We are selling our house and plan to live in a RV until we find a new house. We will be parking it at my brothers house. We will have power and water plus we will be able to hook up directly to his septic. I am assuming there is a connection for this. Never owned an RV but we had a pop up for many years so any advice for making this as comfortable as possible, will be greatly appreciated. I am currently looking at a 2012 Cedar Creek 5th Wheel ($28,000). Are Cedar Creek RV's a good brand?
Living in an RV
- Thread starter Joriety
- Start date
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SeilerBird
Well-known member
It doesn't matter if it is a good brand or not. What matters is the current condition. If you love the floor plan, the price is reasonable and the condition is excellent then go for it.
Cool, I guess your brother has one of those kind of septic tanks. Does he live in a trailer too, or in a house set up for that?
I am in Maryland too. Welcome aboard the forum.
Rene T
Site Team
Welcome to the forum.
The other thing is what part of the country do you plan on living in this RV? RV’s are not known to be well insulated even if it says it has a polar package.
The other thing is what part of the country do you plan on living in this RV? RV’s are not known to be well insulated even if it says it has a polar package.
Mark_K5LXP
Well-known member
Frankly I don't think there is any one brand that stands above the others. Each can have their plus and minus and it all comes down to what you like and can afford. Even a "nice" trailer or motorhome has thin walls, marginal build quality and perpetual issues to address. The major issue to look for is water damage, that can render any RV into junk very quickly. After that it comes down to working through the tradeoffs and figuring out what will work best for what you're trying to do. Minor point, you don't "hook up" to a septic system and you have an infinite drain. RV's have holding tanks and especially with the black tank they must be allowed to fill before being drained, or solids will accumulate. For convenience you can leave the drain hose in place and just operate the valves as the tanks fill.
Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
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Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Agree totally with Seilerbird, but to give a simple answer, Cedar Creek is a decent brand, better than "entry level" but short of high-end or luxury.
Septic systems might have a a secondary inlet but that's not usual (though it can be added). However, the house drainage to the tank normally has a "clean-out" access that can be used. It may or may not be conveniently located, though. Something I'd say you need to investigate ahead of time. You also need to look into the electric supply - you will probably need something more than a typical household outlet to stay comfortable in an RV. Larger trailers like that are intended to have at least a 30A/120v supply and 50A/240v is more common (and needed if you hope to run two a/c units).
Septic systems might have a a secondary inlet but that's not usual (though it can be added). However, the house drainage to the tank normally has a "clean-out" access that can be used. It may or may not be conveniently located, though. Something I'd say you need to investigate ahead of time. You also need to look into the electric supply - you will probably need something more than a typical household outlet to stay comfortable in an RV. Larger trailers like that are intended to have at least a 30A/120v supply and 50A/240v is more common (and needed if you hope to run two a/c units).
Thanks for the help!
Maryland winters are not too bad but hopefully we find a house before that, but we might not. Buying a house right now in our area is difficult. People are offering more than asking price because the inventory is so low.
We might have to get a power upgrade to his house. We have an electrician coming out to check on that and also to run power for the RV. Where we plan on putting the RV is right beside his clean out and we would connect to that. Water is also available right near where we are putting it.
Maryland winters are not too bad but hopefully we find a house before that, but we might not. Buying a house right now in our area is difficult. People are offering more than asking price because the inventory is so low.
We might have to get a power upgrade to his house. We have an electrician coming out to check on that and also to run power for the RV. Where we plan on putting the RV is right beside his clean out and we would connect to that. Water is also available right near where we are putting it.
Rene T
Site Team
Make sure the electrician knows that a RV 30 amp outlet is much different than a outlet for a welder or dryer. If he wires it wrong, you could be putting 220 directly into your rig frying all your electronics. If he doesn’t understand what I mean, get someone else .
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Isaac-1
Well-known member
When it comes to dumping your tanks you may need a macerator pump something like Sanicon 300 RV Macerator System For Waste Management|97586 (I have the older version of this one, there are other brands of similar devices)
scottydl
Site Team
RV values are all over the map right now in the COVID era (as there's been a big uptick in RV demand which means prices are higher than normal), but NADA Guides are a decent place to get a ballpark idea of price. Click on the RVs tab, and follow prompts from there. You'd need to know the specific model # of that 2012 Cedar Creek (it looks like they made 13 fifth wheel models that year).
Just for kicks I selected one of the 36' models and saw the base suggested pricing is between $26k (Low Retail) and $32k (High Retail). So a sale price of $28k that you mentioned could be reasonable, if the rig is in good shape and ready to roll without any major repairs needed. That could be a big "if" though, so make sure you research enough here and elsewhere to know what you're looking at, and make sure you aren't buying a bunch of problems. Tires, roof integrity, air conditioning, fridge, generator (if equipped), inverter and batteries, etc.
Just for kicks I selected one of the 36' models and saw the base suggested pricing is between $26k (Low Retail) and $32k (High Retail). So a sale price of $28k that you mentioned could be reasonable, if the rig is in good shape and ready to roll without any major repairs needed. That could be a big "if" though, so make sure you research enough here and elsewhere to know what you're looking at, and make sure you aren't buying a bunch of problems. Tires, roof integrity, air conditioning, fridge, generator (if equipped), inverter and batteries, etc.
IBTripping
Well-known member
Let me strongly reinforce Rene's comment. Tell the electrician several times that the connection is 120 volt and not 220 volt. A 220 volt connection will destroy the electronics in your trailer.
Alaskansnowbirds
Site Team
That is correct if you are installing a 30 AMP outlet, it is 120 VOLT. (3 wires, 1 hot, 1 neutral and ground)
If you're installing a 50 AMP outlet, then it is 220 volt. ( 4 wires, 2 hot, 1 neutral and ground)
John From Detroit
Well-known member
Good that he is aware of it.
I was shopping for a special switch a while ago (ended up using somethign else and making it fit) but met an electrician who had a TT-30 outlet in his hand.
I mentioned that it was 120 volt, pointed out the label (125 volt max) he was also holding a dual 30 amp ganged (240 volt) breaker. he exchanged the breaker and thanked me for preventing the damage to his customer's RV.
I was shopping for a special switch a while ago (ended up using somethign else and making it fit) but met an electrician who had a TT-30 outlet in his hand.
I mentioned that it was 120 volt, pointed out the label (125 volt max) he was also holding a dual 30 amp ganged (240 volt) breaker. he exchanged the breaker and thanked me for preventing the damage to his customer's RV.
Rob&Deryl
Well-known member
Septic systems are designed for regular, low flow rates. RVs tend to dump at high rates every so often. This can cause too much turbulence in the first chamber of the septic tank resulting in contamination of the 2nd chamber and then the leaching field.
Boy this time I totally disagree with Gary.
We bought a Cedar Creek in 2005, used it for nearly 13 years including a winter in the Columbia River gorge. 30MPH winds qnd about 14 inches of snow and 8 years of camp hosting. Loved that fiver. Durable, comfortable and plenty of luxury for its age. Cedar Creeks may not be on par with $ 150K dollar fivers, but they offer a lot of quality for the dollar. If I were looking today for a new fiver there are only two brands I would consider, Cedar Creek or Arctic Fox.
SeaGal
Well-known member
Wonder if we looked at the same one in Maryland? Does it have 5 slide outs and a front living room?...sitting in a back yard? If so, that layout is fantastic. We opted to buy a 2008 Cedar River instead because it was in much better condition. I would highly recommend that if serious, you hire an inspector...that unit (if the same) hasn't been well taken care of in the last few years due to the hubby's health. Good luck!
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Gee, I hope I didn't give a bad impression of Cedar Creek. That and it's brother the Cardinal are solid mid range fivers from Forest River. Not in the league with DRV Suites and similar luxury models, but I meant nothing negative about them. Actually, I've seen Cedar Creeks and Cardinals optioned out to put them in near-luxury territory.
John From Detroit
Well-known member
I will second this
Normally We recommend dump when 2/3 full or more but on a Septic system dump daily... Do not leave valves open. Just dump daily.
If weather is cold walk the waste hose (Life RV end and then continue till you are at the other end) so as to drain the hose after you are done.
SeaGal
Well-known member
This is good info...but I dread doing that daily. It will have to be me or our son though, hubby is disabled. We dump into the house septic but have a separate sewer line hook-up that runs several feet before it goes into the tank. Does that make any difference?
