I've been looking for a small trailer and in doing so have come across 3 or 4 small 5th wheels. two were made by Fleetwood early 90's and a Sportsman mid 90's. The Fleetwood models were a 185A and basically 19 ft long. I've been trying to do some research on them and the best I have been able to come up with is the NADA guide which lists them at 2960 lbs dry weight. What I'm trying to find out is the real down the road weight and what kind of truck it takes to pull one. So from anyone that has owned a small/mini 5th wheel I would love to hear your experience with them. How they tow, pin weight, pitfalls, joys, near death experiences, epiphany's,practical or impractical, virtually anything and everything because searching the web I haven't found much other than they are out there.

Our first fiver was an 18-1/2' Vanguard. It worked but we found it too small for two adults. The bathroom was cramped to say the least and the rear dinette was the only seating. The waste tanks were small and needed frequent dumping. Storage was very limited. We went that route thinking a 4.0 Ranger would pull it. Wrong. Pedal to the metal through the mountains and steep downgrades were a white knuckle experience. An F-150/1500 would have been much better but still didn't leave enough room for an upgrade. We found a Ram diesel at a good price and now pull a 25' Prowler, the truck is overkill but better than too small.

It could be that the reason information is limited is because 20 ft. 5th wheels may no longer manufactured. (Please note that I said COULD BE and MAY no longer). We owned an '08 Sportsmen 235RK, 6000 lb. empty, 7200 GVWR, 950 lb. hitch weight. This model is still available, but it sounds like you want/need something smaller.We towed it with an F150 totally within its ratings, so if you find one smaller, a 1/2 ton truck will be plenty. Otherwise, follow the many posts regarding tow/payload (especially payload) ratings. Good luck with your search.

kellertx5er wrote:It could be that the reason information is limited is because 20 ft. 5th wheels may no longer manufactured. (Please note that I said COULD BE and MAY no longer). We owned an '08 Sportsmen 235RK, 6000 lb. empty, 7200 GVWR, 950 lb. hitch weight. This model is still available, but it sounds like you want/need something smaller.We towed it with an F150 totally within its ratings, so if you find one smaller, a 1/2 ton truck will be plenty. Otherwise, follow the many posts regarding tow/payload (especially payload) ratings. Good luck with your search.Never knew they built 5vers that small. Smallest you can get in Australia, is 24ft, most of the light 5vers here are 24 to 30ft long

romore Any idea what your Vanguard pin weight was? To me the geometry of the short 5th wheels seems skewed compared to a normal length 5th wheel. There is a 13-14 foot box sitting on top of tandem axles with only about 4-5 ft sticking out the front. The way tandem wheels balance a 14 foot cargo trailer it would seem that the normal calculations for pin weight would be wrong or it would require front loading the trailer to get a 20% pin weight.

Casita, Scamp and Escape (a Canadian company) all make 19 foot 5th wheel models that should be towable with small pickups. These are all fiberglass. Escape model is very nice (at least on internet) but costs about $30,000 new.There is a company, Allen Campers in OK, that may be making a 20 footer with a wooden structure. They are on internet but I am not certain they are still in production.All RVs have been growing obese faster than the average American so there is very little new left in the below-25 range.

Anyone own a 18-20 ft 5th wheel? | Good Sam Community

34 Replies

marquette
Explorer
Feb 19, 2015
romore
Any idea what your Vanguard pin weight was? To me the geometry of the short 5th wheels seems skewed compared to a normal length 5th wheel. There is a 13-14 foot box sitting on top of tandem axles with only about 4-5 ft sticking out the front. The way tandem wheels balance a 14 foot cargo trailer it would seem that the normal calculations for pin weight would be wrong or it would require front loading the trailer to get a 20% pin weight.
RobertRyan
Explorer
Feb 19, 2015
kellertx5er wrote:
It could be that the reason information is limited is because 20 ft. 5th wheels may no longer manufactured. (Please note that I said COULD BE and MAY no longer). We owned an '08 Sportsmen 235RK, 6000 lb. empty, 7200 GVWR, 950 lb. hitch weight. This model is still available, but it sounds like you want/need something smaller.

We towed it with an F150 totally within its ratings, so if you find one smaller, a 1/2 ton truck will be plenty. Otherwise, follow the many posts regarding tow/payload (especially payload) ratings. Good luck with your search.

Never knew they built 5vers that small. Smallest you can get in Australia, is 24ft, most of the light 5vers here are 24 to 30ft long
kellertx5er
Explorer
Feb 19, 2015
It could be that the reason information is limited is because 20 ft. 5th wheels may no longer manufactured. (Please note that I said COULD BE and MAY no longer). We owned an '08 Sportsmen 235RK, 6000 lb. empty, 7200 GVWR, 950 lb. hitch weight. This model is still available, but it sounds like you want/need something smaller.

We towed it with an F150 totally within its ratings, so if you find one smaller, a 1/2 ton truck will be plenty. Otherwise, follow the many posts regarding tow/payload (especially payload) ratings. Good luck with your search.
romore
Explorer II
Feb 19, 2015
Our first fiver was an 18-1/2' Vanguard. It worked but we found it too small for two adults. The bathroom was cramped to say the least and the rear dinette was the only seating. The waste tanks were small and needed frequent dumping. Storage was very limited.
We went that route thinking a 4.0 Ranger would pull it. Wrong. Pedal to the metal through the mountains and steep downgrades were a white knuckle experience. An F-150/1500 would have been much better but still didn't leave enough room for an upgrade. We found a Ram diesel at a good price and now pull a 25' Prowler, the truck is overkill but better than too small.

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Anyone own a 18-20 ft 5th wheel?

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