Be careful buying a house in Arizona. They will sink their teeth into you from a domicile and tax perspective - regardless of where you are actually staying. The Escapees RV Club and RV-Dreams.com both offer a lot of resources on legal domicile for full-time RVers. There are many aspects to legal domicile and It can be a legal quagmire if you don't do your research and planning. The most affordable way to do things is to establish legal domicile somewhere (many full-timers use Texas, Florida, or South Dakota for a number of reasons) and use an RV mail forwarding service to provide your home address and mail services. Keep in mind that you'll be paying $400 - $700 a month for an RV space (and sometimes electric is metered and charged separately).

The problem with a 19 year old 3/4-ton truck is going to be payload (the weight you can put on the rear axle). Fifth wheel RVs put about 23% of their gross or loaded weight on the hitch pin. Out 14,000 lb. GVWR fifth wheel (scales at 13,900 on the CAT scales) puts 3,000 - 3,100 lbs. on the pin. I doubt seriously you're going to have that kind of rear axle capacity left over on a 1999 F250. It's best to do your homework first and not end up in a situation where you don't have enough truck for the RV you buy. The 7.3 is a good powerplant, but is getting a bit long in the tooth - and modern diesels put out much more power.

Those things said, there are lots of us out here full-timing in mid-price-range RVs. If you search this forum, you'll find many threads discussing choosing an RV for full-timing. We've lived full-time in a mid-price fifth wheel that we bought new in 2015 for a little over $42,000. It has held up well and, at this time, we don't see an end to our full-time lifestyle. We are very happy in it. Search and read the RV forums I have mentioned and you'll learn a lot.

Rob

 

My .02.

Whatever camper you get, buy one of those aluminum carports big enough to put the camper underneath. This will help against leaks, wicked summer heat, harsh winter cold, etc.

If I were leaving a camper outside 24/7 to live in, its the first thing I would so. Might even want to get one wide enough to put the truck beside it when you're there.

 

you will want one with two A/C units if it is very long. Very easy to live in one if you get it with slide outs.

 

Being down south you likely will not have to deal much with freezing temperatures. In cold weather RV's become a logistical nightmare. I was seriously considering this for full time living a bit over a year ago. My idea was to get land somewhere and install permanent hook ups. I like the idea of mobility. That is certainly not out of the question in the future at some point, but my circumstances are not the same as before so I am not sure how it would all look yet.

In contrast, as others have mentioned, being in the heat you have that to contend with more so than cold. Insulation works both ways, though - keep that in mind.

To the above point - lower grade RV's will have less insulation. I was just discussing this with a family member the other day actually. When I was on one of my RV shopping trips they were along. We were looking at DRV's - Mobile Suites and another lesser line, I can't recall which one now. It was late summer last year and was a hot day. Even with the RV's sitting on the lot not plugged in walking in to the DRV's was very noticeably cooler than the others.

If you are setting an RV up to be in one spot for an extended period of time there are some things you can do to insulate better. Others have mentioned the car port idea. That is one. Especially in the hot climates, keeping sun off the RV will help keep the heat down (and AC throttle down) tremendously. Keep in mind, though, that it isn't just the sunlight from the top. The sides also. The other thought is, though, that enclosing your RV might be a bit claustrophobic if you can't see out the windows at your surroundings. The enclosed RV has its advantages when it gets cold in that having the wind block will significantly add to the ability to keep heat in.

Slide-outs - these are great for expandable living areas, beyond what can be available going down the road. However, the simple fact that they are movable units means they have to have gaps around them = not sealed. There are methods of sealing these with gasket strips ect, but that only can go so far and those strips can wear out/deteriorate. I recall some of the RV's I looked at had light showing through the edges of the carpet where the slide out floor lies on top of the main floor. If I can see light in the seam that means there is no insulation there.

A lot of people will box in the underside of their RV's with hay bales. One of the salesmen I worked with referenced this hay bale insulation as, whether he was buzzin' on some Monster energy drinks (which he was), or not, as a "halebay". What ever. The important thing is that doing so keeps air from blowing through the under side of the RV. This is especially important in cooler weather where a lot of the plumbing is underneath the RV - it keeps the under side of the RV less susceptible to freezing. Even RV's that are supposed to have "heated basements" can see a huge improvement in this method.

There are RV's that are advertised as having "arctic packages" ect - essentially proclaiming them to be able to handle harsh winter environments. Wrong. Very wrong, and that is borderline false-advertising. If you look at the "RV lifestyle" - who would get enjoyment out of taking their family to an arctic/cold/snowy destination as opposed to a warm/sunny/mild climate destination? Not many. The Arctic packages may help on those nights where the temp hits freezing and goes to 50deg during the day. It is NOT going to get you to 20deg highs and single digit lows. There is no commercially available RV made today that can really handle freezing temperatures, period. You would have to go the custom route. Pick any manufactured RV you want to model and multiply that price by 2-3 as the starting point for where the custom builds begin - this is with the same exact options. Then start adding in your upgrades on top of that - insulation, appliances, axles, tires, brakes, the list goes on, and so goes the price up and up from there. Don't forget that the weight starts going up very quickly as well. As an example - spec a 32ft DRV vs. a 32ft Grand Designs, Forest River, what have you. DRV is still a commercially available/produced RV and you will see it is noticeably heavier - justifiably so. They are nice RV's.

In my research - much the same as how you are starting with an existing truck trying to match an RV for living in - it became apparent pretty fast that either I was going to need to trim WAY down on the size of the RV and use my truck (2011 F350 CCLB SRW, newer truck with plenty of power even) or get the RV that would really suit and size a truck to that.

If you start looking at the numbers side of the equation more - as others have suggested already with the rear axle capacity on your older F250 - you will start to see what I am talking about here and the grade of RV vs the weight really starts to be a factor. If it were me, 40ft with slide outs would be where I would want to start for an RV to "live in". If you start looking at the weights you over shoot a lot of truck's capacities.

I don't recall all the numbers I was looking at now, but I compared Dodge and Ford capacities. You really do not start to see an advantage in "headroom" with capacities on ANY of these until you get to a class 6 truck. That leaves out all pickup trucks up through the class 5 F550 and Ram 5500.

Once you cross in to the class 6 range you get your breathing room on weight capacity. However, the next two problems you are faced with are power and the comfort of the truck. There isn't a regular commercial class 6 truck made that is a "nice" truck off the line. They are all vocational work trucks - like tree trimmers, tow trucks, powerline trucks, and city service like snow plows, ect. They are not built to be comfortable over-the-road trucks as their market is regional industrial and other vocational uses. The closest truck to a "nice" truck off an assembly line in this class is a SportChassis. They are a company that Freightliner works in conjunction with. SportChassis takes their M2 106 and M2 112 trucks off the assembly line as bare chassis then upfits them with insulation, dash/electronics, the seats you want, and the list goes on. They are a custom build though they have more standard level options. If you think of an XLT or Lariat pickup, or higher trim level, that is about the only way I've found to get something of that level in a class 6 or bigger.

As far as the power goes - most diesel pickup trucks will out-pull a class 6. For example, the newer F650 has a de-rated 6.7L engine (for the diesel option - you can get a V10 gas also). My truck has more HP than the F650. What I don't have with my truck, and won't have with anything through an F550, is the axle capacity, frame strength, and braking power. In the hills and mountains this would be an issue pulling.

There was mention in the OP's post about the build quality of the plumbing and fixtures, among other things. All I can say is do your research. It sounds like you are and you are asking more questions, that is a good thing. Yes, you will see a lot of cheap construction out there. RV's are designed to be lighter and so people can tow more RV with their pickup trucks. Light weight construction and cheap components tend to, unfortunately, rule. You have to weed through. My research led me to the higher end RV's. That doesn't go well for the affordability, but then there is the balance of what level of affordability meets the acceptability of downfalls in the construction quality/durability? Are you going to have to fight the RV manufacturer on warranty claims in the warranty period? Are you going to tackle fixing things yourself or are you going to take your RV in to the dealer and wait 2 weeks for it to sit in line waiting to be repaired under warranty? It is hard enough to worry about that with your vehicle, your transportation - which you can easily swap in to another, although not ideal, vehicle for the interim. It is a totally different perspective when it is your house you are dealing with - what you live in and go home to at the end of the day.

 

If I was going to buy a new trailer today it would be a Arctic Fox, I think you can find one small enough for your truck to pull and fit your needs.

I checked with my RV camping program and to looks like the going monthly rate is $350 to $460 plus electric, I would stay as far away from the border as possible!!!!!

Denny

 

El Paso is not "down south." It is at 3,740 feet in the desert. Freezing temperatures are common in the winter and temperatures as low as -7 degrees have been recorded. A few years back, a brutal winter storm froze up the power plants and tens of thousands of customers were without power (played havoc with my sister's plumbing, too!). These deep freezes aren't typical, of course, but January can sometimes average 25 degrees at night. There is often a 40 or 50 degree difference between day and night in the high desert so days can be sunny and quite comfortable - even when it freezes at night.

Rob

 

 

I think Artic Fox is about the best for four seasons.

We shop here and there just to see what is out there. First things I check are heated underbelly and basement. If they aren't then I am not interested in them.

 

I'm looking at full timing while building a home. My biggest hurdle is the shower height. Looking online and popping into a couple of dealers it seems to me in a fifth wheel the shower could be lowered a bit but the full pass thru storage below again seems to be the bigger sales point. In one of many late night searches of the inner webs I thought I came across a RV with a step down shower. Is there a manufacturer out there that tailors to the taller consumer ?

 

When they went to a flat floor in the bath and bedroom area they lost ceiling height in the bath. You may look at some of the units that have a front living room and the bath down below.
Denny

 

A couple other areas to pay attention to for quality/construction:

- Interior panels, doors, and accesses. A lot of manufacturers use veneered construction - either over top something like masonite or particle board. It may be lighter weight, but with any time over the road the framing can break down, hinges and screws can pull out, veneers can delaminate, ect. Solid wood will hold up better.

- Furniture. Framing for sofas and table/chair dining sets. Upholstery quality. This goes mostly for use, if you flop down in a light-weight frame recliner too hard at the end of the day you may break it. Though, with light construction it may even break down with the vibration of being on the road a lot and you'll find some things just don't seem right when something breaks or hardware gets loose.

- Hinges and tracks. Sliding doors are found in a lot of bedrooms for the master closets. The tracks may be thin metal and the rollers cheap plastic. If you step on a track, or push against a door too hard, you can damage them real easy. Same goes for door hinges and access panel hinges. Then you're back to the construction quality of the panel/door/framing - not only can you bend/break hinges, you can pull the screws out of the material too.

- Check the mechanical aspects of the RV - axles, brakes, tires, pinbox. First off - are the components rated to the GVWR or better? (it was pointed out in another thread that it may be more common that axles are rated to the expected load on them = GVWR minus pin weight, because there is a significant portion of the RV load on the pin that isn't on the axles. That, to me, says that there isn't much head-room in axle capacity and it may be easy to max them/overload them). Drum brakes - the bigger/heavier the RV the more you will benefit from disk brakes. There are conversions out there, but some like DRV have them standard. Not a deal-killer, but worth the upgrade to disk if you start with drums.

- Lippert frames... Enough said there. Keep the hub bearing seals in mind. If you spot any oil seepage - get it serviced immediately. Or, just take the hubs apart and replace them from the start. You'll thank yourself.