I have been looking at bumper pull campers but was curious about 5th wheels...

I am looking around a 27' -30' 5th wheel/bumper pull.

I know my brother pulls a 10,000lb bumper pull and it does ok with an Excursion. Just curious about 5th wheels.

I have never pulled a big trailer before.

I have a short box otherwise I would be looking at a cab over camper so I could pull my 12' trailer that hauls my toys. I figure with a new kiddo I will be doing more camping than playing for the next 5-6 years.

 

I am. V10 is great at pulling, has the same torque and 100 more HP than my old 24V Cummins did. No comparison between bumper pull and 5th wheel, it's almost like there's nothing behind you due to the weight being right over the wheels. Very happy with this truck, and I also had an 08 F250 CC SB 4x4 with a 5.4, and I get 2 mpg BETTER with the V10.
Good luck in your search.

 

I pull a 30ft toy hauler with 150 gallon water tank and a sand car in it and pulls fine. I wish I had different gears since I have a 4" lift on 35s and stock 3.73 gears.

 

I have been towing a 30 ft 5er with 2 slide-outs (dry weight 9,500 lbs and loaded approx. 11,500 lbs. ) with the v-10 since 2003 . My v-10 performed "marginally" OK on steep mountain grades . It appeared that those towing with diesel trucks all were passing me on grades . On the plus side , it has been a reliable engine , never left me stranded during the past 12 years ( I had only two issues in 12 years and both were related to A/C ).

Here are the Ford Co. suggested guidelines from 2003 Towing Guide :

Fifth Wheel Towing:
F250/350 SRW ,Supercab , 4x4 , Auto Trans,
Rear Axle :3.73 ...............Max Trailer Weight:10,400 lbs.

Rear Axle : 4.3 ...................Max.Trailer Weight :13,400 Lbs.

Your truck should be similar .

 

Thanks for the info Wolfboro. 10k or less for a 5th wheel... That's gonna be hard to come by. I went out yesterday and the 5er's all were around 15k+

I am trying to find a rig (toy hauler) that will store a rzr4.

 

I tow a 35' fifth wheel with three slides. It is a Hitchhiker which is a full-timer rated trailer and quite heavy (13-14K). We are full-time and I weigh the entire setup annually. We are within all of the weight ratings for my 2010 F-350 SRW V-10, 4.30. Not a lot at excess capacity but we are within the limits overall and on each axle.

We have towed this thing from Key West to northern Idaho, into and over the Rockies several times including some of the notable passes (Raton, Wolf Creek, etc.) and it pulls just fine. Not going to win any races, but I'm not racing! I can maintain 45 - 50 mph on the steepest grades, but the engine is spinning hard to do it.

I will say that I had a 1999 V-10 that started with 3.73 and I changed them out to 4.30. The gear change made a big difference but that truck wasn't the hauler that my current truck is. Between the engine upgrades and especially the transmission upgrade, my 2010 pulls much better than the 1999 did.

If you are talking about using the truck referenced in your signature (2001 F250) you'll also need to be careful about your rear axle weight with a big fifth wheel. The pins on those can be very heavy.

 

I have a 2001 CC 4x4 short bed, 4.30 gears and I pull a 32-ft. toy box 5th wheel.

Does fine, although I definitely recommend putting in rear air bags and adjustable shocks (I have Rancho 9000s). Once you dial in the air bag psi and the shocks, it rides very nicely. Without the airbags the weight of the trailer would bottom out the rear end frequently.

Plus the engine will be screaming up the steeper grades (which doesn't seem to hurt it at all...although I checked on the mileage once while doing that and it was .8 mpg...).

Also make sure your transmission is healthy and has good fluid. Before I added a 24K trans cooler I had two fires. Both occurred when maneuvering slowly back and forth on a sandy surface, trying to get the trailer in position for a campsite. Fluid over-heated, started leaking out of the 'expansion hole' RIGHT ONTO the crossover of the exhaust pipe, resulting in a fire.

But I do marvel at how un-affected the truck seems to be pulling a 12K lb. trailer.

 

Not a fifth wheel but a 41' 3 slide TT that scales out at 11,000lbs. My '05 2V V-10 (the EX didn't get the coil front suspension, 3V or 5R110 in '05 ) with Banks headers, 5Star tunes and an effective 4.39 gear ratio (4.88 and 35" tires) does very well on all of the Eastern mountain grades. It was a completely different (and much slower) experience when it was in stock form with 3.73 gears and a 31' 9,500lb toyhauler in tow. Going to the deeper gears improved the towing mileage from 6/7 to 8/9 MPG and they keep the trans in OD nearly all the time now.
If you are running stock-ish sized tires keep an eye out for a set of axles with the factory 4.30 gears. It's an easy one day job to swap them out and the gear change really transforms the truck's towing performance without much unloaded penalty. The V-10 is so much happier with the deeper gears.

 

My parents tow a Keystone Raptor tow hauler 300MP with theirs. They have no problems whatsoever. I'm selling my bumper pull tow hauler Raptor 30FS to get a 5th wheel to pull with my 08 V10.

 

Thanks guys. I think I have decided on a cab over camper instead. It's smaller but opens different camping scenarios.

 

I thought about a truck camper too, but when I researched how many campgrounds won't take them, I changed my mind.

 

I have a 1999 Crew Cab Short Box with a V-10, auto, 4:30 rear end, gear vendors under/overdrive, Borla headers and K&N air filter. From 99-2007 I pulled a 30' Jayco Designer with one slide. Since 2007, I have been pulling a 2007 NUWA Discover America 339 RSBwith 4 slides 35.5 ' long. I am about 1500 over my GCVWR of 20,000 and just under 10,000 on the GVW on my truck when fully loaded with my wife and I and all the extras with a full tank of gas. I have 172, 000 miles on the truck and estimate about 110,000 + while towing. I blew a spark plug at around 160,000 and my OD switch stopped working at about 140,000. No other problems. I've pulled many long 7% grades and have gotten down to 35 mph at between 4,000 & 4500 RPM'S. Normally I tow at 60 mph and some at 70 when in a hurry or with a tail wind on 4 lane.
Overall when towing from Duluth, MN to Tucson and back through some mountains I average 8.5 mpg measured only with trailer in tow, with a range from about 7-10 mpg. I have air bags on truck.
I use Amsoil Synthetics in trans, rear end, gear vendors and engine. Also have a bypass oil system. I use about a quart of oil per 1200 miles towing.
When running truck alone around town I ave about 10 mpg and between 13-14 on a road trip. Last changed trans fluid at 70,000 an service man said it still looked pretty good. Did an oil analysis last summer at 165,000 and results surprised the testing company. They said results were good and to keep running it and test again in two years.
This truck and V-10 have been very good to me. Little maintenance compared to a diesel and with the price differential, I'm driving this much cheaper then a diesel. Wish I had more torque but there is no way I will replace this truck. If something happens to the engine, I will try to pick up a salvaged V-10 with 362 H.P. vs the stock 275 H.P. of mine. Truck has no rust as we are not in snow country in the Winter. It still looks like new almost.

 

Tow a 36' Montana 5th wheel with my 01 F350/V-10. Pin weight approx. 2300 lbs....truck/5ver at about 19K. Tows great with the 4:30 gears and Mike's 5 Star tune.

 

Yes will be towing a fiver starting next month I will keep you informed 2000 f350 lariat crew V10.

 

Update. I now pull my Montana with a 2008 F250/SB/4:10 gears an Pullrite Superglide hitch. Pulls great.5ver is 12.6K loaded.