As I sit here looking around my new 5th wheel (still in awe sometimes of just how in love with it I am compared to my last one), it makes me wonder what drew everyone else to the particular model/brand they chose? Price? Layout? Amenities? Size?.....Were you torn between MH or 5'er or TT? The more I sit here and read everyones stories and post and even check out some blogs, it makes me curious. I know why I chose mine....what made YOU choose YOURS???? Do you like or just live with it? I ask that because I thought I would LOVE my last one but after the first month or two, I just realized I was living with it and basically hated everything about it except the fact that my two boys had their own room....and I lived with that one for a year and a half before we finally couldn't do it anymore and fell in love with our current rig at an RV show. So many people don't have the luxury to switch as we did, so I guess along with what you do like....what do you NOT like about your rig?
LOVE: huge living space, residential fridge, residential convection micro, tons of storage, sturdy beautiful wood work (cabinets), large shower, tons of room in bedroom even with king size bed, beautiful wooden blinds, wider/taller slides, and of course all of the beautiful decorative touches that are just like a S&B
Not a huge fan: wood blinds (i know it was on my love side but i also loath them because it's more dusting for me and blinds are a pain in the butt to dust..LOL), big vessel bowl sink in bathroom, the mattress is awful (buying sleep number but just haven't been able to go get it yet), not a huge fan of the hanging rod in the closet (individual slots for hangers, such a pain in the butt. Great for travel but terrible to deal with when actually using), lots of led lights under the overhead cabinets and along the slide with the tv but you have to be a giant to reach them because there is no light switch for them
When we originally were looking at new trailers, my must have list included: bigger refrigerator (i had a little 8cu ft one before and it just didn't cut it for me), bigger living area with more seating (my previous model was 2013 Silverado by Bighorn 37QB), ability to have larger tv in living area (we currently have a 50" and quite possibly could fit a 55"...we like to kick back and watch movies and relax), bigger microwave, king size bed, ability to have stacking washer and dryer, bigger shower
I got all that I wanted and so much more in this 5'er! I would love to hear everyone else's stories!! The choosing of your "future home" is a rigorous process and can take years or in our case, we fell in love in an afternoon and haven't looked back....but either way, we all have our own interesting story and I would love to hear all of yours!!
Dave Buck said
09:14 AM May 16, 2014
First of all we wanted to buy used. We wanted a well built RV in good condition which had a few things that were must haves. The Mobile Suites that we bought practically fell in our lap, had everything that we wanted at a very good price. We've lived in it full time for the past two years and still are very happy with it. Have not considered trading to another unit yet. Of course we haven't been to any RV shows to be tempted by the new features. We have the large refrigerator/Freezer and have not had any problems with it but if for any reason it fails I would replace it with a residential unit. One thing we I would like is the ability to get to the bathroom with putting out one of the slides. That's prevents us from easily using it while traveling, but one thing my DW insisted on was a side bath.
BiggarView said
09:15 AM May 16, 2014
While we do not have a rig yet since we don't plan on FT until 2019, if we were to go today... New 5ers we currently like include island kitchens, entertainment centers in the roadside slide, residential fridges and walk-in one piece showers. We have a short list with 38'-40' DRV's, Heartland Landmarks, Lifestyle and Trilogy. We have not ruled out MH's yet only because we haven't determined how much storage we really need. Among them Winnebago's Journey 40U looks like it might suit us. Don't know if we'll find a gently used example of one these models in 5 years but that is our plan. Trying hard not to fall in love with anything right now just get a feel for what suits us.
I know, I know... a lot can change in 5 years.
Lucky Mike said
10:16 AM May 16, 2014
You cant last that long Brian!!!!!..........your gonna be out here Sooner , stop trying to convince yourself otherwise!!!!!............You know you want to!!!!!
BiggarView said
10:49 AM May 16, 2014
Lucky Mike wrote:
You cant last that long Brian!!!!!..........your gonna be out here Sooner , stop trying to convince yourself otherwise!!!!!............You know you want to!!!!!
we know it... we had thought 8-10 years.... at least we're moving in that direction(sooner). Believe me, as soon as finances will allow it, we'll be going whole hog
-- Edited by biggaRView on Friday 16th of May 2014 11:49:01 AM
lindy said
11:30 AM May 16, 2014
While we're not full timers yet it is in the future (3yrs). We had cut the list of 5th wheel units down to 3 mfrgs that we were seriously considering, and hadn't even considered MH's because of the living room lay outs. Then we came across the unit we currently have. It was a Winnebago Rep's unit so it was used by them for 1 year going around to Winnebago shows and rallies, then back to the factory for a going over by them before being sent out to a dealer. So we got it at a used price (20000 miles on the unit), but financed by the bank as a new unit because it had never been titled, the Reps had a mfgr's plate on it the year they had it. With interest rates a all time lows last year we couldn't pass it up, plus it had a layout that both the DW and myself loved.
Riptide said
08:51 AM May 17, 2014
I'm only in the beginning stages of the quest for my future retirement home. I'm dead set on a Class A MH because I plan to tow my Jeep. So far, I like the more "open" floor plans. I'd like to have a usable amount of kitchen counter space, some elbow room in the bathroom/shower area, and space for a compact washer/dryer is a must have. I've absolutely fallen in love with the floor plan and features of the new Thor 34F series. It's currently #1 on my wish list but buying new is not an option for me, and I'm a bit leery about the potential for issues with that huge full length slide. I'll be watching those closely over the next 5 years or so. As a fallback, I also find myself drawn to some of the older Bounders in the 34' range.
But, as has already been stated, a lot can change in 5 years...
bjoyce said
09:21 AM May 17, 2014
Riptide: My mother-in-law is happy with her new 33' Winnebago Sightseer 33C, which sounds similar to what you want. Hers has a Splendide combo washer/dryer instead of the stacked unit, since she wanted the storage. (That change was a dealer option, not a Winnebago one.)
kb0zke said
10:35 AM May 20, 2014
Back when we started researching, we started with the question "Why did you choose the class of coach you did?" We were interested in why a 5'er, a TT, or a MH over the other two. That helped us clarify what WE wanted. At the same time we researched various brands in each of those three classes, looking for the highest quality brands. While we were doing the research on class and brands, we looked at floor plans. Since there are only so many ways to arrange the interior of a box, we were able to fairly quickly figure out what would and would not work for us. Yes, we looked at rigs that probably should have been in salvage yards and coaches that were well over $1,000,000. Didn't matter the price, it was the layout that we were looking at.
Our 20 year old 5th wheel was one of the first models with two slide outs. The slide in the bedroom which was new to the industry plus the living room slide which is a "Super Slideout" (4 feet deep and 14 feet long). Compared to other 5th wheels at the time, ours seemed like a little apartment instead of a trailer. We had a choice of a 32 footer or the 38 footer we bought.
We chose the 38 foot model due to the layout and the room for a stackable washer/dryer plus extra counter space in the rear kitchen.
Over the past 20 years we have, from time to time, looked for other RVs but have always decided to stay with what we have. We haven't found anything we liked better.
As I sit here looking around my new 5th wheel (still in awe sometimes of just how in love with it I am compared to my last one), it makes me wonder what drew everyone else to the particular model/brand they chose? Price? Layout? Amenities? Size?.....Were you torn between MH or 5'er or TT? The more I sit here and read everyones stories and post and even check out some blogs, it makes me curious. I know why I chose mine....what made YOU choose YOURS???? Do you like or just live with it? I ask that because I thought I would LOVE my last one but after the first month or two, I just realized I was living with it and basically hated everything about it except the fact that my two boys had their own room....and I lived with that one for a year and a half before we finally couldn't do it anymore and fell in love with our current rig at an RV show. So many people don't have the luxury to switch as we did, so I guess along with what you do like....what do you NOT like about your rig?
2015 Open Range 3X378RLS.... www.openrangerv.com/3X/floorplans.php
LOVE: huge living space, residential fridge, residential convection micro, tons of storage, sturdy beautiful wood work (cabinets), large shower, tons of room in bedroom even with king size bed, beautiful wooden blinds, wider/taller slides, and of course all of the beautiful decorative touches that are just like a S&B
Not a huge fan: wood blinds (i know it was on my love side but i also loath them because it's more dusting for me and blinds are a pain in the butt to dust..LOL), big vessel bowl sink in bathroom, the mattress is awful (buying sleep number but just haven't been able to go get it yet), not a huge fan of the hanging rod in the closet (individual slots for hangers, such a pain in the butt. Great for travel but terrible to deal with when actually using), lots of led lights under the overhead cabinets and along the slide with the tv but you have to be a giant to reach them because there is no light switch for them
When we originally were looking at new trailers, my must have list included: bigger refrigerator (i had a little 8cu ft one before and it just didn't cut it for me), bigger living area with more seating (my previous model was 2013 Silverado by Bighorn 37QB), ability to have larger tv in living area (we currently have a 50" and quite possibly could fit a 55"...we like to kick back and watch movies and relax), bigger microwave, king size bed, ability to have stacking washer and dryer, bigger shower
I got all that I wanted and so much more in this 5'er! I would love to hear everyone else's stories!! The choosing of your "future home" is a rigorous process and can take years or in our case, we fell in love in an afternoon and haven't looked back....but either way, we all have our own interesting story and I would love to hear all of yours!!
While we do not have a rig yet since we don't plan on FT until 2019, if we were to go today... New 5ers we currently like include island kitchens, entertainment centers in the roadside slide, residential fridges and walk-in one piece showers. We have a short list with 38'-40' DRV's, Heartland Landmarks, Lifestyle and Trilogy. We have not ruled out MH's yet only because we haven't determined how much storage we really need. Among them Winnebago's Journey 40U looks like it might suit us. Don't know if we'll find a gently used example of one these models in 5 years but that is our plan. Trying hard not to fall in love with anything right now
just get a feel for what suits us.
I know, I know... a lot can change in 5 years.
You cant last that long Brian!!!!!..........your gonna be out here Sooner , stop trying to convince yourself otherwise!!!!!............You know you want to!!!!!
-- Edited by biggaRView on Friday 16th of May 2014 11:49:01 AM
I'm only in the beginning stages of the quest for my future retirement home. I'm dead set on a Class A MH because I plan to tow my Jeep. So far, I like the more "open" floor plans. I'd like to have a usable amount of kitchen counter space, some elbow room in the bathroom/shower area, and space for a compact washer/dryer is a must have. I've absolutely fallen in love with the floor plan and features of the new Thor 34F series. It's currently #1 on my wish list but buying new is not an option for me, and I'm a bit leery about the potential for issues with that huge full length slide. I'll be watching those closely over the next 5 years or so. As a fallback, I also find myself drawn to some of the older Bounders in the 34' range.
But, as has already been stated, a lot can change in 5 years...
Riptide, I'd RUN from that full wall slide. Go talk to the service managers a some RV repair shops and see what they think about them. What about something like this: motorhomesoftexas.com/coachrv/foretravel/2000--u320--36--C1716
We chose the 38 foot model due to the layout and the room for a stackable washer/dryer plus extra counter space in the rear kitchen.
Over the past 20 years we have, from time to time, looked for other RVs but have always decided to stay with what we have. We haven't found anything we liked better.