We have been looking at other 5er's. The 'other half' wants something different and more suitable for the 5 of us. A bunk house is not on the list. We made a list of wants/desires which brought us to 45 units. We have since narrowed it down to 5-6 and focused on 3 now. In our current setup I know about how much cargo weight we added (1300) and pin weight (450) so that is a base line. She is also against a DRW. Am I overstepping the boundaries of a SRW? Ready to hook up with us truck is 8450 and rear axle 3440. Current cargo is added to dry weight to get weight estimate.

Jayco North Point 387rdfs - around 13.7 UVW and 2650 pin (first choice)
Winnebago 37Fl - around 13.2 dry and 2300 pin - no dealers are close
Bay Hill 379FL - around 12.9 dry and 2400 pin - company closed so deal has to be exceptional - dealer I talked to said they have a 3rd party that picked up warranty work but does not include structural

We occasionally go to mountains but mostly go to the beach. Weight limits are important to me. Is my thinking correct by adding current weights to dry weights of new units? Will I be to uncomfortable with the SRW? Any other thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks

 

I see you have front living on your list. We love our Coachman Chaparral 370FL. No problem pulling with my F250.

 

We have a north point mid bunk model and we love it. I am far from being the weight police guy as I used to tow a similar sized fifth wheel with an f250, but I can tell you that the size of that camper almost requires a dually. Two reasons: cargo capacity and stability. My 250 had the camper package and was basically a 1 ton SRW but I "only" had 3300lb cargo capacity. With the hitch and pin weight, I was already "overloaded".
Keep in mind the pin weight will be much higher once batteries, propane, and gear are added to the camper. Add passengers and some firewood or extra blocks, tools to the truck and you're really overloaded. You can pull it but stopping in an emergency is another matter. I always drove with two hands on the wheel and very cautiously. I added air bags to level things out but it didn't help with problem 2--stability.
Since my truck was a short bed, I never really felt comfortable towing a big trailer on anything but straight, smooth roads. Any twists or turns always felt like the camper was pushing me around versus me towing it....especially on our trip to the mountains.
So, I got a dually. Long bed. Now, no issues with overloading and the "training wheels" adds so much stability that taking winding roads is no longer a white knuckle experience. I never wanted a dually but once you tow with it you'll never want to go back to a SRW. Also, driving it as a daily driver isn't as bad as I thought it would be. It rides better than the 250. Good luck and happy camping!

 

Hey, get a truck that suits the 5th wheel and makes for a comfortable, safe, no white knuckle trip.....no matter what the other half doesn't like.

 

SRW will be just fine for those needs. Always someone else to recommend DRW and no doubt, a help. Just not a necessity.

 

The other half does the payin so I do the playin. Knowing what my current cargo weight is helps regardless of trailer GVWR. On paper with my known weights looks ok for SRW, my gut says DRW, and sometimes you have to just be told. DRW is the smarter choice and opens up more possibilities. She really likes the front living Pinnacle but we eliminated that option due to pin weight for current TV. Who knows what we will do.

Thanks for the replies. We are in no hurry and will weigh our options.