Thoughts on 2024 Wildcat 36MB for full time living with family?

[Landsharkk]

I'm brand new to RV/trailer/5th wheel living, but need a place for my family to live while we build a house.

My Wife and I have looked at a tone of both 5th wheels and travel trailers and narrowed it down to a 2024 Forest River Wildcat 36MB.

We have 4 kids and like the bunk setup for them, plus the space to spread out a little bit in the main living area.

Is there anything I should know about the Wildcat 36MB prior to purchase? Anything to look out for during the initial walkthrough?

And I suppose it's not too late to ask, but are there any better alternatives? Roughly $50k USD or less?


We'll be stationary for about 2 years, will be no hookups for the first week or two, but then we'll have permanent hookups for septic/power/water after those two weeks.

Thanks!

 

[5picker]

Welcome to the forum, I see it is your 1st post.

Where are you located?
Few R/V units are built for "full time living."
That's not to say you can't but, there are a lot of factors involved.
Winter weather could play a huge part in what to own for full time living.
We need more information.
The full hook-ups will be a life saver.

 

[nvs4602]

I think I would look at park model homes vs a 5th wheel. I think they're better insulated and built for 4 season living.

 

[Landsharkk]

Welcome to the forum, I see it is your 1st post.

Where are you located?
Few R/V units are built for "full time living."
That's not to say you can't but, there are a lot of factors involved.
Winter weather could play a huge part in what to own for full time living.
We need more information.
The full hook-ups will be a life saver.

Hi, thanks!

We'll be in eastern washington state.

We will be skirting the whole thing as well. The MB36 has heated tanks, which is good. There was a Forest River/Wildcat rep there and we talked details of living in the winter with it, so got some ideas on how to help deal with it.

We do expect challenges with the cold weather, but are confident we can at least keep things from freezing.

 

[Landsharkk]

I think I would look at park model homes vs a 5th wheel. I think they're better insulated and built for 4 season living.

Hi, yeah we looked at destination trailers, but didn't have any park models to look at in person. The destination trailers we saw didn't have any slide-outs and while they were tall, they didn't have a lot of living space. Overall we preferred the layout of the 5th wheels.

 

[Reverse_snowbird]

It sounds like you've already made up your mind.

How cold does it get and how much snow will you have to remove from the roof?

That 5th wheel has FOUR slides and it's going to be very 'drafty'.... especially the triple bunks that are located on the slide.
https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/wildcat-fifth-wheels/36MB/9794
You'll be burning a tremendous amount of propane and you'll need a secondary propane tank to try to keep the rig heated. You can supplement the furnace by buying electric 'cool to the touch' space heaters with a thermostat, but with 4 children, that might be dangerous.
It's also going to be difficult to keep it cool in the summer.

You really need something like a destination trailer that has insulation that will help in cold and hot temperatures. People do live in 5th wheels year round, but these 5th wheels are 'recreational' trailers. You're going to be doing lots of repairs.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[5picker]

Hi, thanks!

We'll be in eastern washington state.

We will be skirting the whole thing as well. The MB36 has heated tanks, which is good. There was a Forest River/Wildcat rep there and we talked details of living in the winter with it, so got some ideas on how to help deal with it.

We do expect challenges with the cold weather, but are confident we can at least keep things from freezing.

I sure hope he had experience living in one during a cold winter because most reps/sales folks are simply trying to make a sale. Many have never even towed or camped a single night in one. We've had dozens of folks come here and say... "oh, the salesman said they are 4 season trailers or no problems in cold weather" only to find out that's not necessarily true at all.

As I said earlier... I'm not saying it can't be done but you've got your work cut out and it won't be your typical "let's have fun camping adventure!"

Before we get too involved... what are YOUR plans to do to it to make it livable for 2 years? What kind of temperatures/climate/snowfall will you endure over that time?

Also keep in mind, many mid level units say the warranty can be void if lived in full time. Did the rep mention that?

 

[Landsharkk]

It sounds like you've already made up your mind.

How cold does it get and how much snow will you have to remove from the roof?

That 5th wheel has FOUR slides and it's going to be very 'drafty'.... especially the triple bunks that are located on the slide.
https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/wildcat-fifth-wheels/36MB/9794
You'll be burning a tremendous amount of propane and you'll need a secondary propane tank to try to keep the rig heated. You can supplement the furnace by buying electric 'cool to the touch' space heaters with a thermostat, but with 4 children, that might be dangerous.
It's also going to be difficult to keep it cool in the summer.

You really need something like a destination trailer that has insulation that will help in cold and hot temperatures. People do live in 5th wheels year round, but these 5th wheels are 'recreational' trailers. You're going to be doing lots of repairs.

Welcome to the forum!

Good call on the propane. We'll have a 120 gallon tank on the ground hooked up, plus the backup tanks if needed. There is an electric fireplace built-in that produces heat as well to help supplement if needed.

As for hot weather it comes with 2 a/c units, hopefully enough to keep things mostly comfortable. I'm not expecting a house-like experience, but at least better than tent camping in the snow and summer heat.

We have 2 neighbors also with kids who have been living in their 5th wheels as well for a year and will be through this winter as well. So we know it can be done there. Our biggest issue will be wind. Skirting and pointing the 5th wheel into the wind should help.


Not completely made up my mind yet, but I have to make a decision earlier than later. And from all we've seen within our price range, this is so far the one we've liked the best. This is why I asked originally if this a good choice of if there's anything else we should be looking at for around the $50k range. I'm open to suggestions...but from what we've seen this one seems to fit our needs of space/comfort/compromises.

I know there will be a lot of wear and tear on it from living in it. I also wonder how many people's repairs are due to towing these things from place to place. We will be stationary, so no wear and tear from being on the road at least.

 

[Iwritecode]

Hi, yeah we looked at destination trailers, but didn't have any park models to look at in person. The destination trailers we saw didn't have any slide-outs and while they were tall, they didn't have a lot of living space. Overall we preferred the layout of the 5th wheels.

Destination trailers and park models are 2 different things.

Honestly, I would think a trailer with no slides would fair better in the cold winter weather.

 

[Chuck_S]

Two (2) years to build a house? Sounds like you're doing it by yourself with no contractor. For that length of time and the hassle of living in a camper I'd just rent a real house for a couple of years. I watch houses go up here in a couple of months.

If you want to live in this camper you'll need bulk propane as you can go thru those two cylinders in a couple of days. The freezing caution is valid even when you get utilities. I lived is a real mobile home in Wisconsin for a year and "everything" froze. Fresh water froze inside the floor and walls even though the intake hose was heated. Sewer froze as well.

Also the wind blew out the pilot light on the furnace one Saturday and we came back from shopping to the world's fluffiest cat. Lack of humidity was also a problem when it got real cold. Just walking across the floor would stir up lots of static.

-- Chuck

 

[moose074]

Personally I would go cheap single wide, building from home depot or make you own portable/ permanent building