Looking for recommendations for 1st 5th wheel with bunkhouse

[Aggie2004]

We are looking for our 1st 5th wheel to be kept at our ranch for weekend stays, but also to be taken to CO for a couple of weeks during the summer. We have an F250 for towing purposes. We would like a bunkhouse in order to put 4 kids back there. We are overwhelmed with the number of options. Are there RV's we should stay away from? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We are happy that you have joined us and will do all we can to assist you.

 

On the RV choice, be very careful of the weight of trailer as your F250 is going to limit the size & weight of trailer. Do not believe the RV sales people as they tend to tell you whatever will get you to buy. Check to see what the max weight ratings for your truck are and carefully stay under those in what you choose to buy. There are others here with extensive experience with fifth wheels that I don't have so I'll leave it to them to give more specific advice.

[Rif]

Let me add my welcome to the forums.

 

Almost all bunkhouse models will be weekend/vacation models and not built to the same standards as snow bird or full time units. This primarily has to do with things like insulation and quality of materials used. That said, there is nothing wrong with them when they are used exactly as you are planning for. They tend to be lighter and much less expensive than snow bird and full time rigs.

 

If I might suggest, one option that many people in your situation take is to purchase a toy hauler model and outfit the "toy" area to meet their needs. Take a good look at them and think about the possibilities they offer. They will have much more flexibility for a family than a straight bunk house model 5er.

[Aggie2004]

Thank you! I've already experienced the sales people saying no problem with our truck pulling a 36ft so we will check the specs. Putting bunk beds in a toy hauler is a good idea. I guess we would need to look into others who may have done this to make sure we anchor them down properly. My dad owns a Discovery RV and is a little help, but class A coaches are a lot different than 5w. There are so many different models out there so just trying to find out if there are any brands to stay away from due to easy water leaks ad constant maintenance.

[skp51443]

Weight is a key point, the truck numbers are from the advertising department and not to be trusted. They have only 1/8 tank of fuel in the test truck and nothing else except a 150 pound driver, they also test with a horse trailer to fudge the wind resistance issue. You need to dig out the real numbers and ant-tracks footnotes before you write a check but for general shopping using 80% of the numbers the salesman gives you in the towing guide is close enough.

 

Same for the fiver, getting a real scale weight is important as many brands publish estimates that can be off hundreds of pounds from what you get sold. I like to go along when getting the weight since it is so simple to get any weight you want by cheating the scale.

 

I didn't follow this advice and ended up wasting even more money trying to "fix" the truck before I admitted I'd messed up beyond repair and lost my shirt moving to an adequate truck. Don't be me, get the right combination of vehicles.

[N TX Dave]

I will say a toy hauler generally weights more than a bunk house, just make sure you check weights yourself and don't even listen to the salesman either the truck or FW, I would start by taking you truck loaded up as you would for a trip with all 6 people in it to some scales and get your weight don't forget to add couple hundred pounds for the hitch weight, then subtract that from the door sticker GVWR and that will give you a good starting point of pin weight.

[Aggie2004]

Anyone have an opinion on Crossroads? We really like the floor plan of the Rezerve RFZ31SB.

[Bob Vaughn]

Coachman has a new 5th wheel bunk house for 2015 it looks awesome but is probably too heavy for your truck....it looks like you could sleep 5 kids in it because it has a loft over it......

[chiefneon]

Howdy!

 

If you look in to toy haulers you may consider the Cyclone C300 it may fit your needs.

 

http://www.heartlandrvs.com/index.php?p=35&c=toyhaulers&sc=CYC&i=CY+300C&view=floorplans&fcmd=showfplan

 

"Happy Trails"

Chiefneon