RV Newbie, several questions

ttutland2345 · 04-11-2012, 09:10 PM

Hi everyone, Im ty and I'm an RV newbie and got some questions. I work away from home and am looking at getting my first camper (the man camps are getting to me, and house/apt rent is insane!) A bumper pull is a must, because I dont want to put a 5th wheel plate in my truck. Does anyone have any recomendations? I have been looking at a Retreat 39 FDEN, does anyone here have one?

Baisicly any advice you all could give me would be appreciated, like I say I'm pretty green at this and I dont want to get hosed or stuck with a peice of junk.

Thanks!

Ty

JoeofNSB · 04-12-2012, 03:34 AM

Welcome to the forum. You will find lots of advice here. For my two cents I will say that I much prefer a 5th wheel to a bumper pull. Especially from the ease of hook-up and the more stable pulling going down the road (that's the big one). There are many removable plates out there so that you don't loose the function of the truck while you're not pulling. I'm not familiar with the retreat 39 so I can't give advice on that. I know you will get many replies.

Good Luck in your info quest and on the hiways and byways!!!

badge4 · 04-12-2012, 04:22 AM

Hi Ty,

We have a 2011 Retreat 39FDEN and we love it. Being its 40 feet long, from hitch to rear bumper, I'm not sure I'd want to haul that around much. We have it located permanently on our property and it makes for a great weekend getaway and comfortably accommodates over a dozen people for entertaining and sleeps six easily but again as far as traveling with it I'm not sure its the best choice.

Keystone classifies them as Designation Models and I'm thinking there's a reason for that. If you have any specific questions please don't hesitate to ask them on here. There's not many Retreat owners on here but there is a wealth of overall knowledge on this board.

Good luck,

SteveC7010 · 04-12-2012, 04:42 AM

If you are not comfortable with your truck pulling a fifth wheeler, I would be very concerned that it would be safely capable of pulling a 40' TT.

The Retreat series is designed for infrequent pulling and mostly permanent siting. RV dealers use 1 ton trucks (or larger) to deliver them.

I don't consider park models to be towable RV's, and I think you will find that very few others do either.

SAABDOCTOR · 04-12-2012, 06:42 AM

Hi ty Welcome to the forum. i have read the replies and i too agree with them. a destination trailer is just that tow it to it's destination and there it stays. I have towed many trailers tt's and 5th's the fiver is the esiest to tow and back up and the new hitch plates don't leave the bed unusable. what type of truck do you have? the fact that you are asking is great your not one of those that want's to tow a mountan with a fiat 500.if you have good truck with the corect tow weights i think i would look for a tt rather than a destination unit there are lots of great units to pick from. As you can tell from this site we all pretty much like our keystone prducts. good luck with your adventures

**JRTJH** · 04-12-2012, 06:49 AM

The "destination" trailers are not really travel trailers, they're more mobile homes. As such, there is no coroplast underbelly, only a darco fabric underlining like on mobile homes. That means it's pretty much designed to set in place, block and not move once you install skirting to protect the bottom from cold/rodent damage. The sliding patio door is a big potential problem in travel trailers. That much glass so close to the ground is subject to rocks, road debris, and much more prone to water/mud entry than a conventional door. Weight is over 10K empty and hitch on the 39FDEN is right at 1000 lbs with no propane, batteries, water or personal items onboard. I'd think you'll need a 1ton dually to manage that big a trailer.

As investments go, since they're not really travel trailers, resale is to a limited group of buyers, a much smaller group than conventional travel trailer/fifth wheel RV'ers. So when it has served its purpose for you and you no longer need it, you'll most likely have a heck of a time selling it on the open RV market. There are a number of "campgrounds" around northern Michigan with destination trailers that have been set up for several years. Craig's List has some that have been for sale around here for years with no takers. I'd suspect that in a place like New Mexico/Arizona, etc they may sell a bit faster because of the "snowbird" population, so where you plan to use it may be a big consideration.

If you've got a truck big enough to "muscle" a 40' bumper pull, you also have the "guts" to handle most any fifth wheel. I've found that many fifth wheels have stronger frames and are adapted for long term living much better than conventional RV bumper pull trailers and are about as comfy and spacious as "destination trailers" Fifth wheels are much more capable of travel than a destination trailer.

Jorme · 04-12-2012, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ttutland2345

Hi everyone, Im ty and I'm an RV newbie and got some questions. I work away from home and am looking at getting my first camper (the man camps are getting to me, and house/apt rent is insane!) A bumper pull is a must, because I dont want to put a 5th wheel plate in my truck. Does anyone have any recomendations? I have been looking at a Retreat 39 FDEN, does anyone here have one?

Baisicly any advice you all could give me would be appreciated, like I say I'm pretty green at this and I dont want to get hosed or stuck with a peice of junk.

Thanks!

Ty

Please do not take this the wrong way....If you are a RV newbie, that trailer is WAY too much for you. Unless you're are a truck driver and used to towing large loads, you need to start smaller and get used to pulling a trailer. That being said, If you're looking for a unit to tow around and use as a trailer and not a full time parked unit, then that isnt the best choice. Think about how you might use it. If you are going to just park it at 1 location, then sure, go for it, and have the dealer deliver it for you. We have friends that were RV newbies and they went out and bought a 38' Montana and in 3 years have pretty much hit every obstacle they could with their trailer. Towing comfortably is something that takes time and experience.

**JRTJH** · 04-12-2012, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jorme

Please do not take this the wrong way....If you are a RV newbie, that trailer is WAY too much for you. Unless you're are a truck driver and used to towing large loads, you need to start smaller and get used to pulling a trailer. That being said, If you're looking for a unit to tow around and use as a trailer and not a full time parked unit, then that isnt the best choice. Think about how you might use it. If you are going to just park it at 1 location, then sure, go for it, and have the dealer deliver it for you. We have friends that were RV newbies and they went out and bought a 38' Montana and in 3 years have pretty much hit every obstacle they could with their trailer. Towing comfortably is something that takes time and experience.

Wise words... Trying to "thread" a 102" wide trailer in a 144" wide conventional traffic lane leaves about 22" on each side. Consider drift, draft, curves, lane encroachment and it takes "nerves of steel" for anyone to navigate the ever present "construction zone with narrow lanes" Even the best drivers get stressed, a novice? Hmmmmm We started with a VW campmobile and worked our way up. While other's have just "jumped into the thick of things" with a bigger RV to start, I can definitely see how Jorme's friends learned the hard way about "bumper pool"

We had been towing for nearly 20 years when we bought our 34' HR. First trip through Houston's everpresent construction zones was the most stress I've ever had towing and that was with much "younger" nerves than today... Those lanes were 10' wide with concrete lane separations which angle inward at the bottom, so the actual width at the tires was even less. Add curves and 18 wheelers going 60MPH in a 40MPH zone and you can imagine how easy it is to spell "P A N I C"

Towing a large RV ain't a one hand on the wheel with a soft drink in your lap kind of driving experience all the time. It's much nicer out on the open road, but not all towing is "out there"

mikell · 04-12-2012, 08:09 AM

Try again

Our campground is a workers camp. With 2 nuke plants , river dredgers and fruit inspectors among our guest. Where I'm going is I see a lot of workers.

How long are you away- We ahve people from 2 months to 2 years and linger

Climate where you work- we have full hookups good year round and get lots of snow

Alone or with someone- more people need more storage room

Washer dryer needed??

Pets?

Just looked the retreat is what we really wanted but they could not build a mirror floorplan and I didn't like the idea of the sliding glass door being the main entrance.It will require a good sized truck to pull but for $28k or less it's a heck of a house

We ended up in an Alpine 3460rl 5th wheel

SAABDOCTOR · 04-12-2012, 08:24 AM

HI JRTGH! what you said about towing that big rig is almost right it is not a one hand on the wheel and the other holdind a soft drink because it will end up in your lap! ( at least it will hide pp stain) ty you reading all this? i hope

Tim&Patty · 04-12-2012, 08:33 AM

Ty,
It's good your asking questions but I have one for you. Are there RV parks in the area and have you visited them? Most RVers are happy share their units pluses and experiences. All advertising is based on one thought "Buy my product" and things like Polar Packages are a little decieving (and I'm being kind), North Dakota man camps, bet they didn't tell ya the whole story

.
Nothing wrong with asking, I've had my fill of "Man Camps" with 26 yrs in the Air Force and countless deployments Central Asia, I know where your coming from.

Look and ask around, keep diggin.

Tim

ttutland2345 · 04-12-2012, 10:33 AM

wow lots of replies, lots of good questions asked and lots of things to consider.

This will be in a permanant spot for the most part, there is talk of us moving our operations west into montana, but that wont be for another 6 months, and once there, it will be set up and not moved again.

I do appreciate your concern that it will be to much trailer for me to tow, but for the last few years I have pulled 100,000 lbs of wood out of roads that were just wide enough for a tractor/trailer. Now I'm out here pulling a tanker on terrible roads, in high winds (it blows non stop out here)

The reason Ive been leaning toward this model is it is very affordable for the space offered, and it has a realitivly light hitch weight, so I'd be able to pull it around with my 3/4 ton (96 ram with a V10)

I am alone, but this will be my home away from home, I am out out here for a minimium of 5 weeks than I get a week off. Sometimes longer, this time I'll be out here for 17 weeks straight before I get to go home again, so I'd prefer something roomy, that can feel like "home"

I know I've forgotten a bunch of things, but thank you all for your time and info

mikell · 04-12-2012, 04:20 PM

Somebody have the video of the park model being blown over while going down the road. Might give him something to think about

badge4 · 04-16-2012, 06:50 AM

It is true that the Retreat is a fairly light unit which gives way to the concern of being blown around especially if high winds are prevalent I think i would be concerned. As for roominess it is with out a doubt one of the most liveable floor-plans out there. My DW to be and my teenage son have spent many weekends in total comfort. In fact since adding a deck to it we have had large parties out there and its always amazing how the trailer accommodates a good number of folks without have to constantly back out or step of of someone elses way but I would still give it some real thought before pulling it around because honestly I don't think its built to take that type of abuse. Our unit was delivered to our site which is located on the side of a good size hill and the delivery vehicle was a diesel powered utility body truck which had its hands full maneuvering it around. All the best with what has to be a tough decision for you.

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