RV Shopping

[Golfhacker64]

My wife and I are looking for a fifth wheel with the following being things that we would like. We will be spending about 6 months out of the year in it. Can any of you provide some suggestions? We can do new or slightly used.

- Decent sized bathroom
- Side slide with bed, prefer King
- Residential sized refrigerator or larger size refrigerator
- GVWR around 13,000 lbs.
- Length around 30-35 feet
- Price of approx. $30-35,000

[C_Schomer]

My last two fivers have been the best quality and the best bargains and they were private sales. IMO, older is much better quality. We went to several spring RV shows in the Phoenix area three years ago and it was very hard to find anything but pressed wood and pressed paper in even the hundred thousand dollar fifth wheels. On the other hand, it's hard to find any pressed wood in my 0 8 fifth wheel… Materials and build quality are excellent. The previous owner of my fifth wheel paid 54,000+ taxes when it was new and I bought it from him for 25,000 when it was five years old. If you're confident in doing your own inspection, private sales are the best. Craig

[Retired_JSO]

Price and weight are construction oriented. Higher priced trailers will have a solid fiberglass shower, porcelain toilet and probably a home style refrigerator. Most will have 7k axles and a aftermarket pin box, fiberglass sides and the forward half of the trailer frame double stacked I-beams with G rated tires. Our Cardinal 2018 3350LX listed for $95K and we took it for $59K out the door in November 2018, last one they had.

[Golfhacker64]

Thanks

[8ntw8tn]

I'll just pass on some advice that was given to us many years ago when we were in a similar situation: open every door and drawer and close it with normal force as you move throughout the RV. If it rattles or sounds hollow...pass. It's most likely not made for living in the length of time you're anticipating. For us, it was good advice and well heeded. Hope this helps.

[Golfhacker64]

I’ve been to CW previously, no worries. I was in the car business for 17 years before getting into IT. It’s hard to get one by me. Thanks for the heads up.

[rexlion]

No brand advice from me, but dealer advice: stay far away from Camping World. My buddy just today told me his horror story. 😞 I wish I'd known when he was shopping for a 5th wheel, because I would have warned him too!

[bobsallyh]

No matter what you look at, be sure to bring the slides in and see what you can or cannot do with them in. Can I get to the pottie etc.

[Golfhacker64]

I appreciate the responses. We have been to a few RV dealers and shows including Hershey twice. I’m just looking for some real world opinions. As far as my truck goes, I’ve research it thoroughly so, I don’t want to open a can of worms. It has a 3145 payload and 14400 towing capacity.

[wanderingaimles]

To meet your requirements, there are few that have those items at a price remotely coming close to your price. Keystone Sprinter comes to mind, king bed kitchen island and larger fridge, but inspect carefully for manufacturing methods and possible defects. This is not their premium line so, be picky about the specific unit and clearing as many little things as possible before taking delivery.
Sprinters for sale

[goducks10]

JMO but $30-35K won't get you much in the way of quality in a 30'-35' 5er. Even a slightly used one.
I suggest you go to RVtrader.com and enter in $30,000-$35,000 and that will give you an idea of what you'll have available.

[gbopp]

RobWNY wrote:
I would suggest you and your wife go to several dealers and see which models you like that are in your price range.

X2. Opinions vary, the ultimate decision will be up to you. Start looking and use it as a learning experience.

What will you be using to pull the 5th wheel? That can make a difference in which RV you buy.

[Lwiddis]

Glad to see you are apparently buying or selecting the 5er first and then matching a truck to it.

[RobWNY]

I would suggest you and your wife go to several dealers and see which models you like that are in your price range. Relying on other peoples ideas of what you should consider isn't a good idea. No one knows what you will like. Everyone only knows what they like. To save time, go to the manufacturers and dealer websites and look at the floor plans and what dealers have in stock. Narrow it down to a reasonable number of RV's to look at and make a day of it and go see them in person. It will be a fun day! If what you really want isn't in stock, you can order one.

[Veebyes]

We also spend about 6 months each year on the road.

Coming from 25 years of weekend cruising boating we had a bit of a head start in what to look for in a RV. The decision to get a 5er was made long before we were ready to look after having rented a class C.

First priority was a good sized workable galley with lots of counter space. For this it had to be either an island or a "J" shaped galley. We have a "j" which has more counter space & under counter storage.

Next priority was freshwater capacity. Our boat has 115gal FW & it is nice not to have to worry about every drop of water used. An 80gal FW or larger was an absolute requirement. This requirement eliminated lots of builders right off the bat.

Next was the fridge. Did not have to be needing to run out to a store every few days if we were miles from anywhere. We did wind up with a large 4 door RV 2 way power fridge.

When on the road eating at restaurants is rare so pantry storage is important. Ours has the washer/dryer cabinet right next to the galley so that was immediately used as a whopping sized pantry.

For your budget you should easily find a lightly used better quality 5er that meets those specs. Mobile Suites, Carriage & Alpenlite all have 100gal FW tanks.

Getting the right one is worth a drive to pick it up. We went at it with a mission that our first RV was going to be our last RV. Here we are, 13 years later, no regrets. Research narrowed us down to 4 models then it was a case of waiting for one of them to pop up online for sale.