5th wheel vs Bumper Pull!~ help a newbie

wmshay6 wrote:
Been all over the East Coast pulling a tent trailer with a fs pickup- easy-peasy.

The wife and I are now looking towards upgrades and retirement. Started looking at Bumper Pulls and now really leaning towards a 5er. It is my understanding that the fifth wheels are much easier to tow and preferable in wind, over long distances, etc. We plan to travel the country and will be doing some very long pulls over extended periods.

Can folks here with experience enlighten me, what exactly makes thh fifth wheel better? Is it THAT much better? I have alot of towing experience with trailers, landscape, boats, car dollys, etc. But never towed a goose neck of any sort.

Seems to me the weight distribution and balance would be better with that set up. We are currently looking at smaller 5ers, even some half ton towables. But planning on a 3/4 Ton truck (diesel) regardless. Don't really want anything so big as to be in 1-ton or dually range if I can help it.

Thoughts and experiences welcome!

Growing up on a farm, and towing trailers and a GN, I knew from the get-go that I wanted a FW and not a TT. Both have their advantages, but I just liked the GN/FW from the first time I towed one. There are many discussions here about the pros/cons of each, so search them out and make your own list. I can tell you, though, that you should consider a 1T single rear wheel instead of a 3/4T. You'll have many more options as to what you might want in a FW (or even a TT) in the long run. Even some fairly small FWs can be =heavy=, and are really too much even for a current 3/4T. I'm thinking of Artic Fox, specifically, and I'm sure there are others out there that are the same. Remember, with a FW, it's not what you can TOW, it's what you can CARRY, that's the limiting factor. Had I known then what I know now, I'd've certainly opted for a 3500 SRW truck.

Lyle