5th Wheel Brand Questions for Full Time Living

Hello everybody! Soon to be, first time RV owner here and I have a couple questions about various 5th wheel brands. A little background info... I have a house in East Texas, however I am taking a job in Freeport Tx that should last 4-5 years. I absolutely hate renting, therefore I am fairly convinced that a 5th wheel is the way to go. I have a girlfriend that will be living with me, but no kids.  Anyway... we have narrowed our floor plans down to Front Bath and Front Living 5th wheels. Here is what we have liked so far in order of price:
1. Keystone Laredo 350FB
2. Keystone Laredo 340FL
3. KZ Durango gold g366FBT
4. Keystone Alpine 3731FB
5. Winnebago Destination 37FL

Now, the KZ FB has stood out the most however we were really impressed with the Winnebago FL. Our big issue with the front living is the room in the bathroom and the size of the shower. The Winnebago really addressed those issues in their floor plan. Our issue with the front bath floor plan is the amount of room lost in the living room however we felt comfortable in the KZ.

So basically it is a living room vs bathroom space issue. The space in the bathroom is really important to her, but felt comfortable with the bathroom space provided in the Winnebago. I personally like either floor plan.

First of all, am I looking in the right direction? Fwiw, I've been looking at RV's in the 45-80K range. Opinions about Keystone vs KZ vs Winnebago? Also, is there another brand and floorplan I should be looking at?

I appreciate any help y'all can provide.

Floor plan is a matter of personal preference, so I doubt if we can help you there. With a 400 sq ft max, RVs aren't large enough to avoid making major tradeoffs in space utilization.

We saw another floor plan we liked in the front kitchen. Wasn't a fan of the Columbus palamino but Montana has a front kitchen we want to see. I'm interested in everybodies opinion on keystone products vs KZ. I just want a quality RV that can withstand full time living

Samalum10 said:

We saw another floor plan we liked in the front kitchen. Wasn't a fan of the Columbus palamino but Montana has a front kitchen we want to see. I'm interested in everybodies opinion on keystone products vs KZ. I just want a quality RV that can withstand full time living

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How well your RV can withstand full time living depends more on how you treat it and maintain it than the specific brand. You can trash a Prevost and you can make a cheaper one last forever depending upon your habits.

Numbers 1,2, and 3 on your list are really entry level and thus considered weekend trailers.  Number 4 we see people using as full timers.
IMHO you are missing one that you need to look at and consider.  Cedar Creek over the years has been tops in customer service and support.

Yeah we'll look them up for sure, hopefully there is a front living model around us here.
Are the KZ Durango golds really concidered entry level?

Our 2010 Durango has held up well with snow birding for 5 to 6 months out of the year for past 4 years.  On top of that, another month time on weekends and holidays during the year.  Of course repairs and upgrades have been done.  Our biggest wear item is the furniture. 

We are looking at possibly upgrading to new Durango Gold for a little more room.  I wouldn't  consider The Gold series as entry level since some models have a two year warranty with full timing in mind.  A lot of rigs, the warranty is void if you use it full time.  Since it sounds that you be parking long term, that should help eliminating things that would shake loose.

Wi1dBi11

We just bought a Montana 3731FL because we wanted a front living area. you might check it out, we think there's enough room in the bathroom. will be pulling it with a new F350 dully. 1st time RV'ers starting this fall or maybe a little sooner.
Ralph B.

As soon as we get a chance to make it to Willis, we're going to check out the Montana line.

Hello!  We are in Austin and moving down to Portland for husband's work.  We are 1st time RVrs as well, and comparing models for full time living and looking in the same price range as ya'll.  Let's compare notes - or have ya'll already found one?
Wendy

Ralph Berry said:

We just bought a Montana 3731FL because we wanted a front living area. you might check it out, we think there's enough room in the bathroom. will be pulling it with a new F350 dully. 1st time RV'ers starting this fall or maybe a little sooner.
Ralph B.

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Being you haven't bought the truck yet, have you checked out using an HDT to tow with?

kdbgoat said:

Being you haven't bought the truck yet, have you checked out using an HDT to tow with?

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No I have not, But I already got the F-350 and I don't have a class A cdl. I don't think my wife would like to take a HDT to the store.

One, you don't need a class A CDL. It's a "not for hire " tractor. Many states allow them to be registered as a motorhome or RV. Many states require that if the trailer is more than 10,000#, one is to have a NON-CDL Class A license anyway. I bet if you check with the DMV in your state, you may be surprised when you tell them you're pulling a trailer that has a GVWR of over 16000#.
An HDT is no wider than a 350/3500 dually, and only a little longer if the HDT is "singled", depending on how much sleeper is behind the cab. 

I have a class B Pleasure-way I use for work and most of my "RV" friends use their campers for work. That's why I'm asking lots of questions about campgrounds because I have rarely used them. I'm sure whatever choice you make you'll like. I assume it's construction, It is for me and nice option you will want is an outside shower. It doesn't sound like much but dropping to your shorts and showering outside before you go in helps a lot on grey water tank storage and keeping the camper in good shape. use a pallet to stand on

kdbgoat said:

Being you haven't bought the truck yet, have you checked out using an HDT to tow with?

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If his new F-350 has the diesel engine, it has either a 36,000 lb or 40,000 lb GCWR depending on gearing. Not much need for HDT trucks to pull fifth wheels anymore.

My F-350 has the 6.7-liter turbocharged diesel V8

Currently have a 2016 forest river sabre lite that we just purchased last year but have recently decided to upgrade to a full time unit...our obvious problem of course is that if we trade in now we will have alot of negative equity...any suggestions to best way to go about this?  it is just my husband and myself with occasional visits from family and friends...have thought about just living in it for awhile and putting extra money we are saving on house payment toward rv to pay it down...but concerned the rv quality would go down and would get less....any input would be greatly appreciated on this...we are still very green to being rv owners and need all the help we can get    thanks