Hi all.? My name is Roger.? My wife, Phyl, and I have renewed our interest in RVing after selling our latest camper..a 2001 3280RL Montana 5th Wheel pulled by a 1999 Dodge Quadcab 2500 Ram 4X4 Cummins diesel (long bed).? We had the rig for about 2 years and then sold it because we figured to stay put for the winter months in a little home we bought in Baja, Mexico.? Wrong...we miss the freedom and adventure of being nomadic.? So back to finding another 5th Wheel and maybe a beefier tow vehicle also.
Our type of adventure RVing will take us to Canada and Alaska in the summers and fall...winters to Baja to camp.? We love to fish and hunt.? ?We will want to tow a boat behind the 5th Wheel.? Guess that limits us to a max of 32ft. for the 5th Wheel as 75 ft. total for triple hauling in the most I could find allowed in our areas of interest.? A few states we will have to avoid because of the length restrictions.?
Now comes our most important questions:? We have the boat and trailer already, but we need to decide on a 5th Wheel and probably a different pickup or medium truck.?
First, what brands of 5th Wheelers are considered by you experienced RVers to be the best for these purposes?? I don't have much of a clue as to what are the best made for lots of towing miles.? We will be almost full-timing in this rig and traveling a lot.? I hear Teton is the best made, but they are expensive and maybe too heavy?? The Montana we owned was okay, although we did have some wheel bearing and tire problems..and a couple other aches and pains, although mostly minor.? We pulled that camper maybe 15,000 miles all told before selling.? Could you give us a list..say, the top 3 brands to choose from?? We looked at RV Traderonline but there are way too many different brands that we know nothing about.? (A 32-33ft 5th Wheel with at least 3 slides would be our choice)
The Dodge 2500 diesel gave us some problems.? Maybe it was too light a vehicle for the load?? I weighed ourselves at a truck stop...pickup and camper=24,000 lbs.? We had to replace the tranny and rear end while in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.? ?A wait of 10 ten days for parts to arrive and mucho bucks.?(Plus someone stole our bikes off the RV rack!..but I got those back myself after the RCMP could not!!)? Also, the engine's overheating was cured by replacing the thermostat with a good one.? We had most all things optional from the factory in the Dodge for towing, etc.? Don't know as I would want to attempt another camper of comparable weight with this rig again...maybe the new ones are better?? ?So we need some good advice on a tow vehicle for this camper, too.? What standard pickup, 3/4 or 1 ton, could do the job?? Brands with the engines and trannys capable of towing this size load?? ?I would consider a medium truck conversion, but we would have to use it as a primary vehicle most times...a little unhandy for parking and casual driving.
Well, I have asked a lot...and appreciate any responses from you experts.? Thanks.
Our type of adventure RVing will take us to Canada and Alaska in the summers and fall...winters to Baja to camp.? We love to fish and hunt.? ?We will want to tow a boat behind the 5th Wheel.? Guess that limits us to a max of 32ft. for the 5th Wheel as 75 ft. total for triple hauling in the most I could find allowed in our areas of interest.? A few states we will have to avoid because of the length restrictions.?
Now comes our most important questions:? We have the boat and trailer already, but we need to decide on a 5th Wheel and probably a different pickup or medium truck.?
First, what brands of 5th Wheelers are considered by you experienced RVers to be the best for these purposes?? I don't have much of a clue as to what are the best made for lots of towing miles.? We will be almost full-timing in this rig and traveling a lot.? I hear Teton is the best made, but they are expensive and maybe too heavy?? The Montana we owned was okay, although we did have some wheel bearing and tire problems..and a couple other aches and pains, although mostly minor.? We pulled that camper maybe 15,000 miles all told before selling.? Could you give us a list..say, the top 3 brands to choose from?? We looked at RV Traderonline but there are way too many different brands that we know nothing about.? (A 32-33ft 5th Wheel with at least 3 slides would be our choice)
The Dodge 2500 diesel gave us some problems.? Maybe it was too light a vehicle for the load?? I weighed ourselves at a truck stop...pickup and camper=24,000 lbs.? We had to replace the tranny and rear end while in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada.? ?A wait of 10 ten days for parts to arrive and mucho bucks.?(Plus someone stole our bikes off the RV rack!..but I got those back myself after the RCMP could not!!)? Also, the engine's overheating was cured by replacing the thermostat with a good one.? We had most all things optional from the factory in the Dodge for towing, etc.? Don't know as I would want to attempt another camper of comparable weight with this rig again...maybe the new ones are better?? ?So we need some good advice on a tow vehicle for this camper, too.? What standard pickup, 3/4 or 1 ton, could do the job?? Brands with the engines and trannys capable of towing this size load?? ?I would consider a medium truck conversion, but we would have to use it as a primary vehicle most times...a little unhandy for parking and casual driving.
Well, I have asked a lot...and appreciate any responses from you experts.? Thanks.
