Congratulations! We have a travel trailer, not a 5er. Whatever you camp in, enjoy!

 

Wow, congrats everyone. I just bought my truck because I am trying to get a fifth wheel too. I can't wait to get one. Any good info that you learned as a first timer? I figured that it might be better to learn from other peoples newbie mistakes over my own.

 

We bought our SD KR with the plan of buying a 5th Wheel. Took several years to pull the trigger. We decided to purchase used to get our feet wet. Advice, read FTE every day. As far as the camper, like a truck each one has its pluses and minuses. No one camper will do everything. I was convinced we should buy from private seller. We settled on a certain camper and looked at that model in three states, dealers and private sellers. The death of a camper is water leaks, learn how to look for water. The roof must be taken care of. As with everything "we do not wear the equipment out, we ruin it from lack of maintenance". Every camper of the model we settled on we located water damage, once even after the deal was made. So we decided to change directions. No more driving, we looked at local dealers. We found one, smaller than we wanted and it was half the price we were going to spend.

It is our entry level. Just like my KR.

 

My 2012 Outdoorsrv backcountry 22F




Here is my 2012 Outdoorsrv Backcountry 22f

 

Thanks for the info, I would not have know to look for water damage if you hadn't told me. I would assume that it is easy to see if you are looking for it, but I will have to do some research.

 

IDK if its easy but certainly can be located. If you google RV Inspection or similar you will find a wealth of information. Also learn to inspect the roof and every camper we looked at had cracked vent covers, including the one purchased. Very easy fix, in fact I would just plan on replacing them on any used unit. We went ahead and added MAX AIR covers over all the vents, very inexpensive, we paid $34 each installed. It certainly was fun and a learning curve. We are clearly not experts and I am sure made mistakes.

 

What you want to do is a full inspection of the unit. Be prepared with a flashlight and clothes that you don't mind getting dirty so you can crawl under it and in the basement if it has one.


Most all RV's have wall paper. This one is easy. look at it for bubbles and coming apart. Especially at the roof line and floor.


Speaking of flooring. Walk everything. If it is weak and bows or squeeks, inspect further.


Look at the windows..and the molding around them.


Open all drawers and cabnets. Shine the light in the dark corners.


Run all appliances and a/c/heat.


Hook up the water and pressurize the system. Check for leaks.


Hope that helps a bit.

 

Congrats Mushman on your first 5'er purchase (maybe not your 1st Camper though, judging from your knowledge)
Be careful 5th-Wheels are addicting (this was our 2nd unit a 2009 Sundance, bought it brand new)
Sold her though due to the Wife & I both changing careers, College is expensive & hard when u have 2 kid's (we will get another someday)

 

Another kid, or another trailer?

 

Wow, a normal sized trailer behind a dually. Don't see that too often. People who own a dually seem to be asking their camping trailer dealers, "Do you have anything larger". Or "Do you have anything with 4 axles?"

 

Another 5'er...
If there's another kid somebody is paying me child-support as I got clipped after my daughter

 

For those new RV'ers . . If you find yourselves in Florida there are two places you must camp at.

1. Fort Wilderness in Orlando
2. Fun & Sun in Sarasota

Both places are a must.

Here is what I use to haul our 37'r

 

Good info at the following sites

Rv.net

Irv2.com

That's an uppercase "i" not an L

 

Enjoy your 5th wheel and exploring. You will love it. We love camping in ours.

 

Congratulation on your 'new' arrival.
As others have said, it's addictive. We've been through the pop up, truck slide in, small to mid size bumper pulls and now our third 5er:



Scroll down the forums here and you will find the RV part of FTE. I will often ask a question or chat there first then the 100% RV sites as it seems to be less hassle with better discussions from more knowledgeable, hands on folks.