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Old 08-15-2017, 02:09 PM   #1
Gundo
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Default So I bought a fifth wheel, what should I know.

The wife and I took the plunge and bought a fifth wheel and lot in Montana close to Lake Kookcanusa to park it on year round.

We have never owned a trailer before and are diving in head first, I'm wondering what tips/tricks and must haves that there may be that we don't know about?
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Old 08-15-2017, 02:23 PM   #2
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Neat, man! What's the lot like? Do you have a good amount of space for yourself? Any pics?

Personally, I'd cover the trailer when not in use. You'll add years to its lifespan. You can get reasonably-priced universal covers that will fit your RV for a pretty good price on Amazon or Wal-Mart. They'll last a few years and then may need to be replaced, but it beats resealing the roof, replacing brittle vents, etc.
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Old 08-15-2017, 02:30 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gundo View Post
The wife and I took the plunge and bought a fifth wheel and lot in Montana close to Lake Kookcanusa to park it on year round.

We have never owned a trailer before and are diving in head first, I'm wondering what tips/tricks and must haves that there may be that we don't know about?
Very nice!

I was at Koocanusa last week. It's an awesome lake.

As for the trailer, is it new? Is the lot fully serviced? Are you going to build a deck for it? Is there "neighbors" close by or do you have your own space?

I think the best advice is just get it on the pad, spend a good stretch of time in it, and you will realize what you may need or want beyond what it already provides. Getting a cover for it is really good advice too, as it will help prevent issues down the road.

I've never owned a 5th wheel but we have been debating selling the motor home and getting a truck and trailer ourselves.
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Old 08-15-2017, 03:25 PM   #4
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Best thing we did was to build out a covered deck with an outdoor kitchen and a shed. It gets smoking hot down there over the summer so window coverings and fans are a life saver, but ultimately it's getting set up to be in the trailer as little as possible that should be a priority.
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Old 08-15-2017, 04:03 PM   #5
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Quote:
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The wife and I took the plunge and bought a fifth wheel and lot in Montana close to Lake Kookcanusa to park it on year round.



We have never owned a trailer before and are diving in head first, I'm wondering what tips/tricks and must haves that there may be that we don't know about?


First of all you should know if there is power, sewer hookups.
Then you can look at solar and generators. Sewer means you will have to figure out your black and grey tanks.
Don't be discouraged you are in for a fun ride


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Old 08-15-2017, 04:55 PM   #6
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Congratulations, and have fun!

I suspect it is full service hook-ups at this site? If so it will make your life easier. If you need to worry about batteries and holding tanks there will be a few more things to monitor and look after.

I'd suggest finding the message board for your particular make and model and read through the threads for tips and potential problems.

Make sure you winterize it well, drain all the tanks and blow out the lines or pump through some RV antifreeze. Its not rocket science, but make sure you do this properly.

Also, set some mouse traps and try to plug any possible entry hole to repel mice for winter storage.

Leave your fridge and freezer cracked open when not in use. There are some plastic tabs that you can buy (previous owner probably already has them there) for this purpose.

Last edited by automaton 3; 08-15-2017 at 05:04 PM.
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Old 08-15-2017, 05:50 PM   #7
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Let us know where it is - we have our 5th wheel parked on a lot we purchased in that area too, best decision ever for our family.

I agree - shed, deck and shade. Those are your friends. We are rarely inside our trailer.
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Old 08-15-2017, 06:14 PM   #8
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We are very interested in buying something in this location. We have a trailer and are looking for a spot. I visited a buddies spot earlier this summer, and loved it. He owns a piece of land with his sibs, but I was thinking of something already serviced. Any advice would be appreciated.
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Old 08-15-2017, 06:16 PM   #9
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Start with this:


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Old 08-16-2017, 08:47 AM   #10
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Thanks everyone, just to clarify a few things.

- yes we have full services on site.

- the lot is just north of Eureka MT and roughly 80'x120' and we have neighbours on one side which are good friends of ours and other friends are across the road.

- as for covering the fifth wheel when we aren't there I bit on the Diamond Kote protection for about $700 to help preserve the outside and mostly because I don't want to be climbing all over to wax it.

- the plan is to add a deck and a roof that covers both the deck and trailer next season. I'm also in the process of ordering a bunk house with a loft for extra room for visitors.

I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on skirting and if it's a good idea to do it for the winter months ? And in regards to my black tank is it better to hard pipe in and leave it open or only empty as required?
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Old 08-16-2017, 09:01 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gundo View Post
Thanks everyone, just to clarify a few things.

- yes we have full services on site.

- the lot is just north of Eureka MT and roughly 80'x120' and we have neighbours on one side which are good friends of ours and other friends are across the road.

- as for covering the fifth wheel when we aren't there I bit on the Diamond Kote protection for about $700 to help preserve the outside and mostly because I don't want to be climbing all over to wax it.

- the plan is to add a deck and a roof that covers both the deck and trailer next season. I'm also in the process of ordering a bunk house with a loft for extra room for visitors.

I was wondering if anyone has suggestions on skirting and if it's a good idea to do it for the winter months ? And in regards to my black tank is it better to hard pipe in and leave it open or only empty as required?
Only empty the black tank as required. If you leave it open, liquids will go down no problem, but solids will build up and get stuck. You need both stewing in the tank to make a nice slop that will flow out when you empty it as needed.

People with skirts swear by them. If you're going to be there in the winter or late fall, you may want to consider an insulated skirt. With an insulated skirt, you can throw a heater under there and it will make you toasty warm. If it's more an aesthetic thing or just a summer thing, uninsulated is fine and less expensive. If it's something you want to do, PM me and I'll get you a nice discount.

One other thing I was thinking about your trailer is to keep it simple and don't overload it with board games and stuff. Just bring a couple you know you are going to use. It's easy to clutter up cupboards with too much stuff. I just sold our trailer a month ago and when I was cleaning it out I was pulling out so many games and stuff that we never used in the 10 years we had the trailer. Would have been way better not having that stuff in there all those years.
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Old 08-16-2017, 09:04 AM   #12
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Hard pipe your dump valve - yes. But no, never leave your tanks open, especially the black tank as it requires a decent amount of liquids to properly drain.

On our fifth wheel, I always put the slides in when we leave. Other people in our park look at me funny and ask why I always close it all up. I'd rather take the 30 seconds to close it all up and ensure its totally closed as opposed to having the slide seals exposed to the sun all summer and drying them out.

I bought tire covers but haven't skirted out fifth wheel in yet - mainly due to cost and time.
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Old 08-16-2017, 09:06 AM   #13
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Oh, another thing that has proved invaluable for us is a full trailer surge protector. When it's screaming hot out, a lot of rv parks experience low power bumps which can cause A/C units to totally fail.
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Old 08-16-2017, 09:08 AM   #14
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Full services means a constant water supply so i would just hard pipe your sewage, as long as you dont want to move the 5th wheel to often. Knowing your neighbors is a huge plus.

As for skirting, we had our unit stationary for a couple years at Pine Lake and never put any up, but we also never had a deck built around it so i dont know if that plays into it or not.

I was in Eureka a week ago yesterday. Weird little town but typical for a border crossing town. Very much a redneck area but has its own little charms. Getting a bite at Trappers is a must....their burgers are ridiculously good. Further South in town is a little place called the V.F.W. Its an equivalent of a legion up here. Its again a place dripping with the redneck way of life. It is also a cool little spot to meet locals and they are a friendly bunch. I bought a round of drinks for 6 of us, 4 pints of beer and 2 well drinks...it was $13.00. They were free while we played the video poker games. we got 3 "plates" (cardboard fry holder things) of appys and that was $12.00.

We also stopped at last chance bar....avoid.

At any rate enjoy it and use it as often as possible or you start to feel like it wasn't worth the investment.
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Old 08-16-2017, 09:12 AM   #15
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Hard pipe your dump valve - yes. But no, never leave your tanks open, especially the black tank as it requires a decent amount of liquids to properly drain.

On our fifth wheel, I always put the slides in when we leave. Other people in our park look at me funny and ask why I always close it all up. I'd rather take the 30 seconds to close it all up and ensure its totally closed as opposed to having the slide seals exposed to the sun all summer and drying them out.

I bought tire covers but haven't skirted out fifth wheel in yet - mainly due to cost and time.
Not closing your slides is the craziest, laziest thing. Hard to believe some people treat their stuff so poorly.
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Old 08-16-2017, 09:55 AM   #16
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The single best thing we did at our permanent site was to bring in a full sized BBQ with a side burner. Got one on sale for about $160. I see so many people at our campground using camp stoves still.
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Old 08-16-2017, 12:47 PM   #17
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One other thing I was thinking about your trailer is to keep it simple and don't overload it with board games and stuff. Just bring a couple you know you are going to use. It's easy to clutter up cupboards with too much stuff. I just sold our trailer a month ago and when I was cleaning it out I was pulling out so many games and stuff that we never used in the 10 years we had the trailer. Would have been way better not having that stuff in there all those years.
Oh good gawd, yes. We bought our trailer from friends at our permanent site, so we only had to move it over to another spot, while they brought in their new one. We helped them move all the stuff from one trailer to the other. Holy hells bells, so.much.stuff. I suppose it's good to know that it would hold all of that, if we ever needed that much crap, lol, but it was insane how much crap was in there. We kind of teased them that they'd be able to survive being snowed in for weeks, or the zombie apocalypse. They went from a 24 foot to a massive fifth wheel and I imagine inside of a year, it will be the same.

Keep it organized too. When we helped unload the trailer, it was obvious that they just bought stuff, shoved it in, forgot what they had because they couldn't see it in the mess, and bought more of the same crap and shoved it in. It wasn't hoarder messy like on tv, but there was no organization or thought to anything.
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