GoldenKey

Good input. Never towed a 5er, but Workamped in Europe for many years towing a 25’ trailer. I think I put 15k miles of towing in from Norway to Italy. Currently own a 35’ Airstream Motorhome, and a Van conversion. So, hopefully I’m not a dumb as the people described! For me to get the wife out of the road full time, would need something larger, and more comfortable. I could comfortably live in something smaller, but she won’t. That’s the trade off I’ve had to make. I’m not too worried about towing or dealing with a 42’ 5th wheel. We originally looked at 38-42’ Super C Motorhomes, but the $500k price tag was just too hard to swallow. I’m watching the used prices on Alliance 385fl’s, and have no problem buying one a couple of years old. The wife chose that one Floorplan, specifically after looking at many. It seems to be the best fit for her. As she needs an office space, as she will be working for a least a couple more years, remotely, and so will I, but part time. The from lounge on the 385FL has 2 sofa beds, and we will take one and change it to a desk. When we settle back down again, we plan to live in the 5er on the plot of land and oversee the forever home build. once it’s built we could keep the 5er for a “Guest Suite. The pickup truck will earn its keep, towing trailers, with skid steers or tractors, and bringing build materials etc. We might also get a truck bed camper down the road for shorter term trips. Sd domicile might make sense for us, financially, but I’m waiting to hear back from our CPA on what’s workable. But these recent rule changes might impact the plan.

Good stuff, and Thank you for your service Sir. I'm trying to get all the moving parts of the plan aligned. We REALLY need the Truck first, as we have to tow a trailer, put furniture, and a couple of classic vehicles in storage somewhere when we are clearing the house. When the house is cleared and ready to be listed, I'd like to be out of it and already on the road, leaving the Realtors to have at it! Wife suggested I move my domicile when we buy the truck, but not sure if that would work!

Thanks for all of the info! Good links Kirk, but I see you have special knowledge, so I need to dig deeper. The 5er we have our eye on is an Alliance 385FL. Its dry weight is 14,517lb, and GVWR is 16800lb as standard with the 7k axles, but we are planning to spec the Moryde 8k axles, and disc brakes. The truck we hope to get is a 2024+ GMC Denali Duramax 3500 Dually. 5th wheel tow capacity is 31,000+lb, and payload is 5,662+ lb. GCWR is 40,000 lb. I think the 5er is well under the trucks capacity.

Hi Everyone, This seems to be the place to ask the BIG questions! So, my wife and I are planning a BIG lifestyle change in 2025. I am 62, and semiretired, and my wife is 64, and still full time employed, but we can both work remotely. My wife is aiming to retire in 2027. We will sell our home here in Southern California, buy a new 1 ton Dually PU and New 5th Wheel, and go full time for 3-5 years, before settling in Az. Cannot wait to get out of CA... its lost its "Golden State" luster for us. I'm trying to plan the sequence of events for a smooth transition, and maximize financial benefit. We believe we will have the house cleared, and ready for sale in May/June of 2025. It feels like we should have the Rig bought, prepped, and ready to go at that time. But we don't want to buy, or register the Truck or 5er in CA, for obvious reasons. We might have most of the $ for the truck upfront, but not the 5er, so we will need to finance, short term until the house sells. I've heard talk about moving Domicile to SD, but I don't know how all that dovetails together. Any advice or experience would be welcomed!