Help me find a 5th wheel for our Lifestyle.

[TheAstronomer]

I will be retiring soon, and looking for a 5th wheel that has a floor plan that meets our unique needs. We plan on roaming around the country for a couple of years, looking for a place to settle down. I don't want to haul a big trailer, we have a RAM3500, and think something in the 30-34 ft range to be as long as I want to pull.

Since we will be living in the trailer for a couple of years, we need to travel with our "hobbies". I do astro photography, and travel with a couple of telescopes and accessories for photography. My stuff all packs up and figure it can be stowed easy enough. My wife is a quilter, and this requires space for her sewing machine, and totes full of materials. She needs a sewing room. It's just the two of us. Looking for suggestions for a model that we might look at that would fit our situation.

So far it seems that a 5th wheel with a bunkhouse plan might work, if we pull out the bunk beds and use the space. The toy haulers are nice, with a garage, but they tend to be a bit too long, and the shorter ones are a bit too spartan for what we want. They are also designed for a load more than we will be hauling.

Similar situation? Got a suggested floor plan that you have? Model, length?
Will appreciate any suggestions or comments that help to point us at a unit that will meet our needs.

[MC9]

Sorry, you will need an HDT to pull something that will accommodate a quilter and anything else. quilter spouse.

[Twisty]

Hdt?

[Oakman]

HDT - Heavy Duty Truck. He was kidding. Quilters tend to carry A LOT of stuff with them.

[asquared]

what about something like this sandpiper

[bakken]

Just one suggestion, since you will be living in the camper, DO NOT buy one of the "lightweight" units, as they are built pretty cheap.
Since you already have a good tow vehicle, buy a quality camper.

[dblr]

How about this one rvNetLinx | Forest River you can use the back room however you like, just might be larger then you want.

[Sgt. Schultz]

Sounds like something like this may work:
Cedar Creek Fifth Wheel by Forest River

[whj77372]

Take your time and go see as many RV shows and dealer lots as you can. It
took us 17 months to find what we wanted and/or needed. You don't say were you are, if you are near Excapees in Livingston, TX in early November, I would their RV Boot Camp. Good Luck

[kmr]

I sew and quilt in my5th wheel, but we aren't living in it, so having a dedicated space hasn't been necessary for me. However I do have some experiences that may be useful.

Check the number and placement of circuits in your trailer. An iron takes a lot of juice, and we've popped our main breaker if a heater, iron and microwave cycled at the same time. We have 30 amp service, so you may want a 50 amp unit if you're really living in it. We also have to be sure that the iron isn't on the same circuit as anything else that draws a lot of power. It and the sewing machine are fine together, but anything that draws heat is a no no.

My husband built me a padded cradle under our bed to store the sewing machine while we were driving. That was the least bouncy place for it, as well as being out of the way. I figured that my machine and its electronics would not appreciate being jostled a lot.

Some general things to watch out for. Not all "queen" beds are the same, nor are ovens. Some queens are shorter than a standard queen, but you have to look at the actual dimensions to see which is which. This was one way for us to eliminate half the 5th wheels we looked at. Also, the ovens may look the same on the outside, but open the door and see how much clearance you have inside for a dish. Many were so short that my favorite casserole was too tall. Again, if this matters to you, it is another easy way to prune your list.

Your truck should be able to pull about anything you want, so that shouldn't be major concern, especially as you say you do't want something really big.

We looked at lots of trailers and kept as spreadsheet with data and notes on each one and finally got it down to two. We were lucky enough to see them side by side and it became very obvious which one we wanted. No regrets.

Good luck with your shopping,

Margaret Reek

[TheAstronomer]

Those trailers are a bit bigger than I am looking for. Like to stay in the max 34 ft trailer. Get bigger than that, and hard to find places to park where we travel.

Yes, I may have to get an HD Truck, all that cloth, sewing machines, can sure get heavy. haha!!

Junction City here in OR, is the trailer capital, so need to run up there for a weekend and look at trailers.

As for Livingston, TX, my wife would love to go there, she grew up there, so it's home, and we are members. Just a little far from Oregon. If we go back to Texas, we need to spend a couple weeks to visit all the family there.

Again, if anyone has a model they have, that you think might fill our bill. Let me know. We been camping all week in our little 18 ft. Star Gazing...

Dennis

[Sgt. Schultz]

This might fir the bill if you could order without the bunks : Palomino RV - Manufacturer of Quaility RVs since 1968