Your experiences with getting around with large 5th wheels?

[warsw1]

We have a 375res. It is a great trailer to full time in. You will find that pulling the larger 5th wheels are not much different than the smaller ones. They are heavier so you won't be passing everyone on the up-hills and you will need to swing a little wider in the tight turns. I have found that most of the small towns have a truck route through them. If you are unsure of the town it is better to use them. As far as staying in different parks I usually call ahead or look them up on the internet if I am unsure if I will fit. I have found very few that couldn't accommodate me. You will find that after a little time you won’t notice the difference.

Oh…..one place you will notice a difference is getting in and out of service station. I use a lot of truck stops but there are times when a regular station works just fine. You just have to pay more attention.

[gordofuchs]

We now have a 305RE, which is close to 37' nose to rear bumper. There are many beautiful state parks that we have been unable to get into, due to length. If you are serious about being able to negotiate and camp in some of the more scenic parks I would stay less than 40'. If I had to buy another fifth wheel, it would not be any longer than what I have.

[archer75]

We have a 375res. It is a great trailer to full time in. You will find that pulling the larger 5th wheels are not much different than the smaller ones. They are heavier so you won't be passing everyone on the up-hills and you will need to swing a little wider in the tight turns. I have found that most of the small towns have a truck route through them. If you are unsure of the town it is better to use them. As far as staying in different parks I usually call ahead or look them up on the internet if I am unsure if I will fit. I have found very few that couldn't accommodate me. You will find that after a little time you won’t notice the difference.

Oh…..one place you will notice a difference is getting in and out of service station. I use a lot of truck stops but there are times when a regular station works just fine. You just have to pay more attention.

I see you're in Central Oregon. We're in Gresham and spend a lot of time in Central Oregon. We'll be at Paulina Lake late July.
When I think of tight turns in small towns I think of the turn in Madras going to Cove Palisades. Traveling Southbound. It's a right hand turn right at the texaco. I don't think I could make that turn in a large 5th wheel without swinging to the left lane first. Essentially taking up two lanes of traffic. And there's constant traffic passing through madras which could make it challenging. Perhaps i'm just being paranoid as I haven't done it yet in anything but our smaller travel trailer. I still take it wide with that.

I would also be purchasing a new truck for whatever we get. I have a 2015 Ram 2500 Crew Cab with the CTD currently. I'd like to go with a Ram 3500 or F350 but i'm thinking these larger 5th wheels really need a DRW which i'm not crazy about but better to be safe.

[warsw1]

I have been around that very same turn many many times. We use to live in the valley and had some property at the Lake. You will find that you just have to wait for the right time. You will get use to it. The truckers have to do the same thing. People will usually give you the space if they know what you are trying to do.......Well not always. Sometime you just have to take the space LOL

I pull our 375res with a SRW. I just put tires that are rated for 4080 lbs each. It does a wonderful job. Some of the toy haulers would have pushed me to a DRW but the 375res works really well without one.

[orbiker]

I see you're in Central Oregon. We're in Gresham and spend a lot of time in Central Oregon. We'll be at Paulina Lake late July.
When I think of tight turns in small towns I think of the turn in Madras going to Cove Palisades. Traveling Southbound. It's a right hand turn right at the texaco. I don't think I could make that turn in a large 5th wheel without swinging to the left lane first. Essentially taking up two lanes of traffic. And there's constant traffic passing through madras which could make it challenging. Perhaps i'm just being paranoid as I haven't done it yet in anything but our smaller travel trailer. I still take it wide with that.

I would also be purchasing a new truck for whatever we get. I have a 2015 Ram 2500 Crew Cab with the CTD currently. I'd like to go with a Ram 3500 or F350 but i'm thinking these larger 5th wheels really need a DRW which i'm not crazy about but better to be safe.

We will be at the bottom of the hill by Paulina Lake at Cascade Meadows RV Resort for the 4th of July week.

July of 2016

[warsw1]

We will be at the bottom of the hill by Paulina Lake at Cascade Meadows RV Resort for the 4th of July week.

July of 2016

I know Cascade Meadows really well. We owned an RV park about 6 miles from them out towards the Lakes Hwy. They were my competition. We will be in Colorado in July or I would drive down there and harass you LOL. Are you down there for the fishing, off road playground or just for the beautiful scenery?

[orbiker]

I know Cascade Meadows really well. We owned an RV park about 6 miles from them out towards the Lakes Hwy. They were my competition. We will be in Colorado in July or I would drive down there and harass you LOL. Are you down there for the fishing, off road playground or just for the beautiful scenery?

Pig roast that the park is doing and riding the Victory mostly. Some much needed R and R also.

[warsw1]

Pig roast that the park is doing and riding the Victory mostly. Some much needed R and R also.

I use to ride a lot. The Cascade Lakes Hwy was one of my favorite rides. You will have fun.

[Aridon]

When you full time, floor plan is everything. We've been in 26ft TT and 45ft Class A and a 45ft DRV and now with a Momentum 395m on order. Size isn't a big deal for us. Driving a bigger unit is just as easy as a small one. Backing up with a bigger unit in general is also easier once you get over the size thing.

We mostly stay at commercial parks, have never really had a problem finding space. There have been a couple of occasions where the first park I picked on RV park reviews might of been a little older and we ended up staying a mile or two away in another park because they capped out at 40ft or something. There have been a couple of places like the KOA up in Thousand Islands or Navarre beach where the park was a little tight on the in and out.

We full timed for almost 10 years and about to do it again. Size simply wasn't a big deal.

Now if you're looking to only stay in state parks or stay off the beaten path without hookups a big rig could possibly be a hindrance. Doesn't mean you can boondock, we've done it a lot, doesn't mean you can stay at state parks, we've done that as well, just means that if you want to do that you need to pick your destination a little more carefully than if you were in a 20ft class b.

[steve83814]

We had the same concerns when we moved up from our Reflection 297RSTS to our new Solitude 375RES this past February in preparation for going full time later this year when my wife retires. We’ve now towed it about 1,800 miles with our RAM 3500 SRW and our fears proved to be unfounded.

You do have to be very aware of both the length and height of the 375RES, when going around corners and under bridges, but it is predictable and, in a lot of ways, easier to tow and back in to sites than our old Reflection travel trailer.

There’s plenty of room for my wife, myself and our three rather large yellow labs. It is a bit limited in how much weight you can put in it and would definitely benefit from 8,000 pound axles and maybe we will do that some time in the future.

The layout is open and spacious and, with all of the basement storage, I think the 375RES is probably about as close to an ideal fifth wheel for full timing that you’ll find.