Surviving the Winter in a fifth wheel

[Nomad_Haabs]

My husband and I will be purchasing a new fifth wheel in the coming months but we need some advice on surviving the winter! We will be living full time and traveling for work, potentially staying in colder temps for weeks-months.

We think we have narrowed down which floor plans we like best; Grand Design Solitude 377MBS-R, Montana High Country , and the Forest River Sandpiper 384QBOK

Help! Which is better/best for surviving colder temps? Every dealer obviously pushes their make/model but have found conflicting evidence online....so which make/model??

 

[Neal]

Welcome to RVForums @Nomad_Haabs. Make sure you find an RV that is well insulated and has a good heating system. I'm comfortable taking my motorhome anywhere with no concerns for temps as it is well insulated and has a great heating system. Choose what fits your needs and hopefully others here familiar with your choices can help you decide. I'm not familiar with those but just saying there are RV's that can handle any weather so do your research. See what the sales folks have to offer but always verify.

 

[AbdRahim]

Welcome.

 

[MapNerd]

I never thought I’d ever recommend a Forest River product, but I have been particularly impressed by their Riverstone line. 3” thick walls, residential hung insulation, independent suspension, disc brakes, water manifolds, top of the line appliances...and it’s hard to find a bad review of the product. I’ve spoken to a few owners of Riverstone 5ers at campgrounds, very few complaints and pretty much all were just nit picky things. Definitely check that brand out. DRV also makes a good four-season fifth but quality has gone down since Thor took over so maybe try to locate a pre-2016 unit. We looked long and hard at Van Leigh but in our opinion, found them to not be up to the standard that we expected from a Tiffin division. Lots of polish and shine but flimsy build quality.

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

One of the keys to staying warm during the winter in an RV of any kind is to prevent wind from blowing underneath. We've used straw/hay bales, styrofoam blocks and fabric skirts over the years to good effect. Anything that will prevent the free flow of cold air underneath the RV.

Certainly, starting with a well-insulated RV is the first step. We had a Montana with the "polar package" and it was very good.

TJ

 

[DKRITTER]

I'll put my $.02 in here but it's probably not even worth that.
We owned a FR Cedar Creek and will never own another, there was a myriad of issues both large and small. The dealer and FR were mostly not concerned. Back to your question, we couldn't keep it either warm or cool during the winter and summer. We ran multiple portable heaters in the winter and a lot of blankets. FR just didn't build a good enough product to handle below freezing temps, IMO. We spoke to many FR and Thor owners who had similar build quality issues.
Since you said new, I might suggest looking at either a used New Horizons or Luxe in your current budget. They are far better built than Thor/FR products and you won't just be a number on a spreadsheet.

 

[FL-JOE]

Probably back around 2010 or maybe 2011 there was a contributor on a Montana fiver forum that lived in Alaska and was full time in his. I can't recall all the steps he had to take in order to survive. I do recall he had a heated water supply hose and his underbelly was not only closed off but he either utilized heat lamps or some type of heat source under there to gain a few degrees. Also, if I recall correctly he rented a couple 100lb propane tanks to sit in front of his unit to run the small furnace.

I guess my question with your plan of traveling for work during the colder months would be where do you plan on parking the fiver? Let's say for example your work takes you to Michigan in January. Do you think you could actually find a open campground within 100 miles of your needed work location up there during that time of winter? Same way with most of those States, campgrounds find it very difficult to stay open and maintain their utilities during the winter months.