Looking for some good opinions

[M109pilot]

My wife and I have fallen in love with the Eagle 355MBQS and have a couple options for buying. We have been working with a dealer in Virginia and they can get us a new 2016 or we can have a new 2017 built. The 2016 has 15 inch tires and no wiring for back up camera. My questions to you all is, is there a big benefit of having 16 inch tires? Also, is a back up camera on the back of the RV something I should consider?

Additionally, the 2016 has a 23cu foot fridge and if we order a new 2017 we can pick any fridge we want, of course price will increase.

As I am new to 5th wheel RVs, I also have to research a 5th wheel hitch setup. The dealer tells me they can install a Reese slider hitch but I am not certain if this is a good hitch. Should I ask for something else?

Thank you,
Jason

[poohbear]

If you want to rv now then the 2016 .Ask about tire upgrade, may be worth it & something the dealer can do. My 321rlts has the 16's.if your full time the bigger fridge might be worth the wait.
Backup camera, never had one on any rv but love em on my cars & truck.

[mtdawg]

I have a 2016 North Point 311RKTS. It has the 16 tires, and they work fine. My brother in law has a 2015 Eagle with 15s and they work fine. Not sure what the advantage might be, although I'm pretty sure someone on the forum knows. Can't comment on the hitch, I have a long box and don't need a slider. My neighbor has a Reese slider and has no complaints. Our trailer has a 23 cubic foot residential refrigerator and so far no complaints. I will always be a little anxious because it won't run on propane so we have four batteries and a 1000 watt inverter. As I said so far so good. I know I can get at least four days on the batteries running nothing but the fridge. At this point I'm cautiously optimistic. We have some boon docking trips planned for the summer, so I should know more. By then I bet you will already be enjoying your new unit, whichever one you decide to get. Best of luck.

Jim

[Paintinfool3]

I know I had to go to 16 inch rims on my last travel trailer to get Lt tires for it and in my opinion they were much better for towing and speed than the regular st trailer tires. On this one since my wheels were new I went with the 15 inch maxxis 10 ply and hope they do as well but trailer tires seem notorious for failing at the 5 year or less point and I think light truck tires would fair better in the long run. Ordering new takes longer but hopefully you can get the options you want. Not guaranteed though as we ordered ours new and even after two times ordering they still got the order wrong. Now was it the dealer or Jayco , that's a question I will always have

[M109pilot]

Thanks for the inputs. I think we will be ordering our new RV this week. I was unaware that the bigger fridge would only run off electric. There more we talk about it, the 12 foot fridge will be fine for us as we do not plan to live as fulltimers. We might have to stay in the RV for a month but that's about it. I will confirm with the dealer as to whether or not the 16 inch tires are ST or LT. After reading some articles and post on other forums, am I correct to assume that LT tires are better? As for the back up camera, I have never had one but think it would be helpful.

I have also learned that this RV we are looking at has a MOR ride pin box. I can upgrade to a Reese Revolution but but don't know if there are an advantages of a Reese box. Does anyone have any experience with Reese?

Jason

[oz97tj]

The upgrade to the 16 inch wheels and tires is less than $500. Greater load capacity so less concern about them blowing. They are ST but they are Maxxis which are known to be better quality than the 15s. They also are a bit taller which helps as most trucks are on the higher side anyway. When the tires wear out, you'll also have better options for replacements without having to buy rims too, saving money in the long run. Some like LT tires because they are rated to go faster than 65 mph like STs, but a good argument could be made for not going that fast anyway. Others will argue they are better for various reasons and some will argue the opposite. In the end, a good tire is a good tire and will provide good service if maintained and all of them should be replaced after 5 or so years as they break down.

The fridge is a personal call but bigger is nice sometimes but I like to run it on gas too. Whatever works for you.

Hitch is a wide open discussion too. Find out exactly what the dealer is offering. Fyi, my last purchase I was offered a hitch that was about a $450 version with a slide bar latch. They offered it to me for $1000 installed which is robbery considering I have the factory 5th wheel pucks on my truck. I ended up with a very nice full jaw Reese and the adapter to drop into my truck for around $850 and it's a far better setup. Maybe I could have negotiated that with them but I just ordered one line after researching what I wanted.

Regarding the pinbox, I have the Revolution on my current 5er. I have a short box Ram 2500. With the Revolution I have no concerns of hitting the cab on tight turns and I don't have the extra weight or complexity of a slider (or the looseness of cheaper sliders). For what it's worth though, I pulled it a few times before I set up the Revolution part so it was fixed like a standard pinbox and I still could get pretty tight before it would make contact with the cab. Tighter than you could with a bumper pull, for reference, so if you payed attention you could easily get away without the Revolution and a non slider hitch too. It depends on what you want. Again, the upgrade for the Revolution at time of order was only like $600 which is about half the cost of the unit if purchased later so I figured it would be a no brainer as it would likely pay off in resale. You do lose the dampening effect of the Morryde pinbox but that can be made up in the hitch. In my case, I run the Reese Titan which is all rubber damped and was designed to work well with the Revolution.

[hunter1393]

We have the 2016 355MBQS and enjoy it. I would recommend the 16" wheels. The advice everyone has given on tires is spot on.Ours came with the Rainier tires and I have heard pros and cons. We have been full timing for six years and this Rv was our first upgrade to newer. We have had it only 5 months. One upgrade I would do is the bathroom fan. The standard model is junk. Very little air movement. There is also one recall on a miswiring of the battery wire in the main control panel.Good luck and happy travelling.

[oz97tj]

I forgot to mention something about the camera. I've never used the factory one but have heard some say it's nice and other not be thrilled and it's fairly expensive.

I was looking around on Amazon and there are numerous options for under $100. Many have good reviews. Usually the biggest issue with any of them including factory is wireless reception.

I ended up purchasing a camera system for $60some odd bucks shipped. I also spent another 10 or so on a cable that will plug in between the camera and the wireless transmitter so I can move the transmitter to the front of the camper. Then the receiver and transmitter will only be around 10 ft or so apart during use so I shouldn't have any issues. I have yet to use it but I have no reason to believe it'll be any worse than factory once installed.

FYI, I started looking into cameras due to a few threads on here. That's where I got the idea of moving the transmitter up front too. There is lots of good info so search those threads.

What I do know is seeing behind the camper is basically impossible. The more you do it the better you become but there are still times where you are needing a spotter or having to jump out to check. The camera should help a bunch.

[spoon059]

16" tires usually have a higher weight rating, so that's a benefit. Also you can get LT tires in 16" sizes more easily, if you are of the mindset that LT tires are better. Plus, at the same speed the 16" tire has slightly less revolutions per mile. Even though the 2016 model doesn't have the bigger wheels, the dealer can upgrade them for you if you are willing to pay the price.

I don't have a backup camera on my trailer, but I often consider adding one. It makes backing easier and makes you less reliant on a spouse... therefore less likely to be fighting upon arrival at your destination ... don't ask how I know!!!

If you can get a good deal on the 16 and want to camp NOW, go for it. There will always be new features and options on newer model trailers. Buy what you like and don't always be chasing the newest model or you'll go crazy.

Can't give any advise on a 5th wheel hitch, we tow bumper pull still. If you have a 6.5' bed or shorter, its probably wise to at least consider a slider hitch. New 5th wheel trailers often have rounded corners to make them "short bed accessible", but they can encroach upon your truck's space if you are backing and at a tough angle.

Good luck in your decision!