Intro and XLR advice

[EmandDavid]

Hi all!
We are Em and David from SC, currently looking at purchasing a 5th-wheel toy hauler to live in while we build (actually, sell what we have, buy land, and then build!), and then be able to use for our CanAm800 & CanAm 400 Outlander 4wheelers, kayaks, dive gear (David dives extensively,....I am learning!) etc. on trips later on. I work extensively with horses, so it would be great to have to haul gear in, etc. when we camp with the horses, and David is an electronics engineer. We have 3 dogs, and I (Em) am growing my sporthorse rehabilitation business; our long term plan is to buy enough land to set up our equestrian center and home on the farm together, and we are excited to 'downsize' our living for the next few years while we do it.

We have been looking at the XLR Thunderbolts: 415AMP, 395AMP, 380AMP, 386x12, and the 35x12(and14). We are looking for any and all advice on the XLRs, living-in them full time, etc.

We have looked (and liked) the Raptors as well, but have heard a ton of negative reviews on them since then, so switched our thinking to the XLRs.

A few things we are looking at having as 'must haves' (any advice on these are greatly appreciated, are they really necessary, are we overlooking anything, etc. as we are total newbies to this!):

A full size washer and dryer in the 'garage' area, which means putting in a dryer vent on the wall.

A larger (double door?) fridge, not the 8 cubic ft. one.

The two bathrooms would be a plus, but not a requirement.

We don't need the loft areas (no kids, and don't want them), except to use for storage, and the stairs that some models require seem to take up more space than we would use them for-the ladder is fine with us-.

We look forward to lots of great advice and learning tons from this site. We've been reading a little and am quite pleased to find some others on here that also have the XLR and are living out of it. Would love to get some connections going with people that are doing the same to share ideas and advice with!
Thanks!
~Em and David

[danno2u]

I'm sure you'll get tons of advice and ideas. We are full-timers in an 2013 XLR 35x12 that we special ordered exactly to meet our needs. We've been doing this for about 6 months and loved it so far.

My advice
- Carrying capacity -- some of the AMPs are gorgeous but they weigh so much empty that you can't carry much
- Special order your RV -- you'll never find one exactly like you want. It takes around 6-8 weeks to come in
- Buy local -- Forest River warranties are really only guaranteed at the dealer you buy from; so don't save $1,000 by buying from a dealer 1,000 miles away or you'll lose in the long run
- Don't expect perfection -- all new RVs come with growing pains
- Downsize and put most of your stuff in storage; to quote Spaceballs the Movie, "Carry only what you need to survive!"
- The little Splendide washer/dryer combo work fine. I haven't heard of anyone with a full size washer & dryer plus you only have 110v in RV (regular dryers need 220v)
- Hit as many RV shows as you can
- Buy as short & light an RV as will meet your needs
- Have an adequate tow vehicle or don't even look at 5th wheelers

That's enough for now! Good luck to you!
Danno

[EmandDavid]

danno2u,
Hey, thank you so much for the advice. We have a F350 dually to pull with, so that's not any issue. We were looking at the 'apartment' sized w/d (either the stacked one or the separate ones), which run off of 110 instead of 220.
We are planning to go to the RV show next weekend in Columbia, SC to check out a bunch of models of TH to be able to compare lots of them at one place, so we'll see how that works out.
Do you have the smaller fridge (8cu.ft)? If so, how is it? Is it realistic for living out of? (ie: what can it hold, comfortably).
Any features you added on your XLR that you can't live without, or ones you wished you had added?

[danno2u]

Washer/Dryer -- we bought a Splendide 2100XC vented unit and we (um er... my wife) has done maybe 60 loads in it. We're very happy with the unit. It was expensive but worth the investment. To me, having one small combo unit is better than having the two pieces. Plus in the XLR 35x12, there's a shelf so stacking isn't possible without reconstruction.

Refrig -- we have a Dometic DM2852 8 cu ft frig. The freezer gets pretty full after a grocery run but we have plenty of room in the main section. We buy groceries for 3-4 days at a time rather than buying more and hauling the weight around. The small frig hasn't been a problem for us -- just my wife & I. And my wife cooks at least one meal a day. You can also use the outside frig if more space is needed -- we just put drinks in it.

We bought the "Arctic Pak" and I'm glad we did as we've been in mid to lower 20s several nights this winter.

We generally hated the furniture selection for the main living area. We finally discovered what FR called theater seating and it's much more comfortable then the mini sofa, etc. It's basically two pleather recliners with cupholders. Theater seating takes up half of the main slideout. For the other half, we ordered the dinette & chairs knowing full well that we would remove them. The dinette & chairs weren't bad quality so we have them in storage to give to our son when he gets out of college. Then I bought a lightweight glass & aluminum computer stand & a nice leather office chair. That half of the living room is my computer workstation. If you're really interested, holler and I'll take a pic.

We love the electric heater/fireplace in the living room. We've used it almost every night this winter.

We got the party deck and awning for the rear door... and we've yet to have a reason to use them.

We had FR add slideout toppers (3 awnings that extend when the slides come out). They don't list this as an option, but FR will add these awnings if you request it (at a cost of course). I'm glad we did as rain and occasionally snow, sap, sticks, etc all stay off of the top of our slides.

We did not buy the fancy vacuum system -- instead we use a broom and $25 mini-vacuum when needed.

I bought and installed a Wingard Trav'ler antenna for Dish network.

I installed a Reese 25K hitch. Technically, the 18K would have been enough but I didn't want to push it.

That's all I can think of for now.

[EmandDavid]

Awesome-thank you so much. I am sure we will have more questions after this weekend at the RV show.

[AquaMan]

You stated you would be living in it while you built your home. I'm assuming you would be staying on the land you purchase. If this is the case you could have a small building built to have a full size washer/dryer, residential fridge/freezer, even a full size bath since it will be plumbed. This is something that can be built in a few days. As for your RV, you could then get by with the smaller appliances while on the road. Just another thought.

[MightyMike]

We also have a 35-12. Like Danno said, the garage has a shelf in it. We got the pass thru dinete in the garage and the shelf is supposed to be where you put aTV. Didn't like that setup and mounted a flat screen (37") on the wall. The shelf is really just in the way. Wife likes eating at the table in garage or we just sit at the bar. Tables for the party dinnette don't make for a good place to eat dinner, and then you have to store them because they're in the main walk area. Also got the party deck and never got a chance to use it either. Just more weight we carry. We also use our outside fridge for drinks. We also had a Raptor- DON"T GO THERE!!! and it had 2 bath setup. Wife misses that, and we would have a 380 AMP but they didn't bring that out till a year after we bought ours. The 40x12 woulld have been too heavy for me, but that floorplan might be what you need. I think they all have loft beds, but you could just use that space for storage. Nothing big because you have to accces it off of a ladder, and it's only about 2' high. Definetly get the arctic package. Ours didn't have it, but I really wanted it. Were in Myrtle Beach for 2 weeks when it was 100 degrees and the A/C keeps up but hardly shut off. And the garage doesn't keep temp with the living area either heat or A/C.

[EmandDavid]

MightMike,
Thanks so much for all the input-exactly what we were wondering about.
We are looking at the 40x12, so will definitely keep that in mind.
I really like the idea of the 2 bathrooms as well-I can live with one, but I do like the idea of being able to have an extra one.
Do you guys have a washer/dryer setup in yours?
What didn't you like about the Raptor-anything in particular, or just a multitude of issues?
We decided that the Arctic Package is a must-thanks!
It's interesting that y'all (everyone that has responded) don't use the party deck-we contemplated getting it, so good to know it's not 'a must' to get. We have thought about just building a wooden deck out next to it as a porch off one side of it once we park it to live in instead, so that may be what we do instead. Something that we can drive up next to, and have for the dogs to hang out on without having the RV 'open' to the elements. Once we build and use it for trips, I don't see us needing a deck. We are excited to view a lot of different TH this weekend, and who knows? We may come back Monday with one.

[MightyMike]

Hi,Em. We bought our Raptor at the Hershey Rv show. Delivered to us in a hotel parking lot, and it wasn't a downhill slide from there- it was falling off a cliff!! It was already damaged when we got there, so they ended up towing it back to NY, still didt fix it so they sent a guy to mt house (twice) still didn't fix it, so towed it bach to factory and rebuilt it. Every time we used it something else wwould break. Couldn't wait to get rid of the piece of crap. Keystone was absolutely horrible to deal with- actually had their customer service manager yell at ME on the phone! We had a pretty big to us concern on our XLR, and Forest River was great to work with. We had more of a problem with the dealer being useless than Forest River. I told my XLR rep after that I would never "buy local" to support a dealer again (he really dislikes the wholesalers). Just some more FYI- The garage doesn't get warm with the heat on, always need a space heater. And when the rear bed is up in the air it blocks the air from the A/C, so we use a fan to push cool air back there. The party deck thing seemed like something we'd use, but if you use it the whole back of the Rv is open so any heat or A/C you have is gone. Wife wanted to try it at Myrtle Beach until I told her how long it was gonna be to re-cool the rig!! Did you look at the floorplan of the 380 AMP? They have a bath and 1/2 and also have a theater type seating arrangement. Seems like it would be great for two people. And I think they are a little lighter than the 40-12. I saw conflicting weight specs on them and never got a rersponse from my XLR guy. Good luck this weekend- just bring a BIG check!!!

[Superdutykid]

Looking at a XLR380 Amp also, appears to be a great unit. Just make sure to get the extended warranty, well worth it in the long run. (and they will come off of the price of that too) Good luck!

[TheFordes]

I have a 386*12. Love it. She has have a few kinks to work out but worth it. We are weekend warriors. But camp alot. Put a 3 ac unit on the garage with a heat strip and works great. When we bought the camper got them to throw in two more cabinet doors for the "tv" space in the garage and turned it into storage!!! Good luck and Happy Camping

[EmandDavid]

Thanks everyone! We've been quiet for a while, but we are still looking for something. The RV shows we attended at Columbia and Greenville were a total bust, but I talked about that more on my thread about it. :P A bit disheartening really, as we want to walk through a 415, which is what we are considering the strongest, and can't seem to find one to go through!! But anyway, we are still on the lookout for one that suits us.

[TheFordes]

Originally Posted by EmandDavid

Thanks everyone! We've been quiet for a while, but we are still looking for something. The RV shows we attended at Columbia and Greenville were a total bust, but I talked about that more on my thread about it. :P A bit disheartening really, as we want to walk through a 415, which is what we are considering the strongest, and can't seem to find one to go through!! But anyway, we are still on the lookout for one that suits us.

Check out 007RV.com. they have some on their web site but more on the lot you might want to call to see what they have on the lot. When we went there the over 35 toy haulers on the lot. They are located right outside of Danville VA. If you do call or go ask for Zack Reeves AWESOME to deal with

[Thebottlesniper]

We opted for the 35X12 vs the 386 AMP. the 386 floorplan will allow for a larger bedroom TV if that is a concern. 35X12 is limited to a 19"or so in the corner due to a pocket door in the ideal TV location. I installed a 19" TV DVD combo yesterday. seems to be OK. Not much to install. Glad I didn't pay FR's price.

[holtbv62]

I recently bought a 2015 XLR Thunderbolt 415Amp. So far I am satisfied.

We are getting ready to head out on our third trip with it. I'm picking it up at dealer after taking it back for a camera install and having some minor issues taken care of.

The local deal is a FR rep and had about 3 or 4 XLRs on the lot of different flavors. The 415Amp stood out in my opinion and worked for my needs.

[Nethers]

We're looking to move from our lxr viper to the 415 amp thunderbolt.

[Donnieburnett2]

We love ours

[holtbv62]

Got our 415 back from the dealer today. The very first mod done was getting a rear camera. So far, so good.



-Bobby

[holtbv62]

Is it just me OR are the fuel tanks kind of difficult to fill on the 415Amp?

[Donnieburnett2]

I looked at my tanks last evening and tried to look at why the supple tank will only fill very slow ( the Gen tank fills just fine ) I thought the vent hose was kinked or pinched because when filling the tank it would blow back like it was full. That was not the case, so with that I will be looking for more answers on this and if I find anything out I will post here.

Donnie