Forget about tiny houses and van conversions, Keystone RV says. The perfect RV or even the perfect permanent home on the road can be any one of their towables, and you need only to look at the Sprinter Limited 3900DBL for confirmation. Go big or go home, as the saying goes.
Keystone RV is one of the leading RV manufacturers in the U.S., with more brands on its roster than fingers on both hands. Sprinter is one of them, and it too adheres to the company's motto of "camping made easy," but on a much grander scale. This is the fanciest form of camping possible, with the potential for the entire family to share the experience and with incredible amenities.
One of the most recent additions to the Sprinter family is the 2023 Limited 3900DBL, a massive fifth wheel that offers several industry firsts and the possibility to sleep as many as ten people at the same time, introduced in late 2022. All these ten people would be quite comfortable, too, both in their sleeping arrangements and otherwise, since there's enough space onboard for all, including two bedrooms, a generously-sized kitchen, a lounge area, and two separate bathrooms.
Even before the 2020 international health crisis, there was a noticeable shift towards more mobile housing alternatives, with tiny houses and mobile homes gaining popularity. That trend has gained more followers in subsequent years as the economic effects of 2020 became more apparent. The ongoing economic and housing crisis, coupled with the desire to make a living of creating tiny living-related content on social media, has prompted more people from all over the world to transition to the nomadic lifestyle.
Photo: Keystone RV
This fifth wheel is not marketed as a downsizing solution, but it could very well be. In fact, it might even be a better alternative since it offers a much larger layout, a higher passenger capacity, and more features than you're ever going to find in a tiny house, and it does so at a comparatively smaller price. It's still downsizing, but of the fanciest, most comfortable kind, if you will: the kind where you don't have to do a complete purge of all your possessions, whether they're clothes or shoes, before the actual transition.
This is possible through a redesign of the fifth wheel, the use of no less than four slide-outs, and a most creative bunkhouse layout that fits five people inside a single room. And they all get their private bubble, to boot.
The 3900DBL is almost 44 feet (13.4 meters) in total length and 8.4 feet (2.5 meters) wide, with four widebody slide-outs that considerably expand available space at camp at the press of a single button. If that's still not enough space for you, you can always take the party outside: the 3900DBL brings a new outdoor kitchen on one side, complete with an electric grill and a small fridge. It also has three giant awnings that offer protection from the elements when said party is brought outside. This is one of the claimed industry firsts; the second is the oversize Clearvision tinted windows throughout.
Photo: Keystone RV
Another novelty is dual access doors, one in the middle that gives into the kitchen and lounge and the other that takes you inside the second full bathroom. Indeed, there are two baths onboard, an ensuite to the master bedroom, and this one. Both are equipped with shower, toilet, and sink with vanity, and offer exactly the kind of storage space you'd need with a party of 10.
The kitchen gets a slight redesign, with an island that has additional storage and all-Furrion appliances. Other fancy touches include a coffee bar, a dedicated full pantry, and glossy, high-quality finishes. Next to the kitchen is the lounge, with a large-screen TV and electric fireplace facing two cinema seats with integrated lights and wireless charging. The seats and the adjoining 4-person dinette can be exchanged for a larger sofa optionally.
Farther off is the bunkroom, with sleeping for five people: two on the fold-out couch, one on the fold-down bunk bed above it, another on the bunk over the TV, and a fifth on the bunk next to that, over the second bathroom. When not used for sleeping, this space can serve as a second entertainment room thanks to the large-screen TV behind that hides even more storage.
The master bedroom, rightfully described as a master "suite," has a king-size bed, a redesigned wardrobe with shoe racks, and a stacked washer and drier in one of the closets. Storage is, again, available everywhere, from the wardrobe and the set of drawers facing the bed to the small bedside shelves and the shelving in the bathroom.
Photo: Keystone RV
With a dry weight of 13,700 lbs (6,214 kg), the 3900DBL has a cargo capacity of 2,730 lbs (1,238 kg). It comes with standard features like electric auto-level, a fully walkable roof pre-rigged for solar, a 75-gallon (284-liter) freshwater tank, 122 gallons (462 liters) for gray, and 88 gallons (333 liters) for black, two AC units (a third one is optional), and dual layer insulation.
The MRSP for one such fifth wheel in standard spec is a hair over $106,000, but you can get one for under $90K at local dealerships. Since we're still on the topic of downsizing, that's below what you'd have to pay for some fully custom tiny houses, but you get more house for less money.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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