Oh I must have read your post wrong. I thought the Dodge was a Cummins. Forget every thing I said about the mpg I don't have numbers on the v-10, but I sure you wont like them anyhow.

 

I have a short bed. With a regular reese fifth wheel hitch not a slider. with a UWC toolbox on it. And I have no clearence problems.

 

So you pull this with a gas burner! How heavy is your Cougar? Is the hitch all the way out front of the RV? You don't get the truck and trailer in a bind in tight backing situations. I'm not worried about getting close, I just don't want to make contact!

 

Some of the RV manufactures are designing the fivers with extended pin boxes, or you can add them after market.

 

my fifth wheel says it weighs 8k dry. And i pull it with a 5.4 with no probs no mods. the hitch is in the middle of the bed. if you want measurements from back of bed i can get them later. and the truck and trailer dont bind at all.

 

That picture was a big help Pipes! It looks like you could jack knife all the way without hitting the corners. The 5th wheel we're looking at has almost the same tongue. I would insert a picture if I knew how!!

 

upload it on http://www.imageshack.us then get the direct link to the photo and put [img] before the link and put [/img] after the link. the thing i like about fifth wheels is there is now sway when tractor trailers go by. but when you go to back them up they dont swing as quick as a regular trailer.

 

I've had both a slider and non-slider in a Shortbed CC. With the non-slider I ocasionally had problems getting into a tight position on the side of the colorado river. It is easier with the slider.

Don't forget that the turning radius of the Shortbed is tighter than the longbed.

 

the only problem was with the jack knifing issue is that the trailer doesnt respond as weel have a reg trailer. the fiver takes longer to back up and turn. and I had a few problems in the past with the trailer not keeping up the turning with the truck.

 

So is a tighter turning radius good or bad? I know its only a 1.5' literally, but the Supercrew with 8' bed and 29' RV looks long. I wonder if it all will fit in most state and national park sites?

 

So is a tighter turning radius good or bad? I know its only a 1.5' literally, but the Supercrew with 8' bed and 29' RV looks long. I wonder if it all will fit in most state and national park sites? I know trying to manuver around a parking lot (much like a used car lot is) with an F350 Supercrew DRWs is a task. Looks like I (and hopefully my wife) would be parking in the back at Wallyart!

 

I have about 2-3 inches of clearence in a tight backup even with the toolbox. When I had my 2000 chevy crew cab drw diesel. it was like a tractor trailer. Because you have this huge truck and 30ft fiver. I prob had atleast a 45ft long train. but the truck was a pain to manuver because it was so big. so I got rid of it and got me a mans truck. a FORD.

 

The most important thing to remember while towing a fiver or any trailer for that matter is dont allow yourself to get in a bad situtation with your camper.Many times In campsites I have witnessed people trying to put a camper in somewhere in absoultely wont fit or getting into a mess that could have easily been prevented.
I'll agree that it will happen to all of us at one time or another.But a little prevention goes a long way.If you dont think it will fit,, Dont try.
Most manufactures will not warranty axle damage done to a camper caused by jack-kniving.Campers are not designed to do this.and you can very easily push an axle right out from under them or at least blow a tire because of the sideways pulling.
I found this out the hard way.Some moron parked in front of my camper once and instead of me waiting and giving him a good lecture upon his return I decided to hook up at a 90 degree angle and pull my camper out that way.I sheared the center pins in both axles and moved the axles to one side by two inches .
I fixed camper myself so cost was minimal but It could've been prevented.Oh By the way When I finished my complaining to the Park ranger he had the jerks car towed so we both ended up having a bad day.
In most of the the campsites I have stayed in ,I cannot park my truck directly in front of camper because Of the length so the difference between a 6 & 8 foot box won't make that much difference.I just unhook and pull my truck to the side.As for length on the road I dont think the law pays much attention to Rv's (at least in Ky they dont) .But just to be safe as a local rv dealer .They should be able to answer most questions like that.
I have a 99 Super Duty extended cab with a six foot box and my camper is thirty four feet long from bumper to front of hitch(32 foot box) so I'm pretty stretched out and so far I've never had anything said about length.My next truck will have an eight foot bed .The few extra inches in length can make a world of difference when towing.
Sorry so long but I wish I had someone tell me this when i started a few years back

 

It's a GOOD thing to have a tighter turning radius. The turning radius will depend on what YEAR and Config SD you are looking at.

If '99-'04, then the CC SWB would be better for turning radius, because these SD's with the leaf springs up front need a football field to turn around in. NO KIDDING!

If '05-'08, then you might be able to get away with the CC or SC with the LWB...as if it were the SWB. Reason...is these SD's have an improved turning radius due to the coil springs up front.

IMO...find a SD that you like. Whether or not it is a SWB or LWB...because the setup of the 5ver can be tuned to your needs. The sliders are nice...and I recommend getting one...regardless if you go SWB or LWB. I like them...for the "JUST in CASE" factor that might come up.

Good luck...and create a gallery and toss some pics. Would love to see how your setup turned out.

biz

 

I've got a 2004 crew-cab/long bed, the damned thing is something like 22 feet long or so. Takes between 4 and 5 complete traffic lanes to do a 180 without backing up.