Extensive Traveling with a 5th Wheel

[Chuck5395]

We currently own a 2018 Jayco Eagle HT 28.5RSTS. As we get closer to retirement, our thoughts have turned to taking longer (in duration and distance) trips. I'm concerned about this rig being an HT since that implies that it was built to be light and possibly not durable.

First question: Is it built strong enough for extensive travel?

Second question: If we go back on the market to buy a new rig, what should we be looking for? I'd like to stay under 36' and we tow with a 2017 RAM Cummins Club cab long bed SRW.

Thanks
-Chuck

[Chuck5395]

laknox wrote:

I'm with you on both counts, Jeff. I had the stuipd solid steps and, as boondockers, am not a fan of the tankless water heaters (though I've not had experience with them). I've read about too many people not having hot water when running on the pump =and= people using a =lot= more water.

Lyle

We've just spent our first 5 nights in the new rig. We have the newer flip style steps that help knock the dirt off of them before you raise them into the doorway. Worse than dirt, if they're wet they bring that water in with them.

And so far, we are not a fan of the tankless water heater. It does seem to use a lot more water and we boondock a lot. I'm sure we'll figure out a solution.
-Chuck

[laknox]

jffnkrn wrote:
I'm a littel partial to Grand Design, not endorsing them, but my experience. We are on our second. have thought about upgrading again, buuuuutttttt, i am not a fan of the new steps or the on demand water heater. The floor plan we have, 337RLS, is great for us, yeah as in all units, there are things we wish were a littel different. But might I say, just keep using yours for a while, keep looking at units whereever yo may find yourself, keep talking to people, get there use types into conversaiton, compare it wiht your and your plans. Then find the floor plan you like or want, when the moment is right, it will happen.
Good Luck, Be Safe!!!

I'm with you on both counts, Jeff. I hate the stuipd solid steps and, as boondockers, am not a fan of the tankless water heaters (though I've not had experience with them). I've read about too many people not having hot water when running on the pump =and= people using a =lot= more water.

Lyle

[jffnkrn]

I'm a littel partial to Grand Design, not endorsing them, but my experience. We are on our second. have thought about upgrading again, buuuuutttttt, i am not a fan of the new steps or the on demand water heater. The floor plan we have, 337RLS, is great for us, yeah as in all units, there are things we wish were a littel different. But might I say, just keep using yours for a while, keep looking at units whereever yo may find yourself, keep talking to people, get there use types into conversaiton, compare it wiht your and your plans. Then find the floor plan you like or want, when the moment is right, it will happen.
Good Luck, Be Safe!!!

[Chuck5395]

Well, it turns out the HT rig really are lightweight constructed. We have traded in our 28.5RLTS for a lightly used Grand Design 337RLS. One interesting note, the new 2023 28.5RLTS rigs are no longer listed as HT and have a dry weight about 1,000 higher than our old 2017.

[Durb]

Read the forums for a while and you will probably determine weight is the enemy. Tires blown - probably overloaded. Frame failure - overloaded. Axle and suspension failures - exceeding their limits. Bearing failure- too much weight for the design. Brakes overheating - weight. I believe lightweight is a good thing and do what I can to reduce the weight of my trailer and stay way below the limits of the components and the truck. Just don't load your trailer up as though its capacities are much higher.

Also, obsessive maintenance is a good thing.

[Cummins12V98]

If you really like the rV it would be worth it to change the suspension to MORryde IS with disk brakes. Suspension is the weak link for full timers.

"we tow with a 2017 RAM Cummins Club cab long bed SRW"

Good tow rig. FYI RAM has not had a Club Cab for years, your truck has a Crew Cab.

"Officially, a club cab refers to a Dodge-trademarked truck that has front seating and rear seating but only has two doors"

[MNRon]

Sounds like you're ~10yrs behind us. We had a Jayco 285BHS when I retired. Took a winter trip from MN to TX and after a month+ living in it we started to think we might want something different. Looked at a older used HitchHiker 5th wheel and haven't looked back. Not familiar with your layout, but 5th wheel layout was much improved over TT for us. More importantly, a 5er pulls **SO** much better than a TT; along with being easier to hitch etc. Tank capacities were a significant upgrade too.

Even with the HH I still leveled with boards etc for a few years and didn't think it was a big deal. Then we got a new VanLeigh Vilano with autolevelers, WOW does that make it easy. We added SnapPads and now it's 15min to hook-up and leave a campground, or to set up when we arrive.

I'd definitely recommend looking into 5ers, used if you can find what you want if $ matters (besides having the bugs shaken out). Also agree with you on wanting to stay <35ft, we mostly camp at state parks etc and are comfortable finding places we fit. Longer may fit in the spot, but can be difficult to manuever through narrow roads and trees to get to the spot. Artic Fox makes a good 5er I'd recommend you give a good look at, would have purchased one if they had a floorplan we liked. Also would have bought another HitchHiker if they still made them, a VERY GOOD 5er. With that said, we're very happy with our Vilano.

Good luck in your search and decision.

[goducks10]

Lippert makes all the landing gear for 5th wheel trailers with the exception of lesser sold brands. No guaranty that what you get will be any better. BTDT.
With todays supply chain problems you not only have to worry about something breaking you have to also worry about the part being available. It may take days or weeks to get a part.
Your 5er is a known entity to you. Getting a new one is a new process with new problems. Not something I would want to start while beginning a transition to extended traveling.

[Veebyes]

Off we go on another 6 month, 10,000 trailer mile trip this year. As pointed out a long trip is nothing more than a bunch of short trips all rolled into one.

The thing is, the weekend warrior is always relatively close to home & a known service source. The extended traveller is never close to home when things go wrong. The extended traveller has no local knowledge. The extended traveller really needs to know his unit, it's strengths & it's weaknesses. The extended traveller needs to be capable of taking care of the little things that go wrong & carry what it takes to fix them. An RV supply place is not always handy & it is really sad at the amount of basic needs RV supply places don't carry in stock. It could be something as simple as a water heater element or a cover that has fallen off. Some things you can work around without. Some things you need when you need. Carry spare trailer wheel bearings, & have the tools needed to change them. Carry spare spring hanger wetbolts & have what you need to change them. Small vital stuff.

[time2roll]

With reasonable care most any RV trailer will last 20 to 40 years. Yes there will be maintenance. No guaranty with a new unit either.

[C_Schomer]

Like most do, I leveled side-to-side with wood under the tires. Then when I drop the front legs down, I have thin squares of plywood so I can space them evenly and both legs start lifting at the same time and it doesn’t mess up the side to side leveling. it’s power rear stabilizers that I’ve been thinking about. Craig

[Chuck5395]

I hear you (and others). The small fresh water holding tank is a pain because we dry camp most of the time. I now carry additional water jugs in the bed of the pickup and use a transfer pump to refill the tank.

If we keep this, I'm going to look into getting a auto-level system installed because I'm not happy with the single motor landing gear we currently have.

[C_Schomer]

Use what you have until it doesn’t work out any longer. I started RVing 30 years ago with smaller/lighter units and I used them until they were simply no longer suitable. It was usually lack of tank storage or carrying space but one of them was exceptionally cheap and poorly built and it literally wouldn’t stay together anymore. There’s no sense in rushing into the upgrading brain damage and expense! Craig

[Chuck5395]

Thanks everyone for your replies. This line of thought started after our last trip where one of our landing gear legs started to slip while leveling. Later in the night, the trailer drop down a few inches on that side. I ended up our bottle jack under the front end and that held us stable for the weekend. I hitched up without a problem, but started slipping again when we got home and went to unhitch. We've already replaced the other one about 2 years ago.

This brought up the conversation regarding the use of lesser components to keep the weight down. I've gotten use to the soft spots in the floor because the support beams are further apart.

We do really like the unit's layout. I've done a lot of upgrades to it overall so I'd hate to start over, but I wanted to pause and evaluate our options.

Thank you for all your input into the conversation. You all bring unique perspectives to the table and have given us more to consider.
-Chuck

[ReneeG]

goducks10 wrote:
A lot of times 'Lite' is not really lite. The OP's 5er comes in dry (UVW) around 8600lbs+. The 2022 comes in around 9100lbs dry. Thats not light in my books. HT is not really always half ton as there's no half ton truck that could tow the OPs 5er. There's one Jayco eagle HT thats maybe 1/2 ton towable but thats it's. It's just more marketing hype that needs to stop.
The rest are 3/4 ton gas or 1 ton diesel.
Inside construction isn't much different than other lines as far as cabinetry goes. Maybe a lighter countertop but thats not a failure point.

Thanks for the clarification.