Help Us Pick The Right Full Time Fifth Wheel!

[ReeceFamily]

We are a family of 5 (4 year old twins and a 2 year old) and we hope to have another baby. Husband is active duty Army and we want to live as full time as possible in our fifth wheel for the remainder of his Army career. We are currently stationed in upstate NY so it can get pretty cold up here but we can always move into a cabin for a few weeks till warmer weather comes back. We are wanting to go with a used model of either the Eagle, Pinnacle or North Point. We must have the bunk house with four bunks in the back room. Is there another model we should be looking at? We are wanting to not spend more than 50K. The North Points seem to be the best suited for the cold but why? Would we be fine in the Eagle since they seem to be more in our price point? Please dole out any and all advice!

[jandjtrumpet]

I would encourage you to take a look at the North Point 377rlbh. We full-time with a 3 young boys (6,4,1) and love this floor plan. It allows us to have the beds needed and still have a nice living kitchen area. Most rear bunk houses have a tiny rear living area.

Also "Open Range 3x" makes a great unit well suited for cold climates. (3 inch walls) My parents have one and the insulation is phenomenal.

Check "RVone" which has dealers in NY and "Indiana RV connection" for great prices on these rigs.

[ReeceFamily]

Who Makes the Open Range 3x? I have not heard of it. We are looking intothe 377rlbh now! Thanks!

[FishAr]

Originally Posted by ReeceFamily

Who Makes the Open Range 3x? I have not heard of it. We are looking intothe 377rlbh now! Thanks!

Highland Ridge RV

[jandjtrumpet]

Highland Ridge which is owned by Jayco. Unfortunately Jayco was bought by Thor last year. Jayco still seems to be holding its own for now.

If you want to save thousands talk to the 2 dealers I mentioned earlier. They beat everybody else by a long shot for us.

[norty1]

One thing I noticed while scanning their website is that the Highland Ridge RV's have a Fully Transferable 2 year Warranty.

Never seen that and it is different from others who have 1 or 2 years and NOT transferable.

[ReeceFamily]

How do you do the sleeping arrangements with your three children? Our two year old is still in a crib and I dont see her moving out of it anytime soon. Also, with regards to the bunk above the middle room, does it stay quiet up there? Our kids go to sleep at 7:30 but we are still awake. Would we bother that child while he was trying to sleep if we were still in the living/kitchen area? Thanks!

[ReeceFamily]

Thank you so much for suggesting the Open Range 3X! I think that is the direction we are going to head. How long have your parents had theirs?

[ReeceFamily]

Thank you for suggesting the Open Range 3x! I think that is the direction we are going to head. How long have your parents had theirs?

[Camper_bob]

My dealer started carrying the Open Range line a couple years ago. That was just around the time Jayco bought them. Now I guess it's all Thor. I ran into him at an RV show, and he asked me to take a look and see what I thought. I was honestly impressed. Lots of standard features that are options (if available at all) on lots of other models. And the 2-year TRANSFERABLE warranty is nice too. Maintenance-free PVC roof material, "Strong Arm" stabilizers, nice amenities inside ... I really think they're good looking trailers.

I actually was looking pretty closely at one of their "The Light" 5ers with a front living room, but they discontinued the one I was looking at. I wasn't in the market anyway, and DW wants a MH, so I just moved on.

[jandjtrumpet]

My parents like theirs overall. They have had problems to say the least, but so have I with my Jayco. Expect to work through some issues during the first few months to a year then things should settle down.

This is true with all manufacturers. In fact, probably even more so with others like Forest River.

Problems are mostly with slideouts on mine and theirs.

[jnamadison]

My wife and I were very seriously considering the Open Range 3X 427 until the Mid-Bunks hit the market 2-3 years ago. At that point, we were holding out hope that OR would release a 3X floorplan with a mid-bunk. Alas, no such luck. So we went with our "back up" of the North Point 377.

When our boys are a little older(9, 3, and 2), we're planning to look into a Toy Hauler to use as a bunk house for the addition of a golf cart.

We toured the Highland Ridge Factory in Shipshewanna, Indiana 2 summers ago. If you are ever out that way, it's definitely worth the 2-3 hours. (And make sure to hit the Amish Market there too).

[hboy]

Have you considered a toy hauler? We have 3 kids, not full timers tho.

We use the garage as a bedroom. Many toy haulers will have 2 bunks and a loft bed (3 separate beds) and a second bathroom or half bath.




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[NY RVer]

Saw the topic and decided to read, as we are considering a fifth wheel as well, but not for full timing yet. Therefore I really don't have any info to offer yet, but do want to thank your husband for his services and say hello neighbor (almost). We own a cabin on "The Hill" in Turin, just south of Lowville, and do our usual "WalMart and Tractor Supply" run to Lowville every time we come up. Good luck in your search, I have been checking out the Jayco 5W online, as we are happy with our Jayco TT so far. For us, it would come down to trade in value and if the upgrade is worth it for us at this time.

[packardfrank]

Good luck and "Climb To Glory!"