's/3500's have incredible capability. Although the difference in price is not a big deal the 350/3500 is a better choice for an RV.

[reed_cundiff]

There is no reason to spend more funds than necessary. If you like solar, then you can always plan on adding more. Panels are inexpensive, batteries are heavy, and the peripherals: controller, inverter etc can get quite expensive as capabilities increase.

Alas, solar is like the old phrase for Crackerjacks: "the more you eat, the more you want!"
Reed and Elaine

[billy79]

reed cundiff wrote:
If you are RVing in the west with a lot of dispersed camping, you might consider enough solar to keep the battery bank topped. You probably need no more than 300W or so to do this.
Reed and Elaine

Thanks. We are definitely considering solar. I am thinking that right off the bat I will probably put dual or quad 6v trojan batteries in, plus a better battery charger, plus the inverter.

Then to conserve funds, will probably just have to charge the batteries off a little time on the generator per day for a bit and add the solar a few days down the road....but it's hard to tell...I am just estimating expenses and how I want to cash flow everything now....won't be purchasing the coach for at least 4 more months.

[reed_cundiff]

If you are RVing in the west with a lot of dispersed camping, you might consider enough solar to keep the battery bank topped. You probably need no more than 300W or so to do this.
Reed and Elaine

[billy79]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

cale - I was just looking @ an F450 since there was a used one for a good price, but the dealer put a big flat bed on it so that is out for me.

Looking at other TV's currently.

2Gypsies - thanks for the FYI. We will probably play "tourist" for the first year or so visiting family and some spots that we want to see once in our life (certain museums, etc.) which will have us all over the east coast. But since we are playing tourist I am guessing we may be more likely to use parks during those times.

I think after we are done doing those visits we will probably spend the majority of our time in Western states as that is our preferred area, so that is good to hear that we shouldn't have too many issues.

Though I think we are going to stick with a ToyHauler (the garage is a nice separate office) I am now getting the DW to look at slightly shorter models. We really liked a 37'7" Fuzion and I am trying to get her to look at a 35'7" Raptor.

[2gypsies1]

Since you will probably do most of your RVing in the West as you're now in Idaho, you shouldn't be concerned about the size. We have a 40' motorhome and use public parks as our first choice - national parks, national forests, state parks, COE, county and even city parks. We also love boondocking. This is all easily done in the western states. Eastern states will be different.

[calewjohnson]

DutchmenSport wrote:



You're gonna need a hefty truck to tow this. Even a 3500 / f350 dually will be near or over it's max. You may have to go bigger.

You don't need an F450...save the cash, an F350 will do you just fine... I am picking up a new F350 (DRW - 4.3 rear) today...I want to say the max towing for 5th wheels is around 27k and my CCC is near 6k (IIRC). As a matter of fact, the F450 has a less Rear GAWR than the F350 (9100 vs 9600) and the F35 has a higher max payload (6670 vs 5450).

The link below has selector tabs for the 2015 Super Duty Specs

Ford Towing Capacities


Cale

[reed_cundiff]

The bigger the rig, the less your choice of locations. We have a 34' Open Range 5th wheel. These rigs have great ground clearance and they will handle a lot of gravel and dirt roads. Always drive or bicycle in before we commit to driving in (and want to make sure we can drive out). We had a 28' TT before and its length and height permitted visiting a lot more places: Our favorite spots in Yucatan near Laguna Bacalar and the Calukmal archaeological site are not accessible with a 34' fifth wheel. If all works this winter, we should make it to Tikal, Guatemala again.

Would not take a 5th wheel any further into Guatemala - could just see us irretrievably jammed between the village fountain and the village church

But there are a lot of "dispersed camping" sites available in the west which are accessible to our moderately large rig. I think a 40'er would be really limited.

Reed and Elaine

[Roy_Lynne]

We started with an A, downsized to a C and now we are looking at B's. I want to see the world, not an RV Parking lot.

[billy79]

Just thought I would throw out an update.

Still haven't been able to look at the RW390 as there are none in the area. But we looked at a bunch of Fuzion's today.

My wife we sure that she would like the 404 Chrome best....which is the same size as the Road Warrior RW390.

Which floorplan did we both agree we liked the best and would buy today IF we were buying today? The Fuzion 342....which is the SHORTEST 5th wheel we have looked at so far, lol. And it is a floorplan that we totally fluffed off after looking at it online, but since it was there we looked at it and loved it.

It's 37'7" so still a BIG box, but a lot smaller then those 42' units.

So who knows maybe there is hope for us yet 🙂

Thanks again for the great feedback.

[billy79]

Going to look at a Fuzion 371 tomorrow at a local RV show. Not ready to pull the trigger yet still looking, but that looks like a nice floorplan (not as homey as the RW390 that my wife loves, but 4 feet shorter).

Thanks again for all of the good feedback we are going to keep it in mind as we look at different units tomorrow.

Then to start the search for a truck 🙂

[littlemo]

First of all it will DEFINATELY affect your access to State and National Parks, COE, National forests and remote Boondocking areas. Go to their websites and try to reserve a site for that big a rig plus your truck. If you try this on several of these you will see that it will severely limit you. I'm not saying there won't be some but the Majority will not be able to accommodate you plus the parking when you do get in will be a nightmare. Also consider your slides and if you have access to all the areas you need to when you pull over to sleep at night and have to keep slides in. 5th wheels are very roomy with lots of storage for full time living but you need to shop carefully and balance what you WANT and what you NEED. We've had 3 5ers and it turns out the smallest (and first) was the best and most convenient. Larger in not necessarily better. Whatever you get just enjoy it while you are young!