Chickery's Travels

Chickery's Travels logo. A blue-green Earth globe with continents surrounded by dots with an arrow denoting movement or travel and "Chickery's Travels" as part of the dotted circle. Next to this is a photo of their blue and white Arctic Fox 5th Wheel with the awning out.
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        • Halloween at Disney’s Fort Wilderness
        • Chickery’s Travels Podcast Episode 5: Fort Wilderness Campground Review
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      • Rainbow Springs State Park & Campground (Ocala, Florida)
      • Sunny Sarasota
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        • Get Back to Nature in Tampa Bay
        • Take Me Out to the Ball Game – Spring Training in Tampa, FL
        • The 5 Best Beaches in the Tampa Bay Area
        • Why We Love Tampa
      • Tarpon Springs – The Gulf Coast Town with Greek Flavor
      • Top 5 Things to Do on Florida’s Space Coast
      • What Not to Do When Kayaking on the Weeki Wachee River
      • Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
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      • Visiting Atlanta? Don’t Miss These Civil Rights Museums
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      • One Day In The Windy City – Chicago Itinerary
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      • Two Days in Acadia National Park
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      • Las Vegas RV Campgrounds: Nellis Air Force Base and Lake Mead RV Village
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      • Burgess Falls: 3 For 1 Waterfall Special
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      • Best Eats in Fredericksburg
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  • RV Resources
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      • DIY Power Upgrade – “Solar Ready” Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel
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    • Your Guide To Planning The Best Family Vacation This Summer
  • Travel Finance
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      • Annual Full-Time RV Expenses – The Big Three
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      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report April 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report May 2018
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      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report July 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report August 2018
      • Roadmap to Financial Freedom: Accountability Report September/October 2018
    • RV Purchasing
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      • The Costs of RV Ownership
      • The True Cost of Financing an RV
      • Why You Should Attend An RV Show
    • Save Money Using the Public Library (On More Than Just Books)
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April 8, 2019 by Guest Post 10 Comments

Why We Chose an Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel

After almost five years in our 44’ triple axle fifth wheel, it was time to downsize. We weren’t very savvy RV shoppers the first time around, so this go round we took our time to be sure we knew what we wanted and how much we were prepared to spend. 

Our Criteria 

Our first step in the process was to develop a list of criteria. Our “must have” list consisted of the following: 

  • 30’ or less 
  • Great insulation 
  • Adequate water tanks for boondocking
  • Walk around bed 

The Arctic Fox 27-5L Fifth Wheel made by Northwood Manufacturing met all of these needs and had several other bonus features. Although we weren’t limiting ourselves to another fifth wheel, it certainly made things easier as we already have a truck with a hitch. 

Exterior Length

With an exterior length of 29’5” (with the hitch), this fifth wheel is a great size! We wanted our new RV to be 30’ or less to allow ourselves more flexibility in where we can camp. While we still love RV resorts, we want to be able to mix things up with national and state parks too. In fact, right after making this purchase, I booked 4 national park campgrounds for this fall! 

Insulation 

We were so cold this winter in the southwest. Our previous RV just wasn’t insulated well and we went through a lot of propane. So many of the places we want to go are very crowded in the summer, but get cool very early in the fall. If we had a better insulated rig, we would have more flexibility in the spring and fall. 

Northwood does a great job of this on their RVs. The Arctic Fox has:

  • Four Seasons Insulation with R-18 Ceiling 
  • R-15 Reflective Foil Insulation in Roof / Slides
  • Heated Holding Tanks 
  • Double Pane Windows 

Adequate Water Tanks 

Now that we’ve done some boondocking, we’d like to have the ability to continue without having to run into town to dump tanks and fill fresh. What is “adequate” is different for everyone, but we based our criteria on our last 9-day boondocking stint where we used about 66 gallons of fresh water. Our new fifth wheel has: 

  • Fresh Water Capacity: 82 gallons
  • Two Gray Water Tanks: 67/35 gallons
  • Black Water Tank: 65 gallons

Walk Around Bed

The older we get, the more important this is to us. I’m a little clumsy and I don’t want to fall off the bed trying to climb over Sean to get up in the middle of the night. Not only does this RV have a walk around bed, it has two doors leading into the bathroom: one on each side of the bed. As a bonus, each side of the bed has its own nightstand, independent reading light, and two storage cabinets. 

Other Things We Love 

In addition to meeting our needs, there were some other terrific features about the Arctic Fox 27-5L that we love. 

Solar Ready – It was already wired for solar and actually had one panel. While we planned to modify it to add an additional 680 watts, we thought it would be easier than starting from scratch like we did with our last RV. That actually did not turn out as we thought. The wiring was not adequate for the additional solar and we had to do more than we expected. Click here to see our new 680 watt solar set up.

Rear Kitchen – Many fifth wheels are rear living, mid-kitchen. I love how the kitchen is in the rear of the RV with windows around the sink. It is very light! And although an island kitchen was tempting, the lack of one makes the space feel huge! 

Accessibility with Slides In – We were amazed at how much space is in this RV with the slides in! In fact, we can access everything except the bedroom closet. I have full use of my kitchen, the table, our recliners, the bathroom, and the bedroom. 

Quality Build – We’re going to tour the Northwood factory next month so we will soon have a lot more to share on the build process of the Artic Fox Fifth Wheels. Here are a few highlights: 

  • Independently Certified, Off-Road Chassis
  • Fully Welded, Thick-Wall Aluminum Frame Construction
  • Solid Core Anchor Blocking and Continuous Welds
  • Bonded Roof Truss System with Cathedral Arched Ceiling
  • Custom Built Face Framed Solid Wood Cabinets 

2 Year Follow Up

We filmed the video below after 2 years of full-time RV travel in our Arctic Fox. Spoiler alert: We still love it! Watch to see why.

Sharing is Caring! Feel free to share this article with anyone thinking of purchasing an RV.

Learn why we love our Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel. From the quality construction to the true all seasons insulation, it is the perfect RV for all your camping adventures. We chose the 27-5L model, which at under 30' can fit in most national and state park campgrounds too.

Filed Under: RV Resources Tagged With: Arctic Fox Fifth Wheel

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