Generic questions about 5-ers

[way2roll]

My only experience with owning RV's is Class A motor homes. As we look to part time next year (3-6 mos at a time) I am looking at new MH's. But I am curious about fifth wheels. They certainly offer more space to full or part time in but I know next to nothing about them. I know I would need a truck big enough but as I start to explore if it's even option I want to pursue I had a few questions. Forgive me if they've been asked before and excuse my complete ignorance - looking to educate myself.

Are they hard to maneuver, park, drive, navigating gas stations etc?

If I get something like an f250 diesel, what would mileage be?

How are grades navigated?

what's set up like?

How hard is it to break camp and travel?

Quality is always suspect but what are the standard issues?

Care/maintenance?

DW worries about them flipping over and taking the truck with it in an accident, wind or uneven terrain. is that risk real?

I could go on, but already that's a lot of questions.

Thanks - any input is helpful.

[way2roll]

Thanks again everyone for the informative replies. I have a better idea of a plan. I am sure I will have more questions as things progress. One of the biggest concerns is quality/brands. I know the quality hierarchy on the MH side, I am not sure how it correlates to the FW side.

[Coach-man]

Thermoguy wrote:
You answered most of the points I was going to make. We have a fifth wheel and need a truck outside of RV life so that made sense. If it comes down to a trailer sitting not being used vs a Motor home sitting around not being used, then the answer is fairly easy.

My in-laws were going to buy a fifth wheel and after a trip my family made to Yellowstone, here is the advice I gave them. My mother in-law is very upiddy, and likes first class service. I told them that I could not see her bouncing down the road in the front seat of a dually, setting up camp, or waiting while the truck and trailer are level, unhooked, slides out, etc for her to do her thing. I think for them, a Diesel pusher made the most sense. Drive down the road in comfort, use the bath, kitchen, whatever while moving. Pull in to a spot, level the MH, slides out, plug in and you are ready. Not to mention onboard generator for boon-docking, etc. For them a car trailer made sense since they have the choice of an SUV or sports car to take with them depending on the destination.

I guess it just depends on the lifestyle you want, your budget, and your needs outside of using the RV.

Good Luck

“Drive down the road in comfort ..”, “ I told them that I could not see her bouncing down the road in the front seat of a dually” WOW! I read recently that the 2020 RAM pick up was voted the “best luxury CAR for 2020”! Perhaps they should read that before bouncing down the road in a pickup!

[StirCrazy]

Lantley wrote:

StirCrazy wrote:
one thing I havent seen mentiond is storage. My parents have turned into snowbirds and sold there 5th and bought a 42 foot diesel pusher and a small honda to tow behind it. we were talking and I asked which one she liked better. she said both. she said for going to one place and setting up home the motorhome is better. they have a small car for driving around arazona for 4 to 6 months of the year, but she misses the storage of the 5th wheel. the motorhome has lots of storage also but a large amount of it is only accessable from outside where the 5th wheel has way more interior storage. but she realy liked being able to go to the washroom or grab a pop out of the fridge wheile traveling with out having to get out in the motorhome.

now days with the auto leveling system on 5th wheels there is really no advantage to setiing up camp with a motorhome. still have to unhook your towed to get in a site, actualy I can set up twice as fast as my parents with my 5th wheel.

Steve

As long as you have to unhitch from the fiver the motorhome will have an advantage. The toad has its own power it is easier to hitch and unhitch vs. a fiver. No climbing involved.
You must have a truck to move the fiver you do not have to have a toad!

if you can unhook a towed as fast as I can unhook my 5th and hit the auto level button, your amazing. two pins to unhook from the car, disconect your power and braking system then move it, then you can back in. With the motor home you still have to get out and place your leveling jack pads down (which are set farther under the motorhome than on a 5th wheel. I watch my dad either crawl under or use a steel rod to push them into place)
then get back in, unless you alwasy park on concrete pads i guess. for me, it is pull up and back in, hit the button to ground the front jacks as I throw down the jack pads, pull my bar and drive 6 feet forward and hit the button on the remote for auto level as soon as I have.

I will agree that with a trailer with equalizer hitch and manual jacks the motor home would be way faster, but with the aparance on auto leveling systems becoming more common the gap is closed if not eliminated.

Steve

[humblerb]

Wow. This post started while we were camping and is on page 6 already.
We started with a bumper pull travel trailer.
2 years ago, we upgraded to a 5th Wheel.
Our trailer is ~37' long.
I worked the weight of the trailer my wife wanted and went truck shopping.
I rejected 3-4 trucks that I really liked because the payload was not enough.
I bought a RAM 2500 shortbed with the Hemi (gas).
My truck pulls the fiver fine and is within all weight specs. One note about diesel engines - the diesel will weigh approximately 900# more than a gas engine. So, your RAM 2500 diesel with the same chassis as my RAM 2500 gas will haul less trailer than mine. I was shocked at this difference in weight.
Backing the trailer is just a matter of getting used to it.
I could back my 34' TT like a Commercial trucker when I got rid of it.
The 5er is much different and I am just getting to a point where I can back it in to my driveway on the first try (most of the time).
I always start looking for fuel as I approach 1/4 tank of gas left. Don't pull in to a small station with little room. When traveling, if you pay attention to where you are, you can typically find stations with room to pull in and pull out without a lot of trouble. I have backed out once or twice. It's just what you do.
Our set up is a breeze compared to our TT. I back in. We put blocks down and extend the supports. Then my wife pushes a button and raises the front until I am clear to disconnect. Once I move the truck, she pushes another button. Approximately 60 seconds, the fiver is leveled and stabilized - automatically.

[Edd505]

Thermoguy wrote:
Most of the advice here to buy an F350 over an F250 is about experience. Can you tow many 5th wheels with a 250 - absolutely. But then you limit yourself. You get a trailer that works today, but then you want to upgrade, front kitchen, washer dryer, toy hauler, now all of a sudden that 250 doesn't have the payload and your looking at trucks again. If you have to buy a truck, the F350 SRW is exactly the same size as the comparable 250 but has more payload. And, most likely, the same price in a used truck. The problem most people have on this site is they buy too small of truck then try to figure out how to haul too large of trailer. Best to get the right truck up front. Also, don't let the salesman tell you you can tow any trailer with a 250 diesel, or even an F150. Listen to everyone here, you can't. You will regret it in the end. I have a 2500 (GM) my only regret is that I don't have a 1 ton and can't upgrade my trailer. Every trailer I look at would require a truck with more capacity. It's similar to TV's, you can't buy one that is too big... So, get the bigger truck, it doesn't hurt to pull too small of load, only if you try to pull too large of load.

a simple question, have you ever heard anyone complain they had too much truck?

[Thermoguy]

Most of the advice here to buy an F350 over an F250 is about experience. Can you tow many 5th wheels with a 250 - absolutely. But then you limit yourself. You get a trailer that works today, but then you want to upgrade, front kitchen, washer dryer, toy hauler, now all of a sudden that 250 doesn't have the payload and your looking at trucks again. If you have to buy a truck, the F350 SRW is exactly the same size as the comparable 250 but has more payload. And, most likely, the same price in a used truck. The problem most people have on this site is they buy too small of truck then try to figure out how to haul too large of trailer. Best to get the right truck up front. Also, don't let the salesman tell you you can tow any trailer with a 250 diesel, or even an F150. Listen to everyone here, you can't. You will regret it in the end. I have a 2500 (GM) my only regret is that I don't have a 1 ton and can't upgrade my trailer. Every trailer I look at would require a truck with more capacity. It's similar to TV's, you can't buy one that is too big... So, get the bigger truck, it doesn't hurt to pull too small of load, only if you try to pull too large of load.

[Me_Again]

way2roll wrote:


I appreciate the advice, but I'm not buying a dually. I don't want to deal with parking it downtown, parking it in the garage, dealing with another set of tires, the cost, etc etc. I'm just not into it. I am not a full time RVer- not yet anyway. Frankly I don't even need a 250 in daily life, but I will concede - sort of meeting the middle. In the few days of looking around there seem to be plenty smaller/lighter FW's that would meet our needs and meet the specs of the 250. If I were full timing and needed a larger FW, sure, but that's not the case. I just don't need that much truck or that much RV.

On edit: I am starting to catch on so some of my answers are simply ignorance. I am in new territory here. The F350 is basically the same size and close to cost as the F250, but with greater capacity correct? It just occurred to me the the SRW and DRW mean single and dual rear wheels. An "Aha" moment. SO I would not be opposed to a F350 single rear wheel. If I understand things correctly. I appreciate everyone's patience as I educate myself. BTW - it has to be a Ford. I have had my 07 F150 since new and while it has had issues, it's still running smooth with 250k on it. Ford has earned another shot at my next truck.

You are now on the track I tried to get you on early in the thread! Great!!! Chris

[Lantley]

Your catching on! Yes a 1 ton F-350 SRW is what you want at a minimum vs. a F250 (1 ton vs.3/4)

[way2roll]

Lantley wrote:

way2roll wrote:
I can say the truck is more important that the FW, so I will likely lean more towards the truck I need for use every day and buy a FW that can be towed with it than vice versa. If I were full timing maybe the other way around. But I have no other use for a dually. This trip next year is a US tour approx 3-6 mos. After that we will probably make extended trips, but there will be large gaps in our travel. I can't justify buying more truck than I need. If that means a smaller/lighter FW, so be it. If we decide to sell the S&B and start full timing after next year, I would opt for a 40-45' DP or a larger FW and possibly a dually. But a truck and camper that big just makes no sense right now.

Buying the truck is not totally about money. It's about buying the truck to meet your needs.
The difference in price between a 1 ton truck and a dually is not as much as you think. If you are even considering a 5th wheel you need at least a 1 ton SRW truck.

I appreciate the advice, but I'm not buying a dually. I don't want to deal with parking it downtown, parking it in the garage, dealing with another set of tires, the cost, etc etc. I'm just not into it. I am not a full time RVer- not yet anyway. Frankly I don't even need a 250 in daily life, but I will concede - sort of meeting the middle. In the few days of looking around there seem to be plenty smaller/lighter FW's that would meet our needs and meet the specs of the 250. If I were full timing and needed a larger FW, sure, but that's not the case. I just don't need that much truck or that much RV.

On edit: I am starting to catch on so some of my answers are simply ignorance. I am in new territory here. The F350 is basically the same size and close to cost as the F250, but with greater capacity correct? It just occurred to me the the SRW and DRW mean single and dual rear wheels. An "Aha" moment. SO I would not be opposed to a F350 single rear wheel. If I understand things correctly. I appreciate everyone's patience as I educate myself. BTW - it has to be a Ford. I have had my 07 F150 since new and while it has had issues, it's still running smooth with 250k on it. Ford has earned another shot at my next truck.

[valhalla360]

Lantley wrote:
No climbing involved.

What climbing do you do hooking up your 5th wheel?

Maybe we are doing something wrong and we should be climbing.

[Lantley]

way2roll wrote:
I can say the truck is more important that the FW, so I will likely lean more towards the truck I need for use every day and buy a FW that can be towed with it than vice versa. If I were full timing maybe the other way around. But I have no other use for a dually. This trip next year is a US tour approx 3-6 mos. After that we will probably make extended trips, but there will be large gaps in our travel. I can't justify buying more truck than I need. If that means a smaller/lighter FW, so be it. If we decide to sell the S&B and start full timing after next year, I would opt for a 40-45' DP or a larger FW and possibly a dually. But a truck and camper that big just makes no sense right now.

Buying the truck is not totally about money. It's about buying the truck to meet your needs.
The difference in price between a 1 ton truck and a dually is not as much as you think. If you are even considering a 5th wheel you need at least a 1 ton SRW truck.

[Me_Again]

StirCrazy wrote:

now days with the auto leveling system on 5th wheels there is realy no advantage to setiing up camp with a motorhome. still have to unhook your towed to get in a site, actualy I can set up twice as fast as my parents with my 5th wheel.

Steve

Our Bighorn has the Lippert 6 point auto level which works well, it remembers the unhitch height for when you are ready to hook back up. The system will lift tires right off the ground if needed to change a tire. Chris

[Lantley]

StirCrazy wrote:
one thing I havent seen mentiond is storage. My parents have turned into snowbirds and sold there 5th and bought a 42 foot diesel pusher and a small honda to tow behind it. we were talking and I asked which one she liked better. she said both. she said for going to one place and setting up home the motorhome is better. they have a small car for driving around arazona for 4 to 6 months of the year, but she misses the storage of the 5th wheel. the motorhome has lots of storage also but a large amount of it is only accessable from outside where the 5th wheel has way more interior storage. but she realy liked being able to go to the washroom or grab a pop out of the fridge wheile traveling with out having to get out in the motorhome.

now days with the auto leveling system on 5th wheels there is really no advantage to setiing up camp with a motorhome. still have to unhook your towed to get in a site, actualy I can set up twice as fast as my parents with my 5th wheel.

Steve

As long as you have to unhitch from the fiver the motorhome will have an advantage. The toad has its own power it is easier to hitch and unhitch vs. a fiver. No climbing involved.
You must have a truck to move the fiver you do not have to have a toad!

[StirCrazy]

one thing I havent seen mentiond is storage. My parents have turned into snowbirds and sold there 5th and bought a 42 foot diesel pusher and a small honda to tow behind it. we were talking and I asked which one she liked better. she said both. she said for going to one place and setting up home the motorhome is better. they have a small car for driving around arazona for 4 to 6 months of the year, but she misses the storage of the 5th wheel. the motorhome has lots of storage also but a large amount of it is only accessable from outside where the 5th wheel has way more interior storage. but she realy liked being able to go to the washroom or grab a pop out of the fridge wheile traveling with out having to get out in the motorhome.

now days with the auto leveling system on 5th wheels there is realy no advantage to setiing up camp with a motorhome. still have to unhook your towed to get in a site, actualy I can set up twice as fast as my parents with my 5th wheel.

Steve