New member and a new 342PHT

[pgurrisi]

Hi all,

I am new to the forum and I am new to 5th wheels. Two weeks ago, It bought a new Mountaineer 342PHT. I had been looking for a new 5th wheel for some time. I grew up traveling in class A's and wanted a change. Well that’s part of it. The other part is that I wanted a new truck and the only way I could justify the price of a new Chevy duramax crew cab that I wanted was to use it as a tow vehicle.

I had never owned a 5th wheel before, but all the info I read showed me that it was the way to go if you have a trailer. Now that I have pulled one for more than 5 feet I certainly agree.

I had been looking at a lot of different brands and models and found the 342pht to be the best overall bunk house model. I was most impressed with several features of this unit. 1) was the difference in quality between this unit and others. The fit and finish was just much better than the other brands I had looked at. 2) was the bunk house layout. I loved the separate room with the 3rd slide. I have three kids and love the fact that they can have their own space (and me too). I am an early riser and hated the fact that I had to tip toe around the kids sleeping on the dinette and couch in my old class A. 3) was the separate full bath. Most units with the bunkhouse had the split bath that connected to the master beadroom. I have an 11yo girl and when looking at a wildcat, I heard her ask mom "where does daddy go when I have to take a shower?" That told me there was no split bath in my future (amoung other things, but there is no section here for a dad's mental status when dealing with young girls). 4) was the extraordinary cabinet space in this thing. With the high profile the cabinets seem to go on forever.

We have taken it on its maiden voyage. Ok it was only 20 miutes away, but after three days in it I felt I had made the right decision. The unit was the perfect layout. The wife and I didn't have to hide in the bedroom when the kids went to bed. The 5th wheel towed beautifully at 70mph. The fact that I don't have 4 vehicles sitting in my yard (2 that we drive, a class A and a little towable car) is a financial relief.

I only have two negatives. 1) is that I don't have a generator. I know that is easily remedied with a portable unit, but truthfully it is so much easier to have a permenant mount generator. Anybody have recommendations on generators? 2) is the fact that all the slides are controlled by one button. Of course it is preference only, but I think this is terrible. I think it is much better to be standing in front of the slide pressing the button for that particular slide. I would just hate to tear off a cabinet door because I forgot to close a cabinet and couldn't see it while I pressed the button.

Anyway we are headed out again next weekend then I will cover it and put it up for the winter. That will be a sad time.

I will just have to look forward to the weekend trips in the springtime and hopefully a run to Yellowstone in the summer.

Great to meet you all.