Bought my first 5th wheel camper!

[Soldier415]

Had a 28' bumper tow previously. Got rid of it when my wife got pregnant as I didn't see us doing much camping over the next few years. My Daughter turns 3 this year and decided a week ago that I didn't want to sit around the house every weekend this summer, and wanted to be out making memories and enjoying time with the family.

Found a 2015 Heartland Gateway used one season and sat the next season a few hours away from me. 41' with 5 slide outs, bunkhouse for the kid, and outdoor kitchen for me. 13k lbs dry weight. Guy I bought it from paid $77k for it new two years ago, I got it for $29k.

Bunkhouse has two bunks on top, one on each side, under the right side bunk is a leather sofa for watching TV which converts into a third bunk

Living room, dining room, kitchen. Full size fridge. Dining area converts to 2 person double bed. Recliners recline flat

Master bedroom with king bed. Master bath has shower and tub.

 

[shooterdon]

Old saying.....RV stands for Ruined Vacation

I had a 43’ Fuzion Touring Edition that was nothing but trouble. Stranded us twice when slides would not retract. At the dealer for repairs at least 10 times in 5 years. I damaged it and was glad to get the insurance settlement.

If I ever do it again, I will buy a cargo trailer and equip it myself.

I sincerely wish you luck with your unit.

 

[Groo]

$29K is a great deal for that monstrosity 2 years old, but think of all the very nice hotel rooms you could pay for with that $29k and all the fuel you'll burn moving it around.
I tried to justify the cost for myself a couple of times, and never could come close.

 

[tjkubota93]

That's the kinda deal you want to find. I would hate to be the guy who sold you that, taking a 47k whooping.

Hope you have a big truck.

 

[Groo]

That's the kinda deal you want to find. I would hate to be the guy who sold you that, taking a 47k whooping.

Hope you have a big truck.

yah, but that massive hit he took was less painful than sitting on it un-used indefinately.

 

[hawkeye08]

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.

 

[tractorshopper]

Good job Soldier. I agree with Hawkeye, but even more about the money isn't so much about how you could stay in hotels etc, but that you'll enjoy many years of close-knit time with the family. It will be priceless for your daughter over her lifetime of memories.

I don't have one, but wish I did. Spent my money on travel ball with my girls. Same end result; lots of priceless memories traveling all over the Southeast. Stuff none of us will forget and I surely wouldn't trade that family time or Dad time with my daughters for anything.

 

[Soldier415]

$29K is a great deal for that monstrosity 2 years old, but think of all the very nice hotel rooms you could pay for with that $29k and all the fuel you'll burn moving it around.
I tried to justify the cost for myself a couple of times, and never could come close.

Thought about that, but there are also a lot of negatives to hotel rooms. Single space for all 3 of us so nowhere to put the kid to bed well before us. Not being able to keep groceries stocked and cold/frozen with a stove/oven and grill. to name a few...

 

[Soldier415]

That's the kinda deal you want to find. I would hate to be the guy who sold you that, taking a 47k whooping.

Hope you have a big truck.

2017 3/4 ton with new L5P duramax. After towing it once i'm investing in a set of airbags for the rear with a wireless compressor. Truck has a level kit in it so the back squats down when I hook up the camper. Still tows it fine, but i'd prefer to raise the back up a few inches.

 

[KubotainNH]

That is one big camper. We did camping with a popup when the kids were young, now my wife prefers hotels. We go for the ones with full kitchens and a separate bedroom, more like an apartment. That allows us to buy food locally and cook it ourselves. I still go camping once a year with my adult boys but that old popup needs more repairs than I think I'm willing to do at this point. It is really nice to have all your stuff stay in the camper, just grab food and clean clothes. Enjoy the new to you rig. Do they have a manual way to retract the slide-outs? I too have heard of issues with them. You would think there'd be a manual crank.

Which area of Vermont are you? So many great areas to camp with a couple states.

 

[KubotainNH]

You posted a truck pic while I was typing, nice rig. I like airbags, I had them in my van. Made a huge difference and so adjustable. Now we need to see the rigs hooked up so we can see if they match well.

On the camper, what is the thing that looks like it has trees reflecting off it on the front side of the trailer....first picture.

 

[cqaigy2]

Nice looking setup. :thumbsup:


I'm not much of a camper person, but the kids love that kind of stuff!

My Mom, and Dad used to takes us camping with a tent trailer, we thought it was a blast.

 

[dalola]

"Camping"? That thing is nicer than most homes!

I guess I'm old school....camping should be done with a tent. :laughing:

 

[Einthewoods]

Wow, that is fantastic. Better than a lot of homes.

My family in our area have trailers of various luxury and head to campgrounds on the weekends usually together as a group. I don't have one but my family will go hang out for several hours and have a great time. They get a few sites all next to each other so everyone can mingle etc. We even have smoker competitions each year. Lots and lots of fun to be had that hotels never can compete with.

I haven't had the thought of getting one always saying where my house is we can have all the same fun on our property (remote from any neighbors) but the fun to be had in the campground is very cool.

Congrats on your purchase!

 

[kc5dlo]

On the camper, what is the thing that looks like it has trees reflecting off it on the front side of the trailer....first picture.

Looks like a 2 part window. Top is fixed and reflecting the trees and the bottom is an awning window that tilts out for venitilation.

 

[shooterdon]

Make your first trip close to home. Even at home. I could not park my unit in my subdivision so every time a problem surfaced I was away somewhere.

 

[Deere Dude]

Nice rig for sure. That is a monster. Maybe that's why the guy sold it. Maybe he found it was to big for him to handle.
I bought a 38' fiver with three big slides with load range G tires as I assume yours is. I got a feeling your weight is off a little bit and I think it is heavier. You should scale it, because my weight at the axles was around 14k with 3k on the hitch, fully loaded for a trip. I wouldn't feel comfortable with a 3/4 ton with single rear wheels pulling that.

I bought mine in 2002 and a Dmax Dually around the same time. No squishy ride at all. It drops the rear end about 2 inches if I recall, so all is good. It pulls it nice and is the a nice way to travel,,,as long as you have a nice landing spot. You can enjoy your home away from home, your own kitchen and your own bedroom.

We had a 3 year warranty so I used that for every little bitty thing as the dealership was very convenient. As long as you got your thing so cheap if you need to spend a little bit down the line it won't be a big deal.

After the warranty was done all I had to do in 15 years with 8 years of snowbirding was tires, and I replaced all the brakes. When I pulled them off 3 were still good but had one bad one but I changed them all anyway. And I replaced the LP regulator last week. Not bad for using it for living in almost full time for so long and I still use it for camping trips one week each month. I go with 6-8 couples but they are mostly high rollers with big class A motor homes.

Have fun camping.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

That is huge. i have a 26' and want to go shorter.

 

[Stimw]

Tough crowd!!!
If you have the time and money camping can be priceless!
Enjoy yourselves!!
I did a lot in the 70's 80's and 90's when everything was a lot cheaper, fuel, campgrounds.
I always had motor homes so I could tow my boat for fishing/diving.
I spent over half of my gross yearly income on the vacations. Don't regret it.
I had friends that bought a 40' 5 th wheel for about $80,000. Kept it for 2 years and tried to sell it for a year.
They sold it back to the dealer in year 3 for the pay off around $25,000.
They kept the $60,000. Dually they bought to haul it.

 

[ning]

Only advice I can give is - if you're not used to pulling a 5th wheel or GN, they take turns inside the circle that your truck makes, so be really careful that you don't hit things. Practice, and make wide turns...
Consider this as being "the voice of (bad) experience"...