I’ll admit it I’m scared.

[rpsinc]

47 minutes ago, mickeyblueyes said:

Thanks Kirk,

I do want to be able to return to a residential setting if God forbid health issues force  it. The return on used RV units is frightening, I haven’t signed on the dotted line yet, so what ever is supposed to happen will happen. Which means if I’m supposed to have a used high end 5 th wheel, than somehow one will present it self to me in the course of getting ready. Other wise it’s a moderately priced Keystone.

I figure its like this- the return on ANY RV is frightening.

We have a 38' Newmar 5er and just purchased a 33' Teton so that we CAN go to National Parks.  Both were purchased at very reasonable prices and while they need some updating, they are quality coaches that we feel we can afford to tailor to our tastes and update as well.  Its really about what you have the skills to do, want to do and choose to do.

Enjoy the journey.

[Kirk W]

1 hour ago, mickeyblueyes said:

The return on used RV units is frightening,

When we went fulltime we bought a "snowbird" rated RV (as the RV Consumer Group lists) and it had an MSRP of $81k, when diesel equivalents listed at about $130k. We actually paid about 80% of MSRP.  We sold it 14 years later for about $10k or wholesale by NADA. Pam wanted to start with a new RV that was configured to our tastes and I liked the idea of knowing the coach's entire history. Today we own our RV port home and owe nothing and still have enough reserves to feel comfortable about our financial future. 

Edited October 3, 2018 by Kirk Wood

[blrsmith]

My 2 cents - make a list of 3 things each of you Must haves and a few Nice to have. There will be tradeoffs on every RV even though there are thousands. We've fulltimed in a 34, 38 & 42' and I'm convinced 36-38 is enough to fulltime in...trailer or 5th wheel. We now live in a 42' fifth wheel and travel in a 38'tt and there is more storage and seating in our tt. Don't let money determine your happiness. Do what works for YOU...that's the best you can do. I agree your first RV won't be your last RV. Enjoy the journey. 

[mickeyblueyes]

While we’re on the subject...lol

 

one of the things that we both like about the Keystone Alpine 37fl is that  you walk in and the living room is up top and looks like a prop a propper livingroonm.

this is not the common set up mostLR are in the rear and I just thought that’s that caked into a nice spot and the and was a view of a lake or a mountain we would See  it.  Is this a big deal? Is this why most lr are rear?

 

[SWharton]

The answer is it depends. If you have a back in space if there is a view it will be out back. Also, the  LR in the back have windows on the back(huge) and at least 1 side, most likely 2. With the LR in the front, you will be facing the rest of the campground and have windows on the side, none on the front. The number of times you end up in a cg with a view is probably minimal unless you work at it. To have any sort of a view you would probably need to be on the outside perimeter of the cg, probably backed in. Most people sit outside and enjoy the view.

There are exceptions to all this of course.

[DesertMiner]

Look at your closet space that is available to you in the bedroom. Most front living room floorplans are a bit on the small size compared to the front bedroom designs. Something to concider when spending lots of time living in your portable home. 

[mptjelgin]

53 minutes ago, mickeyblueyes said:

While we’re on the subject...lol

 

one of the things that we both like about the Keystone Alpine 37fl is that  you walk in and the living room is up top and looks like a prop a propper livingroonm.

this is not the common set up mostLR are in the rear and I just thought that’s that caked into a nice spot and the and was a view of a lake or a mountain we would See  it.  Is this a big deal? Is this why most lr are rear?

 

Three things have steered us away from front living rooms.

First is convenience. We spend most of our time in the living room, and having it on the lower level with easy (level) access to the kitchen, fridge, etc. is desirable. 

Second is headroom. I am 6'-1" tall, and our bedroom (upper level) is just over my head. Our living room, on the other hand, is much higher than my head, allowing for a ceiling fan to be used and generally just giving a more open feeling. 

Third is heating/cooling. The upstairs (bedroom) in our trailer tends to be warmer than the lower levels. In some cases distinctly warmer. I suppose that depending on where you are that could be a good thing or a bad thing, but for us we would find it stuffy much of the time during the day. 

[SWharton]

x2 on headroom. When we walked into our first MH that was what we noticed. Low ceilings and the MH ceilings are not as low as a 5th wheel front. We loved the 5th because of the headroom and the ceiling fan. Made a big difference. Agree about the heating/cooling.

[richfaa]

On 9/29/2018 at 2:49 PM, mickeyblueyes said:

Thanks guys ,I might ad I have trailered things like, bulldozers,and smaller rvs.

have also camped in most states via the ez maneuvering truck camper. I’m sure I’ll get used to it .

We presently tow a 13 3402 Montana big sky with a F-350 Diesel dully. It is a bit over 53 feet long truck and Montana. We long time which is just short of full timing as we still have the S&B. We have been doing this since 2006 with the same size rig. Yes there  will be some State and Federal as well as other CG's that you will not fit into or have trouble  getting into 53 feet of truck and camper is not small however we have never had a problem finding a CG that we can fit into. Folks full time in all makes, models and price ranges of Rv's the Keystone Alpine 37FL is a good Rv perhaps better than the Montana 3402.We have over 100K miles on two Montana's this 13 3402 has over 50K highway miles and we live in it at least 9 months of the year. I would take a tape measure to the Alpine 37RL as my guess is it will be closer to 40 feet  very front to very back meaning the part you have to park. We have toured the Alpine plant in Goshen, Ind as it is very near the Montana plant. We prefer new units .We have never purchased used. IMO you are making good choices. Montana makes a Front living room similar to the Alpine and we have several friends that have them. My guess is the Alpine will have two A/C's and the cooling will be fine. BTW Rv's are not designed for tall folks.

Edited October 4, 2018 by richfaa

[mickeyblueyes]

2 hours ago, richfaa said:

We presently tow a 13 3402 Montana big sky with a F-350 Diesel dully. It is a bit over 53 feet long truck and Montana. We long time which is just short of full timing as we still have the S&B. We have been doing this since 2006 with the same size rig. Yes there  will be some State and Federal as well as other CG's that you will not fit into or have trouble  getting into 53 feet of truck and camper is not small however we have never had a problem finding a CG that we can fit into. Folks full time in all makes, models and price ranges of Rv's the Keystone Alpine 37FL is a good Rv perhaps better than the Montana 3402.We have over 100K miles on two Montana's this 13 3402 has over 50K highway miles and we live in it at least 9 months of the year. I would take a tape measure to the Alpine 37RL as my guess is it will be closer to 40 feet  very front to very back meaning the part you have to park. We have toured the Alpine plant in Goshen, Ind as it is very near the Montana plant. We prefer new units .We have never purchased used. IMO you are making good choices. Montana makes a Front living room similar to the Alpine and we have several friends that have them. My guess is the Alpine will have two A/C's and the cooling will be fine. BTW Rv's are not designed for tall folks.

Thanks for the vote of confidence! We sat in both the Montana and the Alpine. The furniture is exactly the same ,the layout is the same it’s just trim work that’s different. I could like either one ,the Alpine just felt , like ok your home relax.

[mickeyblueyes]

4 hours ago, SWharton said:

The answer is it depends. If you have a back in space if there is a view it will be out back. Also, the  LR in the back have windows on the back(huge) and at least 1 side, most likely 2. With the LR in the front, you will be facing the rest of the campground and have windows on the side, none on the front. The number of times you end up in a cg with a view is probably minimal unless you work at it. To have any sort of a view you would probably need to be on the outside perimeter of the cg, probably backed in. Most people sit outside and enjoy the view.

There are exceptions to all this of course.

You are correct, I was trying to remember any memorable CGs that we backed into ,the only one was on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the Ranger told us to go down the road and pull off there is a fire road, go down a bit and park any where you want. Well I was a tad bit apprehensive but went ahead and wow,we backed up to  marble Canyon 

what a view, one one the things I’ll miss about having a truck camper.

i thought about it just don’t think I could full time in a truck camper.besides I don’t want to travel like that anymore . I’m stopping to smell the 🌹.

[dblr]

Another thing no one has mentioned is that most front living room floorplans do not offer as much outside storage as the rear living ones. I did see at the Hershey show some now started raising the rear bedroom area for storage underneath but some folks did not like having steps inside at both ends, all comes down to choice. Good luck on your decision.

[SWharton]

I don't understand why the storage would be less?

[dblr]

3 minutes ago, SWharton said:

I don't understand why the storage would be less?

I am not sure exactly why either but the main storage bin always seems at least half the size, could just be because of the way the floorplans are, even on a front kitchen they seem smaller.

[richfaa]

If you full time or long time you will carry around more stuff as compared to weekenders or low use Rv'ers.We picked the Montana  06 3400 and the 13 3402  which are pretty much the same floor plan .The counter space and inside storage apace was critical to Helen and the outside storage space  was critical to me. We do run heavy but not over weight. We have good friends that we do a lot of traveling with and winter in Florida . They have the Montana version of the front living room. There does seem to be less storage space up front but they carry a lot of stuff and have not complained.One learns to adapt to the RV they have.  BTW the 6 point leveling system is nearly a must for the full timer and good tires Saluns or G6 14's . ChecK the tire brand on the Alpine.

Edited October 4, 2018 by richfaa

[MidMOTraveler]

We have the Montana 2018 3731 FL

TV  F450

You are correct about a smaller front basement.We are in our 1st year of retirement and long time traveling. However I can’t see how weight wise we could possibly carry more. I’m sure lots of people have done what we did. “Might need that” take it ! Well after this season wife and I both agree there’s going to be a major downsizing.

We have lots of inside storage and the back bedroom slide opposite the bed is all wardrobe plus under the king bed. 

Mickey there is a new / used 3 times Montana on the Montana Owners forum just listed today. 

Good luck on your search. 

[mickeyblueyes]

Thanks Mid Thanks for the Tire Brand check, the Alpine does have a 6 point auto leveling system it does have G rated, looking for Brand.

 

 

Thanks mid Mo traveler!

[mickeyblueyes]

Thanks Mid Thanks for the Tire Brand check, the Alpine does have a 6 point auto leveling system it does have G rated, looking for Brand.

 

 

Thanks mid Mo traveler!

[richfaa]

We were at the plants in Goshen at a  rally last week.Keystone is installing the G rated Salun tire on its heavier hi end units. The salun is a very good tire and most folks are changing to the Salun or Goodyear G614 tires if they  are not installed on the unit. Not all G rated tires are of the same quality.

Edited October 5, 2018 by richfaa
spelling

[SWharton]

When you finally commit I am a strong proponent of check lists, hung up all over the  place. We go through the checklist every time we move, whether we think we did it all or not. Also, when you get interrupted doing your checklist(and you will) start over again. Don't think you did something, confirm you did something.

[richfaa]

6 hours ago, SWharton said:

When you finally commit I am a strong proponent of check lists, hung up all over the  place. We go through the checklist every time we move, whether we think we did it all or not. Also, when you get interrupted doing your checklist(and you will) start over again. Don't think you did something, confirm you did something.

Absolutely...

[Kirk W]

We have never been big on checklists as most of them soon get ignored. While we did use one at first, we keep a set routine of each doing the same things in the same order every time. I have watched many RV folks get ready to hit the road over the rears and very rarely do I see anyone using a checklist but a set pattern of doing the same things in the same order is pretty common. 

[SWharton]

I believe you are thinking of a list you carry with you and check off as you do things. We just have ours posted in obvious spots and review them as we go along. We don't physically check things off. I have seen some people that use their phone with a list on it.

We have lists inside the car so we don't miss a step in setting up the car; on the door of MH to review that everything is done prior to coming inside; on the refrig to review that everything is completed inside(listed back to front in items to do) and on the dash for the final before driving list.

Also, if you are a newbie, a list will be very beneficial.

Edited October 6, 2018 by SWharton

[SWharton]

The other reason  to have a list is if you need to do each others "jobs" due to injury or illness.

[richfaa]

We do not  have a checklist in terms of we check off items as we do them but we do have a list of things to check before  going on the road call it what you will and we follow it even after years and years of RV,ing.  Helen's primary responsibility is interior and mine exterior although we both can do and do either one. If you do not have a routine way of making sure you are clear to set up or take down you will make a expensive mistake sooner or later.