Fifth Wheel Trailer Or ????

12:40pm, i've had a 2001 trophy wa, boat for sale, for ever. well, had someone look at it and said they would stop by this morning to purchase it. we had struck a price and that was that. as luck would have it, he did stop by and presented my with a certified check and that's that. so, here's where i would like advice, my wife and i are looking at a new 2008 forest river lexington gts 300 ss, class b+, motorhome. ford chassis, triton v-10 gas engine. our goal is to trailer our boat and have the motorhome afford us comfortable housing while traveling. i have never owned a motorhome, although it appears to have many similarities to boat ownership. any advice?
pat
 
Pat- I've never seen this particular model, but my overriding caution would be to consider where you're going to travel and how much the cost of gas will be a limitation on where and how often you can go.

The V-10 engines are known heavy gas consumers.

How much gas does this unit use by itself w/o towing a boat? (Get an honest figure, not an optimistic estimate by a salesman.)

How much will the boat reduce the mpg by?

What will be your final cost per mile towing the boat?
A). at $4.50 per gallon
B). at $5.00 per gallon
C). at $6.00 per gallon
D). Etc, Etc. (It's not too hard to get to a gas cost figure of $1 per mile, depending on the motorhome.) (And don't forget to double the milage figure, out and back.)

Don't rush into this purchase until you've had a chance to figure out some cost
figures for typical trips you might like to take.

The dealer will wait until you're ready to decide, he has no other choice, even though he will probably try to entice you into rushing into this purchase before you can think it through.

It's a buyer's market out there right now, time is on your side. Make it work out to your advantage. Don't be rushed into a mistake that will be hard to get out of, especially with financing.


Joe. :teeth :thup
 
I'd give the gas issue some thought also. I've got a Grand Cherokee with the Hemi motor and I get 8 MPG while towing the CD. I also have a 3/4 ton Ford diesel 4 wheel drive and I get 15 MPG when towing CD with the diesel. If diesels are available in the Class B's I'd certainly consider going diesel.
 
Here is something for comparison:

2006 Ford F-350 dually, 2 wheel drive, V10, 4.30 rear end, with a slide-in camper and total weight of 11,600 lbs -
9.5MPH over a 12,000 mile trip to Alaska.
Dale
 
thanks joe,
very good advice.
the cost is dramatically less than advertised. in the 65k range. i'm checking out whether one can rent a motorhome, (locally) kind of a test drive thing. we've looked at this unit and a pathfinder diesel pusher 37" two slides and reduced to 99k. not wanting to part with that kind of money.
pat
 
Marvin,

I'm not sure how you get 8 and 15 MPG on your two vehicles, but for comparison, I get 16.5 empty and 13 towing a CD22 with a 2000 Chevy Silverado 1500 gas 5.3L V-8 automatic. That's on freeway trips like San Diego to Las Vegas or to Lake Powell. Those involve a mix of level freeway and some pretty good hill climbs tossed in. I tend to go 60 with the cruise control most of the time, although when towing I only use the cruise control on really flat stretches.

I've been really happy with this truck. 93,000 miles, pretty much no maintenance other than oil and tires, and it still passes smog with flying colors and gets same as new gas mileage. Everything should be built this well. On another note, I drive a Prius most days and my 34,000 mile average for that is 51.5 MPG. That's TRHEE times as good as my truck or Jeep Wrangler. The Jeep's got a 4L V-6, but the ridiculous aerodynamics and big tires, etc. make it hopeless for gas mileage. Gets the same as the truck.

Jeff
 
Jeff my Cherokee with the Hemi gets around 18 on the freeway not towing. It's got the system that runs on 4 cylinders when not under a load. When I hooked the CD to it the mileage drops to a ridiculosuly low level of around 8 MPG on the highway at around 65 it's the full time 4 wheel drive system. The Ford 3/4 ton 4 wheel drive Power Stroke is a 96 model and has plenty or power. It gets around 20 highway and about 15 pulling the CD. I got about 12 pulling my 34 foot 5th wheel. I can't say I've been very happy with it I'm on my third transmission in 160,000 miles. That's some pretty good mileage you are getting with the Chevy.
 
9mpg with the GC and a Hemi sounds about right. We used to get 10mpg with our '98 GC with the 318 pulling my sled (about 3500 lbs). Now my '93 F250 7.3l Diesel (non turbocharged) 4x4 got 11mpg pulling the 27' CD back from Texas and it gets 16 mpg around town. I really wish I had gotten a 7.3L with the Turbo!

I grew up around RV's. When I was 6 my parents bought a 16' Aloha travel trailer. Then they replaced it with a 19' Terry. Then they replaced it with a 19' Tioga Class C motor home. Finally my mom replaced that with a 27' Escaper Class C that I later inherited and gave to my Stepson. Oh, and my Dad had a 27' Class A. Now I'm working on my 3rd slide in camper. Of everything I have used the 19' Tioga was my favorite. It was small enough to drive anywhere, yet big enough to spend a few weeks in. It didn't have A/C so no need to have a generator. We could spend 2 weeks moving from place to place and never worry about running out of battery power for the lights as we also had a built in propane lamp that could be used at night.

My current 8' camper is great for just me. With my wife along it is OK but I wouldn't want to use it for more than just a couple nights. I bought it so that when I go fishing for a weekend I have a place to sleep overnight if I want.

Overall I far prefer to have a motorhome/camper over a trailer. With a motorhome under 22' you can still park in a normal car parking spot. This can make a HUGE difference! With the Escaper it took two full length spots to park. If you add in a boat (or car) forget it. We used to tow my '61 Willys PU and my '91 Renegade with the Escaper. Finding places to park were terrible. Also, many campsites had troubles with fitting the Escaper. We always wished that it was a 24' instead. Oh, it had the 460 V8 in it and got 13mpg no matter what you did. I really wish Ford still offered that motor in their trucks! Simply awesome motor. Far better than the current V10 IMHO.
 
gljjr":2bng5mjt said:
Oh, it had the 460 V8 in it and got 13mpg no matter what you did. I really wish Ford still offered that motor in their trucks! Simply awesome motor. Far better than the current V10 IMHO.
Click to expand...

The new E450 Lazy Daze comes standard with the 5.4 liter (460ci) on their smallest (24 ft.) unit. The V10 is optional so I suspect you can get the 5.4 on a lot of their trucks. Unfortunately it's also loaded down with emission stuff, not like the old days.

Don
 
Sorry Don, but 5.4 liters is about 330 CID. The 460 is 7.5L and it is a gas motor not a diesel.

The Modular small block V10 (6.8L 413 CID) replaced the Big Block 460 V8 somewhere around '96 or '97.

BTW: Your typical Chev 350CID is 5.7L and the Ford 302 was 5.0L and the 351 was considered 5.8L.
 
Yah, yer right, My tongue was caught around my eye tooth and I couldn't read what I was saying

Until after the 30 minute hangman minutes, anyway. :roll: I know better, had a '77 Ford with the 460. A brute.

Don
 
Great thread.

Couple of things. We have a B+ RV that will haul our 22 footer with ease. It's a 1980 GMC 21' RV with 400 in it, 85,000 miles. We paid only 4k for it and put another 4k in interior upgrades. There are many like this. Just shop Craigslist.

2nd comment. Why have a camper at all when hauling a 22'-25' boat? Why not just use the boat as your travel trailer. Pull up in an RV park, unhitch the boat, then use the pickup or SUV as your touring vehicle. The only downside I can see is the disposal of grey water and stepping in and out of the boat.

-Greg
 
Just for your information. We tow our 22 CD behind our RoadTrek class B motor home. It is powered with the Chev. 6.0 V/8. Towing in the mountains of Pa we get about 10 to 11 MPG. I so keep the speed down. We lived in the Road Trek for 3 month this winter in Fla. along with our cat. It is very cozy. No towing milage is between 15 and 17 MPG so we are not looking to a bigger unit.

Have fun what ever you do!

Fred, Pat and Mr. Grey(the cat)
 
I don't know where you are looking at this $65K motorhome - dealer or individual, but I do know there are thousands of ppl trying to sell very nice used motorhomes for many thousands less than they owe on them.

For $65k you could easily get a class A diesel pusher in the 34-36 range with 20-30k miles on it around here with $10-20k thrown in by the owner to boot. Many have given up advertising their used motorhomes now worth less than the loan, but they are out there. So, don't buy retail - whatever you choose.

John
 
drjohn71a":15i3rgnz said:
For $65k you could easily get a class A diesel pusher in the 34-36 range with 20-30k miles on it around here with $10-20k thrown in by the owner to boot.
John
Click to expand...

That amazes me, John. Gotta be folks who took out huge loans. By your figures and my calculations they're giving a buyer about 4,000 gallons worth of free fuel if they take over the loan.

Typically a diesel pusher that small gets at least 7 mpg resulting in about 28,000 miles worth of fuel. It takes many RV'ers 3-5 years to put on 28,000 miles. I suspect more than half the motorhome owners out there would get 5 years of "free fuel" out of a deal like that.

What am I missing?

Don
 
The only reason I know about the many Diesel pushers whose owners are upside down in them is that I am one. For a few years, since buying the TomCat, I've tried to sell the Neptune off and on even tho' I am very happy with it. Potential buyers over time have pointed out larger units for less money and reported many owners would pay them to take over their loan. That is what I am reporting - not that someone is going to just pay you extra ... sorry about any confusion.

Basically, selling these units would cost the owners many thousands of dollars, and keeping the units would cost the owners even more dollars. If the owners' lifestyles had stayed the same as it was at purchase time, there is not a big problem, but in cases of death, failing health, or other financial stresses, dumping the unit is critical.

I am just saying that one could get pretty much the deal of the century by finding an owner in one or more of these tight situations.

John
 
Ahhh. Thanks, John. That's what I missed. So basically upside down owners are offering to sell their unit for less than what they owe and pay off the difference between loan amount and offered amount so the buyer gets clear title and the seller gets clear of his monthly payments.

Makes a lot of sense but I think it's been true for a long time, though the heat's turned up a lot with the financials tanking and oil soaring.

You are on target when you say buying used is the way to go when it comes to RV's. Same with boats. Buying RV's (and boats) is not for the impulsive. Educate, lie in wait, and pounce on the "incredu-deal".

Don
 
hello john and all others,
the units my wife and i are looking at can be found at www holmanrv com
yesterday was extremely busy, we visited three dealerships and explored all the rv's we had time for. we're taking a weekend trip for the 4th. to dale hollow lake, tn. will be trailering "misty seas" and staying aboard her. will take more time to think about exactly what type of rv, home or travel trailer, makes the most sense for us. i'm getting a little burned out on boating and don't want to make boating 100% on our focus, thus an rv will open up new opportunities and fun for the little woman and me.
since we plan to keep this purchase, if made, for a very long time, buying new works for us. i can tell you the dealerships are hurting and deals can be made.
best regards
pat
 
I have been following this thread closely. Have been searching the net for a lightweight truck camper to fit my 2004 F150 Extended cab V8 Shortbed. Several companies have come out with "lightweight" truck campers, specifically designed for the 1/2 ton market. The two I am most interested in is the Six Pac http://www.six-pac.com/camper_d650.htm ... a little pricey and will cost $1400 to get it to the East coast and the Northstar Freedom http://www.northstarcampers.com/ (a dealer 3 hours away)I am interested in the opinions of our more savy RVer's who might have some first hand knowledge or input.

John
Swee Pea
 
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