Bought my first 5th wheel camper!

[Stimw]

Just a tip, if you close that door you might not need two AC's!
Do you have to worry about Skeeters there?

 

[Dftodd]

We have a travel trailer and my answer to those saying hotels are cheaper, I don't disagree, but then again, I don't like to camp at a freeway exit, but rather enjoy getting out away from where the hotels are..

Congrats on nice RV, make some good memories.

That's so true. We're heading out in the morning with the grand kids for a week. We have a 30ft bumper pull ultralight with one slide. Campers 9 years old. We've owned it for 3 years and paid about 3 vacations for it.

We can sleep 4 adults and 4 kids, and at $25 to $45 per night at a campground we are way ahead over what it would cost for a hotel for the tribe

We usually try to work our trips around state parks and avoiding the cookie cutter camp grounds.

 

[R_Walter]

Hauled it up to a friend's camp for the weekend for our first time out. Adding the Air Lift ultimate air springs/bags with wireless compressor made all the difference. 80 PSI in the bags made for a smooth tow. Started, stopped and went down the road quite smooth.

Only downside was there was only 30 amp electrical plug in instead of 50 amp so we were able to run just the fridge, one of the two AC units, and lights/outlets/etc.

All in all damned pleased with the purchase.

Towing it with a shortbed?

 

[Turbys_1700]

Very nice camper and truck. You bought it at an excellent price.

My wife and I camped over 30 years starting out with a truck camper shell, then a truck camper, two pull campers, and last but not least a fifth wheel. Nothing as nice as yours. The only sage advice I can give as a 30 plus year veteran; keep your tires inflated to the max.

My camper used 15" wheels and I was tied to trailer tires. I am thoroughly convinced that even at max tire inflation rates they will not hold up in the summer heat at elevated towing speeds of 60 plus miles per hour. I know from experience. Your unit should have 16" wheels. Make sure that they are inflated to the max and if possible install truck tires.

I will probably get disagreement on this issue. That is OK. I know from experience.

Keep us updated on your experiences. A great forum that I utilized was rv.net. Lots of great information on that site.

 

[Soldier415]

Towing it with a shortbed?

Yes. I have a Pullrite 2700 16K Auto Slider hitch. Works perfectly!

 

[sdquick]

Nice setup! Looks like a great way to get the family to enjoy the outdoors!!!

 

[Soldier415]

Just a tip, if you close that door you might not need two AC's!
Do you have to worry about Skeeters there?

LOL. We had the door open as it was cool that morning and didn't need the AC yet. Its a full size residential fridge so was having issues with the fridge shutting off when running the AC on 30 Amp service.

Very nice camper and truck. You bought it at an excellent price.

My wife and I camped over 30 years starting out with a truck camper shell, then a truck camper, two pull campers, and last but not least a fifth wheel. Nothing as nice as yours. The only sage advice I can give as a 30 plus year veteran; keep your tires inflated to the max.

My camper used 15" wheels and I was tied to trailer tires. I am thoroughly convinced that even at max tire inflation rates they will not hold up in the summer heat at elevated towing speeds of 60 plus miles per hour. I know from experience. Your unit should have 16" wheels. Make sure that they are inflated to the max and if possible install truck tires.

I will probably get disagreement on this issue. That is OK. I know from experience.

Keep us updated on your experiences. A great forum that I utilized was rv.net. Lots of great information on that site.

It has 16" Tires. When I had it inspected at the dealership they recommended filling tires to a cold PSI of 75 to allow for expansion when they heated up. On this last trip my rear tires on my tow vehicle were at 75 cold (as cold as they can be in the summer), after 20 miles on the interstate they were at 85 PSI.

 

[kevinwak]

You will find 30 amp service very common and have a harder time finding 50 amp stalls. If you do struggle keeping cool on hot days when you can only run a single AC then pull some of the slides in in the areas of the camper you aren’t currently using. It will reduce the volume of space you need to keep cool.

 

[Dftodd]

Hauled it up to a friend's camp for the weekend for our first time out. Adding the Air Lift ultimate air springs/bags with wireless compressor made all the difference. 80 PSI in the bags made for a smooth tow. Started, stopped and went down the road quite smooth.

Only downside was there was only 30 amp electrical plug in instead of 50 amp so we were able to run just the fridge, one of the two AC units, and lights/outlets/etc.

All in all damned pleased with the purchase.

Are your fridge and hot water heater dual energy?

Mine will run on either gas or 110 volt power. When switched to gas, they use a very small amount of power. And can run both for a few days just off the battery.

If I'm at a place with either a standard 110 power, or hinky 30amp service, by switching the fridge and hot water to run on gas, I can run my ac without popping a breaker.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Congrats on the 5'r.

For those on the fence or already have one, here is an article I got from the Ford-Trucks dot com forum.
The RV Industry Death Spiral | RV Daily Report

Something to really consider as part of the purchase.

We had a 26' Outback (oh I so despise Keystone quality) now we have a Keystone 31' TT.

First one we bought for same reason as OP, second one was to move out while house was on market. Very poor decision on our part. (not worth discussing but yeah another Keystone.

Also learn what your rights are as a buyer: Don't Buy An RV! - Lehto's Law Ep. 45 - YouTube

With all that said this post is just to add additional information for those looking, exploring the idea of getting a camper. A personal choice, but one should go into it with eyes wide open and as fully informed as possible.
After reading the article above and watching the video and having owned two over the last 15 years found both sources to b very accurate.

To the OP, enjoy your camping time, we certainly have.
Regards...