Just Purchased 38FL

Moland · 06-16-2015, 08:06 PM

Hello all. I'm another one that wasn't looking to purchase for a few more months. Been looking for awhile. The 38FL is a bit larger than I'd been looking but the wife liked it and that's all it took. The plan was purchase now, hey it payed off before retirement. With that being said it won't get used as a full time for a few years. I'm planning on building a garage to store it in. Any pointers as to what to do for maintenance during this time would be appreciated. It's first trip may be the rally in August. Anyone in Missouri going? And last I see allot of discussion on tow vehicles. I've got a 2013 GMC 4x4 2500HD with the duramax. The 38 doesn't exceed either tow or hitch. Does anyone here have the same? Well this was more than I type in a year. Thanks and looking forward to meeting some fellow owners. P.S. I'm retired Navy, any ship mates here. Thanks again. Alan & Christene

Moland · 06-16-2015, 08:14 PM

I forgot to say that this is my first 5th wheel and according to the wife or only one. Had been a tent in the past.

RomanyLife · 06-16-2015, 08:21 PM

Welcome Alan and Christene! Congratulations on your new RW!! You will be glad to know that you have a lot of friends and helpful souls here. LOTS of expertise and experience. My advice would be if you have a question, use the "Search" function of the forum first, because someone probably already asked it and it got answered and you will get your answer that much quicker!

It's a BIGGG coach, but it pulls beautifully. Just gotta get used to the length of it (and the height) It's definitely more effort than hauling a tent, I can assure you that, but it has it's rewards!

Good luck and enjoy!

RWJSIM2003 · 06-16-2015, 09:30 PM

Congrats on your new RW. I would be little worried about towing with that 2500 most of us have found that 3500 /350 DRW works much better they are heavy rigs.

Wishing you many safe travels.

atom ant · 06-16-2015, 10:00 PM

Congrats on that new rig!

When you say doesn't exceed hitch, do you mean brochure printed hitch or did you weigh it? I think the FL is lighter on the nose than the rest...I think.

Char & Steve · 06-16-2015, 10:11 PM

Welcome and Congrats...when I look out in the lower driveway at ours I'm amazed at how beautiful it is and how much of the driveway it takes up lol.!!!!! I'm sure your going to love it. RW's are gorgeous.(especially the FL's just saying )

Char

Shane Wood · 06-17-2015, 12:10 AM

Congrats on the new purchase. I have a 36rl and pulled it with a 2500 HD and the a 3500 HD swr. They both had no problem pulling or stopping and probably would have been fine. My problem was like drinking and driving, someone runs a stop sign and causes an accident and you are hooped if drunk or overloaded. These trailers are heavy and in crosswinds they will throw your single axle around. If you are just using it as weekend warrior until you decide to travel with it and are careful your truck will work. Seriously consider a 3500 dually to haul it

RomanyLife · 06-17-2015, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane Wood

These trailers are heavy and in crosswinds they will throw your single axle around. If you are just using it as weekend warrior until you decide to travel with it and are careful your truck will work. Seriously consider a 3500 dually to haul it

...and rail road crossings, and bridge expansion joints, and many other unanticipated road "hazards". She's lovely, but she WILL take you for a scary ride if your truck isn't beefy enough

atom ant · 06-17-2015, 12:59 AM

"Whoop-de-doos" as I recall

(as I was rolling around on the floor laughing)

RomanyLife · 06-17-2015, 01:19 AM

LOL yes I think I have heard that term a time or two! And they definitely sound like more fun than they are!!

rob_fla · 06-17-2015, 04:32 AM

Congratulation's on your new FL Redwood.
We have been Fulltime on our 38 FL almost a year now, had to work through a few issues in the beginning but everything has been going smooth recently.
We really like our FL layout and the all the room and space we have.
I would agree the FL models are a little lighter on the Pin Weight than some of the RL models.
We had ours weighted and our total weight is around 16,800 lbs. with a pin weight of about 3,000 lbs.

Grizzby · 06-17-2015, 03:48 PM

Alan and Christene, congratulations on you new RW and welcome to the Redwood family. Debbie and I really enjoy our 36FL and have been full-timing in it for our two years. You will love your RW. As already stated, these are heavy rigs. Your truck will do the job as far as power; however, for the long haul, you will be better served with the extra capacity that a dual wheel truck will offer. I've been towing trailers since 1998, and have had a few "white knuckle" experiences with trucks that were not up to the task. The piece of mind, and driving enjoyment, cannot be over stated by having the more capable tow vehicle. That being said, many folks state they are satisfied with the 2500 series vehicle. I with the extra weight that we carry around full-timing, I would not use a 2500...my opinion based upon experience.

rob_fla · 06-17-2015, 04:28 PM

I agree about 3/4 Ton SRW Series trucks.
We have been Fulltime for almost 4 years now and started with a 2500HD Series SRW Chevy Truck and a 40 foot SOB 5th Wheel that weighed about 1,000 lbs. less than our Redwood.
It did not take us long to realize the 2500HD SRW Chevy truck was not up to the task for such a heavy load, yes it pulled the load fine and stopped ok but it did not take much to get pushed around on the road.
We moved up to our current 3500HD DRW Truck and it was like night and day.
Since getting the 3500HD Truck, we have pulled Coast to Coast several times with no issues and are much less tired at the end of the day due to the much improved stability and ease of driving.

ChristianM · 06-17-2015, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moland

Hello all. I'm another one that wasn't looking to purchase for a few more months. Been looking for awhile. The 38FL is a bit larger than I'd been looking but the wife liked it and that's all it took. The plan was purchase now, hey it payed off before retirement. With that being said it won't get used as a full time for a few years. I'm planning on building a garage to store it in. Any pointers as to what to do for maintenance during this time would be appreciated. It's first trip may be the rally in August. Anyone in Missouri going? And last I see allot of discussion on tow vehicles. I've got a 2013 GMC 4x4 2500HD with the duramax. The 38 doesn't exceed either tow or hitch. Does anyone here have the same? Well this was more than I type in a year. Thanks and looking forward to meeting some fellow owners. P.S. I'm retired Navy, any ship mates here. Thanks again. Alan & Christene

WELCOME to our family, from us here at Redwood.
Taylor and I are heavily involved with this forum and love hearing what you guys are doing, and will help with anything we can.
We would LOVE to meet you guys at the Rally this year in Indiana. :-)
Until then, be sure to follow us on facebook AND on our blog (clubcrossroads | Your family. Your dreams. Your adventures.) to get an idea of what owners all over the country are doing.
Look forward to hopefully meeting you soon!
Christian

superduty glampers · 06-18-2015, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shane Wood

Congrats on the new purchase. I have a 36rl and pulled it with a 2500 HD and the a 3500 HD swr. They both had no problem pulling or stopping and probably would have been fine. My problem was like drinking and driving, someone runs a stop sign and causes an accident and you are hooped if drunk or overloaded. These trailers are heavy and in crosswinds they will throw your single axle around. If you are just using it as weekend warrior until you decide to travel with it and are careful your truck will work. Seriously consider a 3500 dually to haul it

That is exactly why I have a dash cam.

mhs4771 · 06-18-2015, 01:57 AM

I think that once you get real world weights you will find that you are quite a bit over weight. Even the smallest RWs once loaded are generally over the ratings for most 250/2500 series TVs.

poormarky · 06-19-2015, 07:32 PM

Welcome aboard! We have the 2013 36FL which is almost 2 foot shorter. We pull with a Dodge Dolly and the Tailair pin hitch. That has made all the difference in the world along with airbags on the truck. If you come to the rally the escapees are bringing their scales for weighing. I got a call from them today and they are going to accommodate those that want to weigh. You will have to sign up and there is a cost for this. They will have more posted July 1st. They said they will weigh unit with the truck, then just the trailer and then the truck. This way you will have everything per unit. Hope to see you at the rally.

rob_fla · 06-20-2015, 04:07 AM

Attached is our Weight Data Sheet from a few months ago.

Interesting that the wheel weights on the trailer are almost the same for every wheel.

poormarky · 06-20-2015, 06:51 AM

Rob,
It will be interesting to see the difference between the 36fl and 38fl. We don't full time as we have ours at a campground for now as we both still work. We have had it 2 years and have pulled it from lazydays home and to Myrtle beach and once to the factory. I don't know if your going to the rally or not, but I will send you the weights. Thanks for posting.

rob_fla · 06-20-2015, 02:51 PM

The biggest difference between the 36FL and the 38 FL is the rear bedroom got bigger and has additional cabinets and a dresser on the bathroom wall side of the bedroom and the reconfiguration of the Front Living Room.
The reconfiguration of the Front Living Room proved to be a Love / Hate thing, some like it, some hate it, no real middle road.
Now the Front Living Room has been reconfigured again on the current Front Livng model which caused the loss of a lot of kitchen pantry storage space.

As far as the weights, the FL has a lighter Pin Weight than a typical Rear Living Floorplan due to the layout.
Our Bathroom and Washer / Dryer and Kitchen Pantry sits over the axles.
Also we do not have a generator up front which would raise the pin weight.

We plan on going to the Redwood Rally, look forward to seeing everybody there.

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