Prospective fw buyer needs education

[codycarver]

Brand new to this. Wife and I have been saving for several years and are about to take the next step. Been looking hard at the Sundance (mostly the 3200 re and recently the 3200 rk) also been looking at the Sabre line. We have ruled out Cougar. We have everything to learn. I've been advised by a long time fwer that length can be a situation at some camp grounds (nearly all their camping is on national forest or State and Fed parks). I've been pushing and pulling trailers since my feet could reach the pedals so I'm not concerned about that end of it. Will be using a long bed Dodge diesel for a tow vehicle. I have a B&W turn over goose neck hitch and understand they sell a fifth wheel kit for it. Any input would be greatly appreciated

 

[ricatic]

Codycarver,

Welcome to the friendliest place in RV'ing. We looked at a lot of 5vers before buying our Bighorn 3055RL. It has been at the scales and loaded for camping but only 20 gallons of water it weighs 11900. We pull it with a F250 CC SB 4WD PSD. We have the B&W Turnover ball hitch as well. We purchased the B&W Companion 5th wheel hitch to work with the turnover ball. It works great, highly recommended. Good Luck with your purchase.

Ricatic

 

[TXBobcat]

What would help is tell us what Tow Vehicle (TV) you have Dodge Longbed doesn't help much. 2500, 3500, 4500 or what. Single Rear Wheel (SRW) or Dual Rear Wheel (DRW). Makes a lot of difference in a lot of what you can tow.

The Gross weight of a 3200re is about 14k. A 2500 would tow it fine. You will need the companion 5th wheel to go with the turnoverball gooseneck. DO NOT use a gooseneck adapter. You will void the warranty.

Read this forum and you should find a lot of good information.

Good luck and Travel Safe.

BC

 

[codycarver]

Thanks for your replies. It is a 2500 dodge Cummins 5 spd with an exhaust brake.

 

[Rrloren]

I tow the 2900 mk with mine and it is no problem. Towed an 11m lb. travel trailer before that also no problem even in the Rockies.
Good Luck with your purchase.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Cody, We have a 3400RL and have not had any issues being able to fit in the "private" campgrounds. Most, if not all, are capable of handling any size rig. You will more than likely have potential problems getting into State or Federal Campgrounds mainly due to length restrictions. I have seen some restricted to 24ft. I would imagine the best thing to do when planning a trip would be to do some online investigating before deciding where to camp. You should be able to find restrictions at state or federal websites. I think the Sundance line has come a long way from where it was a few years ago. There's also a nice little North trail right behind us in our park right now. Heartland is known for making great use of space and their customer service is 2nd to none. IMHO. My advice is to buy a 5th wheel that will fit your family comfortably and be happy with the space. If you buy a rig to fit the smaller c'grounds you may not be delighted with it after a few outings.

 

[codycarver]

That's what we are planning and I have been poking around park web sites. When we looked last year the floor plans we could afford were not to our liking so we put off buying until we could get what we like. There is a lot of beautiful country within a couple hundred miles of us so we plan on long weekends and one or two longer trips a year for now. I'm glad to hear about the customer service. After reading some of the things on this site we almost talked ourselves out of this but that past quickly after talking to a dealer that said the same thing. Thanks much for you input.

 

[superduty08]

We found the 3055RL to fit our needs and still fit in most state parks at around 35'. I agree to fit your needs first and then plan for your camp sites.