Type of fifth wheel

[santa]

Hello, I am new to this so any help would be appreciated.
I have gone to a Travel Show in Tulsa, OK and after some previous research decided to buy a new 2006 Forest River Wildcat fifth wheel that is 24 feet long, Model 24RL. Anybody have any thoughts on this for reliability and quality and resale?
This unit, as compared to the larger ones from Forest River is the only one that has a 38 gallon gray water tank while the 27' and larger units all have 74 gallon capacity. Will I regret not having the larger tank? To move up the the 27' adds $3,200 to the purchase price, would it be worth it?
I will be pulling it with a Ford F250 6.0 diesel.
Please help

 

[edjunior]

Well, I can't say anything about quality/resale, etc. (I don't have much experience there yet), but I can tell you that from my personal experience with the grey water tank, ours fills up so fast, it's hard to believe it's 38 gallons!  Even when we concientiously try to go easy with it, it fills up way too fast.  The F-250 with the PSD should have no problem with the 27 footer, though I'm sure others will jump in and tell you, be sure and check the tow ratings and weight limits (the dry weight is definitely okay, but the GVWR is up there), and I think you will be happy with the additional room the 27 footer has to offer, as well as that bigger grey water tank.

 

[Ron]

Hi and welcome to the RV Forum.  I'm sure others more experienced with trailers will jump in to help with your questions.  Whether the F250 will safely and legally handle the trailer you are looking at can be determined by looking at the weight ratings of the truck and the trailer weights.  Figure this out your for yourself and don't believe what a salesman will tell you.  The truck may pull a load heavier than what it is rated for but it cannot pull more than it is rated for safely or legally.  Serious liability issues can arise should one be involved in an accident with a rig that is over weight, over length or otherwise operated illegally.

Enjoy the forum I'm sure you will get the answers you need here.

 

[Carl L]

Hello, I am new to this so any help would be appreciated.
This unit, as compared to the larger ones from Forest River is the only one that has a 38 gallon gray water tank while the 27' and larger units all have 74 gallon capacity. Will I regret not having the larger tank? To move up the the 27' adds $3,200 to the purchase price, would it be worth it?

Depends.  If you plan to do a lot of boondocking or staying in CG sites without sewer connections,  the more gallonage you have, the longer you can stay without having to move to dump your tanks.  On the other hand, if you are staying at full hookup sites you need no tank capacity at all.  So you have ask yourself, will your RVing plans involved enough camping away from sewer hookups to make the aggravation worth $3200.    $3200 buys an awful lot of paper plates, Dixie cups, and plastic tablewear.  ;D

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

$3200 buys an awful lot of paper plates, Dixie cups, and plastic tablewear.

And maybe even a little bit of fuel so you can actually go somewhere.

But the gray tank does fill up fast, especially if you are not accustomed to conserving on water usage. Most Americans abosultely need their daily (or twice daily) shower and even "navy" showers use plenty of water. So does dish washing.

Chances are you would really love the extra space in the 27 footer and the extra tank capacity too.  On the other hand, you can carry a "blue boy" with you (a portable waste storage tank, usually blue in color) and drain 15-20 gallons of gray into that. Can even tow it to the dump station with the truck so you don't have to move the trailer.  Costs under $100.