IF this is part 2, where is part 1?? This is one of my last two choices. I have OVER thought all this and it's down to this and the Brinkley Z3400. It's really like comparing apples and oranges, but they are two of the best in what they do. You sounded like a kid who was told that Xmas was coming early. the way I felt when I watched the Factory tour of this place. LOL
Hate to break it to you guys, but Grand Design's are widely known to be built like crap. The only one's who don't know this are the one's who ended up buying them
We bought a Riverstone 39FK 9 months ago!……… we ♥️ it!! We toured it at the RV Show in Houston. We originally planned to have ours built so we’d have exactly what we wanted BUT C-19 hit us! Unfortunately we lost our home to 🔥 this past February and we’re living in a hotel room amidst all this. I called the FR rep we’d dealt w/at the RV Show (Sasquatch sp ?LoL) he was AWESOME. W/the worldwide pandemic happening, to get an ETA on ours we wanted to build, well that was impossible…so he made a phone call and put us in touch w/Ron Hoover in Katy and needless to say in less than an hour we were hooked up w/the actual RV we wanted to have built. The only difference was the actual color of wood and furniture. All of the extras we were going to add were ALREADY on the RV, including a couple of extras!!!! The only issue was that we had to wait a few days (2-4) for it to be delivered to the Katy store since is was sitting on another RH lot in Texas. We also added an extra surge protector which they installed at the last minute the day we picked our NEW home on wheels!!! All in all, considering the loss of everything we owned, between Ron Hoover, Forest River and last but certainly not least Sasquatch……we are extremely HAPPY and THANKFUL for every one who helped us during not only our troubled time but the whole worlds troubled time. Thank you for doing the videos on these rvs and sharing the qualities of Forest River! Happy and safe travels!!!
The easiest way to look at a 5th wheel trailer is like an old school teeter totter. The axles are the fulcrum and if you put even weight on each side it is balanced. If you put weight more to one side or the other that side will be heavier. This is how trailers work. Load more weight in the back and it takes weight off the pin weight. Load more to the front and you add to the pin weight. This is also why most toy haulers have all the tanks and equipment to the front of the trailer. They expect the back to be loaded with weight to counter balance the weight in the front. People overthink this situation far to often. I like the KISS method.
Thanks for your info but my question is will your F450 tow the Legacy 39 RBFL safely and legally. We love that coach but we have reservations if our new F450 specks are enough? Thanks for your help.
Watch my video "5th wheel towing made simple" th-cam.com/video/zCxyJL94rJQ/w-d-xo.html Payload is the first thing to become illegal "technically" but it is also BS on the F450. At any rate the Legacy has about 19,000lb GVWR so I don't see any problem at all with an F450 but you just got to do the math and go to the scales.
This was a fabulous walk-through....Riverstones are so rich in detail, it's hard to capture it all (we shot a walk-through of our own, and it was challenging to really nail all the thoughtfulness and do them true justice). Great info, thanks for the vid!
Go Your Own Way I tried to attach a photo to give you a laugh so you could see why I asked if it was a Lagotto but this doesn’t allow it. Thanks for the reply
Everyone seems to have their own pros and cons! Makes it real tough to decide! I’ve been through a lot of the same questions and concerns you have had when I went to a 5 th wheel. Spent a lot of time on you tube ! Lol!
Yes, but this is Forrest River playing with the big boys, DRV, Luxe, and New Horizon. I even went to the Grand Design Rep for comment and he said they don't even compete in the same category. I thought that was fair enough so I didn't include it in the vid.
Thanks you helped me change my mind. We were looking at the Riverstone RKFB but we like this better. When we get back from living in Japan we are going to live full time in it. Did you get? Do you like it? Have you had any issues?
We did not get it bacause our kids came back from college because of Covid and it made us realize we needed space for them so we went with a toyhauler. Made a vid of us picking it up th-cam.com/video/t25XmoTsP2Y/w-d-xo.html
@@GoYourOwnWay I watched the link you provided. I see you didn't stick with the Riverstone. From my pretty extensive research as far as I can tell the Riverstone is the better built coach?
@@calikalbocalikalbo6082 They certainly are built and are nice. I still love Riverstone. If you want I can put you in touch with Rocky and he can track the one you want down or give you a deal on ordering a brand new one. As far as our decision between them, its here haha: th-cam.com/video/_UCh2ho8fOk/w-d-xo.html
FWIW, My 2013 Ram 3500 dually has a GCWR of 32,000lbs and a door tag payload of a bit over 5000lbs. According to a newly revised edition of Trailer Life’s Towing guide, I am only good to two about 13k. I’m thinking somebody screwed up the numbers on the new guide. Your F-450 should be at least a ton better than my 3500.
That doesn't sound right? Payload is usually the first to be over in, at least with the F450s. Have you watched our video " 5th Wheel Towing Made Simple? What is the GVWR if your truck?
Go and look up Hellwig big wig air bags for the f450..about $600..have those installed on your truck with manual inflation and you can haul whatever you want with the 450..they will add about 5600 lbs of carrying capacity to the truck.
You only mention pulling it. Will it be able to brake and handle safely with the air bag upgrade you suggested? Almost any pickup will "MOVE" it but a person will be dead once they hit a real highway if they tow these new fifth wheels like DVR and Luxe. Tow vehicle fear is whats keeping me and a lot of people from pulling the trigger on Fifth wheels. Im looking into the Freightliner Sportchasis Trucks to be safe.
@@shannonstewart4792 I completely understand your fear. Won't go into the long story, but your concern is what led me to upgrade my TV some years back. BUT.....you need to see the "big picture" when it comes to stopping performance. The short of it is, there is NO truck that - on it's own - is gonna safely stop while towing a trailer if that trailer doesn't help the truck out. IOW's, the two need to act in concert to effect a controlled stop - especially in a panic stop situation. This is why I'm a big proponent of modern braking systems (i.e. disc brakes) on an RV trailer - whether it be a pull behind or 5er. Personally, I find it almost unacceptable that the RV industry has not moved to disc brakes across the board. There is overwhelming evidence that discs are superior to drums - especially in a panic stop or when one has to "ride the brakes" on a long downhill descent. IMHO....within reason.....any of the newer 3500 or 450 trucks are more than enough truck until you get close to 28K. BUT....I would strongly urge anybody to convert their drums to discs. From personal experience, it's like night and day. Anyhow, just an opinion from a washed up mechanical engineer.
I have a 2015 F350 King Ranch with the High Capacity Tow Package which gives me the widetrack front axle like a F450 and I have towed a 2020 DRV Columbus 44' with no trouble. My F350 has the same GVWR as a F450 (14,000#), my payload capacity is 6,670#. Most all of the DRV's have a GVWR of 24,000#, but the dry weight is much less. My truck has a "maximum loaded trailer weight" rating of 26,700# (per Ford brochures). I ran it across the scales to see how much the whole thing weighed and the results were as follows, Front Axle=5320#, Rear Axle=8200#, Trailer Axles=16700#, Gross Weight=30220#. Which is still less than the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating) of 35,000# for my truck. I have been recently looking to upgrade my camper (2018 Coachmen Chaparral 370FL) to a Riverstone and there are not a lot of videos out there on them. Thanks for adding this content.
I hope you realized the tow weight isn’t the key, but it’s the load capacity of your truck you must stay within. So many people look only at the tow weight when looking to pull a 5th wheel.
Riverstone is far superior to any Grand Design period. I have looked and Grand Design and the axles are not as heavy as the Riverstone. The frame on the Riverstone is far superior. The only 2 5th, wheels that I would say were better that Riverstone is Luxe and New Horizons, however they are 65k and 100k more in price. Riverstone is the winner for value and weight. Stay away from the Beacon. It is a pig with lipstick. I own a 2018 F-450 and pull 35k every day with my 5th.wheel. The f-450 handles it very well with a 6k pin weight. I have been hauling with these F-450 pickup trucks for years and have had no issues. The F-450 is much more capable than a 3500 or f-350. The reason they rate it at 14k as the F-350 is to keep the 450 hp engine instead of the derated engine in the chassis cabs. I also am a ford technician so I speak from experience and personal knowledge. Your F-450 will haul any 5th wheel out there with no issues.
Man thank you for a REAL explanation. And for showing the truck you have. They would sell more Fifth wheels if they explained things better about tow vehicles. And they would have less tow accidents on the road. They have me so scared to tow i'm looking at the Freightliner sport chassis trucks just to be safe.
BTW. Love your wife. She is a true Lady. A true Partner. A true ride or die. You a luck man. A woman willing to go on us Mens adventures in life is rare. Women in New York are far from ladies lol. have a great summer man and travel safe.
In reality Solitudes, Paradigm, Montana, etc are just mid-level fifth wheels. They be the upper end of what most of us would choose partly because we are saturated with hearing about and seeing these brands. In reality they don't hold a candle to the true high end units that aren't built in huge numbers.
In reality Solitudes, Paradigm, Montana, etc are just mid-level fifth wheels. They be the upper end of what most of us would choose partly because we are saturated with hearing about and seeing these brands. In reality they don't hold a candle to the true high end units that aren't built in huge numbers.
Thanks for that short and sweet advice lol. Everyone else tries to be so extra smart about the what to get first question and that just makes newbies get a headache and scared to tow a bicycle let alone a Fifth wheel.
@@GoYourOwnWay That's our favorite too for having a den and 1/2 bath. But yeah the closet kinda sucks. Ib also wish they would put windows in the sides of the den slide outs.
Riverstones look nice and and have some nice features, but I think Grand Design is better balance overall, and customer ratings tend to indicate that. Having said that, except for a couple of low volume/very high price manufacturers there isn't a 5th wheel brand I have much confidence in.
Yeah, I think I'll go with luxe F550 hauler right off the bat... Thanks for the heads up.
First time I saw any Riverstone 5th we were in Myrtle Beach last September. I’ve thought of nothing else since. They were perfect.
IF this is part 2, where is part 1?? This is one of my last two choices. I have OVER thought all this and it's down to this and the Brinkley Z3400. It's really like comparing apples and oranges, but they are two of the best in what they do. You sounded like a kid who was told that Xmas was coming early. the way I felt when I watched the Factory tour of this place. LOL
Hate to break it to you guys, but Grand Design's are widely known to be built like crap. The only one's who don't know this are the one's who ended up buying them
We bought a Riverstone 39FK 9 months ago!……… we ♥️ it!! We toured it at the RV Show in Houston. We originally planned to have ours built so we’d have exactly what we wanted BUT C-19 hit us! Unfortunately we lost our home to 🔥 this past February and we’re living in a hotel room amidst all this. I called the FR rep we’d dealt w/at the RV Show (Sasquatch sp ?LoL) he was AWESOME. W/the worldwide pandemic happening, to get an ETA on ours we wanted to build, well that was impossible…so he made a phone call and put us in touch w/Ron Hoover in Katy and needless to say in less than an hour we were hooked up w/the actual RV we wanted to have built. The only difference was the actual color of wood and furniture. All of the extras we were going to add were ALREADY on the RV, including a couple of extras!!!! The only issue was that we had to wait a few days (2-4) for it to be delivered to the Katy store since is was sitting on another RH lot in Texas. We also added an extra surge protector which they installed at the last minute the day we picked our NEW home on wheels!!! All in all, considering the loss of everything we owned, between Ron Hoover, Forest River and last but certainly not least Sasquatch……we are extremely HAPPY and THANKFUL for every one who helped us during not only our troubled time but the whole worlds troubled time. Thank you for doing the videos on these rvs and sharing the qualities of Forest River! Happy and safe travels!!!
Nice! You must be talking about Rocky haha
😂and since your a Ford man I thought I’d add we tow ours w/an F450!! Thnx again!
Measure the washer and dryer and see if you can get them out through any of the doors if you need to replace one
Of course you can
Thank You for all the great information. This is a great help to me. Safe travels
The easiest way to look at a 5th wheel trailer is like an old school teeter totter. The axles are the fulcrum and if you put even weight on each side it is balanced. If you put weight more to one side or the other that side will be heavier. This is how trailers work. Load more weight in the back and it takes weight off the pin weight. Load more to the front and you add to the pin weight. This is also why most toy haulers have all the tanks and equipment to the front of the trailer. They expect the back to be loaded with weight to counter balance the weight in the front. People overthink this situation far to often. I like the KISS method.
I've been thinking Riverstone 42fskg for myself. Thanks for the video
I’m really impressed with you you’re really thinking ahead and cautious
Thanks for your info but my question is will your F450 tow the Legacy 39 RBFL safely and legally. We love that coach but we have reservations if our new F450 specks are enough? Thanks for your help.
Watch my video "5th wheel towing made simple" th-cam.com/video/zCxyJL94rJQ/w-d-xo.html
Payload is the first thing to become illegal "technically" but it is also BS on the F450. At any rate the Legacy has about 19,000lb GVWR so I don't see any problem at all with an F450 but you just got to do the math and go to the scales.
Of course it will
He did a great job explaining this unit.... I loved how you explain the balance and pin weight, you asked great questions.
Charles
Thanks a Million, EXCELLENT VIDEO!!! So informative!
This was a fabulous walk-through....Riverstones are so rich in detail, it's hard to capture it all (we shot a walk-through of our own, and it was challenging to really nail all the thoughtfulness and do them true justice). Great info, thanks for the vid!
And it was at a show, forget about touring the inside haha
Off the subject. Beautiful Trailer. Is that a Lagotto in the back seat? we have 2.
Nice, no Mini poodle and Maltishizaphoo haha
Go Your Own Way I tried to attach a photo to give you a laugh so you could see why I asked if it was a Lagotto but this doesn’t allow it.
Thanks for the reply
Everyone seems to have their own pros and cons! Makes it real tough to decide! I’ve been through a lot of the same questions and concerns you have had when I went to a 5 th wheel. Spent a lot of time on you tube ! Lol!
Yes, but this is Forrest River playing with the big boys, DRV, Luxe, and New Horizon. I even went to the Grand Design Rep for comment and he said they don't even compete in the same category. I thought that was fair enough so I didn't include it in the vid.
Thanks you helped me change my mind. We were looking at the Riverstone RKFB but we like this better. When we get back from living in Japan we are going to live full time in it.
Did you get? Do you like it? Have you had any issues?
One thing is with the front living is there is no closet to speak of in the bedroom. Still nothing like that front living room for a residential feel.
We did not get it bacause our kids came back from college because of Covid and it made us realize we needed space for them so we went with a toyhauler. Made a vid of us picking it up
th-cam.com/video/t25XmoTsP2Y/w-d-xo.html
@@GoYourOwnWay
OH man bummer. Thanks for getting back to me. I think we will get it when we're done living in Japan.
@@GoYourOwnWay
I watched the link you provided. I see you didn't stick with the Riverstone. From my pretty extensive research as far as I can tell the Riverstone is the better built coach?
@@calikalbocalikalbo6082 They certainly are built and are nice. I still love Riverstone. If you want I can put you in touch with Rocky and he can track the one you want down or give you a deal on ordering a brand new one. As far as our decision between them, its here haha: th-cam.com/video/_UCh2ho8fOk/w-d-xo.html
Riverstone Legacy is now ahead of DRV for me!
Rich people problems
FWIW, My 2013 Ram 3500 dually has a GCWR of 32,000lbs and a door tag payload of a bit over 5000lbs.
According to a newly revised edition of Trailer Life’s Towing guide, I am only good to two about 13k.
I’m thinking somebody screwed up the numbers on the new guide.
Your F-450 should be at least a ton better than my 3500.
That doesn't sound right? Payload is usually the first to be over in, at least with the F450s. Have you watched our video " 5th Wheel Towing Made Simple? What is the GVWR if your truck?
Go and look up Hellwig big wig air bags for the f450..about $600..have those installed on your truck with manual inflation and you can haul whatever you want with the 450..they will add about 5600 lbs of carrying capacity to the truck.
You only mention pulling it. Will it be able to brake and handle safely with the air bag upgrade you suggested? Almost any pickup will "MOVE" it but a person will be dead once they hit a real highway if they tow these new
fifth wheels like DVR and Luxe. Tow vehicle fear is whats keeping me and a lot of people from pulling the trigger on Fifth wheels. Im looking into the Freightliner Sportchasis Trucks to be safe.
@@shannonstewart4792 I completely understand your fear. Won't go into the long story, but your concern is what led me to upgrade my TV some years back. BUT.....you need to see the "big picture" when it comes to stopping performance. The short of it is, there is NO truck that - on it's own - is gonna safely stop while towing a trailer if that trailer doesn't help the truck out. IOW's, the two need to act in concert to effect a controlled stop - especially in a panic stop situation. This is why I'm a big proponent of modern braking systems (i.e. disc brakes) on an RV trailer - whether it be a pull behind or 5er. Personally, I find it almost unacceptable that the RV industry has not moved to disc brakes across the board. There is overwhelming evidence that discs are superior to drums - especially in a panic stop or when one has to "ride the brakes" on a long downhill descent. IMHO....within reason.....any of the newer 3500 or 450 trucks are more than enough truck until you get close to 28K. BUT....I would strongly urge anybody to convert their drums to discs. From personal experience, it's like night and day. Anyhow, just an opinion from a washed up mechanical engineer.
I have a 2015 F350 King Ranch with the High Capacity Tow Package which gives me the widetrack front axle like a F450 and I have towed a 2020 DRV Columbus 44' with no trouble. My F350 has the same GVWR as a F450 (14,000#), my payload capacity is 6,670#. Most all of the DRV's have a GVWR of 24,000#, but the dry weight is much less. My truck has a "maximum loaded trailer weight" rating of 26,700# (per Ford brochures). I ran it across the scales to see how much the whole thing weighed and the results were as follows, Front Axle=5320#, Rear Axle=8200#, Trailer Axles=16700#, Gross Weight=30220#. Which is still less than the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating) of 35,000# for my truck.
I have been recently looking to upgrade my camper (2018 Coachmen Chaparral 370FL) to a Riverstone and there are not a lot of videos out there on them. Thanks for adding this content.
I hope you realized the tow weight isn’t the key, but it’s the load capacity of your truck you must stay within. So many people look only at the tow weight when looking to pull a 5th wheel.
Riverstone is far superior to any Grand Design period. I have looked and Grand Design and the axles are not as heavy as the Riverstone. The frame on the Riverstone is far superior. The only 2 5th, wheels that I would say were better that Riverstone is Luxe and New Horizons, however they are 65k and 100k more in price. Riverstone is the winner for value and weight. Stay away from the Beacon. It is a pig with lipstick. I own a 2018 F-450 and pull 35k every day with my 5th.wheel. The f-450 handles it very well with a 6k pin weight. I have been hauling with these F-450 pickup trucks for years and have had no issues. The F-450 is much more capable than a 3500 or f-350. The reason they rate it at 14k as the F-350 is to keep the 450 hp engine instead of the derated engine in the chassis cabs. I also am a ford technician so I speak from experience and personal knowledge. Your F-450 will haul any 5th wheel out there with no issues.
Man thank you for a REAL explanation. And for showing the truck you have. They would sell more Fifth wheels if they explained things better about tow vehicles. And they would have less tow accidents on the road. They have me so scared to tow i'm looking at the Freightliner sport chassis trucks just to be safe.
BTW. Love your wife. She is a true Lady. A true Partner. A true ride or die. You a luck man. A woman willing to go on us Mens adventures in life is rare. Women in New York are far from ladies lol. have a great summer man and travel safe.
Thanks for the info Big Dave!
In reality Solitudes, Paradigm, Montana, etc are just mid-level fifth wheels. They be the upper end of what most of us would choose partly because we are saturated with hearing about and seeing these brands. In reality they don't hold a candle to the true high end units that aren't built in huge numbers.
In reality Solitudes, Paradigm, Montana, etc are just mid-level fifth wheels. They be the upper end of what most of us would choose partly because we are saturated with hearing about and seeing these brands. In reality they don't hold a candle to the true high end units that aren't built in huge numbers.
RAWR is always the issue with most pickups. Tip: Pick out your fifthwheel FIRST, then research correct tow vehicle.
It does come down to RAWR especially with the 450s your right. Had 750lbs to spare.
Thanks for that short and sweet advice lol. Everyone else tries to be so extra smart about the what to get first question and that just makes newbies get a headache and scared to tow a bicycle let alone a Fifth wheel.
These riverstones just keep getting better. Now. They're running full fiberglass roofs and heat pumps throughout.
Grand Design is over rated. We're leaning towards Riverstone or Redwood.
Those Riverstones are nice but the ones we liked didn't have much of a closet that would do for full-time living. The RBFL was my favorite though.
@@GoYourOwnWay That's our favorite too for having a den and 1/2 bath. But yeah the closet kinda sucks. Ib also wish they would put windows in the sides of the den slide outs.
Riverstones look nice and and have some nice features, but I think Grand Design is better balance overall, and customer ratings tend to indicate that. Having said that, except for a couple of low volume/very high price manufacturers there isn't a 5th wheel brand I have much confidence in.