Looking for older High Quality Luxury 5th Wheel

[MN_Ben]

So, my wife and I are looking toe make a purchase of either a Class A or 5ver in 2023 to 2024 after my retirement. I have a list of Class A's to look for, now I am looking for a list of 5vers to look for.
Something like the title says. Although, I do not want a huge truck truck to pull it with. I have a Dually F350 and so not want to look at upgrading to the F550.
Any recommendations?
Ben

[TXiceman]

Chuck, thank you for getting the diesel dually to pull the DRV. We see too many with a big DRV hooked to a 1-ton SRW and even a 3/4 ton. The folks are blissfully running down the highway at 75 MPH because the salesman told them that that truck can pull anything we have on the lot.

Ken

[Chuck___]

Note: spelling isn't the best. It sounds like you are in the same spot I was in approximately 2017. Before I retired five years ago I must of spend four long years looking for a good quality use 5th wheel. My budget was at a top end was $65,000 until I got a quote for a load from the bank. Hope you don't mind paying around $800.00 to $1,0000 per month 4.5% RV loan. I wasn't going cash in my investments that were making over 10% at the time. More later on that. Narrowed my choose down to a used Alpinelite or a Artic Fox. Good luck if you can find a Alpinelite 5th wheel. Good units but they haven't made them for many years now.

So, I moved on looking for a good used Artic Fox in the size of 27 foot to 30 foot. I found that I could not get a nice used unit that was less than 10 years old at the time for under $40,000 from even a private seller. New units at the time were pushing around $55,000 to $65,000.

After about four years of research and looking I came across in the RV Trader a 2010 34 foot Mobile Suites 5th wheel for sale from a private party. I really didn't want that big or long of a RV because of the limited camp sites that will handle a 34 foot plus unit. Only after researching this brand of 5th wheel I drove 500 miles one way to California to check it out. I found out that Mobile Suites 5th wheels are are on the higher end of 5th wheels. Disc breaks, hydric landing gear, real wood cabinets and much more. The owner paid well over $110,000 for it new. After a professional RV inspection I paid right at $34,000.00. Wife loved it and we felt we couldn't pass up the best deal I found in years even though it was 34 foot long and weights 11,500 dry weight. Yes, I got a bank loan for it and in another year I should have the RV paid off.

Had to also buy a different truck to pull the Mobile Suites. My new truck took the place of my house mortgage payments of about $900.00 per month. The old 99 Dodge 2500 diesel could only pull "SAFELY" 9,400 lbs. And yes I did many hours of research on how to figure how much a vehicle can "SAFETLY" tow. Purchased a new 2017 3500 dually and would not buy any truck without the new types of breaking controls. Try going down a 8 plus grade without the newer diesel break control pulling 10,000 plus pounds. Just maybe you will make it.

PS: A lot of RV salers will tell you that you can safety pull a 34 foot 12,000 lbs plus 5th wheel with a VW Bug.

[TXiceman]

larry barnhart wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I had a 28.5' CarriLite that was really a nice quality rig.

My parents traveled the US many times in their 34' HitchHiker Premier. Quality!!! The frame was painted white and made by Young's I believe.

Youngs frames were white until Youngs couldn't make them fast enough and that was when lippert with black frames started making HH frames and made youngs paint theirs black so the customers didn't understand the manfacturer. chevman

We have a 2013 HitcHiker Champagne with a black Young's frame. It has a sticker identifying it as Young's. NuWa made a big mistake for a couple of years with the troublesome Lippert frames. Also easy to identify with the powder coating and the welding that looks good.

Ken

Ken

[BurbMan]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"it does an aluminum frame"

If I take what you said literally I would assume the "Frame" not the wall structure was aluminum.

Yes, thank you for clarifying that lest anyone be misled. I meant that it is claimed to have an aluminum-framed wall, not the chassis frame, that is steel (I hope). Heartland also claims to use a 2" thick wall, which if true makes it almost twice as thick as most.

[blofgren]

MN Ben wrote:
Yes, as I stated earlier, older. So if they are well built/maintained, a 20 year old rig may suit me. Although the gold trim from that era may get changed out. lol
The F350 tows 15000#, at least that is what it is rated for.
Budget, The older $300K units are probably running 40-80K now. So that is the cash I have.
We currently have a '08 Keystone Lerado 29RL and like the layout. I like the older Big Sky with the rear entertainment set up. All of the new entry level rigs I think are junk, in my opinion.
This is why I know I can get into an older model that may have been out of my price range back then, but now is in reach.
If all this does not pan out, maybe a DP is in order. But I want to keep the 5er as an option.
Ben

Ben, there are some good suggestions here for good quality older fivers.

One thing you really need to consider is braking. I had a 6.0L PSD pulling a much smaller fiver than we have now and I had to come down hills quite slowly in lower gears to avoid the rig from running away. I'm not sure if the 6.0L can be equipped with an exhaust brake, but I would highly recommend it if you are going to pull a heavy fiver. After having my current truck, I will never pull a fiver again without one.

[C_Schomer]

We have a rocksolid 2008 5 th wheel and the build quality and materials are excellent. We worked our way up to this medium size 5 er because it has everything we want for creature comfort. I also use my truck for a lot of other things and I will probably stay with a truck and fiver forever. Craig

[larry_barnhart]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I had a 28.5' CarriLite that was really a nice quality rig.

My parents traveled the US many times in their 34' HitchHiker Premier. Quality!!! The frame was painted white and made by Young's I believe.

Youngs frames were white until Youngs couldn't make them fast enough and that was when lippert with black frames started making HH frames and made youngs paint theirs black so the customers didn't understand the manfacturer. chevman

[Cummins12V98]

"it does an aluminum frame"

If I take what you said literally I would assume the "Frame" not the wall structure was aluminum.

[BurbMan]

We had similar logic, we felt an older but better-built 5er in our budget range was a better buy that a newer one that was cheaply constructed. We saw some newer 5ers that were selling used for north of $100k, which was too much for us.

We wound up with a 2008 Heartland Big Country, and while not at the level of brands like HitchHiker, etc., it does an aluminum frame, good tank capacities, and very well made overall.

It's going to need some cosmetic updates and new electronics\, but we can used what we saved on the purchase to fund some remodeling. We had fun making over the Lance and looking forward to doing this 5er.

From what I know, motorhomes (either A or C) work best if you travel a lot and make a lot of stops. A 5er is better for extended stays. Of course this is a broad generalization, YMMV.

[Cummins12V98]

I had a 28.5' CarriLite that was really a nice quality rig.

My parents traveled the US many times in their 34' HitchHiker Premier. Quality!!! The frame was painted white and made by Young's I believe.

[joelc]

I have a 2012 Carriage Cameo. Although, the Carriage products are not made any longer I have never had a problem with the unit other than regular maintenance. Some of the add on's such as water heater had to be replaced, but integrity of the unit is A1. I pull it with a 2006 F-350 Diesel, CC long bed. If you do get any 5er, be sure the axles arr flipped, as the Ford F-350 bed is high.

[Cummins12V98]

Cardinal, Montana and Everest simply are not in the high end of older RV’s.

[MN_Ben]

I told my wife, It need to feel like a home, not a camper. I'm sure some of you can relate.

[MN_Ben]

Yes, as I stated earlier, older. So if they are well built/maintained, a 20 year old rig may suit me. Although the gold trim from that era may get changed out. lol
The F350 tows 15000#, at least that is what it is rated for.
Budget, The older $300K units are probably running 40-80K now. So that is the cash I have.
We currently have a '08 Keystone Lerado 29RL and like the layout. I like the older Big Sky with the rear entertainment set up. All of the new entry level rigs I think are junk, in my opinion.
This is why I know I can get into an older model that may have been out of my price range back then, but now is in reach.
If all this does not pan out, maybe a DP is in order. But I want to keep the 5er as an option.
Ben

[srdeane]

If you don't mind going a bit older, like 2009 or 2010, you might want to look at a Keystone Everest fiver. We have a 2009, and it was gently used and has performed well for us. It's a pretty luxurious model (340i) but is quite similar to the more frequently found 345 and 348 models. We have our Everest in a seasonal site, and it has been very comfortable for long term visits. It has a GVW of slightly over 12000 pounds.