Hello from the Olympic Peninsula...

[cascarawood]

Looking for a starting place in my 5th wheel search. There is too much to know I've found out, for even a willing student - so hoping for some solid advice about fav makes and models here. Upsides and downsides.
I'm selling my place of a hundred years and looking for young energy to take it over. I've decided that until I settle on a permanent place, a 5th wheel is a good option in terms of moving "home". I won't be towing and adventuring so much as taking time out for pondering in peace about what will come next.

Thanks for any and all input from voices of experience.
Cascarawood

[aceinspp]

Welcome to the forum. You may want to try posting your question on he sub thread Seasonal camping thread. Good luck. later RJD

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by cascarawood

Looking for a starting place in my 5th wheel search. There is too much to know I've found out, for even a willing student - so hoping for some solid advice about fav makes and models here. Upsides and downsides.

I'm selling my place of a hundred years and looking for young energy to take it over. I've decided that until I settle on a permanent place, a 5th wheel is a good option in terms of moving "home". I won't be towing and adventuring so much as taking time out for pondering in peace about what will come next.



Thanks for any and all input from voices of experience.

Cascarawood

Hi and Welcome to FRF.
You'll need to post what features you want.
Nothing beats reviewing different Floorplans, to help figure out what you like and what you don't like.
Do you have a truck to move a 5th wheel?

[cascarawood]

I'll be hiring someone to move the 5th wheel to wherever - I think I have a place picked out to jump to. Feeling a bit pressured to choose a rig because when my place sells it'll be a time-push to disappear and re-locate. I need to be done "dreaming" the 5th wheel. Couple of months now probably to ponder...

I suspect this will sound totally minimalist, but other than laptop NFlix sort of entertainment I'm more a reader than a watcher. So big screens are not important. Fireplaces either - must be a better use of that space for me. I really like to prepare and enjoy good food, so a better than usual galley and prep space, food storage space, and as big a fridge/freezer as possible would be good.
I'm little, so I don't require a humongous shower, don't care about a tub, but big enough so guests don't feel cramped. Storage a priority. I paint, so even if I keep that small, I'd want room for some art folderol storage.
Queen bed. Washer dryer. I usually end up wearing the same mountain "uniform" so clothing storage adequate only.

I want to be all electric. With the exception of an auto-genny, no other propane, unless there's something emergency I haven't bumped into...?

I'd like slides that are as bullet proof as possible, with toppers (can toppers be added?). If I'm pretty much stationary slides won't be getting much exercise, but being a PNW fem I know what wet weather can do.

Well, there are some thoughts. I've just about made myself crazy trying to see which of the endless 5th wheels might be a fit for me...Scratching the surface I know, so thanks again for newbie tolerance and any "steering".

Cascara

[bikendan]

Well, finding an all-electric 5th wheel won't be easy. The only ones I've seen, are very high-end huge 5th wheels. Nearly all only have propane furnaces. Some can come with a heat pump or heat strip, for cooler temps.
You might be better off looking at a destination trailer since you're not going to be traveling in it.

[Reverse_snowbird]

Originally Posted by cascarawood

I'll be hiring someone to move the 5th wheel to wherever -
Cascara

So what made you decide on a 5th wheel? The cost to move a rig can be rather pricey and you need a bit of lead time if you're not going to move it yourself. If you don't like stairs, a 5er might not be for you.

If you're on a tight time schedule, you need to start shopping NOW at local rv dealerships. Many don't have a lot in stock and long lead times to get one delivered. You really need to look at some to see what's going to meet your needs. Anything we advise might not be available in your area.

Have you located a park to put the rv on? We've met people who do what you're proposing, buy an rv, and have the dealer move it to an rv lot. I'm sure that some people get them moved, but many sell rather than pay to move. You're going to want a long term lease on that lot.

[OldGal3]

Another thing to consider is a Toy Hauler to give you a dedicated space for your painting/office/stuff. I opted 6 years ago to get a Toy Hauler, in the garage I have my desk/computer 2 bookcases, 2 cat trees (!) a 3 tier storage unit, a couch that folds into a bed and a table. There is also wall mounted cabinets, but I opted not to have the extra bed that stores at the ceiling....too claustrophobic for me. I only have one slide out but I've seen bigger units with multiple slides to give you lots more living space and windows. I looked at used and new RV's for a long time, turning into every lot I noticed to see what I liked and what I didn't like. Went from pages down to a couple in pretty short order. Between price and my have to haves, I'm still happy with what I bought.

[cascarawood]

So not planning on traveling, but I will probably end up moving a couple of times, so something like a park model isn't practical for now. I do have a place to move an rv to, unless something unexpected happens. No chance, huh? Stairs are not a problem. Yet. And I had a 5th wheel on a parcel a couple of years ago and added infrastructure that made it practical and fun for me at the time. Barn for horse, a yurt for guests, a greenhouse for growing...so although I was comfortable in the small 5th wheel space, I was outside more than in. Wherever I end up at least for the next still active years, I expect I'll arrange my life to be more out than in again. There is zero in this area to rent, and as in many places nothing I'd want to buy to live in. So the rv seems to be what's practical.
New is nice, but a used vehicle is fine if it's in good shape. I wonder how difficult it would be to retrofit for a mini-split heat pump...must be people who do that kind of customizing?
Well, I'm hoping I'll be able to find a 5th wheel, probably new that's going to be a good fit, just to make it easy. I didn't want to have to shop it out more than once, mostly because of the difficulty and expense of moving (and I'm not an enthusiastic shopper}.
Maybe the question I should have asked to start would be; What companies make well designed units with quality materials?
Thanks,
Cascara

[OldGal3]

Cascara - got your message from the 'thanks' post. Evidently there's no way to respond to you there....and you haven't made enough posts for me to send you a private message. I spend the winters in AZ/NV and other than a few colder than I'd like days/nights it's usually pretty comfortable. I have not done any skirting/extra insulation as I move around a lot from April thru Sept. Much would depend on the style the specific unit uses when built AND if it was built on a Monday or Friday (hahaha). I do have a rug down in the garage, have a heated water hose and my rig came with tank heaters. If I was in cold country for the winter I'd certainly have a large propane tank from the delivery service and some kind of home made or bought window insulation. Best of luck in whatever you do.