I have no idea why they bought that thing for a trailer that size. They did get a 38' after that though and the Liner pulls it great. I still wish I'd taken a picture of their 32' trailer pulled all apart. It was funny as hell, mainly because it wasn't my trailer.

 

But did they get an air hitch for the truck? If not they need to as the 38' 5ver will likely suffer a pinbox failure also, even if the truck has air suspension.

I wish that I had a picture of the 5ver in Iowa several years ago, a weldor attempted to repair the cracks in the hitch framework and after the fire all that was left was the frame. Hanging from the hitch was a goose adapter.

The best way to tow a fifth wheel trailer is with the correct hitch designed for the towing vehicle. Using the fifth wheel hitch to pull my 14,500# means that I have one less thing to worry about while plying the highways and byways.

Play Safe!
Dorf

 

Yep they got an air hitch on the truck an air suspension thing on the trailer king pin and air suspension on the truck. They got suspension out the wazoo and disposable income as well. I think part of the problem with their old trailer was because right before the Liner they had a F250. One day the wife was backing the trailer up some uneven terrain and turning at the same time. Laid the sides of their pick-up bed right over and caused what they thought was just surface damage on the trailer at the time.

 

I will weigh in on this one too. I have a 1994 Wilderness 30' 5th wheel and initially pulled it with my 1977 F150 with a camper special 390 and the 3.25 rear. It pulled it, but wasn't really happy. The trailer weighs 8800 empty and gas a loaded weight of 10100. I now pull it with my 86 F350 crew cab DRW. It has the 460 and 3.55 rear. I started with a Reese 14K for and aft pivot only hitch, I bought a used 20K later that articulates side to side as well. My Reese mounting rails will also take a gooseneck adapter. With the 5th wheel hitch, I can just back under the trailer like a big rig. I have seen a few using the gooseneck, and initial hookup requires a bit more finnese than the 5th wheel. The advantage, ignoring warraty issues, is the gooseneck will tolerate more terrain differences than even a dual articulating 5th wheel hitch. As for Forest River, I have heard some real bad things regarding their structural integrity. Most RV Trailer manufaturers build their frames from raw components. Fleetwood, uses, or at least did, a very hefty struture in their family of towables. Yes the "weight police" chastised me back on the old RV-L group. My truck is rated for 12000 lbs 5th wheel towing and handles the Wilderness nicely. BTW, I also use it as a pickup quite a bit too. Check the manufacturers website for your gooseneck and see if they also make a 5th wheel unit that can be simply installed in place of the gooseneck

 

In defense of RV.net there is some great information to be gleaned from that site if you plan on pulling a 5th wheel. Many neophites go out and buy a fifth wheel and attempt to pull it with their 'current' 1/2 or 3/4 T truck,(mind you there are many smaller 5er's that you can safely pull with a 3/4T) but much of the TT & 5er product lines are beyond the SAFE capabilities of these aforementioned trucks. 1Ton is becoming the standard now. Even the 1T can be outclassed by some of those hvy Tetons and Newmars. This is where the MDT comes to play.

Joe

 

Didn't know RV.net needed defending. I don't believe anyone attacked the forum. The man asked where did his friend get the idea that he "needed" a MDT to pull that particular trailer.
I happen to be a senior contributor on rv.net myself so I don't feel that the advice there is all bad. There are, however, some who are a bit over zealous in advising and that was who myself and the next two posters after me were referring.

 

No RV.net doesn't need to be defended, I agree with tbax46 its just a few that think they know more than they do. From their posts IMO they are new (I mean the last 5 or 6 years) and they have a hard time with the fact that trucks with a heavy load just don't handle like they do when empty and I think its a little unnerving for them so they try to unnerve everybody else who will lessen. Vary rarely will I get into it with them I just read their posts and have a good laugh and go on. That just MO and nothing else.

Denny

 

I am on RV-Talk which sort of replaced the old RV-L organized by the Affinity Group. One of the issues I see with the newer trucks, when my 86 was built, the DRW version had the highest tow rating, now, probably do to the litigenous atmsophere prevailing, the DRW has a lower tow rating than the single wheel pickups. I personally will never tow a good sized 5th wheel with anything but a dually, the stability is much better. One other item, if you don't actually need 4 wheel drive, don't tow with it! 4 wheel drive trucks loose part of their capacity to the weight of the 4 wheel equipment, and have an enormous turning circle compared to an equivilant 2 wheel drive. My crew cab dually will turn inside my brother-in-law's super cab single rear wheel F250 4X4.

 

tbax46
rvpuller:
I stand by my comments.

 

Agreed, my 4x4 take 20 acres to turn around in