Greetings from Arizona

[TaoJones]

Hello 5th Wheel Forums members. I'm a long-time RVer who has full-timed since 2005; first with a 27' Fleetwood Prowler travel trailer, and for the last three + years with a 36' Teton fifth wheel. I pull the Teton with a one-ton Chevrolet Duramax dually flatbed with an Andersen Ultimate hitch.

I'm currently in Arizona with my two cocker spaniels, looking to purchase a home base somewhere around Yuma. The idea is to make this area home during the coldest months of the year, then return to Colorado for about six months from late spring through early fall.

I'm looking forward to participating in these forums and to increasing my knowledge of RVing. There's always something new to learn.

Tao

[Luv2RVCouple]

Sounds like you have a plan. Hope you find your place.

Happy raving.

[MTK46]

Welcome Tao
We bought at 33' Teton new in 03. Had it for 15 years. Daughter lived in it full time in Phoenix for 2 years. Only thing that failed was the water heater, that is if you don't count the tire failures I had. They made very good RV's back in the day.

[TaoJones]

Sounds like you have a plan. Hope you find your place.

Happy raving.L2RVC, I've found my place! I don't want to reveal too much about it yet, lest I jinx it somehow, but once the sale closes (March 12th), I'll spill the frijoles. :cool:

TJ

[TaoJones]

Welcome Tao
We bought at 33' Teton new in 03. Had it for 15 years. Daughter lived in it full time in Phoenix for 2 years. Only thing that failed was the water heater, that is if you don't count the tire failures I had. They made very good RV's back in the day.Thank you, MTK46, I'm happy to be here. Of course as they say, at my age I'm just happy to be anywhere. ;)

The Tetons had, and still have, a well-earned reputation for excellence. I looked for one for more than two years before finding the one I have. So far, I've had nothing break down, knock wood (solid maple cabinetry throughout :cool:).

Well, there was the little issue with the furnace.

I spent the first two years I owned the Teton in Montrose, Colorado. The first winter was incredibly mild and the second was . . . really cold. My Teton was just as comfortable that second winter as the first.

But the furnace issue had to be addressed that second winter when the temperature dropped to -12°f. The furnace didn't stop working, exactly - it turned out it had already stopped working before I bought my Teton at the end of June, 2017. I just didn't know it.

I had had no introduction to the coach before I took possession, so I was figuring things out as I went. The thermostat has settings for Heat Pump and Furnace, as you probably know, but I didn't really understand the distinction. When the heat pumps in the two rooftop A/Cs were unable to make the interior warm enough during that first bitter cold spell, I called in the local RV fixer.

Long story short, it turned out the furnace had never worked. Once he fixed it and I got to experience the difference between heat supplied by the heat pumps and that supplied by the furnace, I had a genuine AHA moment. My old travel trailer didn't have a heat pump, so I just assumed the heat pumps on the Teton were necessary because a furnace was an option that the previous owner omitted.

Now I'm down in Arizona with the Teton. I've been here for 15 months now and am just as happy with how well it performed through a really hot summer. I chose to stay here both because of the pandemic and because I wanted to see if I could tolerate a summer in the Sonoran Desert.

I guess I can take it, because I'm in escrow on a property that should be mine soon. Once I have this home base secured, though, I still plan to go back up to Colorado during the hottest months in Yuma (June-September, at least).

So yes, they really did make a good fifth wheel up in Casper, WY back in the day. I can't imagine ever wanting to replace it with something newer - I'd rather put the money into keeping this one like new.

TJ

[wingnut60]

Several people on other forums feel the same way about Tetons--tanks on tires, heard them called.