I'm shopping for a fifth wheel and I'm probably going to end up with a loaded trailer at 16,500 #'s (pulling double). My truck is a F350 W/3.55 rear drive. What speed can I expect to pull up a 6% canyon like Parleys out of Salt Lake?

 

Some fair info here
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-towing-6.html

 

Jeff, I'm not pulling as heavy as you are looking at, My horse trailer loaded with horses and feed for the weekend is around 13,000 lbs.

I frequently head up I-80 in Parleys and then up US 40 in Daniels Canyon from Heber to Strawberry. I can pretty much drive at the speed limits. If I get trapped behind a slow mover, I may not get back up to speed for awhile. It's definitely no race car when you get slowed down to 35mph and want to accelerate back up to 70 mph on a 7% grade.

 

My trailer weighs about that same and i am guessing 40 MPH.

 

My truck and 5er all loaded up and headed up the Big Horn Mtns weighs in right at 28,000. I pull 6-9 per cent grades at 45-55 mph with ease. Two lane road. Sharp turns. I would think once you get your speed up to 65, or posted speed limit, you should be able to maintain it as long as the traffic and winding, twisting road allow.

 

so, you guys just floor the trucks when running up grades... what if you can't pull past 45mph? Do you still just keep the hammer down or do you back off and cruise @ that speed? Just curious.

 

Thanks guys, thats exactly the info I was looking for. I didn't want to spend a fortune on a trailer only to find out it's to heavy.

@ Shepardsonp, that must be one well built trailer! The 35' Montana I'm looking at comes in at only 11,500 lbs dry. I figure 1000 lbs for liquids and another 1000 for generator and supply's.

 

I have a trailer question. I see travelers come through my town daily. Lots of Canadians. Anyway, I would say that 90% of these travelers are towing with 5th wheel trailers. Many Montana and such. They park in the Walmart parking lot all the time. Why are there so many 5th wheels? I guess because they allow for a larger trailer but many of them are not the giant sliders you would expect. Most are the mid size type that don't appear to be more than 9-13k. Looks like one could easily ball hitch most of them. I figure I'm seeing a lot of long haul vacationers. I come to that conclusion because I think 5th wheel devices are several k to buy/install. So logically many of these people are not renting these trailers.

I've told my wife on several occasions that if she really wants to travel the US or at least the east coast with any frequency then a travel trailer is the way to go. Hitch up the F-250 with a mid size slider and head down to SC, Florida Keys, GA, and maybe Tennessee.

So again, why am I seeing so many 5th wheel trailers? Thoughts? Thank you

 

They tow better, setup for couples, not kids in some floor plans, made for extended stays

 

Yeah, what Senix said! Mine (which weighs in at 21,000 lbs loaded for full-timing) entertains 8, feeds 4, sleeps 2. Tows like a dream, never "wags the dog". And it's built for long term use.

For comparison of towing speeds, I've never had a hill drag my speed down below 45 mph while towing with my F-450. Combined Gross weight is 31,000 lbs.

 

Our 36' Cougar with four slides is literally an apartment on wheels. It is amazingly spacious when opened up, yet compact and super easy to tow. There's a lot more headroom throughout the trailer than you'd ever find in a bumper pull model (I'm 6'2".) It has a very spacious basement storage area plus large holding tanks.

We are planning several long trips in 2013, and being comfortable with all the amenities day after day is part of the plan.

Towing a fiver is amazing. With the pin weight centered on the rear axle, sway is a non-issue. Once you get the hang of it, backing up is easier, too.

 

If 45 mph is as fast as I can pull a hill, well then so be it. No, I don't "just floor the truck when running up grades..." Pulling heavy loads up and down hills on a regular basis forces you to learn the capabilities of your tow vehicle. Once you learn the limits of that vehicle, whether it be power for pulling, braking for stopping, or handling characteristics, you operate within those envelopes. It's no different than operating a piece of heavy equipment for example. They all have their designed operating parameters. Optimizing that design is getting the most bang for your buck.

Last summer I was heading to Moab, Utah for a week of boondocking and 4-wheelin. I was going down a two lane hiway following a rental class C camper. He kept losing momentum at the bottom of every hill and we would top the hill around 35 mph. That was frustrating for me being one of those guys that will drive 75 if I can. After a couple of failed attempts to pass the guy on flat ground, due to traffic, we came to a hill that was steep enuf, there was a passing lane. Well, I thought I would put this sucker behind me, so, I whipped out to pass him and floored the truck. When I did that, I hit a head wind that made me lose speed quickly. Also, I think the truck derated itself due to high EGT's, caused by my impatience, high outside temps, and following too close to provide clean air for cooling. There I sat beside the guy, not able to complete the pass. And to top it off, there was another guy behind me trying to do the same thing. That was embarrassing. I had to swallow a lot of pride and back out of it and pull back in behind the slow guy. If 35 is the best you can do, so be it. If you can safely pull it at 65, why not? Learn the limits of your tow vehicle. It doesn't happen with a single outing. I'm still learning.

Happy New Year

 

The Newmar Cypress is (was before the stopped making towables) their "entry level" 5th wheel. It is IMO, one of the best built coaches. Most generally they are configured to order. When i toured the factory, the same Amish workers worked on the $1M+ coaches as the $50K+ 5th wheels. They made most all of the components (frames on up) not just a "assembly plant like most of your lighter weight rigs. When I had mine made, i upgraded the axels to 8K lb axes so the the entire weight of the trailer could be supported on the axles. Most RV manufacturers "cheap out" on their customers by giving you just enough axle less the pin weight and call it good. i also had 22" H-Rated (125 PSI) tires and hydraulic disc brakes added from the factory.

My 2005 5th wheel (reputable manufacturer's name withheld) made 3.5 trips from Colorado to MN in 1 year and when the axle shackles failed in Council Bluffs, IA (what a fiasco that was) we had the replacement parts put on and towed it gingerly to the Newmar Dealer and traded it in on a Cypress. I had to drive home empty and come back with a cargo trailer to fill the trailer with all the stuff to store it while the new trailer was built.

In 5 years of use, this coach is still running on the original set of tires and has exceeded my wildest expectations.

As you can tell, i am not a big fan of light weight "troubles" (towables).

 

Fontana, we just got a Copper Canyon 275fwbhs 5th wheel camper that weighs in about 8,000lbs (dry). You can see by the price why folks opt for the 5th wheel over travel trailers. They're really not THAT much different price-wise, and you get A LOT more room inside because the bedroom is over the truckbed (leaving more living area available).

With a 5th wheel setup, you also don't get any fish-tailing because the pin in in front of the rear axle. Altogether, it's a smoother setup. I actually opt for the hide-a-goose ($250) and 5th wheel adapter ($700) set up, which allows me to tow up to 15,000lbs. During the winter, i can use the gooseneck option to move my horses, and during the summer, i use the 5th wheel option for camping. (and, it's as easy as pulling the pin out to swap between the two).

We actually travel through the Fredericksburg/Stafford area a lot on our way to Richmond and Charlotte nascar races.

 

Limited to the hills of the east coast (VA, WV, PA etc), I have always been able to just leave my cruise on and maintain whatever the cruise speed was set at, only losing a couple of MPH which slowly regained. Toy hauler, typically weighing in at 18K.