New to the Site

[DoctorO21]

Just purchased a 2020 3120RL. We'll be retiring in June and plan to spend half of each year seeing this great country. We live in Oregon, so we have lots of miles ahead of us. Appreciate any advise you have for two new retirees pulling a 5th wheel.

[chulavista]

Originally Posted by DoctorO21

Just purchased a 2020 3120RL. We'll be retiring in June and plan to spend half of each year seeing this great country. We live in Oregon, so we have lots of miles ahead of us. Appreciate any advise you have for two new retirees pulling a 5th wheel.

I'm pretty new to the site too, and I have a 3120RL on my radar! Congratulations on your new trailer! What do you tow it with?

[jimandlaurie]

Congrats and welcome from "up the street".

[DQDick]

Welcome to the Forum! May your new rig bring you many years of wonderful memories.

[AZ Traveler]

Welcome to the forum! This is a great place to learn and share.

Best advice I can give is take it slow and ask lots of questions. You are towing something a lot taller than you may have in the past at 13.5 feet. On the west coast most bridges will not be a problem but keep an eye on trees and gas station covers. Take the time to get out and look if in question.

[Marilynd]

Congratulations! Welcome to the forum.

[Mudchief]

Congratulations and welcome to the forum.

[masterdrago]

Originally Posted by DoctorO21

Just purchased a 2020 3120RL. We'll be retiring in June and plan to spend half of each year seeing this great country. We live in Oregon, so we have lots of miles ahead of us. Appreciate any advise you have for two new retirees pulling a 5th wheel.

Advice? Read these forums. Wealth of great info. Search any subject. Enjoy your new 5r.

[DoctorO21]

We have a 2019 GMC Denali 3500 HD. I've added an auxiliary 38 gallon fuel tank and airbags. Pulls like a dream.

[rohrmann]

If you’ve never towed a large trailer, it may help greatly to take a driving course. There are several that are available around the country and the instructors will cover things you may have never thought were important which will make your time behind the wheel much more relaxing.

[CAG]

Practice right hand and left hand turns onto 2 lane roads. Oregon has some very narrow roads. As mentioned get used to looking for low bridges. We have one on a main road this is only 11 or 12 feet and semis seem to hit it all of the time.

Have fun and go slow. We are also just starting out on 5th wheeling in Washington. Used to the low bridges as we had a truck camper before, turns are another matter.

[Dancin Goose]

Congrats on the Retirement plans. I retired last year and we bought a 3120RL as well. We have snow issues in our area so I delivered the RV down south early around end of October. We are at home for the holidays but will return in Feb and get it out of storage. The only suggestion I would have is to make sure all warranty work is done before leaving for long stretches and use it locally for awhile to work out any bugs. This way your local dealer can fix issues. Enjoy your time out it’s awesome.
Cheers

And absolutely watch the treads lots of good people and info.

[laverdur]

Welcome to the site and congratulations on your new Monty and your upcoming retirement. Your open ended question will find fertile ground on this forum and I'm sure you will receive lots of advice.



After delivery, take a shakedown trip not too far from home. We went to Ft. Stevens for several days and took the opportunity to check out all systems. If you have not towed a large 5er before, take some time in an empty parking lot to practice turning and backing. If you have towed conventional travel trailers, you will find that at low speed, the 5er turns a tighter circle than the TV (tow vehicle) so it behooves one to make wide turns to avoid leaving part of the 5er on the curb. On city streets with a high crown, be especially careful of utility poles at the edge of the road if you are in the right-hand lane. Some of these utility poles actually lean outward making then an even greater hazard. At your first opportunity, get your rig on level ground while connected to your TV and measure your height. Most likely, it will be the front air conditioner, if you have two. The published height of the 5er is not good enough. Once you pack all your goodies in the Monty, get to a scale (Oregon has lots of DOT scales along state and US highways) and weigh your TV solo, then your TV connected. Then get your 5er axle weights to see if one axle is significantly heavier than the other. If you want to go to the extreme, get individual wheel weights on the Monty. You might find the need to redistribute your load to even things out. It looks like there is a scale close to you in Dayton. Know your tire pressure at all times. A good Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) is your friend. Depending on your TV, even if it has TPMS, it may not warn you before you have ruined a TV tire. My TV is one of those so I have after-market TPMS sensors on it too. Newer TVs are better. Consider installing a hard-wired power monitor/surge suppressor. It can save your sensitive electronics and control boards in the fridge, furnace, converter. Like with the TPMS, I'm avoiding recommending a brand because there are a lot of us who are loyal to one brand or another, much to the chagrin of others who prefer other brands. Another controversial topic is how to manage rear suspension squat when connected. I prefer air bags with an on-board compressor so that I can adjust the air pressure and thus ride height and ride comfort. Even if your TV has a built-in nav system, consider a GPS that is tailored to RVs and other high profile vehicles. That will keep you from finding that low overpass the hard way. There are a thousand more things but I won't go into them here. We're not far from each other. If you'd like to meet over a cup of coffee to chat, send me a private message with contact info and we'll make that happen. Most important, enjoy retirement and the RV lifestyle.

[DebNJim B]

Welcome from NY and congrats on retirement and the new 5er. You're in for a lot of enjoyment.
I've towed trailers of all lengths and types for many years but the fiver was my first 5th wheel. I was a bit surprised at first how much different it tracked than a bumper pull. You just need to turn as wide and possible and always watch your mirrors. Parking lot practice is good advice. I had a closed business with a vacant parking lot near me that helped as there was no traffic at all. Sometime a church near by will let you practice on a weekday when the lot is empty. Get a few traffic cones and set them up and learn about backing into a spot I have to admit I still struggle with that.
Read this forum regularly and you will learn much from the wisdom that is here.
Happy trails.

[Bob and Jeannette]

Welcome to the forum! This is a great resource. Enjoy your Montana and happy camping.

[jsb5717]

Welcome aboard, neighbor! Nice trailer and floor plan. Congrats on the retirement. My wife retired last fall, I'm retiring next fall. You didn't say what your previous experience towing is but make sure you've got a 1 ton tow vehicle at minimum for that 5er. Find some large, empty parking lots to practice turning and backing.


Don't be in a hurry, stay safe, and enjoy!

[twindman]

Agree on the tpms for the tires. Also, a good ems such as Progressive. Mine saved me at least twice (after ruining a tv and something else back around 2007) after I got one.

I did similar to your plan - but I only went sight seeing 3 months a year (to get out of AZ in the summer). My goal (accomplished 2 years ago) was to see every National Park that you can drive to. Took about 9 or 10 years. When searching for NPs don't get fooled into thinking there are hundreds. Lots of sites list National Historic parks, National Landmarks, National Monuments as all NPs. There are something like 55+- actual parks - one or more in Hawaii and 7 in Alaska with only 2 drivable (one on an 80 mile dirt road) and one or 2 off the CA coast.
Oh, and if you are old enough, get the National Park Pass (for seniors??). Never pay again at NPs.
Have fun.