Best Full Time Living 5th Wheel
After a lot of deliberation, we chose a phenomenal fifth wheel to travel in full time with our family. It was NOT an easy decision, and at one point we felt overwhelmed with decision fatigue, and worried we were going to make the wrong choice. But once we decided that no matter what we chose, we would make it our own with whatever renovations we needed, we felt an immense amount of peace in making a choice.
For us, this was the best full time living 5th wheel!
Why we chose a 5th wheel RV
While a Class A seemed like a dreamy choice for traveling full time, we really loved how “house like” a fifth wheel felt. Tall ceilings (ideal for this 6 ft couple), multiple levels, easy towing situation (vs. a bumper pull), lots of storage space, and we could use a truck to tow that also fits our family as a full time vehicle.
We LOVED walking into the fifth wheels when we first started exploring options, and it fit (mostly) into our ideal budget.
What RV brands we trusted the most
If you’ve been in the world of RVing at all, you know that various brands of RVs have their reputations. As well as a handful of lawsuits, unfortunately. Being plugged into RV Facebook groups, I was able to keep a pulse on primary brand complaints, and both my husband and I watched a LOT of reviews on YouTube.
While yes, RV manufacturers have a bad reputation of producing low quality RVs after the 2020 pandemic to meet demand, there were still some RV brands we had confidence in. Besides, if we wanted to buy new, we didn’t have much of a choice given it was 2021.
We narrowed it down to the two main brands: Keystone and Jayco. We also really like Grand Design, but we liked the floorplans of Keystone and Jayco better.
Our favorite floorplans were the Jayco North Point with the mid bunk, and Jayco Eagle with the mid bunk. That said, an office space was going to be challenging in both of those models, and my husband (at 6’5) couldn’t stand up straight in the mid bunk room of the North Point.
So as we looked at Keystone, we narrowed it down to the Montana High Country 335BH, the Montana High Country 351 BH, and the Montana High Country 377FL.
Keystone Montana High Country 377FL
We ended up choosing the Montana High Country 377FL. Our parents LOVED this model, and our son couldn’t stop talking about how cool his bedroom loft was going to be. It just felt right!
Ultimately what made us decide to choose the Montana High Country 377FL?
The divided living space between the kitchen and the living room, PLUS the third couch which we could easily remove and stick a desk at to create an office space.
The 335BH, while awesome for the kids, meant only ONE small love seat across from the kitchen island and tv. It felt crazy small to be spending our daily lives around, and our office space was going to have to be in our bedroom at the dresser (which now feels insane having the nice big desk in the living that we have).
The 351BH we ran into a similar small living room and no office space conundrum, and ultimately we chose the ideal living space over the ideal sleeping space.
Our favorite features of the Keystone Montana High Country 377FL for a family of four with pets:
Separate living room and kitchen, allowing the chaos of the kitchen in the evenings to leave a peaceful living room for the rest of the family.
A large living room with three couches and/or workspace area in one of the slides.
Two doors, each on different sides of the RV to allow easy access in and out.
Full residential fridge, large pantry, and great counter space with a bar on one side that allows two stools.
Tall bathroom that makes it feel larger than it is.
Sleeping areas separate from the living areas.
Access to the kitchen, bathroom, and sleeping areas all without having to extend our slides.
For a full tour of our RV as well as all of our notes on our favorite features, check out our YouTube video!
If there’s any other Keystone floorplan we could choose TODAY, what would it be?
Probably the Montana High Country 381TB simply because of that giant room in the back and half bath that could have been completely converted for the kids. And they would have loved it! But again, where does our desk go? We’d still be working from the dining room.
All-in-all, we’ve been incredibly HAPPY with our Montana High Country!
We come home feeling SO grateful every day that this is HOME. It’s beautiful, and peaceful, and works so well for our family. The breaks and fixes have been minor, and we’ve honestly been pleased with the care we’ve received from Keystone. Every family and their needs are different, but in our opinion, the Montana High Country 377FL is the best full time living 5th wheel!
