Best 5er ????????????

[midnight1black]

Artic Fox

Ken you are going to love your new artic fox I feel it is one of the best all around RV. its great . Hope you enjoy it . .

 

[Andy Perreault]

I didn't know Arctic Fox made 5th wheels, I thought they only made campers. I'll check them out.

I also have checked out the Alfa Gold, and they appear to be top notch. There's a lot to pick from out there! I've been browsing around RV lots, but after a while, I start looking like this: #ad
... Then of course, you get the inevitable salesman doing this the whole time: #ad


Keep the info coming, I'm absorbing it like a sponge!

Andy

 

[JSchooley]

Lots of good advice above. If this is your first, I would definitely buy used. Be patient and ask lots of questions. Both of our first two 5ers were only used twice when we bought them. Liked both very much, but found out what we liked and didn't like.



Best if you can make a list of likes and needs. For instance, We like a quick lunch at a rest stop without opening slides which eliminated many trailers.



Consider Quality level. Our first had many conveniences and a good layout, but started falling apart before we bought it. It was obvious after a couple of years that it would be problematic. The second ( an Alpenlite) was so solid we hated to trade it in and I still miss it.



But then, Mama will probably make the decision anyway



Good luck and again, be patient.

 

[George D]

A vote for Newmar

I am on my third Newmar, 2 Kountry Airs and now a Mountain Air. I agree with buying used if you can find the layout you like. Let somebody else suffer the depreciation. We buy about 2 to 3 years old and keep them about 3 years. How much you spend will depend a lot on whether you are full-timing or just vacationing. Our 5er is home and we wanted to be comfortable.

 

[tom sweeney]

i have a Holiday Rambler Alumascape 26'... . thus far i'm very pleased with the rig,it weighs #8100 dry,and seems to be an excellent match for my truck!!! i made the trip to May Madness and back with no problems at all. . i wouldn't hesitate to recommend HR 5'ers... they may not be THE top of the line,but they are VERY well made,and i consider them a good value for the money!!... tom

 

[JSoloman]

Hey Tom,



The HR with the double slide on the each side is just what I am looking for just before I retire. I think they are a great rig. Until then, I'll keep pulling this 27' Keystone. It works for the dogs and me out in the brush of W. Oregon.

 

[RAMalama]

FLEETWOOD

I have a Terry as well. It's been good to me but is typical Fleetwood. It's not full timer quality but I didn't pay full timer price. I have the 34-5L floor plan. This gives you two full length 12'6" opposing livingroom slides. When they're out, the floor space is amazing. It has a third bedroom slide as well. For the money, I feel there's not a better squarefoot per-dollar 5er on the market. What makes it such a smart floor plan is, it's still useable when all slides are in. I put two 300lb motorcycles on the back on a custom rack. With this trailer I'm 20. 6K lbs road ready. THEN I put the bikes on it! Yeah, I'm heavy but that's why I tow with Dodge. My '95 2wd 3500 dually pulled over loaded by 4k for 6years and 70k miles. No problems! Now I have the 01 in my signature and I'm barely over loaded. Without the bikes I'm not at all. Both trucks were 4:10 and manals trans. I know to get an E-brake just don't have the money for a while. I know it's the smartest money spent for towing. All told I have an estimated 75K towing miles since I began with my first trailer in '92. Been accross the country 7 times! (military)



If you have toys to bring with you then check Kit's "Patio Hauler". Their floor plans include a regular weather bulkhead dividing the machine area from the living area. This way, you don't go to sleep to the smell of gasoline and oil.



My . 02 worth. R/ Ian

 

[hotel6]

Take a trip to your library and perview a copy of the RV consumer Guide. Its a green book and usually stored in the car/truck section. This outfit rates RVs and is a good place to separate the wheat from the chaff on an initial search. Also check out their website I wanted a 5er that could take the gravel roads and not fall apart. Thus frame axles and construction techniques were more important than the veneer many dealers show you. For my needs, Nash trailer (Artic Fox line) and Horizons were the best. The Horizons was abit expensive unless one was fulltiming. I have gone through both factories and was impressed greatly. I've only got 2200 miles on the Fox but by the end of the year I should be pushing 10,000. So far I am extremely happy with my choice.

 

[klenger]

hotel6:

I've been wondering what happened to you. I assumed that you were on the road with the new Fox. Let me know how it's working. Mine doesn't come in till end of July. Getting all of my toys ready to install when I get it. e-mail me at -- email address removed --.



Ken Lenger

 

[Big Puppy]

Best 5 errrrrrrrrrrrr !!!

Thanks for all the great input !!!!!!!!!



We have narrowed our search down to a 2002 "Kountry Star" and a 1999 like new "Travel Supreme Express".



Anyone haul either one of these units?



Again thanks for the input!



Jim

 

[DBaker]

If you are going out in cold areas consider that windows have an R value of one or less. Large windows lose a lot of heat. They work the a/c harder too. Great views though!



2001, 34 ft "Americana" Cardinal. Completely ready for year round full timin'. Not one glitch in 6 trips since Sept 2000

Feel free to Email me if you want more info on my 5er

 

[TowPro]

Re: Last years.

Before buying, I used http://www.nadaguides.com/ as a guide of what the rig I was looking for was worth when it was one year old. You will be suprised what you find.



I feel this reflects what the "experts" think has value, and what is junk.

Originally posted by Champane Flight

I would never buy a brand new model. You loose at least $10 to 20,000. 00 when you drive it off the lot.

 

[BC]

Big Puppy,



We have a '99 36 ft Kountry Star by Newmar and love it. We looked for over a year before we decided to buy. We've taken it out west twice, and leave again in 18 days. We also pull up to the Smokies.



The Kountry Star has two slides (living area and in bed room) and weighs about 14k when we're loaded for a long trip.



So far the only problem I've had has been with the fridge. A dirt dobber built a clay nest in the burner tube. The folks at Newmar told me what to look for. End of problem.



Go to the Newmar board, I think it's newmar.com. They have something called the Kountry Klub. Lots of info there. They also have a classified section. Bet there are some good deals there. I'm getting ready to advertise ours for sale. Nothing wrong with ours, we have horses and my wife would rather have a horse trailer with living quarters.



About towing: I had a tough time pulling before I modified my truck. The first trip we went to Tennessee. At one point on I-75 I was making maybe 45 mph. I had no guages on my truck and everything was stock. Look at my signature and you'll see what changes I've made. Since the modification no problems pulling at all. Best modifications are the TST plate, Pro-Loc torque converter, and BD exhaust brake. Now I can take the same stretch of road where I was used to do 45 mph and hold 70 without a second thought, egts at 700 and trannie temp (in the pan) at maybe 140 degrees.



Hope this helps.



Bill Cook

 

[brobeson]

Mine

What is the best 5er?



Well of course it is mine.



Ya Ya



Bob

 

[Andy Perreault]

Selfishly bringing this one back to the top, too, for the benefit of those who are still looking, including myself .

All opinions and experiences are greatly appreciated.

Andy

 

[Champane Flight]

Funny.

Funny you should bring it back. We spent the weekend looking at fifthwheels. Heres what we found. The prices in smaller citys (Colo Springs Co) are way high. The same 2001 model Hitchiker was 15000. 00 higher in springs than Denver!BIG difference. .



We also did some looking at highend fiths,the Alpenlite was still the most solid unit(even inside walls were sturdier). However it is also the heaviest. A 32' triple slide was 15000lbs GVW(with water and gear). This would put me over on CGW. But still an awesome unit. At 50000. 00,still alott of money.



Suprizes:the Holiday Rambler 32' double slide was only 12500lbs and 38000. 00. It was a solid unit,however not as solid as the Alpenlite. The Hitchiker has a good weight,but still a little heavy at 14000 for triple slide. All these units were 32'. The Hitchiker is a wood frame,Alpenlite has Aluminum,and the HR has a drilled aluminum gusset. We also looked at Cardinals and very cheap Dutchmans(no way).



My final advice is if you are serious about getting a unit. GO to the big city and spend a couple of days looking. Right now they are cutting the prices to make room for the 2002s... . Good luck.

 

[C Schomer]

My Sunnybrook has been great! The decision will be tough when it come time to buy a really high end unit, if I ever get to retire. Kountry Star and Alpenlite will definately be amoung the top runners. When that time comes, I'll sell what I have privately and go to the spring shows ready to buy outright. I couldn't believe some of the prices at the last show! The guys at Casey's say the Sunnybrooks are as good as any for cold weather, which is what I'll be wanting then. Craig

 

[SteveH]

Had a Terry, hated it. Had a Great Divide and was one of the best put together and insulated that I have ever seen, they went out of business. Now have a 31' 5th wheel Jayco and we love it. It has the generator and I had an extra 35 gallon water system put under the front stand-up bedroom. That makes a total of of about 90 gallons of water. Jayco stands behind their products.

 

[Sasquash]

I have a '99 Alfa 32RL w/2 slides. The craftsmanship and storage are excellent on this 5er. I installed a Onan propane powered genset in the basement so that we can set up ANYwhere we want and really be self contained. One of the other things that I like is being able to stand up in the slide out without having to duck down to save my head. ( I'm 6'4"). Alfa all the way

 

[JSoloman]

Hey you guys with the LONG fivers, are you stuck with parking them in RV parks or can you get around in the back woods, like USFS parks.



I ask because mine is 27' and I'm looking at the double slide rigs... . one slide on each side, but the shortest I've found is 29' in the Arctic Fox and HR.



I'm into the more secluded settings, along rivers and lakes, etc, not the big group RV scenes.