2014 Salem Hemisphere Lite 276RK

5th wheel travel trailer

 

The Hemisphere was a model we kept coming back to during our search. There were a few other brands and makes on our list, but this one was the closest to our price range that checked the most boxes. It is built with sturdy materials and has a lot of cargo capacity, while also maintaining a nice home-y feel on the inside.

We wanted a larger kitchen because we cook a lot, as little carpet as possible because of Jax, 2 recliner chairs, a fully enclosed bathroom, and several other amenities that were not necessarily deal-breakers, but were high on our list.

Our Ram 2500 Cummins pickup truck is very capable of towing our home, and has done a great job so far. I spent a lot of time researching its safe towing capacity and finally decided that we needed a trailer that could be fully loaded and weigh under 12,000lbs. Our Hemisphere’s dry weight is 8,100lbs with a cargo capacity of 3,300lbs, bringing the total to about 11,500 GVWR. When we first hit the road, we pulled into a CAT scale and found that we were 2,000lbs under max weight, so our tow combo worked out great.

 

Here are some inside/outside pics of our rig:

 

How we decided which RV was right for us

When we made the decision to take our business on the road full time, we dove into research with a few questions in mind:

  • What RV is best?
  • How much do they cost?
  • What kinds of RVs do other full-time travelers have?

Since we were new to RV’ing, trying to answer these questions led to hundreds more questions, which took us on an 18-month journey to finding our first home on wheels.

Deciding what we needed/wanted versus what we could afford narrowed our list substantially.

We didn’t have the knowledge or space available for a restoration project, and our budget was limited, so we decided to go with a used RV; the latest model year our budget would allow.

After visiting a few RV lots and consulting several online blogs/forums, we decided a 5th wheel trailer would be better for us. We liked more of the floorplan options, the roomier feel, the storage, and the reviews on ease of towing.

With every new question answered and decision made, our list began to shrink. Soon, we were searching for just a few different makes and models.

At the time of starting our search, we owned a ½ ton truck, which I believed could tow an adequately sized travel trailer for our needs. But, I started to notice that our list was pushing us into a new weight category, which meant we would need a bigger truck. Many days and hours of more research led to our current truck, a 2011 Ram 2500 Cummins.

With our trailer list narrowing, and a new truck with a max towing capacity of 12,700lbs, we started to get very specific in our search. We knew model numbers, stats, and could even start identifying floorplans of trailers we passed driving down the road. We were getting seriously close to our goal.

To us, the only other real concerns were:

  • Does the trailer feel like a home we could live in for a while?
  • Is it within our budget?

Our budget was in the < $25,000 category, which meant we needed an older rig with a good name, or a newer rig with a decent name.

We were searching RV Trader, Craigslist, RVT Classifieds, local and regional dealerships, and local RV parks. Every day we would send each other links back and forth, “What do you think about this one?” Or, “This is nice, right?” We were determined and more importantly, patient.

What started in January 2016 as a radical idea early one morning, ended on June 27, 2017. Our search was over.

For more on our RV, read Buying Our Unknown Normal Home.

And for more adventures, jump to our travel map or blog.