RV Features/Options

[amylevan]

We're planning on purchasing a TT or 5th wheel in the very near future (want it to use by next camping season...). I have spent numerous hours pouring over floorplans online, and we visited a keystone dealer a few weekends ago to see a few in person. We're attending a huge rv show next weekend, and I've taken the time to highlight which other floorplans/manufacturers I want to see in person - must have bunks for the kiddies, and would prefer a master with a slide to give my DH and I a little more room.

My DH prefers a 5th wheel due to the percieved bigger storage space and easier towability, but we are looking at both TTs and 5th wheels.

I've noticed that there are basically similar floorplans across the major manufacturers, so I don't think that is going to make the difference for us. So besides price, what do you use to compare makes/models?

i.e. My DH would like to use it in late fall for hunting, so we are probably looking at enclosed underbellies to extend the camping season.

What other features/options should we be using to compare?

Thanks!

 

[5stljayhawks]

Used Vs New – We bought our used and saved some $4k - 7K. I didn’t get the exact model I was looking for (full side slide) but got the kitchen slide.

Real camping VS What you think you will do
What kind of camping are doing? Is there storage for bikes, BBQs, Chairs, fire pits?..... Do you need to bring ATVs? A toy hauler may have benefits other wouldn’t.


Camping in the fall/winter, is your DH planning on staying in campsite with h20 and hook-ups or do you need a place for a generator? If you are staying in a primiative site larger tanks will be a benefit.

 

[Pirate-Jeff]

Go to the Hershey Pa camping show. It is the largest in the USA. You can compare all of the models and have them compete for your business
it's coming up in 2 weeks

http://www.largestrvshow.com/PRVCAHome/AmericasLargestRVShowPublicInfo/tabid/59/Default.aspx

 

[kmccain]

Sounds like you have done your homework! Now go and really look at them at the RV show. You will be surprised the differences that you will see. Some will catch your eye right away. DH noticed things like 4 lugs on the wheels instead of 6.

We went the the RV show and didn't find anything we really liked. We found our first Sunnybrook at a local dealer. We picked our first Bunk house because of the workmanship, storaged and the layout.

Kiddos were small then and now they are large and grew out of their small narrow bunks and the small hole they had to get into them. I did not see that coming! DS 19 is still coming so we just upgraded to a new Sunnybrook Sunset Creek 298BH. Bunks have a lot more room and the big side on the bottom flips up out of the way and it give my dogs a bed room. Their crates fits perfect in there.

I like the gas/electric hot water heater. Our new one has an outside shower that i used a lot while we were at the beach.

Have a great time at the RV show. I understand the manufacturers offer discount there that the dealers cant.

Hope you find your perfect unit!

 

[stacktester]

If you purchase one offer at least 25% off the msrp. My camper was 37k list and I offered 26k and they took it. This was before the economy got like this 2 years ago.

Keystone makes a polar package that you may look at. It's basically just some insulation and a plastic cover on the bottom.

 

[bradisgoofy]

After owning TTs we decided to go with a 5th wheel. I couldn't believe how much easier it was to haul, and the hook/unhook was a breeze, too. If you look at used ones, check the sewer/gray water piping. Some older trailers have very exposed/low hanging pvc piping and could be a problem if your DH takes it out to the woods for a hunting camp. Most newer RVs have the piping (and the dump values ) in a cabinet.

 

[disney4dan]

I second the idea of going to the RV show and taking lots of notes, possibly photos of the different ones you are considering, and maybe making an overnight of it. If you are really that close to buying, I've heard that some of the better deals can be made at the shows. Staying for the weekend might give you time to haggle and literally just walk back and forth between the dealers at the show.

Only other advice I can think of is check to see what would be involved to get the trailer winterized (if you plan on doing that yourself). My water heater is enclosed beneath the dinette seating area and I will have to work at getting to it in order to bypass it during winterization. The last trailer had all the valves to bypass the water heater, but it was tucked into a corner under the sink so far in there that I was seriously thinking about whether I could get in there and repair any damage I might do if I broke something.

Of course, there's always the issue of what your tow vehicle can handle.

 

[thecplusplusguy]

The other Dan mentioned it, in my opinion the single biggest thing you need to know is how much you can tow and then pay attention to the gross vehicle weights and cargo carrying capacity. Trailer life magazine's web site has vehicle tow ratings on it. Some of these 5th wheels have similar floor plans but weigh much different.

Pay particular attention to the hookups and where they are on the side to make sure it won't be difficult to setup. Access to things like the water heater by pass as Dan mentioned, the water pump or a hook up to it so you can pump in the antifreeze for winterizing.

If you get slides make sure they have slide toppers so that you don't have to worry about stuff on top of the slide. I have heard of water leaking in when you retract the slide on ones with out toppers although that is probably rare.

The rv.net forums have lots of good info as well.

Dan

 

[starbuc71]

As you can see from our picture our main option on our trailer was the loft on the roof. I have to say, this is our 4thh TT and besides the R&D issues they should have looked at before releasing the loft model, we were really impressed with keystone. As a child my father always had a starcraft and I did the same until our keystone outback. Keystone actually puts the starcraft line to shame in my opinion. We love our unit and as others have said, if you look new, haggle with the price. MSRP was 36K for ours and we walked out the door for 23KOne good thing about a bad economy is Bad economy= Cheap new RV prices

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Look,,I'll agree that floorplan is important,,and everyone has great advice here,,but we all know that whats REALLY important here is that what ever you buy, the RV has to have room for fishing equipment,

 

[chief19spixi]

Floor plans were our big thing!!

 

[dtum]

Have to agree with the towing issue. We went from TT to 5r and can't believe the towing difference. If you have the truck, I'd go 5r (you need to watch that kingpin weight on the truck--some 5rs are VERY heavy). So much more room--it's truly like having your house right with you. We looked at a bunk model (sorry can't remember brand) that when the bunks weren't in use they flipped up and it converted into a den with separate TV and work area. It was very nice.

We went with our Ti because we fell in love with one back in '03 at an RV show. Bought ours used ('04) model a few years ago. You can really save big buying used and save the big hit you get on deprecation on a new one--also previous owner had worked the bugs out already.

Go to RV.net and ask around...there are tons of people who will give you some good advice.

Good luck!

 

[auntie]

Slide out room in the living area..most important for us. Need that extra elbow room.
Another thing you might consider doing is renting a trailer that's already on site in a campground/resort. We did this several times, and it really gave us a good idea of what worked for our family.

 

[Goofyseven]

Lots of good advice, let me offer this: Go to this forum and read, read, read. You'll get a great deal of info which will help you decide what's important to you

http://www.rv.net/forum/

 

[amylevan]

Pay particular attention to the hookups and where they are on the side to make sure it won't be difficult to setup. Access to things like the water heater by pass as Dan mentioned, the water pump or a hook up to it so you can pump in the antifreeze for winterizing.

Where is a good location for the hookups?

 

[thecplusplusguy]

Other people can chime in here, but I would think somewhere close to the rear for water and electric.

The sewer connection is important and you should think about what it would take to dump the tanks. Do you need to get down on your hands and knees (I hate this, and its very gross)? I like the setups that are in a compartment with the valves and the outdoor shower right there along with a tank sprayer connection. In 5th wheels lately I've noticed that they have to 3 waster water tanks (2 is normal, one for shower and sinks and one for the toilette). The third being for the galley sink in the kitchen. In my brothers 5th wheel he has 2 sewer connections, which I think is a pain.

Dan

 

[dtum]

Not sure if there's a "good" place, but our old TT has very low to the ground makeing the sewer hookup very hard and, in most campgrounds, we were actually cleaning it out up hill. That was one big requirement that we had when we got our 5r--it was higher off the ground. Another thing I really wanted was a frig that had a thermostat. Some of the cheaper TT and 5rs have a frig that can't be regulated by the user and I hated that in our old TT because sometimes when it's really hot it seemed to need turned up a bit and we couldn't. Live and learn and we learned a lot moving from TT to 5r. Hot water tank is under sink and a little awkard, but I can get in and water pump in our rig is no problem--i actually installed one of those antifreeze syphons on it last year so I could pump the pink stuff straight from the bottle--that's great!

 

[GoofyCampers09]

we just traded up from a 12ft pop-up to a 30 ft fifth wheel (both Rockwood)with a bunk bed rm..single bunk on top full on bottom kids love it (their own rm) our friends just bought a 2010 Sierra fifth wheel with a bedroom/bunk rm for thier kids sleeps 6 & they have their own bathroom kids love it plus the rest of the camper is huge not sure how big u wanna go but lots of plans out thier just keep looking till u find the one u love!! good luck hunting

 

[amylevan]

We went to the Hershey RV show this weekend, and ended up purchasing a Copper Canyon (Keystone) bunk fifth wheel. We were torn between it and a Cougar (also Keystone) loft; but decided the loft would eventually lose its appeal since the kids can't even sit up when in the loft bed. We got a great deal (they even threw in the sliding hitch for free.) We are very excited and can't wait to use it!

Thanks for all of the suggestions! We feel comfortable with our decision and the suggestions here helped out.

 

[dtum]

Congrats on your new baby! You're going to love a fifth-wheel. They have so much room and are so easy to tow. Have fun learning all the ins and outs of RV ownership and enjoy all your camping trips with the kids.