Best (or worst) Fifth Wheel to buy?

[Al's Eagle]

Recently purchased a Jayco 321RSTS fifth wheel only one 100 mile trip so far but tows nice with my ram 2500hd with the 6.4 hemi

 

[Bob K4TAX]

I figure purchasing new or used, bumper tow or 5th wheel, big 35' or small 21', they all have about the same brands of appliances and systems. There is just standard stuff used throughout the RV products. And they all have about the same level of electrical and plumbing issues. Do figure on very little support from the Dealer and maybe less, unless a major frame issue, from the manufacturer. In other words, plan on resolving the issues yourself. Plus you will learn about the systems and have more money in your wallet.

Read the reviews in various publications. Then decide.

 

[NGC 613]

I posted this in another forum once. Seems like this would be a good place for it.

Let me ramble and get yelled at here.

I'm not saying they are all the same , but almost all are really. Only the sales pitch, hype and cost are different.

Most manufactures of travel trailer and 5th wheel trailers have been doing the following for several years now. Very few have not.

Most have not used rubber roofs or only 2 inch thick roofs for many many years. TPO, PVC , Vinyl or other type materials now days are used. Each manufacture brags theirs is better and will last 10 to 12 years.

Most have had enclosed under belly's for years now. Yet they each state and claim it as if their the only ones to offer this.

Racetrack ducting. All been there and done that now days.

Most all have the same floor plans for each class and size. They almost all use the same cabinet makers, color schemes and designs.

Most all have the same components from the same suppliers.

Seems most are all built the same way with few differences. Most like to make it sound as if they are the only ones who do this or that. Yet when you look around you find others do it and may have done it longer.

Per size and class they are almost the same from one manufacture to the next.

Each has something they brag about that makes them better , but in the end they are not really all that far apart from one another.

Heck most of them are built in Indiana and by the same worker pool year after year.

So knowing this to be true in a lot of cases and with not much to separate them other than factory warranties for structural builds ( which by the way is again almost never the issue for any of them) why do we here the rumors about this one being bad or this one being better? Seems like even the sales people and techs believe these rumors and or spread them. One tech tells a customer to STAY AWAY from that or this manufacture , they make a 2 inches thick roof or that type floor wont last it is foam . Yet now days almost nobody builds like that Simple little statements like that and it spreads like wild fire that this manufacture isn't as good as this one. As an example and only as an example. I owned what some consider a really good one Grand Design. Yet my support wasn't all that for 2 issues, and I had to have the entire slide wall replaced right from the factory because the wall paper was so poorly laid down there wasn't a flat place on it . The fit and trim was not very good at all. So much for the in house inspections there. They do make a great product so don't think I'm knocking them . Many people are very happy with them. They seem to stand behind their product really well.

I guess with few exceptions there are no real differences between them all. I do see cult like followings of some manufactures that I can not understand. People even pay a lot more for that name, sure as heck there's another guy builds his the same but the rumors and hype made them spend a whole lot more.

Here are a few example question for ya on builds. If you have a choice which would be better.

Laminated aluminum framed or wood framed walls ?

Wood Truss roof or aluminum truss roof ?

Marine grade tongue and groove flooring or laminated floor construction (vinyl - luan - foam - luan ?

My point again is it seems to me they are almost all the same with some sales hype for this type slightly different build or that type build being the better one.

In the end now days nothing really stands out from one to the other so why such big price differences between them? Per class and size one is really no better than the other if you take away rumors and hype.

 

[Old Bubblehead]

Lots of great insight in this thread! thanks for sharing.
We have recently come to realize that we are not camping in the manner we thought we would. Life conspires to lead you onto certain paths and before you know it, you have gone pretty far down trail.
We love our Cornerstone, but we are not getting out as much as we wanted to nor visiting the type of places we enjoy. Too easy to park rig on our coach lot and just enjoy that vibe. Seems like the coach just becomes a second home in the mountains.
DW thinks a smaller rig parked at our S&B would enable some more spontaneity and return us back to our roots. So... we will make the pilgrimage to Hershey and look around. I have been trying to research other alternatives, but for many of the reasons captured in this thread it is not easy to ID good players, from mediocre, to bad.
Been at this long enough to know all rigs will break, each will be built with their own nuances, and perfection does not exist.
Wish me luck, patience, and control.

 

[Bob K4TAX]

Don't buy one expecting to accommodate the kids and the grandkids. You and the wife will be stuck with a $100K, hard-to-handle, oversize travel trailer or RV. While it may seem like a great idea at the time, they will join you a couple of times and that will be it. Buy something suitable for you and the wife and something that won't require a humongous tow vehicle. You'll be a happy camper.

 

[Old Bubblehead]

Don't buy one expecting to accommodate the kids and the grandkids. You and the wife will be stuck with a $100K, hard-to-handle, oversize travel trailer or RV. While it may seem like a great idea at the time, they will join you a couple of times and that will be it. Buy something suitable for you and the wife and something that won't require a humongous tow vehicle. You'll be a happy camper.

Thanks Bob,

Yep got that tee shirt on our first coach. Ordered with cockpit drop down, pull out couch, convertible dinette. Had coach two years, had one visit to use "extra" sleeping capacity. When we ordered current coach, we ordered just for us. If we pick up fiver, it will also be set up for how we camp.

Truthfully, my biggest challenge is finding room for DW's quilting/ sewing supplies and equipment. I like midship bunk house layout where I could pull bunks and set her up a sewing studio.

Sure head will be hurting after running gauntlet at Hershey show.

cheers,
J

 

[High Desert]

If I was in the market for a 5th wheel today, I'd give a solid look at the Arctic Fox lineup. They are not cheap, but very well made, generally have a real 4 season package, and built to last. If you watch a lot of the full timer youtube videos, you see a lot of Grand Designs being used. And you also see and hear about all the quality and failure issues they have. Belly leaks seem to be a real problem with that product along with a myriad of other issues. Year to year, who makes the best changes. Alpenlite was a great product until the son took over and drove it in the ditch, then NuWa was the one, especially the Hitchhiker model, then Montana held the lead for several years. Throw a rock on a dealer lot and you may hit next year's hot model. My approach would be twofold: layout and manner / quality of construction. The warranty works until you pull off the lot, then it's pulling teeth to get anything done in a reasonable timeframe.

 

[Gizmo]

Thank you for your help! I have a 3500 GMC Duali so pulling won't be an issue - but I love your feedback on construction and warranty and negotiating - that is a huge help! I really appreciate it.

That is what I thought with my 2017 GMC 1 ton 3500 when I purchased a 2017 Grand Design 310GK 35 foot 5er. Took off for my winter in Tucson and decided to stop by the scales and just verify weights before I put the washer and dryer and the generator in the front of the RV. Well, bad news I was 600 pounds over my truck GVWR/payload ratings, and the 5er weight in at 15,400 well under the 16,600 of the RV GVWR. The only solution I had in 2017 was to go to a DRW truck so I switched to Class A with 7442 pounds of payload. My planned upgrades would put me over the GAWR and probably tire ratings.

 

[DMan1717]

Sometimes I can't help but giggle like a little girl. two phrases set this off. first one is lifetime warranty, must mean a good product. This is because I have had two rigs that were sold with such a warranty. Both manufacturers were not in business when I bought them. The other phrase is we are going green as a country. This one makes me laugh because I have had a machine shop and know how much green energy it would require to make the shop viable.

For the record I have only met happy grand design owners.

We have a Cedar
Creek fifth wheel and like it a lot. We had a Cougar before and the upgrades we had considered came standard on the Forest River Cedar Creek. In regards to a "Lifetime Warranty" I consider it a joke. Giant Recreation World offers one, but it requires you to bring it in once a year for them to go over. That cost is around $300. Not what i would consider a free life time warranty. To be perfectly truthful they do not advertise it as FREE. It just sounds like it might be? Buyer beware. The other thing I would do the day after I bought it is to change the tires to something better. And, having blowouts on 2 fifth wheels I would add the underside RV-DE-FENDER just "In Case" of another blowout. Insurance claims have slayed up our RV for over 2 months (right during summer).