Want to know how we make our fifth wheel work for our family of 5?!
Our family of 5 is living fulltime in our Grand Design Solitude 369RL. When we were looking for a new rig for us to make our transition to full time living, we were not even considering a Grand Design. It wasn’t even on our radar because we didn’t think we could afford one. Well low and behold we ran across this beautiful rig! It was parked on the side of the road at an RV Repair place just outside of Montrose CO. It had been there for several months but we never even considered stopping by. We had driven by it countless times. The discovery actually sparked as we were driving to deliver our previous Jayco travel trailer. Oddly enough, both of the trailers we’ve sold in this area were bought by people in the same area and multiple hours from us. Neither had proper towing vehicles so we delivered them both. Jordan made a comment about the trailer place and we drove by and we discussed how everything there was out of our price range. Oddly enough, the couple we sold the Jayco to wanted to write us a check. This wasn’t discussed before hand and we were a little annoyed. Regardless, it was what it was and we held the title until I got the check cashed. I (Brooke) had to drive by the trailer place again on my way to their bank to cash the check. I decided to stop on my way back to town.
We’d been looking for a new to us trailer for a while. And we had narrowed down our must list.
* Travel Trailer
* Jordan had to fit. (He’s 6’7″ so that rules out most travel trailers.)
* True bunkroom
* 2 – 3 slides
* Jordan had to fit in the shower
* Tub
* Double fridge (with access on travel days) or an outdoor kitchen with additional fridge
* Access to bathroom during travel
* 28-35′ long
* Washer hook-up
I don’t know if you know much about RVing, but this wasn’t a realistic list and we knew that, but we weren’t willing to give up on it.
When I stopped at the trailer place they had ONE and only one travel trailer in our size range. It was terrible. I walked out and went back to the truck. I had parked in front of a few fifth wheels and I just wandered in for fun. The first was more than twice what our budget was. The second was just a little over budget. It was a high profile, had beautiful finishes, and I would bet anything that Jordan could stand up EVEN IN THE SLIDES! The third reeked of cat urine. I went back to the second one, just for fun and sent Jordan a few pictures and headed back to town. Jordan usually takes a while to text me back while he’s at work and I didn’t think much of it and went about my business.
The messages started flowing. “What’s the dry weight? How long is it?” Show me this, show me that. I had to drive back out of town to look at the things he wanted to know and get more pictures. After he got off work he wanted to go look at it himself. We went back out and he loved it. We offered them the top of our budget and they accepted!
What just happened? We bought a 2014 Grand Design Solitude 369RL! We had to jump through some hoops. Our house wasn’t sold yet and the bank was already closed for the day. We also didn’t have the most positive experience with the trailer repair place that had it on consignment, but all in all, we are very happy with our purchase. We purchased it from the original owners who were also full-timers and the sweetest couple.
Tiny Dweller Approved
You’re going to see many of our favorites in this video. Everything from our travel musts to how we organize the bathroom. RV life is much different than a “normal home.” Every thing has to be mobile and have it’s own spot. The last thing you want is to open a cabinet and have its contents pour out on you.
One thing we definitely make room for in any rig is our Berkey Water Filter! We store this on our coffee bar area while we are not moving. There are many many reasons why we choose this water filter system. It is the absolute best. To learn more about why we choose the Berkey Water Filters, visit our Berkey specific blog page. The unit easily nests inside of itself to make for compact storage and easy travel. We have teamed up with Berkey Filters to offer all of our followers 5% off across their website. Use coupon code ” Thecamperhouse ” at checkout!
320×100 Lifestyle
When we were moving out of our sticks and bricks to our new fifthwheel, we always evaluated what were were putting inside. We tried to make sure that all items can serve multiple purposes. We were so particular about only keeping truly needed so that we did NOT fill up every cabinet. We tried our best to not overload ourselves because every pound adds up when you are traveling. One of our goals for converting to this lifestyle was to surround ourselves with family and experiences rather than stuff!
Kitchen Favorites
Berkey Water Filter (Remember Thecamperhouse coupon)
Vitamix Blender
Corelle Dinner Plates
Corelle Bowls
Mason Jars
Lazy Susan
Ikea Magnetic Knife Holder
Bodum Pour Over
Lodge Cast Iron Combo Set
Ikea Storage Bins
Mini (Dorm Sized) Freeze
Bathroom Faves
Tension rods
Turkish Towels
Curling Iron Heat Sleeve
Plastic Storage Baskets
Tackle Box (First Aid Kit)
Bedroom Faves
Collapsible Bins
Plastic Bins for Clothes Storage
Small Clothes Basket
Ziploc Vacuum Bags
General RV Faves for Inside
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Catch you on Down the Road,
The Drake Family