How many of you have traded in a nearly new

Weezer · 12-29-2013, 10:45 AM

RV (TT) for a 5er inside a year?

DH and I have decided that a bumper pull hitch up is more a challenge than a 5er hitch up would be. We both have neck injuries and the physical requirements of the WD bars, that darned heavy hitch, etc. is a pain, literally.

No, it's not that we "can't" do it. DH is an extremely physically fit man.

We cut a deal on a 5er yesterday and will "talk about it" for a few days to see if we really wanna pull the trigger on this.

How many of you have done this? Are we insane? If you've done it, how bad a bath did ya take?

DDC · 12-29-2013, 11:53 AM

If it does not fit your life requirements go ahead and change it, we had one years ago that gave us reason to change it within eight months, we lost a few bucks but the next one was great.
I had issues with the WD hitch too and that was one of the reasons I switched to a Hensley.

gasman6674 · 12-29-2013, 12:06 PM

We upgraded to a 5er from a V Cross bumper pull this year, Daughter and Son-in-law got tried of sleeping on the jack knife sofa and then we had axle issues that FR and Lippertt wouldn't help on. So far we are extremely happy with our new unit. And yes it is a lot easier to hitch. Go For It

DonCath25ds · 12-29-2013, 12:19 PM

We traded late last year from a two year old bumper pull to a fiver for the same reason. We thought we could have done better on our trade in, but the dealership has been fair on equipment and storage. Over all we hope it was a good deal. Looking forward to spring.

jevanb · 12-29-2013, 12:49 PM

we bought a brand new tt in 2011 and sold it , bought a 2012 5er. did not have a hard time with the hitch up (reese WD ) I always used the elec crank take the press off the bars when hook up or off, why use muscle when none is needed...

Campin Cajun · 12-29-2013, 12:51 PM

We bought a 2013 fiver and 4 months down the road traded it for a 2013 Berkshire. I believe this is done on a regular basis. My buddy traded a 2013 Thor for his current 2014 Berkshire 6 months into it.

sonic2 · 12-29-2013, 01:02 PM

Traded a 2010 Outback 260FL TT for a 2014 Rockwood 8289 5th wheel. The reason was the DW wanted the opposing slides and the Lazy Boy's. And no matter what I did, I could not eliminate the white knuckle sway of the TT due to the Nebraska north to south winds while traveling. We are very happy!

Weezer · 12-29-2013, 02:38 PM

Well, to be fair, our dealer is being "reasonable". Yes, we knew going in we'd lose money. We got 'em down in our range right now, (their first number was a total insult and I stood up to walk out) but they are gonna....

need a minute to go sharpen that pencil before we sign on the dotted line.

DH was in recreational vehicle (not RVs per se) sales for *years* and he knows all the games that are played. He doesn't take any of it personal and doesn't expect the dealer to take it personal either. "It's just the game and this is how it's played".

Bottom line is that our TT is high end, well maintained, and after we remove our personal inventory it will be hard to find a difference between it and factory fresh. We know it will re sell *well*.

I'll probably cry when we unhook from "Francis" for the last time. LOVE this TT! She's classy, she's fancy, she's glamorous...it's why I named 'er Francis.

The 5er we've picked out is just as awesome and I think is a perfect fit for us all the way around. And yeah, it's a Forest River product...same platinum upgrade package...a Flagstaff even...one of the shorter ones, which we couldn't find when we first started shopping for an RV. We did *not* want one of the huge honkers.

And we'd be getting it with the new Reese Revolution pin. Videos of this pin are impressive. And it has the upgraded awning covers...a metal tubing cover over the canvas roll. (I think that one came about after FR reads all the mods that owners talk about doing here.)

Much discussion and thinking to be done over the next few days. If it's meant to be all the pieces will come together. If not, we'll keep "glamping" in Francis for a year or two more.

Weezer · 12-29-2013, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jevanb

we bought a brand new tt in 2011 and sold it , bought a 2012 5er. did not have a hard time with the hitch up (reese WD ) I always used the elec crank take the press off the bars when hook up or off, why use muscle when none is needed...

Yes, DH quickly learned the trick of letting the electric jack do the work. When we first bought our TT we owned a 2 year old F150. Yeah, there were white knuckles in the driver's seat *and* the passenger's seat. Upgrading to a F250 resolved that, and as I told DH yesterday bringing Francis back...yes, there *are* times I forget she's back there.

I'll admit that when we began shopping I was dead set against a 5er of any kind...I had an irrational fear of the entire hitch mechanism and felt it would negate other use of the truck bed. I've since educated myself.

Yeah, we're losing some money, but just think; we won't have all the expense of "moving in" to this RV. We've already got all the needs and *wants* stuff! ...got the zero gravity chairs, got the Char Broil grill, got that PVC rug we all *must* have, got all the linens, pots and pans, got the 50 amp extension cord...*and* shore power installed..that's a biggie. See?

Oh, and the linens will still match too!

Can y'all tell I'm trying *really* hard here to justify purchasing that awesome 5er sittin' over there at the dealer's lot?

**dcheatwood** · 12-29-2013, 03:47 PM

We traded to fiver after 5 years with TT, then to another fiver in 3 years. Fiver is easier to hookup but has several steps. My only complaint is where they mounted my truck side plug. Its just inside the tailgate on driver side and low. Not an easy place to get to with the cover hanging over you. Would rather had it closer to cab. Just to reach over instead of leaning, twisting and contorting around the rear.

jtstromsburg · 12-29-2013, 03:50 PM

We decided to sell, on our own, our 2012 tt that we bought July of '11. Sold it late Feb of 13 and picked up our new 5er then. Actually decided to pull the trigger on the Sabre before the tt was sold for sure as we got a great deal! For us, we realized we were going to get the 5er at some point, and we got the most we could for our tt since it was still almost new

Sent by me

**ependydad** · 12-29-2013, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DDC

If it does not fit your life requirements go ahead and change it, we had one years ago that gave us reason to change it within eight months, we lost a few bucks but the next one was great.
I had issues with the WD hitch too and that was one of the reasons I switched to a Hensley.

I haven't changed within a short time - but like DDC said above, it doesn't fit your life requirements, then by all means trade it in and get what works best for you now.

It sounds like the new fiver is what you're looking for and will fit you all health wise (I hope those words come out right). Just bear in mind that a fiver has more steps in case you knees are a problem.

Twisty · 12-29-2013, 04:49 PM

Go for it!!!!
During the last 7 years we;
Had a Ford Ranger and a tent.
Bought a popup. Thought we would travel for years.
Traded in the popup (took a bath) and ordered the TT.
Traded in the Ranger (got a fair deal) and bought an F150 which was to be the last truck.
Ordered the F350.
Traded in the F150 and got treated well.
Now we are looking at a fiver for full timing.
My Mom and Dad had three 3500 trucks and three fivers.
You'd think that I would have caught on...

Weezer · 12-29-2013, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ependydad

I haven't changed within a short time - but like DDC said above, it doesn't fit your life requirements, then by all means trade it in and get what works best for you now.

It sounds like the new fiver is what you're looking for and will fit you all health wise (I hope those words come out right). Just bear in mind that a fiver has more steps in case you knees are a problem.

Nope, no knee problems for us. We did consider Fred (our camping dog) but there's always the option of a narrow ramp up one side of the steps to the bedroom. Or we'd just lift him up and down...he's small.

In some ways our neck injuries are a blessing, in that we each have empathy for the other...same vertebrae, same symptoms. We're both still "functional" (work full time) and you'd never know we have the injuries. We just know our limitations, are careful, and learn ways to work around it.

**ependydad** · 12-29-2013, 05:32 PM

I'm having a real hard time telling you it's a bad idea.

You have my vote for "go for it!".

MarcusN · 12-29-2013, 07:50 PM

We traded from a popup (a lot of work setting up/down) to a Rockwood 8289WS just this year for the same reasons (less work to set up and hook up). You'll like how they pull and make sure that you get the proper wedge for the revolution pin box as the std did not work well with our B&W hitch. Just check to see if they make a specific wedge for the hitch you get and it'll only cost about $50. Best of luck.

Weezer · 12-29-2013, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarcusN

We traded from a popup (a lot of work setting up/down) to a Rockwood 8289WS just this year for the same reasons (less work to set up and hook up). You'll like how they pull and make sure that you get the proper wedge for the revolution pin box as the std did not work well with our B&W hitch. Just check to see if they make a specific wedge for the hitch you get and it'll only cost about $50. Best of luck.

I'm assuming "B&W" is a brand?

Dealer is talking Husky. I'm just not sure about that. Thanks for the wedge information.

I just told DH that I'm not sure we want to sign on the dotted line until after we've actually hitched up to it once.

Just want to be sure.

Which hitch do you use? (I started a thread about hitch brand preferences)

**dcheatwood** · 12-29-2013, 08:28 PM

I have a Reese 16k slider but never needs the slider.

Lloydg · 12-29-2013, 09:41 PM

I traded in my TT after 2 1/2 years and bought my 5er. Moved up from a F150 to F250 too. Bought my 5er from the same dealer/salesman and I think by demonstrating I was a loyal customer I was given a good deal. Of course I shopped around and got competitive prices to make sure. I also negotiated the hitch for 1/2 the MSRP. I suspect I got it at dealer cost so they could close the deal. The hitch is a slider. Never used it but it's good insurance since I have a short bed. I've never looked back and love it. I took a much bigger bath on the upgrade from the truck than I did the RV.

MarcusN · 12-30-2013, 11:23 AM

Other things for the 5'er that you may want to consider is JT Strongarms or another stabilizer brand and I also installed Itelli-jacks leveling system that sets the level of the disconnect from the truck and then push one button to level the trailer front to back while you go off and do all the other things necessary to set up and when you want to leave you push one button to connect and it takes it back to the position you disconnected at (no guessing) and then once hitched & locked push another button and the front jacks retract to a preset position without you have to stand there and hold a button allowing you to get other stuff done. The intelli-jacks were $245 and took about 2 hours to assemble. They make life a lot easier and no standing around holding buttons and guessing if that is correct positions.

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