New 29.5BHDS First Camping Trip

[familyfun]

Hello All,

We finally purchased our 5th wheel last month. We had an opportunity to take it to a local RV Resort for a 4 day weekend. It was a very pleasant experience. We love all of the storage space. The children (4 & 11) enjoyed their bunk space. However, it was a little tight in the common spaces. The floor plan we purchased had the party seating with the two removable tables. It seemed cool in theory, but we found it difficult to move around with the tables up. Our last camper was a class A with a full wall slide. So we were use to having more open space. (Again, not complaining because we really enjoy our new 5th wheel.) We liked the head space in the bedroom, neither me nor my husband are tall people. Gotta switch out that hard bed though.

We like the quality of the craftsmanship of the camper and found it easy to hook and unhook to the tow vehicle.

The problems started when we had to back it into the storage space. OMG! It took approximately 35-40 minutes the first time. The funny thing is that we watched video after video of people backing in their 5th wheels. We even watched tons of videos of truck drivers backing up. Well, I guess there is nothing like doing for yourself for the first time. The second time was a little better, it only took about 20 minutes. Needless to say when we did our first camping trip we opted for a pull thru spot. (Best decision ever, lol!)

We did have one snafu, we were having company during our second night campground and the kitchen sink water was backed up and we could not figure out how to release it. We had pulled four of the release valves. Not one to panic, my husband figured it out. There was a fifth drain towards the back of the camper. Other than that it was an event less first outing. We are looking forward to spending more time in our camper during the next couple of months. Hoping to do some long term RVing during the summer months.

I would love to hear any pointers my fellow RVers would love to share, especially when it comes to backing up. My husband and I both could back up our class A with ease. (I think it is more difficult backing up with 2 separate vehicles.)

Thanks

[Crabman]

Welcome to the forum. Best advice I can offer on backing up is to find a vacant parking lot and practice there. No pressure from onlookers and no chance for damage. With experience will come confidence and backing up will be a snap.

[oldmanAZ]

Congratulation on your new 5th wheel and welcome to the forum.

Like Crabman said, find a vacant place and practice backing. You'll get the hang of it.

[Bearles]

Practice is the only way to get comfortable. Also go slow, the faster you go the more problems you will have.

Welcome to the forum lots of great people and information to be found here.

[tularockstar]

Hello and welcome to JOF! Backing up is now better, as we've been using walkie talkies to communicate! My wife is now the one backing it up, with me outside guiding her. We also added a back-up camera, which helped her see me when backing up. We too, have had our shares of snafus with our 29.5BHDS, but we also learned quite a bit too. Below are a few things we can suggest you check out/look out for:

- Closet floor at the back bunk area is very weak. You may want to reinforce it with a thicker piece of wood.
- Add a manual Valtera gate valve to your main sewer drain, and you won't be sorry the next time you open up the drain cover cap!
- If you have the Lippert Auo Leveling system, check the main box underneath the alcove storage. Ours was only secured by two screws!
- Have your entire roof inspected for crack and/or missing dicor sealant **Important**! We had ours inspected within a year of bringing it home, and the tech found multiple areas with cracked/missing sealant!
- Be ready to replace your bathroom roof fan when summer comes! The cheap plastic of our vent disintegrated in our hands--during a rainstorm! We ended up replacing ours with a better Fantastic one!

Hope this helps! There are a lot of 29.5 owners on this site! So, let us know of any other questions. Share with us different items you found with your rig as well.

Originally Posted by familyfun

Hello All,

We finally purchased our 5th wheel last month. We had an opportunity to take it to a local RV Resort for a 4 day weekend. It was a very pleasant experience. We love all of the storage space. The children (4 & 11) enjoyed their bunk space. However, it was a little tight in the common spaces. The floor plan we purchased had the party seating with the two removable tables. It seemed cool in theory, but we found it difficult to move around with the tables up. Our last camper was a class A with a full wall slide. So we were use to having more open space. (Again, not complaining because we really enjoy our new 5th wheel.) We liked the head space in the bedroom, neither me nor my husband are tall people. Gotta switch out that hard bed though.

We like the quality of the craftsmanship of the camper and found it easy to hook and unhook to the tow vehicle.

The problems started when we had to back it into the storage space. OMG! It took approximately 35-40 minutes the first time. The funny thing is that we watched video after video of people backing in their 5th wheels. We even watched tons of videos of truck drivers backing up. Well, I guess there is nothing like doing for yourself for the first time. The second time was a little better, it only took about 20 minutes. Needless to say when we did our first camping trip we opted for a pull thru spot. (Best decision ever, lol!)

We did have one snafu, we were having company during our second night campground and the kitchen sink water was backed up and we could not figure out how to release it. We had pulled four of the release valves. Not one to panic, my husband figured it out. There was a fifth drain towards the back of the camper. Other than that it was an event less first outing. We are looking forward to spending more time in our camper during the next couple of months. Hoping to do some long term RVing during the summer months.

I would love to hear any pointers my fellow RVers would love to share, especially when it comes to backing up. My husband and I both could back up our class A with ease. (I think it is more difficult backing up with 2 separate vehicles.)

Thanks

[Cdash]

That trailer is a great layout for families! You'll learn how to dance around each other in the common areas. Enjoy it!

As far as backing, practice, practice, practice. I grew up dealing with bumper pull trailers staying with the lawn tractor up to pulling construction equipment trailers. Was pretty good at backing. The fifth wheel threw me for a loop!

Fifth wheels are much slower to respond. This means you have to start the turn early and try coming out of it early. Practice will help!

Someone said once to lay out a hose on the ground for a guide for the trailer ties. I tried once, and didn't do much for me, but others have benefited.

My biggest problem now is DW's expectations. When we come to a site, we both get out, look, discuss where we want the trailer and make a plan. Then she spots for me. I also have a kid watch the front of the truck to make sure I didn't miss something that I don't want to hit.

DW hasn't yet mastered the art anticipating where the trailer is headed (not understanding the slow to start and come out of a turn) and realizing I need to do some back and forth to get it where we want it. So I started telling her how it is going to work and that I'll have to re adjust a few times. That seems to have decreased the stress level a bit. Also considering adding a night vision backup camera since we always seem to get to sites at dark thirty.

Good luck and happy camping!

[tdcoody]

Practice is the key to success. The use of radios is a good move, not as entertaining for the on lookers. We actually use our cell phones. This worked better for us. My wife had a problem not fully pressing the button.
Look at the wheels of the 5th wheel. Take the wheels a little past where you want to start your turn. Once the turn starts, communicate with the driver how hard to turn and when to follow the 5th wheel. It is also a good idea to tell the driver to throw the trailer “Driver Side” or “Passenger Side”. This work better for me and my rather than “Left” or “Right”.
We were on our way to a state park in Virginia for the first time a couple of years ago. My GPS said to turn down the dirt road. Almost a mile down the road I found a house. He said he wished he had a dollar every time someone came to his door looking for the park. He also said they was no way to turn my rig around. So my wife got out talked to me on the cell phone, and we back up the whole way. Nice and slow and listening to her the whole way, “A little driver” “A little passenger”.
Go slow and take your time.

Tim