I am looking to trade in my sig trailer for a 5th wheel. I am a big guy, 6'4'' and want something I can shower in, sleep comfortable and will not have de-lam problems. My current one is a Lite edition and I don't need that, I want better construction than a Keystone. Any suggestions in brands? Thanks.

 

Most brands have forums as well. Do a search and some reading when you get the list narrowed.
Price/wants/needs will dictate alot.
Decide what you must have (full bathroom with walls, fullsize fridge, big storgage, good layout of shore hookups, slides, toy hauler, etc). Those will refine the list. I have always felt that the Light Editions make too many compromises on space and construction and despite implying that they travel well because they are light they in fact dont hold up as well as they should but that is just IMO.

 

I was just hoping for some success stories and what people bought and liked. I do not like the ultra lights, they seem to lack in the durablility and construction. We have a ton of keystones dealers around here and they are nice, but I want something more "heavy duty" if possible. I am not going to be living in it, just camping with the family at the coast. I want a worry free trailer that is built like a tank.

 

Go here to start looking. It starts out real expensive and the further you go the better it gets. There is about 300 at the link.

http://www.rvusa.com/used-rvs/fifth-wheel

Some of the best made are Carriage 2003-2007. Excel, Travel Supreme 2003-2008, and KZ 2003 thru 2009. Here's what I'm talking about. A Keystone Copper Canyon 36ft long with all the good looks inside is 1500lbs lighter than a 36ft Carriage Cameo. The Copper Canyon has a GVW of 12,500lbs. The Carriage Cameo GVW 14,500 to 15,000lbs. So what did Keystone leave out. ? Load capacity of both is about the same. The keystone is much lighter before you start loading it. The one I saw at the RV show in Tampa needed Rat Guards on the front landing gears as large holes were left around floor penetration in the forward storage area.

I'm a little partial to Carriage since I own one, but that having been said, they are really seeing some bad things with the new model 2010 and newer.
I also owned 2 KZ's. Never had a problem there.

Here is a link to the Carriage Owners forum 1900 Carriage owners there. You have to join (free) to look around.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Carriage_RV/

Fiver Bob is the Big Dog over there. Poster on this forum.

Most other brands (SOB'S) to me, also have owners forums.

SOB=Some Other Brand.

Dave
CTC 17771 Florida Road Runners, Chap 43

Cummins Super Bee Up Front

 

In my circle we have Cardinal by Forest River, Mobile Suites, Jaycos all of which have been good to the owners - no horror stories. My 08 Cardinal has been great - only problem I really have is the concertone stereo which I have a repacement in a box waiting to be installed. Mobile suites had a few adjustments at the onset but has a 2 year warranty vs the typical 1 year and are really nice units but pricey. Jaycos are good value and seem to be well built but are more of a Canadian oriented offerring. I had a Cougar before my current Cardinal that was a great unit, however after 6 years we started noticing some soft spots in the flooring developing and started to have more than normal minor breakdowns of parts so decided to part ways, but it served us very well up and down and all over the Western Coast. Before the Cougar we had an Okanagan but it was an ultra light and I couldnt even get all of my gear into it. Lasted 2 months.

I dont think any of them are really built like a tank anymore unfortunatly due to cost controls.

Many folks are buying direct from the factories these days and saving a bunch of cash, something to consider if you are looking at buying new.

 

CoastalDav gave some good information. If you want to save some money, buy used. The Carriage Cameo has a great frame made by Carriage, not Lippert. You mention delamination - - this is quite common on the lower priced units that are laminated walls rather than framed walls. Carriage uses welded aluminum studs 16"oc and assembles the wall from there. Excellent materials, great layouts, electric slides rather than hydraulic, good cabinetry. We have been very happy with ours.

Bob

 

When your looking, keep in mind the trucks capacity. Mega Cabs for some reason seemed to rated a little less. Most times the pin weight will put you over the Trucks GVW. See Below for your ratings. 4.10 gears are better but does not change the GVW. Duallys with 8ft beds rate out at 11,500lbs with
9300 lbs of rear axle capacity. GVW below is way down from an 8ft bed dually.
Check your trucks door sticker for GVW. Usually a Mega Dually would be 10,500lbs.

2006 dodge ram pickup 3500 3500 SLT MEGA CAB, MEGA CAB, 4WD, 6.25 FT Bed, 4-Speed Automatic Transmission, 5.9-Liter HO Cummins Turbo Diesel Engine:

With 3.73 Axle Ratio Axle Ratio [i] You Can Tow 13550 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) [i] = 9900 lbs
Payload [i] = 2587 lbs
Curb Weight [i] = 7313 lbs
Curb Weight Front/Rear = 4327 lbs/4327 lbs
GAWR Front/Rear [i] = 5200 lbs/6200 lbs
Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) [i] = 21000 lbs



With 4.10 Axle Ratio Axle Ratio [i] You Can Tow 15550 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) [i] = 9900 lbs
Payload [i] = 2587 lbs
Curb Weight [i] = 7313 lbs
Curb Weight Front/Rear = 4327 lbs/4327 lbs
GAWR Front/Rear [i] = 5200 lbs/6200 lbs
Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) [i] = 23000 lbs


Payload would be trailer pin weight, passengers, fuel, tool boxes. Also remember when you load the trailer, it loads to the front all the time. So you can figure pin weight of a fully loaded trailer to be 20-30% of the Trailers GVW.

Dave

 

Great stuff, Carriage are really nice but out of my price range , I will be looking at the KZ 1500 or 2500, any suggestions on these? Thanks again.

 

This is an on going debate on this forum also. http://www.turbodieselregister.com/
In the Towing, Hauling and RV section there is a thread with over 463 post to this question. The thread is called. http://www.turbodieselregister.com/f...rv-brands.html.
In this thread one of the poster suggest that the user use this site for reviews of campers and the quality of the 5er. http://rv.org/index.html
This is non-profit group and do not have monetary support from the RV industry. So they tell it like it is and provide honest free back on any brand of RV 5er's.
Jim W.

 

Yeah, are you trying to start an argument? I have bought three Arctic Fox trailers and have been pretty happy in their price range with their construction, comfort and customer support. Part of the reason I went with them was because I could get a pretty fair deal from Thunder RV which is located pretty close to the factory in La Grande, Oregon (no sales tax).
I will never buy anything ever again from a certain dealer in McMinnville.

 

KZ builds some pretty decent stuff for the money, IMHO. I looked at some of their toyhaulers, which had enough head room over the shower.

In addition to the shower headroom, the other thing I think people miss when shopping is the relation to where the entertainment area is relative to the seating.

Going to a big RV show with your digital camera is a good idea. Start photos of units you are interested in with a shot of the placard showing what it is (they will tend to run together).

Pulling a few drawers and seeing how the cabinets are put together can be a good judge of quality (pressboard and staples, particle board and screws, or hardwood plywood).

These things loose value quickly, whether used much or not, so cruising for a used version of models you like isn't a bad idea.

 

I do like Arctic Fox, the ones I have seen look really nice. I went to the RV Show and bought the Keystone and was talked into it. This time my wife and I will be blunt and get what we want regardless of all the bells and whistles. We are camping and not living in it, I want something easy to tow, winterized and clean that will stand up to the abuse of my kids and the elements. ALso want one with a big fridge, i hate using 3 coolers for all our trips.

 

Artic Fox also builds nice stuff. I've had friends who have their pickup campers and tow trailers.

Do you have any idea of how big you want? Be aware that the stated dry hitch weight posted on 5th wheels is notoriously low. Add the weight of the hitch assembly and what you have in the truck, and you can be over the axle rating and/or tire weight rating of a SRW3500 pretty quick.

 

No bigger than 30 foot.

 

I would expect pin weight in the range of 2,100 or so, then...

I think you will like the move to a 5th wheel. I really like their stability and maneuverability compared to tow trailers.

With the short box on the mega, you may want to consider an automatic sliding hitch.