We towed a 32' TT for a 5 years or so, first with an SUV and then with the F-350. Now we have a 38' 5th wheel. For TTs, I am a huge fan of top-drawer sway control, so we used a Hensley Arrow with both tow vehicles. It really did save our bacon once or twice. We travelled nine provinces and about 40 states with the SUV/TT combo in all kinds of conditions and terrain. A good system is a small fraction of the cost of your rig and worth it when you consider your human cargo. I wrote up quite a bit on the Hensley on my site, at paushe.com.

We moved to a 5er in 2011 as a bit of an evolution. We were after more storage space, more interior space. But with the 5er we lost the use of the bed of the truck so that created new challenges in carrying bikes, kayaks, etc. We can put a few things in the bed as long as they stay down low.

With the 5er you have to be more careful about watching your height. The handling edge goes to the 5er, although the Hensley ads about "towing just like a 5er" are pretty accurate. The 5th is just that tad better.

We prefer the more wooded provincial parks, and the 5er is more of a handful in these tighter places. We had a few challenges getting on sites but hey, I'm always up for a challenge.

For fuel consumption, the F-350 got 12-13 US MPG towing a 32' 6000 lb. TT. With the 38' 14,000 lb. 5er we get 10-11. We tow at 62-65 MPH most of the time. We're more 5er oriented right now because we plan to "most time" it in a few years so that's the kind of rig that we believe will suit that lifestyle.

I think it all comes down to what floor plans work for you, what your needs are, etc. There are pros and cons to each. There's a huge variety out there, so that's good.

 

Andrew,

That TT looks just beautiful. My wife wants to travel more and I keep insisting that this is the way to make that happen without breaking the bank. May I ask, about how much do you think you'll wind up spending? I'm curious because I have two teenage kids and a high maintenance wife. Kinda go big or nothing for me. Thanks, Chris

 

I've had both, loved both. But went back to a TT. The main reason was the state parks we love are not set up for 5ers. All roof seemed to scrap on all the trees. Granted we had a full size 5er, I've been in some where you damn near had to crawl into the bed they were so low profile.
Depends on what you plan on doing with it, and even more where you will be going 90% of the time. My FIL flipped his axels over for the 5er to be level. He towed it all across the country with no problems. Needed a step ladder to get into it....
I'd do some long hard thinking on what you are planning on doing and adjust from there.

 

Dogmandt,
I hope you enjoy your F350 and Artic Fox 25Y when you get it as much as my wife and I enjoy our F250 and AF 25Y. Great setup!

Pat

 

So far we love the F350. Waiting for a bit before we get the 25Y but we've visited the local AF dealer several times to just sit in it and get a feel for it. Really love the layout. Nothing else quite like it in a TT that we've seen.

 

Looks like a real nice camper. I'm looking at similar models as well and it seems like the BH models are getting more popular.

Chris - The ones I've see like these are listing in the mid 30s. Deals can be had for the mid 20s. The RV show is this weekend in Chantilly. I'll be there looking for one too. Progressive Insurance 27th Annual Washington Camping RV Expo | GS Events

 

After some more thought and speaking with some friends I think I've changed my mind and going with something like this one. Likely this specific one if I can find one somewhat locally.

Cougar X-Lite 2013 32RET


The bunkhouse would be kinda nice for the kids to have their own space but I think the living area would be nicer most of the time. There's plenty of space for the 4 of us to sleep comfortably and it would be nice to have the room to hang out together when it's crappy outside.

 

Price is looking to be somewhere around 35-40k for the one I'm looking at now. The coachmen posted earlier was mid to high 20s.

 

Do yourself a favor and go to as many lots as you can. (I'm making a grand assumption that you haven't already done this) Look at how the used trailers of different brands have held up over time. Look at trailers of that brand that are 5 years old, 10 years old. Is the fiberglass delaminating? Bubbling? Yellowing? Does it have a fiberglass cap? What is the floor made of? Chip board? Plywood? What is the thickness? What is the trailer frame rated to haul? What is the tongue weight? Tank sizes? Storage? We changed our mind several times after a month of looking. We landed on Arctic Fox. Push on the walls of most trailers then push on an Arctic Fox wall. Do lots of comparison shopping.

That Cougar floor plan looks really nice and it looks like they've added fiberglass caps for 2013.

Don't pay sticker. Not even close. We found we can get the trailer we are looking at for about 30k. It was listed at $42k.

 

The two slides will be very nice, lots of room. The 28 gal. black water tank is a little on the small side, but not a show stopper. I likey!

 

Do you know where you like to camp yet? If choosen campground has full hookup water/black capacities don't really matter. If more rustic you will want more water for sure. I do like that unit better as well.

 

I love it! Kind of similar to our floor plan now Can your local place order one for you? There are 3 Keystone dealers in your area, one of them should be able to order one for you. 28 gallons in the Black will get them thru a weekend, but long weekends might be challenging. It may require a visit to a dumping station depending on the amount of use, but you will likely be alright.

 

How did this double post ?!! Deleted

 

Good suggestions so far !
but first thing you have to learn is NOT call it a camper !!!
It's, ahem (in a Thurston Howell III voice), an RV

rv.net is the camping world forum - irv2.com is another excellent forum to learn that , as much as we like to think so, our SRW beast CAN'T tow everything !

We can PULL just about anything, and faster than the 65 mph limited tires allow,
but stopping, handling, rear GAWR, and GVWR limit us...

If srw, our cc sb's have roughly a 6200 lb rear GAWR and anything in the bed PLUS tongue weight WILL put us over that GAWR quickly- so gauge accordingly...

last year got a 35' TT with 4 slides to pull behind the 2005 Excursion,
got the excellent Propride Hitch and it pulled wonderfully, but found it was too much rv for the Ex's 6.0///

So traded it on current 6.7 and 5er and love it...
good luck on your choices, but don't believe the "you can tow anything" salesmen.
do your own research... and glad to help you learn without making some of the missteps we all did

 

This made me laugh. Only with us, I'm the high maintenance one. Now is the time to shop... the RV shows are starting and you can get 10-15K off new units.