buying new 5th wheel

[jjordan1]

Look for Carriage Cameo. Well worth the money . I just purchased my second unit on Friday. Go w\ the slides,as many as you can get. We have three super slides.

Good Luck

 

[Grizzly]

I see you have already purchased one, but for anyone else looking for a good unit, stay away from anything made be Fleetwood or Forest River as they are not known for quality.

 

[BrianJ]

I see you have already purchased one, but for anyone else looking for a good unit, stay away from anything made be Fleetwood or Forest River as they are not known for quality.

I will agree with the Fleetwood part of your comment, however, I have to disagree with that comment regarding Forest River. They have an excellent reputation around these neck of the woods and on the RV forums. I have had a few different makes of RV's and our current Wildcat TT by Forest River has simply been the best. I have been researching 5rs over the last several months and I am likely to stick with them with either a new Wildcat (mid line for Forest River) or Cardinal (top line for Forest River) 5er.



They are also one of the few that will stand behind their frame and install a class III hitch from the factory (Cardinal series). They also had no problem with me installing an aftermarket/fabricated hitch on my Wildcat. (so they said, don't know what would actually happen should something break, doesn't really matter now that I am out of warranty).



Anyway, everyone has their opinion and favorites, but I have been impressed with both the build quality and company reliability of Forest River.

 

[Grizzly]

I will agree with the Fleetwood part of your comment, however, I have to disagree with that comment regarding Forest River. They have an excellent reputation around these neck of the woods and on the RV forums. I have had a few different makes of RV's and our current Wildcat TT by Forest River has simply been the best. I have been researching 5rs over the last several months and I am likely to stick with them with either a new Wildcat (mid line for Forest River) or Cardinal (top line for Forest River) 5er.



They are also one of the few that will stand behind their frame and install a class III hitch from the factory (Cardinal series). They also had no problem with me installing an aftermarket/fabricated hitch on my Wildcat. (so they said, don't know what would actually happen should something break, doesn't really matter now that I am out of warranty).



Anyway, everyone has their opinion and favorites, but I have been impressed with both the build quality and company reliability of Forest River.

Well I stand corrected on some of the Forest River RV's. I am only going on what I see on these TDR posts and by what I have seen on my brother-in-laws and sisters unit. He has a lot of complains and I have helped him repair a ton of little stuff. The fit and finish on his is very poor and the accessories are not what you might find in a Holiday Rambler. It's only two years old and the dealer has not been very receptive. They have fixed major things, but not all the little things. Maybe it's not fair to compare a Forest River to the Holiday Rambler 5er I had or to my current Lance camper.

 

[RJOL]

I've owned two Alpenlites and they are a solid unit. They have also just come out with a new line for 2006 called the Alpenlite Voyager:



http://www.wrv.com/downloads/06VoyagerMiniBro4-101105.pdf



This line is to fill the gap between their high end units and cheaper units.



All that being said, I've been looking at the HitchHiker IILS series. If your looking for something in the 30' range take a look at these two models:



http://www.nuwa.com/hh2/ls/floorplans.shtml



The 29. 5 LKTG and 29. 5 FKTG are triple slides and have a tremendous amount of space in the living area. Got real close to buying a 29. 5 FKTG. Just didn't want to spend the $$$ right now... .

 

[SHobbs]

Forest River here and glad to have it. In the shop twice in two years and both times were non structural or major things. One was the CO2 detector the other was a slight awning adj. Other than that it has been a pleasure to own.

 

[Jerky]

A lot of good ones out there with a lot of options. My next one WILL have 16" tires and I WILL be able to stand up in the bedroom. The one I have now has 15" tires, never again, and I have to stoop over some upstairs in the bedroom. It will also have an upstairs slide for the bed. Much improved closet space etc. - Dean

 

[SHobbs]

Dean,



How tall are ya? My 5er has 6 1/2 feet of headroom in the bedroom. I am 6ft and have never had to duck. The bedroom slider is good to have, really opens things up. I can't imagine having a 5er without slides. Just remember that a bedroom slide adds roughly 500lbs to the tongue weight.

 

[dcoffman]

I've got a 1995 Prowler 305x I got used in1998. It has 15" tires load d and I've had no problem with it. It has been to Yellowstone twice and Alaska once. I have not gotten to the west coast yet but will. You do want the slide and if possible get the mid kitchen, but I belive that's going to be hard to do under 30'. We have rear kitchen and things do bounce around alot. The Alaska trip was in 2002 and we drove 14000 miles. Only problem was the dang 5th gear nut went off in Walliams Lake BC. The Dodge dealer there fixed it with new nut for $228. I got a deal!!

So get you a fiver with a slide and have a ball!!

 

[SHobbs]

. We have rear kitchen and things do bounce around alot.



This is why my kitchen is above the wheels right in the middle. I know some fultimers and they told me to stay away from rear kitchens, unless you use plastic dishes. In my 5er most things above or forward of the wheels usually stays put.

 

[Disel Dave]

Me To

We have a 35 ft CrossRoads 5er with two slides . its good quality inside and out. get the slideouts, night an day difference take your time and look at a lot of trailers. go to the RV shows, have fun doing it . what ever you do do not buy the first trailer you think is the deal of the century look and take notes and compare good luck

I also have a CrossRoads PP 35 foot IM happy with It is an 05 PF-32-BH

It has been a nice unit.

I agree Get the slides Mine has 2 and I wont ever have one without a bedroom slide again.

PS: we will have to meet IM only up in pottstown, They are planing a crossRoads eastern get togeather In april www.crossroadsrv.com looking at lancaster or VA some where.

Dave

 

[Grizzly]

I've got a 1995 Prowler 305x I got used in1998. It has 15" tires load d and I've had no problem with it. It has been to Yellowstone twice and Alaska once. I have not gotten to the west coast yet but will. You do want the slide and if possible get the mid kitchen, but I belive that's going to be hard to do under 30'. We have rear kitchen and things do bounce around alot. The Alaska trip was in 2002 and we drove 14000 miles. Only problem was the dang 5th gear nut went off in Walliams Lake BC. The Dodge dealer there fixed it with new nut for $228. I got a deal!!

So get you a fiver with a slide and have a ball!!

You have been a TDR member almost three years and this is only your 5th post, which I read all of them. I sure would like to hear more from you because you have had interesting experience. I'd like to hear more about your Alaska trip. MY wife and I are planning a trip up the Alcan this coming summer. I made that trip in 1995 with my '95 Dodge/Cummins and my 29' Holiday Rambler 5er, which was my RV at the time.

 

[RJOL]

. We have rear kitchen and things do bounce around alot.



This is why my kitchen is above the wheels right in the middle. I know some fultimers and they told me to stay away from rear kitchens, unless you use plastic dishes. In my 5er most things above or forward of the wheels usually stays put.

I've owned two 5th wheels with kitchens in the back. Both had shocks installed by the manufacturer and neither was a problem. Maybe if you're on a lot of rough roads it would be different.



As for a "mid kitchen," I owned one of those in a trailer, with no slides, and got real tired of people/kids going back and forth while trying to cook. To each his own...

 

[SHobbs]

I guess some do ride better, I got my info from a few fultimers that had them. My kitchen is on one side and I have a long island that starts at the steps to the bedroom and goes all the way to the fridge. No problems with folks walking through while cooking. One down side to this is that you have to walk all the way around it to get acces to the kitchen, but it's no biggie. This 5er suits my fultiming needs and I like to cook so I needed the larger kitchen space.

 

[dewdo]

fifth wheel

I have only had one fifth wheel and it was the 34' King Of The Road with the 14 foot slide and center kitchen. It road so easy we didn't even have to take the coffe pot and toaster off the counter when traveling. We made two trips across the country from west coast to east coast and from Key West to Seattle. Only problems was tires. Once I got rid of the Goodyear's and put the Michelin's on I had no further problem. It is up among the higher priced units, but worth every dime of the price. Keep in mind there is a big mark up on RV's and you should get a super deal on one if you are good at haggling. I asked one dealer about the price on a 34' King Of The Road, and told the dealer I had one already. We swapped fishing stories for an hour and then I asked him what the mark up was. He said he could knock down the 34' one like mine, but newer from 65,000 to $45,000 give or take a few dollars. That was quiet a mark up. I was tempted to take him up on it and get the new one.



I sold it a couple of years ago and downgraded to a 11. 5 Arctic Fox slide in. I got tired of lugging the fiver around and since there is only two of us and we still have our home and we only needed a place to sleep and be able to tow our bass boat.



Dewdo in the other Washington

 

[dnitzel]

I have a 2004 Colorado made by Dutchman. It's been a great mid-level camper costing about $32,000 new. No problems except for loosing one tire. It was covered by warranty. It pulls real nice, I can leave things on the counters unless I have to do a panic stop. I pull an 2000# ATV trailer behind it. The fit and finish is great. Good quality appliances. Solid interior doors. This is my fifth camper.



My first one was a 1978 Nuwa/Hitchhiker class C with 115,000 miles. It was great and I put another 30,000 miles on it. I had a 2001 Fleetwood Wilderness prior to the Colorado, and it total junk. Traded it off as I wondered if it was going to stay together, and it WAS falling apart. I friend of mine bought a new Wilderness in 2004 the same year as my Colorado, and there is no comparison in quality when compared to the Colorado.



If I had the cash, I'd consider a King of the Road. Jayco makes a nice unit. A nice HD unit is a Kit and I almost bought one of those twice. Avoid the Four seasons and low and mid level Fleetwoods. When purchasing an aluminum framed unit, insist upon solid wall construction meaning foam insulation, not fiberglass. The fiberglass blankets fall down inside the walls between the studs on aluminum framed units.



I prefer the fiberglass exterior walls with aluminum studs, Styrofoam insulation, all laminated to an interior wall, rubber roof with good thick plywood. Look for round radius doors and windows. In slide outs, make sure that if the wheel well and slide out are shared, make sure there is a REALLY GOOD double seal between the slide and the frame to prevent road water spray from entering the exterior of the camper. If you’ve done any construction yourself, and know how to build something with quality, it's easy to use this to compare campers. Crawl inside, out, through and underneath of all the brands, you'll see the difference between them. You can get a great deal at a camper show, and often times there are factory rep’s at the shows. Don’t be nervous about crawling under the campers at the show. Dealer cost on a typical unit is 50% to 60% of full price sticker. WHEW! You can see mine at www.hookusup.com/colorado

Good Luck!!