Fifth Wheel Bunkhouses

[Aquasea]

Hi All! New to the forum and happy to be here! My husband and I and our two, sometimes 3 kids are trying to decide on the right BH Fifth Wheel for us. Narrowed it down to the Montana High Country 338 DB, Laredo 321 or an Open Range 367 or 399. We live in Reno and have not been able to see any in person. Very frustrating!! Anyone own one of these we would love your opinion. Wish list - 1 1/2 bath, island in kitchen, glass enclosed shower and keep it under 37' if possible ;-). We just bought a Ram 3500 4x4 Mega Cab. Specs are saying towing up to 13,300 and hitch weight around 2,000. Seems low, but that is what is said. Any advice on that would be appreciated as well!"bouncey:

[antiqfreq]

Welcome to the forum.

I do not have any of the campers mentioned above but hopefully one or some of our members do and can help you out!.

Good luck with your decision!

Jo

:wlcm:

[JRTJH]

Aquasea,

:wlcm: to the forum and good luck with your search for the perfect RV. Just remember, the sooner you stop looking the sooner you start using the RV you do select. I'd urge you not to keep looking too long LOL

And since you're asking questions, I've got one for you.... You said you have 2 kids, sometimes 3. How did you arrange the "sometimes" part? When ours were growing up, that option wasn't available, and I can assure you, there were times when I'd have wanted to exercise the "sometimes" part. :jester:

Again, welcome to the forum and we all hope you find the RV that fits your family soon.

[Aquasea]

LOL!!!! Point taken on the search vs getting out there statement. :-). Hard though when u can't see them in person. As for the sometime kid issue.....well that will just have to be a mystery! ;-). Actually my 18 year old stepson who lives a bit away from us most of the year. Other 2 kids with no option for sometimes are 10 and 6! :)

[SAABDOCTOR]

HI AND :wlcm: Back to the Dodge. what options did you get on that truck SRW/DRW which rear end tires trans engine. those specs sure do seem low Did you check the label on the drivers door? good luck with your search warm weather is coming :banghead:

[tomsws6]

Welcome!! Kinda wierd about the truck but I do believe the mega cab has lower ratings than a crew cab. Just throwing this out there but have you looked at the wildcat 344qb? It has a ton of room for the kids. Anyway those you mentioned are really nice too!

[Aquasea]

The RAM has SRW and has a 37.3 ratio. I have not looked at the door rating yet, but will when my husband gets home! Thanks for the idea.
;)

[Aquasea]

Have not checked the Wildcat. Will do so right now!!:)

[Aquasea]

Looks like it has everything we are looking for but it is not shipped or sold in the West? Do you own one? More details please! Thx - Kelly

[Wilkod]

We just traded out of a 399 bhs open range. It was a good unit but we definitely outgrew the bunk room. Went to a Raptor to get the two queen beds. We did have trouble with the cable driven slides but I got pretty good at repairing them until the dealer finally repaired them correctly.

Good luck!

[Aquasea]

Hi Wilkod! Were the bunks too small on the 399? Kids got older? We looked at TH yesterday and found one I loved - but it weighed something like 15000 lbs. How is the one you got? Thought it was an interesting option for us too! How was the fit and finish on the OR? They look so nice online but cannot find any in the West to even look at...

[Cougarfamily]

Have you checked out the Cougar 293SAB? Believe it has most of what you are looking for. Just doesn't have the island kitchen. We most likely would have bought this model, but the one on the lot had an interior that we didn't like, and was priced higher.

[JBE-Dad]

I have a 2009 Cougar 293SAB and its a perfect bunkhouse. Kids have there own 1/2 bath and each of the 3 kids have their own bunk.

[Stublejumper]

Hi All! New to the forum and happy to be here! My husband and I and our two, sometimes 3 kids are trying to decide on the right BH Fifth Wheel for us. Narrowed it down to the Montana High Country 338 DB, Laredo 321 or an Open Range 367 or 399. We live in Reno and have not been able to see any in person. Very frustrating!! Anyone own one of these we would love your opinion. Wish list - 1 1/2 bath, island in kitchen, glass enclosed shower and keep it under 37' if possible ;-). We just bought a Ram 3500 4x4 Mega Cab. Specs are saying towing up to 13,300 and hitch weight around 2,000. Seems low, but that is what is said. Any advice on that would be appreciated as well!"bouncey:

Hello there,last year we treated our family to a new ram 3500 srw TD and 341 tg avalanche ,used them a lot last year. the ram rated @ 3050 lbs pay load with 3:73 gears and 21000 lbs total carrying ,the bunk room sleeps 4 with its own bathroom ,tons of storage. When pulling 7% grade with 21000 ++ lbs that ram 800 ft/lb and 225 of break hp engine break sure put the fun back into towing a large 5er. Have lots of fun out there!!!.

[Wilkod]

Hello aqua sea

The bunk room became too small when my 13 year old suddenly beame 6 feet tall. His head and feet both hit the ends of the top bunks. The other issue is the addition of our granddaughter in a port a crib. One could argue that I was looking for a reason for a new toy hauler although I would never admit that. ;)
;).

Have fun doing your search....

[timd3200]

I have a 298 copper canyon bunk house and really like it. Look at the 324 copper canyon bunk house it sure looks nice to me. Has the 1/2 bath for the kids also.

[Joe Stanley]

Take a look at the Avalanche 341TG. The bunk house is great for kids or couples camping. We moved into the Avalanche from a Wildcat 32QBBS. The Avalanche gives us better options for older teen kids or adult sleeping comfort. Worth a look!

[triumphess]

We looked at (in person) everything you mentioned except the Laredo. We bought the Montana High Country 338DB. Our first consideration was the weight (wanted to be under 13,000 - it grosses at 12,250). Second was fit and finish and layout. The bunk room is great (we often camp with our three granddaughters and their mother) and gives us a third room when it is just the two of us. I wanted an island kitchen, but the 338 has a decent amount of counter space (I leave one sink covered when I am not using it) With the outside kitchen we have all that extra space as well. We have the four door 12 cf fridge -- so nice to have the extra space. We are finding that storage is ample, even with six of us. I love the big tub/shower in this layout as well! Good luck with your decision!

[Lanehooker]

Its one of the nice idea I found here.. But After Repairing that cable, does it works..? Or still finding any problem..??

[Htfiremedic]

Second the ToyHauler idea! Our girls, 6&10, will rapidly outgrow the traditional BH. Our Fuzion has double queen bunks in the back and one can be pinned high, if not in use. Ours sleeps 8 on beds 10 if we use the floor as well. You might consider that, if you are going to keep it for a while, as we are!
Good luck!!

[jlarocca]

Have you looked at the Keystone Montana Mountaineer 346LBQ. That's what I bought recently and it pretty much has all that you are asking about. I tow it with my 3/4 GMC and it is no problem at all.

[JReinhart]

We have the Laredo 321 and absolutely love it! Sooooo much storage in it, the half bath off the bedroom is great and the front bunkhouse has the 2 bunks and queen sized inflatable bed. we have slept 4 adults and 4 kids ( age range 2-17) with room to spare.

[Dwighop]

338 for us. We moved up quickly from a 27sab which was a small bunk. We love the back room for a kids room. I foresee a toy hauler soon but that will be a step to a bigger truck from the F250.

[jr66]

I have owned a sierra, cruiser and just ordered a cougar after looking at wildcat, chaparral and open range. For price point and quality I think the cougar was the best deal. If you can live without the 1/2 bath the 320 qbs is what I purchased.

[justlkn]

I have the 2012 Avalanche 341TG which offers all you ask for but the island in the kitchen. The new 2013 Avalanche 360RB now has the island too with pretty much the same configuration.

[Aquasea]

Thank you for all the great feedback!!!!

[Aquasea]

Hi All - will our new 2012 Dodge Ram 3500 Mega Cab SRW 3.73 be able to pull the Avalanche 341TG? I love the new model 360RB? even more, but that might be too big. Thoughts? Thanks!

[Stublejumper]

I have the 3500 ram TD srw and the 341 tg as well,pulled mountain passes and into strong head winds,the only problem I had was holding it back,the truck seemed to want more..lol

[Trent McCain]

Parents ordered a new 346LBQ in 2012. Wife daughter n I stayed in it again last night. Plenty of room and having a half bath is nice too. But it takes a healthy truck to haul it. Wife and I have a 2008 Copper Canyon 297FWBHS. It does the job for us, but I don't like the mid bathroom as its too small and not accessible with the slide in. Also would like a master bed that I can walk around. We like the folks coach but we like to pull the boat in tandem, so its too long for us. If your not set on a Keystone product (I'm not) you might look at Crusader. They have one that's around 31-33 ft bunkhouse and could be pulled with a 3/4 ton truck. Wife and I looked at a new one and liked it. Our dealer sells both. Ended up buying the '08 used locally as it was in excellent shape, knew the owners and best of all no lien. Not the best floorplan but it'll get us by until we can afford something different. Parents and I pull with late model F350 diesels 11.4GVW. Best of luck in your search.

Trent

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[Trent McCain]

Sorry reread your post stating you want a bath and a half. Crusader makes one with those specs. I also like one made by Palomino Columbus. It has the entertainment center across from recliners, and a couch along the front wall where the entertainment center normally is situated. I've never seen one in person, but on paper I like the living arrangement of it. I'd have to take two trucks or leave the boat at home with that coach as its around 38-40 ft if I remember. If you want Keystone we do like the folks Mountaineer. We took a trip with them and we all had room. Folks had the master bedroom, our 3 kids had the bunk room and wife and I took the hide a bed.

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[EricLynnAllison]

We bought a toyhauler too just for the two queen bunkbeds in the back.

[Aquasea]

Hi Trent - thanks for the response. I actually should change my "wants" as having that 1/2 bath is not that important anymore (and my husband would prefer not to have it) ;-0. So BH with Kitchen Island and good storage, ample room for my tall kids in the bunkroom and a good size bathroom and shower for us. Also, our towing max is 13,300 and want to try not to go above 36 or so feet if possible.

[Trent McCain]

I'm not sure what the folks Mountaineer weighs, but it's close to the GCWR with the F350 which is 23,500lbs. Our F350 SRW and 2008 Copper Canyon weighs mid 17's, truck alone weighs 8,700 full of fuel. The Copper Canyon is a lower/mid-range coach, so it doesn't weigh as much as toyhauler or 4 seasons coach. This gives us room to pull the boat and not be over weight. I know we really like the half bath in the folks coach. I'm not saying it's a requirement for us either, but it's nice for the kids & parents or two couples to have their own "space" and facilities. One thing you might want is an outdoor kitchen. Our Copper Canyon doesn't have one, and it's something I didn't figure anyone would use. The folks Mountaineer has it, and I use it all the time. It's nice to have an icebox, sink and counterspace outside by the grill. That's something we'd like on our next rig. I'm not saying Keystone builds a bad or good product, but don't limit your search to them, In my opinion all manfactures in this class are probably on par with eachother as far as build quality. So pick a floorplan you like and enjoy it. I'll reasearch them all when time comes for us to purchase again. My father wasn't biased and, reaseached all the manufactures to find the ideal floorplan for them. They traded an Alpenlite (very nice high end 4 seasons coach) on the Mountaineer. It also helped out that the dealer in Abiline KS, that has done service work for them also sells Keystone. They have always treated us fair so it was nice to buy from them.

Trent