5th wheel vs Bumper Pull!~ help a newbie

garysol wrote:
I am a past TT owner that now owns a 5th wheel and is going back to a TT. One of the reasons for us going back to a TT is I miss having my pickup truck available for bikes, firewood and items like that. I also hate having to haul my 300+ pound slider hitch in and out of my bed anytime I need to use the truck as a truck. I will miss the roomier feeling of the 5'er and the ease of hooking it up. I suspect my fuel mileage will dramatically improve with the lower profile of the TT.

Likely if your fuel mileage improves it will be because of a lighter TT, your current 5er weighs in at 11,640# dry with a GVWR of 15,500#.

There are not too many TT that weigh close to that, even if 40' long, if near equal the 5er would likely get better fuel mileage.
If you had chose to tow with a Long bed could have gotten a lighter hitch, that and many state no issues with towing with a SB, if the 5er is designed correctly.

Bikes, bike racks solve that issue, not a bumper rack, but a pin box rack, I currently have a two bike rack pin box mounted, could easily be four. When posting about the bike rack before, someone posted back that they did a four bike rack with a SB TV without issue.
Firewood, you can get a lot of firewood in the bed below the swing of the pin box.

I am not trying to change your mind, just solutions to some of the issues you have.

We had 6 bikes on a hitch mounted bike rack on the back of our 5ver and carried a full size BBQ in the bed of the truck. I took the BBQ off its stand and set it up on a table. I like being able to store stuff in the fiver's basement and not have to unpack when we get home. We also carried 2 17 foot long canoes on the roof of our pick up which extended about 2 or 3 feet in front of the truck.

The reason the 5ver tows a little nicer has to do with the geometry of having the hitch pin slightly ahead of the rear axle vs 4 or 5 ft behind it. While towing a TT down the highway when the tow vehicle's front tires turn to the right the rear hitch swings the front of the trailer slightly to the left. As the truck moves to the right the trailer follows back.....so swaying is hard to avoid.

With a fifth wheel set up, steering the front tires of the truck initiates the front of the trailer to move in the same direction.

All of the above is true. Most is personal preference. I've owned both and currently have a new 37' 5ver. We like the FW layout better than most TTs. I think towing is about the same, except I find the TT was easier to back up than the FW. Also we had problems with FW "chucking" that we never had with a TT. We pretty much solved that so I guess my overall preference is the FW. I do however, miss the lost storage in my pick up with a FW.

You can always depend on Jimnlin to keep their answers solely to the topic and to complain about others because they believe most replies are "nit-picking" other replies.

shay6...welcome to the forum.
This website is bad about members not answering your questions as their to busy nit-picking others replies..... so hang in there and stay tuned.
I've found 5th wheel and GN trailers do track the tow vehicle better however backing one takes getting used to...it reacts slower. The TT ball is out behind the tow vehicle and reacts quicker to steering input than a 5th wheel pin that sits over or just in front of the trucks rear axle. Its not hard but just different.

I find 5th wheel trailers easier to hitch and unhitch than the bumper pull.

You don't need a one ton truck to pull a true 1/2 ton towable 5th wheel trailer.
The newer gen 3/4 ton trucks have 6000-6500 RAWR which will be carrying all the weight in the bed. Gas or diesel trucks rear axles weigh in the 3000 lb range leaving 3000-3400 lbs for a payload in the bed.
These trucks can carry pin weights/hitch and other gear with a 12k-13k gvwr trailers with the right truck options. And of course many 3/4 ton trucks pull about the same weight trailer as a one ton SRW truck.
The hitch weight of the trailer determines what size truck is needed. I've always matched the trailer to the truck I had at that time.....others want a certain size/weight trailer which may be at the break point between loads in the bed for a 3/4 ton vs how much load a one ton SRW can carry. Weight carrying topics have a wide range of replies depending on experience(s) and understanding the trucks actual mechanical ability.

I am a past TT owner that now owns a 5th wheel and is going back to a TT. One of the reasons for us going back to a TT is I miss having my pickup truck available for bikes, firewood and items like that. I also hate having to haul my 300+ pound slider hitch in and out of my bed anytime I need to use the truck as a truck. I will miss the roomier feeling of the 5'er and the ease of hooking it up. I suspect my fuel mileage will dramatically improve with the lower profile of the TT.

One advantage of a bumper pull is on rough roads. If the truck tilts to the left and the trailer tilts to the right:
- 5th wheel with good clearance might accommodate 10deg of difference before hitting the bed rails.
- Bumper pull is probably 25-40 deg of difference before it would bind the hitch.

Of course, over about 25', I really wouldn't want to pull either down rough forest trails.

IdaD wrote:


I meant an actual full size non-folding BBQ. My point is simply that there is a cost in terms of cargo carrying flexibility when one opts for a fifth wheel over a TT. Unless the fifth wheel is a toy hauler, anyway.

I guess that means you don't have any weather proof storage because the BBQ negates the possibility of a standard pickup cap.

I don't take a full size BBQ but yeah, I could put one centered in front of the 5er hitch.

ScottG wrote:
Depends on your needs.

Our TT pulls wondrfully and an added bonus is manuevering a TT while backing is much easier than fiver.

Having pulled both, they are slightly different but neither is "easier".

Basically a 5er is slower to start turning when backing but can turn sharper. If you know what you are doing, you set up by angling the truck before starting to back up, negating that.

A bumper pull with the same square footage inside will usually cost a few thousand less (new) than a fifth wheel (based on my comparison shopping). I don't know why. Plus, because of the axle weight limitation you will spend more for a fifth wheel tow vehicle. In short, you pay more for the same space in a fifth wheel. Also, I didn't see anyone mention that most bumper pulls have a pass through storage under the bed. It's smaller than the basement on a fifth wheel, but it's not insignificant.