Opinions on new 34 - 36' 5th wheel

[d.miner]

I'm looking at 4 brands in this length range, Alfa, Jayco Designer, Everest, Hitchhiker.



All seem close in price, some construction differences, hitch and overall weight differences, etc.



I'd really like some "hands on" experiences either you've owned one directly or know someone who has.



Good experiences and bad... . and of course your opinions



A lot of $$$'s on the line here and maybe you know something that can help me.



Thanks, Dan

 

[jjordan1]

Look @ the Carriage Cameo. We have had TWO & liked both very well. NO service issues. IF & when you buy dont get the built in fireplace. They sell them for about $1700. 00. We got the same thing @ Lowes & set right in for $299. 00. GOOD LUCK

 

[B.G. Smith]

Unless you have an awfully large family or are going to park it and livee in it I would not consider anything longer than 31" to pull down the highway. I have a 31' and have had a 28', two 30"s and another 31'. Can't understand why the industry is going to such big/long units. Might as well hook onto a mobile home. Well you ask for opinions. bg

 

[nps]

I've got the Jayco Eagle 34RLQS. Even though it is an Eagle, it is a Designer without the upgraded furniture/counters/graphics. It does have the large cargo doors, water management system, and same capacities as the Designer, unlike the rest of the Eagle lineup.



I love it. The adjustable spring hangers has allowed me to go from a 4x4 with 35" tires to a 2WD truck without having to flip axles or worry about bed rail clearances. I've had no service issues. We have 2ACs and park the rig at Lake Mead for the summer - even in the desert the rig stays cool. The salesman that sold this one to me has an Alfa and can't keep it cool with the Alfa basement AC setup. Otehrwise the wife and I really liked the Alfa. No experience with the Everest or Hitchhiker. Looked at the Carriage but didn't like the dealer.



It's mostly my wife and I, and we love the room. Too big? Naaah, not after going from 25' and 31' TT's.

 

[Dieselnerd]

We've got a 2006 HitchHiker 35RE Triple Glide, Luxury Suite. Actual length is 36 feet. It's our second HitchHiker and when we get another it will be a HH too. We've never had it back to the dealer for any problems. It tows easily although it's parked most of the time. We drive it to AZ in December, park in the same RV park all winter and back home at the end of April. For our snowbird use it's perfect, for casual camping it's a little large. With careful packing we are within all the weight limits but close to being maxed out. We have a slide in camper we use for summer fishing trips and camping in state parks etc. and store the HitchHiker 8 months out of the year.



HitchHikers are constructed well and have good resale value. Our 1998 HitchHiker was traded in at the dealer and was sold before we even transferred all our stuff into the new one. Here is a good site to check out the NUWA (HitchHiker) products. NuWa Owners Forum - Index

 

[DonTX]

It is funny how people perceive lengths of RV's. We shopped for a "small one" for some time, but anything less than a double slide 35ft seemed to us to hardly be worth the trouble of pulling it around! We don't "live" in it, except for lots of summer travel, always on the move. When I stop for the night, I want to be comfortable.

I suppose my personal perception is flawed as well, I used to haul house trailers around the country for a living, 16x80 "seems" like a fairly small one I guess. I also pulled a 53ft by 102 dry van trailer behind our Kenworth for many miles too. Something as tiny as a pickup with a little fifth wheel seems almost insignificant somehow.

Unless you have an awfully large family or are going to park it and livee in it I would not consider anything longer than 31" to pull down the highway. I have a 31' and have had a 28', two 30"s and another 31'. Can't understand why the industry is going to such big/long units. Might as well hook onto a mobile home. Well you ask for opinions. bg

 

[Unklmyk]

We just bought a Hitchhiker 32. 5 FKSBG and we absolutely love it. We haven't had any problems at all that I couldn't fix myself in a few minutes. We just got back from a 2,000 mile trip out to California and it tows great with the Demco Glide Ride pin box. Ours has 3 slides and is plenty roomy. Getting ready for a long trip this fall and I know it will do fine.

 

[DonTX]

For Dieselnerd:

Do you have some scale weights handy? Your trailer ready to roll according to the Nu Wa site is going to weigh in around 16,500. Not sure of the weight of your truck, but taking 1997 figures, it might have a GCWR of around 18,000 (or less) which is saying your empty truck weighs only 1500 lbs if you are within the weight limits! Sounds like you may be cheating a bit like the rest of us.

 

[Dieselnerd]

Don/TX, you must be looking at a different trailer than I have since the gross weight of the trailer is 15,100, dry weight listed as 11,900. Never weighed it dry but it's probably close. I did take it over the scales with a full tank of water, full fuel in the truck and fully loaded with our gear since we were on our way to AZ for the winter with wife and I in the truck. With the pin weight in the truck, the truck is slightly overweight since gross is 9900 and mine comes in at 10,200 but well within the axle and tire capacity. I don't really call that cheating...



My 2005 with 4:10 axles is rated for gross combination of 23,000.



Here are my numbers

front axle 4640

rear axle 5560

trailer axles 12060

gross combination 22260

 

[DonTX]

Wow, the GCWR really went up between 97 and 2005, I was not aware of that! Good thing, nobody was hauling legal back then anyway. My 97 model 3500 for instance has a GCWR of 16,000 dually diesel and all, and I have a 10,400 empty weight on my double slide! It has spent most of its life overloaded of course.

Your trailer is pretty well put together with light stuff too to get three slides 36 feet, and weigh empty 11,900. I certainly take back any inference that you have to cheat like I do to haul it. I will be heading out with mine next month, and will get on the scales to see how badly I am loaded (I may have to have treatments for shock).

I can't get over the increase in GCWR, can anyone tell me what they done to make that much increase?

 

[rweis]

I have an ALFA 35'. The basement A/C cools the downstairs pretty well BUT will not cool the upstairs as well. We use a standup portable A/C in the bedroom and can make it snow if we want.



I would rate an ALFA at ~ 80%. We have not had any major issues. We love the openness (ie lots of windows, but that can contribute to cooling difficulties). We intend to workamp and that will suite us just fine. The ALFA is a little on the heavyside, so pay attention to the weights. DEFINITELY a bedroom A/C.



Ours is an 04 we have pulled about 3 years. I went from a 3. 54 to a 4. 10 to pull better (ie 2k rpm) and it did.



I would buy another ALFA.



Bob Weis

 

[Dieselnerd]

Don/TX, the big changes are 11. 5 rear axles rated at around 10K, 325 HP, 48RE transmission much stronger and a stronger boxed frame vs C channel.

 

[d.miner]

All, Good stuff so far... really what I'm looking for.



jordan1, thanks for the Carriage tip, I agree, it's a good unit. Also the fireplace tip!



BG Smith, I'm like Don/TX... I've driven truck since 1977 so the larger rig would not scare me. Back in 1997 we owned a 1988 Teton Olympia, 40' and it pulled great behind my 84 Chev dually. I no longer have the dually so I am watching the weight.



nps, Thank you for the affirmation on the Jayco. Thus far the Jayco and Hithhiker are our top picks. The Jayco has the edge on interior looks and design, the Hithhiker on construction. We currently have a 1992, 27' Hitchhiker II we've used for the past 3 years as a camping rig and it's been trouble free.



Bob (rweis), Thanks for the info on the Alfa... I've read your posts in other forums and they've always been honest and to the point. To me, Alfa has always been cutting edge. First with the straight roof line, first with the walkin bedroom closet, rear bay window, etc. Their website and their current choices don't seem to be as comprehensive and that's causing me concern. That and the comment(s) about the A/C.



Come on... let's hear it... this can't be all.



As I said, the Jayco is a strong consideration but I can remember years past where it was considered a low end, low cost unit. Is it really that much better, or it's it just dressed up?



Opinions ???

 

[d.miner]

One more thing...



In our Everest hunting, we've come across the Montana which is also made by Keystone.



Anyone own one... know someone that does? Good unit or bad ?



Thanks, Dan

 

[SnoKing]

One more thing...



In our Everest hunting, we've come across the Montana which is also made by Keystone.



Anyone own one... know someone that does? Good unit or bad ?



Thanks, Dan

Not in the same price point/quality with the HH. High production unit, with loyal users despite some major frame issue a few years back. The model we looked at, had some of the cabinets mounted really high on the walls. SNOKING

 

[DonTX]

Thanks for the good info. If brand new is not your bag, we bought an older (97) Avion. Fleetwood bought them and cheapened them up and stopped making them, but in this year you got a super good trailer, and the age makes them low priced for the quality. In my 35ft double slide, you get a full walking height bedroom, large front closet, rear kitchen (which the wife considered an absolute must), hardwood cabinets (which was a must have for us also), aluminum studs (10,400 empty weight). With an open roomy feel, after looking at dozens and dozens down here, it sure stood out. We got a clean well taken care of unit, comically everyone was sure it was brand new when we started showing it off.

Oh yeah, and the best part of all, $15k out the door price!

 

[DonTX]

Nice inside too:

 

[JimBob24]

We have an '07 Montana 3475RLS and we are very satisfied with it. I think there is a reason it is such a big seller and has been for quite some time. We have owned several TT's including 4 5th wheels over the years and the Montana is our favorite. Some will remind you that there were some structural problems on earlier units and some will tell you that the chipboard type flooring is not as good, etc, etc,. but I talked with a lot of Montana owners and did a lot of research before I bought mine and I am well satisfied.



My unit is actually 37' in length and max wt of the unit is 14K. The pin wt is advertised at about 2K but is probably heavier, but I am very comfortable pulling it with my truck. For the weight range, amenities, layout, etc. I think the Montana is a good buy. The only thing I don't like are the Chinese "mystery" tires that came on it. I plan to change to XPS or Maxxis in the near future.

 

[rweis]

You can see the inside ammenities and decide etc etc etc bang for the buck.



On my ALFA I have flipped (really means repositioned the spring seats from the bottom of the axle to the top of the axle, NOT flipped because of the camber etc etc) the axles. So I would look at ground clearance as one deciding factor.



On my ALFA I am going to take it and have disc brakes put on it for better stopping control, fading etc etc etc. So I would look at that as well.



On my ALFA I have to lube the axles and repack the wheel bearings every so often. I am going to have DEXTER NEVERLUBE axles put on it. That means the bearing package is and assembly and has to be changed every 100,000 miles (which very very few RV's ever get to). Therefore I should never have to take it in for bearing repack, bearing seals (maybe installed wrong), etc etc. So I would look at that as well .



As stated before the basement A/C is marginal and I use a standup A/C. So I would look ... .



Is the satelite setup manual or automatic? Mine is manual and I am 50 / 50 either way. I know when it is setup and less to "go wrong". So I would ... .



Does it have self leveling jacks like most motor homes have? Depending on where you "camp" might be something to think about (also if you have a bad back or difficulty in mobility). So I would ... ...



Electric dump valves will go bad eventually. Make sure you can convert the electric dump valves to manual pull type without taking the plumbing system apart.



Does the black water (toilet) tank have a flush out type in tank cleaner? Makes the toilet tank much easier to clean.



If you do not have 50 amp service can you run it on 30 amp service? Not ALL campgrounds have 50 amp sites especially older ones and state and national parks.



Does it have an easily reachable circuit breaker panel? You want to turn the cb's OFF before you plug into the park power. Because if theur power is screwed up and not gorunded properly it can wipe out your electronics.



Some things to consider,



Bob Weis

 

[DonTX]

We have several friends with Montana trailers, very well built, making them a little on the heavy side, but first class stuff for sure.

We have an '07 Montana 3475RLS and we are very satisfied with it. I think there is a reason it is such a big seller and has been for quite some time. We have owned several TT's including 4 5th wheels over the years and the Montana is our favorite. Some will remind you that there were some structural problems on earlier units and some will tell you that the chipboard type flooring is not as good, etc, etc,. but I talked with a lot of Montana owners and did a lot of research before I bought mine and I am well satisfied.



My unit is actually 37' in length and max wt of the unit is 14K. The pin wt is advertised at about 2K but is probably heavier, but I am very comfortable pulling it with my truck. For the weight range, amenities, layout, etc. I think the Montana is a good buy. The only thing I don't like are the Chinese "mystery" tires that came on it. I plan to change to XPS or Maxxis in the near future.