caveat lector

Kids or kids free.  It's all good as long as the sentence ends with "vacation"

You won't be able to get that Blue Swede song out of your head.    Hooga hooga chucka

Sounds epic. The FUN HAS BEGUN!

Wow, great pictures. When we were DVC, we never had a chance to stay at WL.  Seeing those pics makes me wish we had.

1st - that is an awesome unit.

2nd - you are a man of extraordinary means to tackle a job like that. Pretty impressive. 

1 hour ago, Mdt1577 said:

This our second time staying at the Fort and we are currently in the 1200 loop. Our first experience was in a preferred site in the 200 loop. It was super convenient to the trading post, Tri-Circle-D, and was really quiet (it's what made me fall in love with the Fort). While I like the larger site size of the 1200, we are backed up to the road which is fairly loud. The site was easy to back into with a 34' camper and there was plenty of space our truck which is nice. I just think I might prefer the quiet and convenience of the 200 loop personally. 

Excellent review. Thanks 

On 1/21/2018 at 7:47 PM, LONE-STAR said:

I have always wanted to go to Dolly Wood. I wondered if there was a campground near it so you didn't have to drive to it. Is there a charge for the trolley? 

I agree and want to go too. I believe Dave might me on the Dollywood chamber of commerce.

4 minutes ago, PGHFiend said:

That is a sweet piece right there! The Columbus 298rlc was my first choice this round but I couldn't justify it yet.   Maybe next time.  

Will you be there spring break? We will be and its the first run in our broke down Reflection I'm working on. 

We may see you there.  I HAD to spend the cash, because I have no discernable skills, and could never do some of the impressive work like u are doing on th rebuild.

On 1/29/2018 at 10:36 PM, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

They just need to get on Amazon and order a couple more strobe lights and "no one will know there is anything broken or missing" 

Good point. Wonder if they could get a full action  yeti on amazon?

It's really great that she can sooth her stress level by doing something stupid that draws emmense attention to her

Kind of adds credence to delicate / exposed our infrastructure is.

23 minutes ago, keith_h said:

Congratulations. I like the floor plan. I think you are going to have good time with it.

As far as good or bad I think most of the manufacturers have similar quality issues. Some are built perfectly, others have many problems and a lot are somewhere in the middle. For the ones that are built to perfection you aren't likely to hear from the owners. Instead it is the people that experience problems who will usually be the one posting on the internet. Even then it frequently has to do with the actual RV problem and more to do with how they are treated by their dealer and the manufacturer.  This is why I tend to look more at how owners problems were resolved rather than what was broken when trying to compare just about anything I purchase.

Well put and balanced. I can't say it better. To your point, I dedicated a fair amount of time to "dealer" research.  I grouped them into several tiers based on feedback channels. Sadly, a local camping world was the only dealer in the lower tier. I say sadly because they have an enormous inventory with almost limitless choices. But I heard, read and saw the word "regret" to many times.

11 hours ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

I still call it MGM most of the time, well it usually comes out as MGMHollywhateveritiscalled like pleasureisldowntownspringsyouknow 

Too funny. Our family has truncated it all the way to "the studios"

2 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Very similar to our rig (Cougar 359MBI).  Let us know, how that first trip goes!  Enjoy!!

Very similar. Our first unit was a Cougar and we loved it.

2 hours ago, dblr....Rennie said:

Congrats that is a very nice unit, it is a Forest River product so I suggest you join FROG (Forest River Owner Group ) an also the owners forum, there is plenty of good advice on that board plus a few familiar people. Also look into the FROG International rally in August, we have room for almost 800 rigs at that rally but last year sold out in 21 hours so you have to be quick. Good luck in the beautiful new rig 

Wow, great information Rennie.  Thanks for the heads up and I will be joining shortly.

2 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

I love the floor plan.  

Extra bedroom!

Can you say man cave?

i noticed it has a loft above the man cave. 

Is it safe to assume it is a sleeping loft?

Yes sir. Just ordered an LED tv for the man cave.  You are also correct about the loft. There are a couple of windows, shelves, a/c vents, lights and plugs for cell phone charging.

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Congratulations, Fred!  You will be camping in style!  What a beautiful unit. With those theater seats and the entertainment center, you may never see what's going on outside. 

TCD

Lol. You know me too well Andrew. The inside will see a lot of use during the evenings and bad weather. Otherwise, I would never give up my outdoor time at the Fort.  Funny thing is, I'm almost more excited about it as a dog guy.  I always worried about my pups being in a hot box if the a/c gave out.  I specifically looked for a unit that has two a/c units.  In the past, I always  used an old iPhone pointed at a thermometer in the rv. I would check in occasionally on it.  Probably will still do that in case the electricity goes out.....ugh it never ends.

6 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Beautiful unit!  Wishing you lots of happy camping in it.

Thanks No. I really hope so.

1 hour ago, LONE-STAR said:

Looks nice.

Thanks....now I just have to keep it that way

51 minutes ago, bhall said:

Love the floor plan.  I hope you have adequate truck to handle it though.  I wouldn't attempt that one with my SRW 3500.

I read all the spec material and conferred with Ford site and am well under guidelines.  That doesn't mean the pilot is capable...

32 minutes ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

Nice looking trailer. I like that floorplan and is the one we'd get if we ever go with a 5th wheel. 

 

Did you get the residential fridge? I'd be interested in now how you like while traveling. They seem to be the new thing in trailers, but I guess I'm old school and don't want to give up my gas/electric fridge.

The floor plan sold it for us.  We did get the big fridge. I was surprised that you can run it under way. It has a monster inverter buried in the storage co,mpartment.  Im excited about that as it was one of our reservations too.

26 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

Congratulations!  Nice floorplan.  INC and I have talked about a fiver someday when it's just us and Anna.  A bedroom for Anna would be nice.   Share some pics when you can.  

Similar thoughts molded our decision. At this point we don't see the entire family getting together, but will be nice when one of the kids wants to visit.  I really need to figurd out this picture thing. Your TRs are awesome.

It's been almost 10 years since I dipped my toe in the rv pool. This time I went big and hope an I don't live to regret it.  I've heard / read that a 5th wheel is easier to pull than my old bunkhouse TT.  Well, I now have 42 feet of possible proof of concept.  Based on internet postings, I've either bought the best,  worst, or somewhere in between brand.  Forest river seems to have more fans than critics, but I believe it's subjective.  

It's shakedown cruise will be a Fort trip in less than two months (thanks Jason).

http://www.palominorv.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=369&Image=15361&ModelID=2599#Main      palomino compass 377mbc 2018 

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Maybe disn3y has mastered the "way back construction time machine" 

Thanks for the info.  I'll give it some time, but my first impression is yikes 

This one of those that falls into the "If I win the powerball" side of the ledger. Would love to do it, but my disposable income isn't quite there yet.

On 1/25/2018 at 6:15 PM, PGHFiend said:

Are you eating? So it's been reallllly cold here for the last 2 weeks and last weekend it warmed up a little and it was enough to thaw all of the snow.  I never checked the info center for the battery and holding tank levels figuring I'd get around to it.  Since it was thawed out, I thought I'd try the tank valves to see if they were stuck or anything.  I was instantly rewarded with a scene that reminded me of the Beverly Hillbillies. 

Black gold, Texas tea. 

Right there in the driveway.  What could I do? Luckily BOTH grey tanks were also full so I used that as a rinse! Steep hillside off a gravel driveway helped move things along. And then it rained hard so I'm ok there. But wow. 

I treat those valves like I treat guns.....assume they are always loaded. Lol

Yep. Instructions come with the new ones. Ship back in the same boxes.

Side note: I got a separate notice from Cougar. I completely forgot about my rv. 

The process is easy. They replaced mine with some more sturdy looking units.

Got it at All Star Sports.  There was no notice, I had to ask. The gift card came in an email about 3 hours after check in.

Ok, am I the only one that didnt know that DIT had such mad selfie skills.....

19 hours ago, PGHFiend said:

Well, someone put a deposit on the Grand Design 317 at the St. Augustine Camping World I was looking at...so that was out. 

A day or two later I heard Dave Ramsey's voice in my head telling me to not spend the money we had planned.

So now after feeling too guilty to get the $42k new model 320mks,

And too guilty to spend $30k on a used model 

And because I'm a glutton for punishment..... 

I got lucky (or I'm a moron) and happened to come across a mint 2015 Grand Design 317 just like I was looking for......except someone hit it into a low overhang and put a hole in the roof!

For $11k!

So now I've got a project, and a Fort spring break deadline!

Only thing missing is the dinette so I need to see if I can order one from the factory. Other than that, some basic wood repair skills and rubber roof replacement and I should be in business. 

To all that have followed along or added suggestions, thank you!

Ps. If I can get some pics to work I'll take some before and afters. 

Awesome deal. CONGRATS and thanks for the update.