We just ordered our 1st RV!!!

[TheRowlands]

For quite a while, we have been dreaming of selling the house and moving into a 5th wheel rv. Now that dream is very close to reality.

We spent the last several months searching for the right truck. Last week, we drove to Michigan and bought a Ford F-450. This really set the ball in motion. Time to hunt for the right RV.

We kept saying we want to buy a used rv, but we fell in love with the mid bunk floor plan, which we were having a hard time finding used. We realized that, knowing about the mid bunk, rear living option, we would always regret going the cheaper route, so we started searching for a new one. We had pretty much already settled on the 390QSMB.

Long story short, today we ordered a brand new, custom built, 390QSMB!!!! We will hopefully have it next month! Our next goal is to sell the house and hit the road before winter.

[Bud Ezekiel H.]

Now that's what I call living the dream! Here in the west there's countless places to boondock. You have a generator on board too?


Anyways, Happy trails!


And Congratulations!

[TheRowlands]

Thanks! No generator yet. Once we get it, we plan to stay in it locally to work out all the kinks and figure out what we need.

[jgourlie]

Wow I am so jealous. I am happy for your new journey it's going to be great

[IronCobra]

Very nice! Almost my same setup! I'm running a 2016 F450 diesel pulling the slightly smaller (by 2') Chaparral 360IBL. Very nice setup and very safe and secure feeling. You made the right choices

[TheRowlands]

Thanks y'all! @IronCobra, I've been eyeing your setup for a while now, ever since you responded to my previous thread. The 360IBL was the first mid bunk floorplan we found and immediately fell in love. We were originally assuming if we opted for new, we would get that and try to figure out how to fit a king bed in there. That is until we were directed to the 390. I still prefer the outward facing bunks in the 360, since my 7 year old moves a lot in his sleep and my 5 year old has recently taken to sleepwalking, but we'll make it work.

I had read several places where people suggested buying the rv first, then buying the tow vehicle to suit, but that wasn't a good option for us. Mainly, I really couldn't wait to stop driving out Toyota Corolla! Not only is it too small (I'm 6'3"), but we now have less than. 1000 miles left on our lease, which ends in July! So we decided to get the big'un so we weren't restricted to trailer weight.

[Wiscampsin]

Congrats on your new truck and camper and safe travels!

[dustman_stx]

Congrats- I LOVE the mid bunk layouts myself. A little late- but hopefully you ordered from a dealer such as RVWholesalers that has a nationwide warranty network of dealers and independent repair shops should you need warranty work done. If you're traveling the country it's not feasible to use only your selling dealer for work. While other dealers can and will work on your rig, it would be nice to know who to call and be directed to a place for work as opposed to having to go through the hassle of finding someone to work on it yourself.

[VizJedi]

You are going to love the 390. We bought ours in January after looking at nearly every mid-bunk model out. We've already camped in it 3 times despite it still being winter in St Louis.

This trailer checked nearly everything I was looking for.

j

[ccsvolsfan]

Woop, woop ,woop. Fantastic! Happy camping, or should I say glamping. CONGRATS

[camperone]

If going to full time I hope you 5ther has a residential frig !
And Congratulations on your new camper we've been full time for a couple years and love it!

[TheRowlands]

We wavered about this a little and opted for the rv fridge. We want to have the option of dry camping without immediately buying a generator / inverter / solar. We decided on the 12 cu ft elec/gas fridge.

[VizJedi]

I went with the RV frig too because I wanted the 2 pantries. but I thought the residential friges came with a 1000 watt inverter. Not sure how long a battery would run it, but I'm guessing a couple of days.

j

[DaveandSue]

Very nice. If the wife and I still had kids at home,the 390 or 360 would be our pick to. Just the two of us and the 370 fl got the nod. Still room for the grand kids if one or two want to to. Cant take them all.10 grands and 9 greats.

[TheRowlands]

Originally Posted by VizJedi

I went with the RV frig too because I wanted the 2 pantries. but I thought the residential friges came with a 1000 watt inverter. Not sure how long a battery would run it, but I'm guessing a couple of days.

j

The pantry space was in our decision as well. I think you are right in that it comes with an inverter, which will probably give a couple days of use. I don't know if/how often /how long we will dry camp, but I don't want to limit us to a couple days right from the start. My wife has become very skilled in cooking the proper amount of food, so we never have leftovers, and we don't over buy refrigerator groceries. We are confident that the fridge we chose will be plenty big.

[TheRowlands]

VizJedi. if you have a chance, could you please measure the opening of the living room entertainment center? We ordered the rv without a tv ($719 for a 40"?!). We have a 42" and 55" tv and we want to see if the 55 will fit. Thanks!

[TheRowlands]

Originally Posted by IronCobra

I'm sure it will work out great. From my research it appears the units have really improved over the past 5yrs. Your unit will have heavy duty 7k dexter axles and EZflex suspension as well as R38 roof insulation. The floors have great insulation plus R40 radiant barrier. I am actually impressed with the fit and finish on my unit not really finding anything that had to be fixed other than a bad pump seal which started working fine on its own. Be sure to get a dual AC setup and perhaps replace the rear lights with LEDs. I think it would be a very easy RV to full-time in especially because of its exclusive use of Azdel in the walls instead of luan wood. If you are ordering yours, be sure to include the strong arms as well as the 6-point auto leveling. Unless you don't mind leveling yourself.

We almost bought that unit, even thought about switching at the last moment, but the things that aswayed us towards to the 360ibl were the following:

1. Larger kitchen with Island and Barstools
2. AC in living room is positioned much further away from the livinroom (over the kitchen) than in the 390. This is important because of the amount of noise in our living room is far less than the 390
3. Bike rack (attached to frame) comes on 360 but not 390
4. Slightly 2.1' shorter overall length makes getting in an out of parks easier (39.8' vs 41.9'')
5. More payload capacity since they share the same axles and tires but the 360 weights less. The 390s axles are technically rated for 1000lbs less than the trailers Max weight.
6. Tires are more able to carry the weight without failing
7. Larger pantry and far far far more storage in the 360.

If you really need the larger bunk room and options King bed then the 390 is the way to go. Also, the 390 has a 12" I-beam frame vs the 360s 10" I-beam (which is where most of the extra weight probably comes from).

Remember that either model will include a sleeper sofa that folds into a near King size bed in the living room.

Can't go wrong with either. We sleep 2 adults, 2 older teens, 1 baby, and 2 animals juast fine in ours and could accommodate up to 3 more ppl.

Also, I tool your advice and ordered it with both the 6 point leveling system and JT Strongarms. We also upgraded to a 15k A/C and the 2nd A/C. You mentioned rear LED's, but I don't recall seeing that as an option. Is this something you would recommend doing as an aftermarket upgrade? I'm not really sure how much advantage LED has over stock.

[VizJedi]

Originally Posted by TheRowlands

VizJedi. if you have a chance, could you please measure the opening of the living room entertainment center? We ordered the rv without a tv ($719 for a 40"?!). We have a 42" and 55" tv and we want to see if the 55 will fit. Thanks!

I'll run down and measure it. It will definitely hold more than a 40. It's the first thing I noticed. The main concern will be having room to slide the bracket up/down to get the TV on the mount. It is the same mount as in the BR and outside. Quick dismount, but you have to slide the TV up a couple of inches to pull it off.

j

[VizJedi]

TheRowlands,

I measured the TV opening in my 390. It measures 48.5 wide X 25 tall. The mount needs 3/4 to 1 inch to lift off the TV. My TV had 2.5 inches at the top and about 2 at the bottom.

Here's a pic of the factory 40 inch.


There's plenty of room to the sides. The top and bottom may be an issue for anything bigger than a 42 or 43.

j

[TheRowlands]

Awesome. Thank you so much for doing that!