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Kblock108's avatar
Kblock108
Explorer
Jun 26, 2013

Looking for a new fifth wheel what are the issues w size

Hello all, my wife and I (and our two small children ages 4 and 2) are looking at a fifth wheel to pull with our F250 super crew cab long bed diesel 4x4 (i threw all in there for the tech ques later). We will always have family with us and because of that we are more interested in the bunk house model with 1.5 baths. We are noticing that many campgrounds have a max length and one in particular in yellowstone where we are committed to doing next summer says 50 feet overall length. So my questions are as follows, what size should we try and stay at to not miss out on some campground amenities. Secondly, anyone know of a nice spot in yellowstone with an oversized set up? I dont want to do the fishing bridge, I want to be a little closer to nature and have the ability to have a fire pit.

Thanks for all your time

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  • hmknightnc's avatar
    hmknightnc
    Explorer
    Jun 26, 2013
    azdryheat wrote:
    azdryheat wrote:

    Your manual should state what size 5th wheel is recommended for your truck, which might be in the 15,000 range.


    I hope you are kidding. 15k# FW meaning approximately 3k# pin wieght not including family, fuel and stuff on a 3/4 ton truck even a brand new one. Nope, Nada, not going to happen. Overloaded every day of the week. You will be over your axle and tire rating both of which are legal requirements

    And I'm not a member of the wieght police. Pull an 18# trailer with an '06 dually. At or slightly over GVWR of truck and a couple thousand over GCWR but within tire and axle capacity.
  • hmknightnc's avatar
    hmknightnc
    Explorer
    Jun 26, 2013
    x2 on more concerned with wieght than length. If it is an older F250 (more than a couple years) you should be looking at a maximum of around 12k# GVWR FW (and that might be too heavy, check your actual truck specs for payload and axle capacity). If it is newer you might be able to get away with 14k# GVWR.

    You can find several bunkhouses in that wieght range around 32' however I doubt you will find one with 1.5 baths (you'll like need a dually for that configeration although a modern 1 ton SRW might and I mean might do it)
  • azdryheat's avatar
    azdryheat
    Explorer
    Jun 26, 2013
    azdryheat wrote:

    Your manual should state what size 5th wheel is recommended for your truck, which might be in the 15,000 range. The door sticker will give you some weights you can use. You should easily be able to pull a mid 30's length trailer in the 14,000 GVWR range and there are lots to choose from. That is the GVWR of my Everest, it is 37' long, and my former 2009 Chevy 2500 Duramax handled it with ease including the steep mountain grades we see out here in the west. Only thing I added were airbags and aftermarket premium shocks. It pulled the same as my new dually; can't tell any difference.

    Difference is, I don't stay in national parks so I can have a longer trailer for everything else. There are some very nice rv parks, like Grizzly RV park in West Yellowstone, which was awesome.

    There are some nice bunkhouse models for the kids. My friend just got one and it's great. The kid's room has it's own bathroom.
  • romore's avatar
    romore
    Explorer II
    Jun 26, 2013
    Welcome aboard.You should be more concerned with weight than length, IMHO your F-250 shouldn't be pulling more than 10,000 lbs especially in the mountains which limits you to around 28' give or take. That will keep you under the 50' overall mark.

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