My wife and I have been talking about a camper for quite a few years and finally have started looking. The decision for me was bumper tow or 5th wheel. We have never owned a camper so this is all new to me. Friday we stopped at a local dealer and wondered around for about an hour or so and about the only thing we agreed on was that it would be new not used. That was decided by my wife. Under 30 ft, not really any need for bigger for just the two of us, maybe our son (18 year old) but don't expect that to happen very often. Talked to the owner about styles and pricing and his first question was what would we be towing it with. When I told him 2011 SD CC Short bed he said with his experience he would go with a bumper tow. He said a 5th wheel even with the sliding hitch can be a problem in tight turning situations and that long beds are better suited for 5th wheel towing. Any thoughts from you camper savvy folks!

Jim

 

I have been towing fifth wheels for 20 years with short box trucks and I have yet to find myself in a situation that I needed to slide the hitch back. I decided this time around that I wasn't even getting a slider for our new truck because of never needing it. You must however stay aware of the clearence between the cab and trailer. I have seen several trucks over the years with crunched cabs from turning too sharp. They also sell a product called the sidewinder that will give clearance to jackknife a short box without hitting the cab.
As for towing the fifthwheel is much nicer on the road. The traveltrailer has advantages too, like the full use of the box for hauling stuff out camping.

 

Newer 5er's have curved fronts allowing for tighter turns. I have a Reese Signature Series 18K slider..hidden hitch system. I rarely use the slider.

This is what I will tell you about 5er's.

They all come with a king pin wt label. Use that as a starting point. Make no mistake it is wrong! Instead take the gross of the trailer (what would be all the options and fully loaded) X 20%. That will be more like your king pin wt.

Now you the wife, full tank of fuel, go put that truck on the scales. You need to know your current wt to see what is left that you can put on the axles and tires in terms of that king pin.

King pin goes against payload. Don't forget the hitch wt either. Allow a couple hundred pounds.

Look at your door cert for axle ratings and then also look at your tires. The lessor of the two is the one to go by.

Myself I would advise you go with a slider at the very least due to the fact that this is all knew to you. You can use the slider till you get good at it and then just leave it in the forward position.

 

Yes I recommend a slider or sidewinder as well. Choosing not to have one is for once a person has more experience. I should have made that part clear.

 

I would not have anything but a 5er, yes you lose space in the bed but you gain a basement (Storage under the front bedroom). You said you don't need a big 5er but I would, and did, buy the largest 5er I could afford and pull. If you spend any time in your 5er the more space the better. I have both a Reese slider and a sidewinder. I would order any new 5er with a sidewinder if I were getting a new one. Towing a 5er seems like it would be a daunting task but it is fairly simple. Setup is easier, towing is more stable, easier to back up, more storage, etc. Remember cheap is cheap shop wisely...... Towing with a short box is the only way I would go.

 

It is exciting to see a couple getting ready to go camping!! My wife and I have been doing it for awhile and been going with old people, young and in between. We started with tongue pull, small to large. Then to 5th wheel with long box. The advice about weighing is good in this post. The part about still having your box when using tongue is good too. My wife got sick and could not climb the stairs in the 5th wheel, easily, so we have now gone back to smaller tongue pull. The one free advice I would give is to not go cheap on tires. Buy 10 ply and go on. Best of luck! Will be thinking about you! Dave

 

Very good advice given. I pulled a 36 ft for 3 yrs with my 08 6.4 f-250 crew cab short bed. Curt slider that I never used. I have a 350 on order and going with the B&W companion no slider on it. Good luck and enjoy!!

 

Two points with the 5er .
1- I know some fellows with short bed truck/ slider hitch and that did not prevent them from damaging their RV/truck during backing . Study this very carefully .

2- There is an inherent danger with the 5'er . If it is not hitched properly , you can drop the 5er on the truck box causing tremendous amount of damage . In order to avoid this you have to follow proper hitching/ unhitching procedures and double and triple check everystep.

As already mentioned by others, your 5'er hitch -weight and total loaded weight must be compatible with your tow truck's manufacturer towing guidelines . Good luck.

 

I went from a TT to a 5th wheel. I like the 5er much better. It is easier to hitch/unhitch, easier to pull, and gives you much more room. As said, you lose the bed storage in the truck, but it's worth it, unless like me, you hauled a motorcycle in there. I have also sold the motorcycle, so that is not a concern anymore anyway.

I still have a slider that I got for my short bed, never used it. I have a long bed now, and certainly don't need it. But I already had it, and it works. Not sure what the dealer's issue is. You have to be aware of your turns with a 5er, but a "problem"...not usually. It can be, but it is rare.

If your truck has the diesel, I think the 5th wheel is the way to go. It is a little intimidating the first time you tow it looking out that rear view mirror. But once you get used to it, it's a piece of cake. If you have a gasser, I might consider the TT. But with the 2011, that may not even be much of a factor. But the diesel will tow much easier.

 

Wow, lots of info from 'seasoned' 5er owners. I'm headed out Friday morning with my TT for a long w\e in Mass. One stop will certainly be Long View RV over the line to see the used fifth wheel inventory. Have fun and be safe!

 

I went to get my 34' fifth wheel about 800 miles from home because it was sooo much cheaper.. drove it home with no problem and had never pulled any camper before..I did get a slider and have used it a few times when i was going to have to turn around in tight spots.. fifth wheels have taller ceilings which make them seem a lot bigger inside.. and they seem to tow a lot easier than a TT.. also i bought mine for 10 grand less than the guy in town would sell me the same model for so i figured i could spend the $500 in fuel to go get it..when my brother decided to get one, we did the same thing and went out of state and he saved a ton of money as well

 

Good luck with your purchase and I hope you get a lot of enjoyment from your new RV. Must get a slider hitch though. I have a Reece hitch and it has performed well over the years but if I had to replace it then I'd look at Valley Industries. Their hitches seem very well built, easy to use, offer higher ratings and cost about the same as a Reece. Ask your dealer if they carry the Valley Industries brand.

With a Ford, their short box is still quite a bit longer than Dodge or Chevy so it's not really as much as a handicap as the dealer is making it out to be. I think it's like 6'-10" so it's not really that much shorter than an 8' bed. The Dodge short box is barely 6' (I think) so it's more of an issue. My neighbor has a 2006 Dodge with a nice dent in his cab just from turning into the fuel station. I've been towing with my Super Duty for 8 years and haven't ever found a normal driving situation where I needed to slide the hitch. I basically use the sliding feature when pulling into campsites or making sharp turns in a parking lot etc. Most times I can just drive around in the normal position.

If this is your first RV, then you may do better to consider a used model. Reason is that most of us didn't keep our first RV very long. There are things that you discover that are important and were overlooked while shopping for the unit so it's really common to upgrade within the first 3 years of becoming an RVer. Everybody is different, so it's hard to list features that are more important to others but it's usually obscure things that aren't appreciated until you have been out camping a few times.

For example, my first RV had a toilet that was really close to the door so when the user was sitting on it, the door was right up against their knees. This was something we never thought to check when we were shopping....who test sits on a toilet anyway?
The kitchen was only made for just one person so it became quite crowded if someone wanted to help clean the dishes or cook something while another person was standing there already. If you get a unit with slides, try and find something that is still functional with the slides retracted. This is because sometimes you have a long drive and want to pull over and make a sandwich or something and it's nice if you don't have to put out the slides just to access the bathroom or fridge etc.

Lastly, I would stay away from any trailer that has 15" wheels and tires. Get 16" wheels with E rated tires and you will be much better off. I've stopped to help a lot of fellow RVers with blown tires over the years and the vast majority have been with 15" tires. Not scientific by any means, but I'm just saying...

 

OK, I'll play devils advocate on this one.

5th wheels are great to tow with, no doubt about it. For my family, though, a tt makes it possible to take our Cub Cadet to plow days by just loading it into the bed of the truck. As a matter of fact, the only time I have ever used the load bars for the trailer is when I had the tractor in the bed of the truck and all of it's plow gear and that was running behind a 3/4 ton truck. Our Dutchmen could actually stand to be a little more tongue heavy but follows the truck very well otherwise. I can't justify a toy hauler just for a garden tractor at this point in time so a tt is ideal for us.

But as someone mentioned earlier in the thread; do try and consider a good used one. You may go through a couple before you settle on a configuration that fits you and your family the best and when you figure that out buy it new. jm2cw. Good Luck!

 

YouTube - ‪1974 Volkswagen Beetle & Camper - road test‬‏

Volkswagen says 5th wheel

 

2004SUPERDUTY,

Where did you travel to for such a savings?

Jim