Travel Trailer vs. 5th Wheel

[chaimemet]

We have been debating and researching the possibility of moving on to a 5ver. We went to Lazy Days to see the Trilogy made by Duramax. It has radial walls and cabinetry on the level of our 31 08 classic limited. it is modern also not ethan allen. It has a cookers kitchen. We saw the redwood and it is on a tier below. The only other model we are to look at is The New Horizons. OK now listen to our debate here. Either of these units would require a 350 dually or larger instead of our 250 GMC Diesel. We would have to find covered storage. Although the Trilogy has a fiberglass roof and fully gelcoated the florida sun will eat them. Our AS has bee outside uncovered since 6/07. We had the roof sealent peeled and resealed last summer. The decal stripping is now getting vertical crazing, but in general being aluminum it is good to go. I believe in the minimalist attitude of the AS culture. I spend more time outside under the canopy than any of my other neighbors. I know its also because of the space but I bought the AS for a different purpose than what we maybe thinking of doing with a "residential" 5ver, thermo pane, insulation, etc. I would not want to drive the Trilogy across country or up and down steep mountains "exploring". We are still exploring. Its a little like a DSLR vs. a point & shoot. You will think of many excuses not to take the DSLR while the point & shoot just fits into your pocket.The 5ver is good for moving up & down the interstate and parking it at a fancy rv resort, doubling as a second or main condo if you are going overseas for awhile. Lots of space, can even bring our Waterford crystal! But I could have never been up to NS , PEI, and NB w/o the extra worry. The AS wants to move all the time, Wally's Ghost is there coming to you in a dream while you sleep. Thats what the Airstream is all about, to get up and go w/o the hassle of shleping half your life with you. It may come a time we will switch but as we dwell on it more and more I think we will stay right where we are. Thinking that next year it will be time for Alaska!

[Friday]

Originally Posted by Landshark

Skater,

Do you know anymore about that "cold weather package"? We've lost touch with our PO and I'm really curious what that involved. He also had the entire undercarriage and hitch tongue sprayed with Rhino-somethingorother, or was that part of the " pkg" too?

Thanks! Vivian

Rhino, Line-X, or similar are commercial grade protective coverings... common for truck box liners, but lots and lots of other uses. It has no insulating properties, but does dampen sound... and absorb a decent amount of rock damage before degrading...

Cold weather packages generally include heated tanks, insulated underbody, and either the furnace is ducted to heat the plumbing, or the plumbing is heated... Unless you've RV is a mobile-home, I haven't seen a consumer RV package meant for full-time below freezing use...

Those mega-RV's that have 8 inch thick walls are excluded from my estimate as 'consumer'....