dartmouth01
Massachusetts
New Member
Joined: 08/30/2011
View Profile
 Offline
|
Hi all,
I'm sure you guys get this question all the time "I'm a newbie and I'm looking for help picking out a 5th wheel trailer", but I hope you bear with me anyway. My gf and I have been doing a lot of research and having just sealed the deal on a truck, we are trying to come to a conclusion on the 5th wheel search. We have been actively planning and doing research for 6 months, but only have been actively searching for a fiver for about a month. During this time, I think we have figured out what layouts we like, and layouts that we dont.
Heres the plan: We will quit our jobs next year, and travel for about 6 months. We will pretty much head west (we are in MA), though there may be some detours north and south I'm sure. I forsee us stopping in places for a few days each time, seeing the local sites, and then heading off again. We will hopefully do a mix of boondocking and campgrounds. When winter comes around, we will probably settle in a ski town and work/ski. I've read enough about fulltiming in an RV in the cold, and I think it'll just be easier for us to find a month to month lease on an apartment. When the winter is over, we'll probably head out again for a few months in search of place to settle for a longer term.
What we have decided on so far: The tow vehicle is a 2007 Chevy Silverado 2500HD (new body style) with the Duramax, Crew Cab, standard bed. We are taking our dog with us, he is an 80lb Husky mix, which is why we went with the crew cab. As for trailers, these are things we like:
1) 27-31 feet in length
2) slide out in the bedroom or at least ample space
3) 1 Living room slide at least
3) Lots of storage spaces inside
4) Decent kitchen countertop space
5) Corner showers
6) Separate sinks and toilets are a plus
7) Used, less than $15k
8) We dont need bunk space, or space devoted for kids.
9) More undercarriage storage space, the better
After searching around, I think the fiver we liked the best so far (within our price range and in good condition) was a 2004 Forest River Wildcat 29RLBS. Only thing I don't like is the underbody storage space, its pretty minimal. Does anyone have any more specific models I should look at that might also fit our bill? Thanks in advance!
|
agesilaus
North Florida
Senior Member
Joined: 05/06/2008
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
You should have asked here before buying the truck. Most 3/4 ton trucks are limited by the GVWR. Read this for the explanation:
Trailer life tow vehicles
You can find the specifications of your truck here:
2007 Towing Guide
You have to find a trailer that will fit the limits that your truck has, and the weight of the trailer is the overriding factor you have to concern yourself with. The amount of weight you have to work with is the GVWR minus the weight of passengers, anything else loaded in the truck, a full tank of gas, the weight of the Fifth Wheel hitch (around 200 pounds) and so on. This has to be less than the pin weight of the trailer. This will limit the size of your fifth wheel.
Read the articles in the towing guide.
BK
Glendale Titanium 29E34TS fifth wheel
2012 Ford F-350 4WD Lariat 6.7L
PullRite OE Series Super5th 18K
|
TubaPete
Comstock Park, MI
Senior Member
Joined: 03/05/2005
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
agesilaus wrote:You should have asked here before buying the truck. Most 3/4 ton trucks are limited by the GVWR.
BK
Respectfully I think you are being overly alarmistic. My 2008 250 HD w/Duramax is rated for towing 15,000 lbs. You can get a lot of trailer for that. My 38 footer is around 12,000 loaded.
Tuba Pete
|
bpounds
Whittier CA
Senior Member
Joined: 12/12/2010
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
Your 2500 D/A should be fine for the size trailers you suggested, @ 27-31'. If you concentrate on the units with GVWR of 10k or less, maybe even 11k.
The question to consider is, can you live in a unit of that size? You said full timing, but it also sounds like you will keep some ties to homes or apartments, for at least part of the year, so maybe you can do it in a smaller unit.
The thing is, life collects a lot of "stuff", and if you have to haul all that stuff everywhere you go, it will be tough in smaller trailers.
As for models, everything is online, and there are only a few manufacturers, so it is pretty easy to get down to a short list. Write down the feature set, lengths, and weights that interest you, and start googling them. Asking for opinions on brands here is a waste of time. Everyone just defends their own choice.
Bill and Carol
2006 F250 Diesel
2011 Keystone Cougar 278RKSWE Fiver
|
NC Hauler
Asheville NC
Senior Member
Joined: 05/20/2005
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
TubaPete wrote:agesilaus wrote:You should have asked here before buying the truck. Most 3/4 ton trucks are limited by the GVWR.
BK
Respectfully I think you are being overly alarmistic. My 2008 250 HD w/Duramax is rated for towing 15,000 lbs. You can get a lot of trailer for that. My 38 footer is around 12,000 loaded.
Not to be an "alarmist", but the truck may be rated to tow "15,000#", but with a GVWR of only 9200# on those year 2500HD's, you will be limited on how much pin weight you can put in the bed of a 3/4 ton truck, thus limiting how heavy of a 5er one should try to tow with a 3/4 ton in those model years, (2011's have higher ratings). Overloading a 3/4 ton with pin weight....been there, done that, have the T-shirt.
To the OP, I'd be looking for a 5er in the range you are talking about, believe I would stay around a 5er GVWR of 10-11,000# max. Again, the trucks GVWR, or it's RAWR is far more important than it's so called rated GCWR...Do the research and you should find something that will work for you. That truck will work great for quite a few 5er's out there, just do the math....
Jim & Kathy
2010 Dodge 3500DRW Laramie 4X4/CC/LB/CTD/4:10/auto
2012 Jeep Patriot Limited Trail Rated
06 HR Presidential Suite 37RLQ/ 4 slide/ dual pane windows/Winegard SK3005 Satellite/Splendide XC2100 W/D
Boxers;Buddy& Sheba II
USAF 71-75 Nam Vet
WVU fan
|
|
|
edatlanta
Hosting in Panama City Beach, FL
Senior Member
Joined: 08/13/2008
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
Where is the popcorn when you need it.
Ed
2006 GMC 2500HD CCSB 4x4 Duramax/Allison, Titan 52 gallon fuel tank, TTT/Schefenacker Towing Mirrors, Prodigy Controller, B&W Companion Hitch, Progressive Industries EMS-PT50C, TST Systems 507 TPMS
2010 Jayco Designer 35RLTS,Cummins/Onan RV QG 5500 EVAP
|
jims1
NC
Senior Member
Joined: 09/19/2010
View Profile
Offline
|
Forget the truck, its fine
An idea we used was to go to as many dealers we could and look at used in our price range.
We then looked online in the same price range.
E-bay was helpful because everyone puts pics in.
We compromised on some issues like storage for bigger living area.
We also eliminated some brands that are out of business, didn't have 3 season living, etc.
There are alot of good deals out there.
Stay within the capacities of your vechile and you'll be fine.
'06 Ram with a Cummins
Tuned w/ EFI-Live by Rich at DogHouse Diesel
'96 532 CarriLite
Me, Alie, and Salie
|
rsg63
Dublin, Ca.
Full Member
Joined: 08/06/2011
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
edatlanta wrote:Where is the popcorn when you need it.
Agreed!
2008 Jayco Recon ZX 40' 3 axle T/H, dual A/C 4 queen beds, 2 twins
2006 RAM 3500 Cummins Dually, Pac Brake, Banks CAI, Monster Exhaust, 3.5" RAM intake, 265/70/17 Goodyear Wrangler SA Pro Grades, removable Reese Sig series 24K hitch. DVD/NAV/Backup Camera.
|
Earl E
Green Valley, AZ
Senior Member
Joined: 04/16/2007
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
 Online
|
Your truck is fine. That's what we have (see sig) and it tows our fiver just great. Just be aware that if you buy something like the Wildcat that they are not really rated for full-time. That doesn't mean you can't do it--it does mean that the fabrics, fake wood, etc are not built for heavy use so you will have to be more careful. And as you have already noted, they are a "mid-height" so they don't have too much storage. You may be better off looking at one of the full-height brands that are better built; it may be older but better. But people to full-time in anything and everything.
2007 Northwoods Arctic Fox 32 5S Fifth Wheel
2007 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Diesel
Prodigy brake control
 (Custom).JPG)
|
Eycom
32043
Senior Member
Joined: 09/12/2004
View Profile
|
I'd be inclined to look at manufacturers who are popular with full timers. They are heavier units and subsequently better withstand the rigors of day to day living. An example would be NuWa HitchHiker II LS series. You can view their archives going back 10-12 years from that site. It's tough to find a lot of kitchen counter space in the size you are looking for unless it's a rear kitchen model. Your budget will probably put you in 2001-2004 model years. NADA can help you in making offers. Just be sure and watch your weights. Good luck.
RVn Full-time
|
|
|
|
