Another New to 5th Wheeling

Tane · 05-30-2016, 06:01 PM

Aloha from Hawaii-
Getting closer to retirement and wife and I thinking of 5th wheeling on the Mainland for a while- the islands are awfully small and 20 miles is a long drive.
My parents full timed 48 states for a few years in a 27' Southwind Class C, but we are leaning toward a fiver with a Ram 2500 or 3500 depending on the trailer we ultimately decide on. That is the question. What we are looking for is a bunkhouse type with second 1/2 bath, of a quality build and under 40' overall length. If anyone out there knows of such an item or who makes one I would be very appreciative of where to start looking.
Mahalo (thanks) to all, Jack and Linda Oki-Arnest

Oldsailor69 · 05-30-2016, 07:14 PM

Jack congrats on your upcoming retirement. I'm retired Navy. Just a couple of thoughts after 20 years of RVing. Truck. Ford, Chevy and Dodge are all pretty close now. Still talk to a lot of Ford guys that aren't happy. Chevy guys (like me) are always pleased as are the Dodge Ram guys. My cut is both are great if your going diesel (the best option for towing) with the Dodge being a little louder that either Ford or Chevy but a strong power train. Chevy is a fine drive train too.

RV's. They all have their issues. As the guy at the Carraige factory told me before they went out of business (good rig just bad economic times) ..... all RV's are "earth quakes on wheels". That pretty much sums it up. Weak areas on many are the slide out mechanisms. Talk to independent repair shops that have "no dog in the fight" about recurring problems with particular brands. Size. 40 foot is real long. We do fine with our 36 but 4 more feet could be an issue in many parks and nearly all National Parks.
Any rate, happy RVing. Do your research and not buy into the sales pitches. Lastly, buying a well maintained used rig is a great way to go but the key is well maintained.
Hope this helps.

Tane · 05-31-2016, 02:36 AM

Thanks for the reply. I'm not Navy retired, I'm an ex sandcrab (shipyard worker) that got caught up in RIFs. Still, I would like to follow my parents and go on the road for some time. I drove semi's for a couple of years and I know where a lot of nice places are (I just couldn't go there with my freight...) and I could spend some serious time touring the country.

As far as rigs. I guess the bottom line is if it is still hanging together after x number of years it should be more or less good to go. I guess I was just hoping someone could tell me this is the bomb 36' bunkhouse extra bath rig so I could go shop for that...

**wingnut60** · 06-01-2016, 08:57 AM

There are several fivers that have a 1/2 bath + bunks--I think DRV has one in a 43' model. Have seen several at RV shows but don't remember the brands.
Joe

Lloydu · 09-10-2016, 01:10 AM

Jack
Aloha from a fellow islander. My DW and I have been RVing for approximately 5 years now. Started with a Winnebago 40' Vectra, then a 42' Monaco Camelot and finally a 2006 45' Newmar Essex which I love to drive. My wife has gotten tired of the long drives so we made the decision to sell the Essex and buy a 5er to leave in Soldotna, AK to use when we go salmon fishing in the summer.
We bought a 2014 Ram 3500 SLT 6.7 diesel 4x4 to haul a 5er to AK from Portland, OR (our Rv base). We currently have a deposit down to buy a 2008 38' DRV MSRL3 because I have read that they are built pretty tough to take the rough roads of BC and the Yukon Territories. BTW, we plan to leave the rig at our favorite fishing CG and sell the truck up there. Yes, we bought the truck only to haul it one way to AK. We've always bought used to avoid the deep depreciation normally experienced in the first couple of years after purchasing new. Good luck in your search but think about going with an older, quality unit rather than a cheaply made newer one that will probably not hold up as well. Lloyd (Honolulu)