+2. Great people just like here on FTE who have tons of experience to share. ~ bugjr ~

 

Where do I start? I could talk about RV's all day long.
Been a full timer since 2009.
I have to say It's not a bad life style. I've owned two homes & the only thing I miss is the garage, & my dog misses the fenced in yard...

Sounds like you have done your research Rich & have a good handle on what you want, but I will have to lend you my experience in RV'ing.

I started with a 30' Coachman TT w/single slide. I wanted a TT over a 5'r so I could also utilize the bed of my truck (had a motorcycle to haul) Plenty of room for me and two Jack Russells. Eventually I wanted something bigger, so I upgraded to a 36' 5'r. I no longer wish for more space....I could not be happier.

Points to ponder & items to look for when settling on a TT purchase.

5'rs do tow much better. I gross just over 21K and I can lock the cruise on 70mph and enjoy the drive. (9.5mpg) My TT was all over the road...

I'm no longer traveling & I'm set up at a Rv resort, so towing aside I would still prefer a 5'r over a similar size TT for two main reasons.
- The taller roof offers more inside storage space & a roomier feel. I have cabinets in my kitchen that I can't even reach without standing on a chair & I'm 6' tall. Great for storing the fryer, crock pot, George Foreman grill, steamer, a bottle or two of Scotch etc... you get the pic.

- Ceiling fan, You can have a ceiling fan in a 5'r to help distribute the A/C & heat. You can't have a ceiling fan in a TT.

-Fridge. Rv fridges suck! Not very roomy, take forever to cool down after moving the camper or loading it on grocery day. Expensive to repair and replace. Solution-summon the spirit of Bob Vila and install a residential fridge. I found one at Lowes for $400 that is roomier than my original. A replacement RV fridge would have cost me over $1400 to replace.

-Toilet, Get rid of the crappy (pardon the pun) plastic toilet & install a ceramic bowl RV toilet. They have a standard size seat. You can upgrade to your favorite soft cushy seat. The little plastic RV units do not give you much room for the twig and berries when trying to read the latest issue of Diesel World Magazine...Just sayin

-Toilet room, some units have a separate room for the toilet itself. GREAT IDEA....especially when more that one person lives in the unit.

-Storage, 5'rs have more. The step up in the frame leaves a gigantic storage area. I could fit 6 body's in my storage. 12 if I stack em...

-Water heater, 6 or 10 gal. that is your choice. Get the 10.
They also make a tankless heater for RV's, but it works on gas only. Most tanks will run off of gas or elec. I run mine on elec just like a home unit.

-A/C, 13,500 btu, or 15,000. Get the big one! I have twin 15,000 units and I never sweat. My TT had a single 13.5 and it had a difficult time keeping up when it was over 90° outside.

-Kitchen fan, Make sure your unit has an outside vented cooktop fan. My first unit did & I loved it! My 5'r has the fan with the metal grease filter that blows the smoke right in your face. I have to open a window & use the ceiling vent fan when cooking & it's getting really old.

-Kitchen dinette. While the booth style does offer up some storage under the seats, they are cramped and functionless. Choose the old table and chair option. You can always upgrade to a taller table and less chairs to make more storage room down the road. and use it for a computer station. You can't turn the seat to watch the TV while plinking away on FTE when your stuck in a cramped booth.

-Ladder, Buy a camper with a roof ladder installed. You'll find yourself up there for cleaning & maintenance. A built on ladder really simplifies things.

-Shower, Some campers come with tubs. Not sure how a tub and a ten gal water heater go together, but my TT had just that & it was worthless... Get the stand up shower.

-Washer/dryer. Most Rv units are garbage. I have the Sears stackable unit that is posted above in my 5'r& love it. Yes it's smaller, but really not by much. You cannot wash and dry at the same time, & the 110 dryer does take some time to dry.

As for your truck, find a quality toolbox (you may need to stand on it to make RV repairs) with proper organization you can squeeze many many tools in it. A light weigh aluminum floor jack is a good investment.
Some sort of on board air is a must when traveling. If you use a mini compressor that runs off of the cig lighter grab a cig plug adapter that you can stick into your 7 way bumper plug to air up camper tires while hitched.

Ok, I'm rambling & it's time to walk my dog.

Any RV'ing questions that you have I probably have an answer for. based on my personal experience of course...

 

Great tips! Here are a few more....

For the air compressor, the RV will have 12v all over the place. Just tap a line and add a cigarette lighter adapter to power your air compressor or other 12v gizmos.


I know you mentioned a toy hauler, but if the states you go to allow triple tow, consider a cargo/utility trailer that you can tow behind the RV. Had a nice tandem cargo trailer that held a full size washer, motorcyle, tools, and everything else. Basically a garage on wheels.

When you start traveling, plan on spending at least a month in each location. The daily rates in RV parks are ridiculously high and the monthly rates are surprisingly low.

Get a infrared thermometer if you don't have one and whenever you come to a pit stop, measure the temp of your wheels and hubs for early signs of needed maintenance.

Make a checklist. Use it. There are so many little things to do/secure before you start towing that its easy to forget to lower the roof antenna, or pick up the remote themometer sensor you stuck on the back window.

Try and only take items that have their own storage place in the RV. That way, it makes it so much easier to tear down / setup when you make camp. If you have a bunch of stuff that is loose and sitting on countertops/tables while you are parked, you still have to find somewhere to secure them when under tow.

Floor jack is so helpful when you have a blowout. You will have blowouts.

 

Way to go Frank! Really, you hit all the major points. I to vote for the 5vr. When we bought ours, we lived in Houston, close to a large rv place, Frank knows PPL. Walked through 100 or so, deciding on the 5vr floor plan. First summer out, Texas-Yellowstone-Colorado-Oregon-Texas, with a 4 month stay in Co. With 4 dogs (50-60lbs). Challenging but we made it work. Very happy. The trailer is why my 7.3 exists in my life.
You might look at Northwoods (Arctic Fox), either TT or 5vr. Great four season trailers, and you can tour their plant in LaGrande, Or.
Funny you mentioned backpacking. Us also, and we laugh all the time now that we are the people we laughed at (rvers). But we still backpack.
RV.net is a good source for general info, but they are as crazy as we are.
Your next learning curve is starting!! Enjoy.

 

Great post Frank. You covered about all I would of said also. I know he wants a TBT but I'd go 5er myself. In the mountains towing you will love the 5er.

 

After a 48-hour time frame of discussions, we have opted for the 5'er... but I was wrestling with the weight. I think I found a solution: Keystone has had a series of "Half-Ton Toy Haulers" (Cougar) for a number of years, so we should be able to find this or something like it on the used market. They all max out at 12K pounds, so then it's a matter of finding the lightest base unit with the features we want. Stinky would have no issue pulling one of these, it beats trading him in for a 350, a 450, a DRW, or a 3500 (if you get my drift).

Franko72 - Bull's eye! That's what I was looking for. I was unaware of much of what you mentioned... this will save us grief and thousands of dollars.

One little adjustment to the toilet room thing. I learned this from an apartment I once had, and have remodeled some of my homes to duplicate it: The sink and vanity needs it's own place - the toilet works well with the shower in the same room. I raised 3 children (two boys and a girl) as a single father, and I usually set up two sinks with the vanity - and a separate room for pants-dropping for whatever reason. It reduced getting-ready-for-school time substantially, and no more lines at the bathroom. I saw a 5'er set up with a separate sink, and raised one eyebrow until my ear pulled forward.

We discussed the stack washer some more (I've had these)... and as much as I hate them, it would work slightly better with the lifestyle I have now (over the one I had at the time). The saving grace is the "garage" in the toyhauler - we have room for hanging clothes if needed, without hangin' the Hanes out in the 'hood.

I, too take issue with the dinette... but the twin captain's chairs (with tables) are lacking as well. I found a unit with a "supercouch" approach (with one table). This has merit, but I need to sit in one before I call it.

Ceiling fan... who'd-a-thunk? I skipped right over that in my thoughts, but I have seen those on floor plans.

I have a self-contained air compressor with rechargeable booster battery. It's not what I would use on a daily basis, but it does the job when on the road.



All the other stuff in the list is gold, even though I already knew about 10% of that already: I protest the toilet wanna-be, I've had a micro-tub (good for soaking feet and other big items), and the ladder is a must.

Air Conditioner - plan B. I can pick up a 12,000 BTU portable at Costco that uses a drier hose for an exhaust. I would use the primary in the 5'er for normal operation, then wheel the portable out of storage for the dog days. All I would need to do to the 5'er is drill a hole for one more louvered drier vent in a strategic location (like the bedroom).

Fridge - I hope there would be no need to rip out a working unit. When it fails, go with Franko72's plan.

Triple-tow is out of the question. Too many states don't allow this, and we want flexibility. We just have to pack light.

I have the ideal floor jack already. It can lift Stinky's whole 4X4 front end in one hit... high enough to lift him off the springs.

Thermometer - already in the carputer bag, and used for checking things that spin or go "bang".

Checklist and monthly rent - good tips there.

We have a plethora of clear storage boxes and a nice labeler - and we're not afraid to use em'.

 

Rich, my 5'r is a 36' with triple slide outs and the dry weight is only 13,400.
I'm pushing. 15k with my junk loaded and half tank of fresh water for showers and toilet use on the road. Your truck will have no issues pulling that weight.
One thing I have learned about RV's is that the "ultra light" series means cheaply built.
I would settle for a slightly smaller unit than a large ultra light.

 

Yeah... I remember a locally-manufactured brand called "Alpenlite". My room mate at the time was their warranty manager.

 

I thought that too and my salesman explained why sometimes that is not necessarily the case. And before you go "yeah, he was a salesman trying to make a sale!" or something like that. He has sold my parents 2 campers, my best friend 2 campers, 3 of the families in my camping group at least 1, etc. He is in it for the long haul with us and is a straight shooter. He pointed out several points where there are weight savings to be made by using aluminum instead of wood in the studs in the walls and it actually ends up stronger than the old wooden studs are furring strips, etc. I am a pretty big guy, 6'3" and 250-260lbs and can climb all over the roof of my 9K pound 32ft Forest River "Ultra Lite" Signature Series without any hint of it being unable to handle my weight.

That being said, the only reason for you, Rich, to need to move up to a 350 would be if you wanted the security of a dually, otherwise, there is no difference in the 250 vs. 350 other than the height of the rear blocks.

 

A coworker had one. I believe his floors were 3/8 press board. My Cedar Creek has 5/8 marine grade plywood.

 

Franko! You hit it on the head man! We have been wintering in Fl now for awhile and the 5er is the only way to go! We have most of what you mentioned . The one thing I love about mine it the slide out storage tray! Will slide out on either side of the RV and I don't have to go diving into the compartment everytime I need something ! Just slide out the drawer. I picked up a Splendide combo washer dirt cheap and installed it. Your right the dryer really sucks but the washer has worked great and saved us a bunch of running to the laundromat ! Rich I had a 2wd F250 crew with 3.73 gears and it would pull that rig anywhere but I just felt more comfy with the dually! I found my rig on Ebay and it was a steal! Good luck in your quest and keep us posted how your shopping goes!JMO: but don't buy new ! prices are nuts and the deprecation will kill ya! Heres my rig with my 99 F250 !

Smokie

 

I know there are differences for sure. My parents had a 2008 cardinal 5th wheel and the quality of the cabinets, dinette table, etc. was better than their new bigger sandpiper. They actually regret getting rid of the cardinal I think, but the bathroom set up was problematic. It had a separate room for the toilet and it was too small for my father and it drove them nuts. The heavier units have much better/thicker wood on the cabinets and things like that. I am not sure about my floors, how thick they are, and I certainly don't use mine every day like you guys, but with 3 dogs 2-4 teenagers, and my wife and I, our Ultra Lite gets a pretty good workout at least 8-10 weekends and a couple of full weeks a year. It is holding up pretty well to the abuse. I know you full timers know your stuff Franko, and I am not trying to be contrarian. It really is an apples to oranges comparison on my part. If I was going to go full time, I would want the highest quality I could afford, not necessarily the least weight. My old 29 footer was barely 7K lbs dressed out, but had no slides and was a little shorter than my Forest River. I know there are better quality units out there, but this one is nice.

Sorry for the highjack Rich. Back to your original intent.

 

Let's just flood Rich with info! One more thing that popped into my head, not sure if it's been mentioned.
Short bed trucks (at least ours) will pull a 5vr fine, and most, most have enough clearance between the front of the trailer and back glass. Having said that, many have learned the hard way they don't. I have had mine very close to a 90* turn, but was very aware where the trailer was. Mine is a 99 model, most of the later models have more clearance on the front edges.
Of course I don't remember if Stinky is long or short.

 

Jason , that cheap camper I spoke of was a Fleetwood.
It was made from cardboard & aluminum foil.

 

Trek brings up a good point! I had the CrewCab short bed and it was kind tight on the sharp turns! Did not want to go all out on a sliding hitch so I got a pin box extension which gave 10 more inchs. It worked very well easy to install and when I sold my first 5ver I took it off and put it on the one I have now. I can crank that baby 90 deg with not near a crunch! You can see it on my previous post! It is white!

Smokie