Looking for newer RV; How to calculate weight

Chuck .. wrote:
My wife and I are trying to make an educated choice on a new/newer 5th wheel. We now have a 92 Lance 24 foot unit. I am an electrician and do most of our home remodeling and repairs. I don't want some type of super cheap RV that every time I touch it for repairs the RV falls apart in your hands, and is a nightmare to repair. Looking to keep this upgraded 5th wheel for 10 years plus hopefully.

Pushing it, my wife says we would be travel for up to four months straight each year. I would like to find a nice used 5th wheel because RV's depreciate so fast: 50% within five years.

So, I heard that Redwood 5th wheels are at the top of the quality list and yes, very pricy, starting around $65,000 and upward to $135,000. At this time I would like to have a budget of $30,000 to $50,000 for a nice used unit. Maybe we are just out of our league and dreaming! Also trying to compare Montana, Cedar Creek, Jayco and Hitchhiker, for example.

In the near, say three years, I plan on retiring and would like a new or newer truck and a nice 5th wheel. I find myself questioning about spending close to $100,000 to go RVing four mouths out of the year. But on the other hand what did we save for and after working in subfreezing weather, summer heat, putting two kids through private school and college; just maybe we earned the right to sit by a mountain stream in a comfortable RV. I guess we all have our little dreams.

Please tell us about your Redwood RV or any other suggestions. If you could be of any help it would be much appreciated.

One of my biggest struggles now is to find out exactly how much my existing truck can safely tow. It seems that it is very difficult for people on this forum to explain to someone who knows very little about this subject what the following words mean: pin weight, GVWR, GCWR, GAWR, GHWR. I need to know the exact meanings of these weight words, how to find them, what the safe percentages are to use in calculations.

I am anxious to find out the answers to both of my topics -- please help!

Chuck, just from reading here, Redwood seems to get something of a lukewarm reception. Since you're leaning to pre-owned anyway, look for a nice Cameo or maybe an Artic Fox (or other Northwood product). As far as weights go, there are any number of tutorials out there to help educate you. A quickie:

Pin weight - simply the amount of weight on the king pin. "Dry pin weight" is what the factory reports as the weight with ZERO load in the FW; no water, no batteries, no propane, no cargo. The only way to get an accurate measurement of this is to weigh the FW at various loads, which means you have to buy the damn thing, first.

GVWR - simply the gross allowable weight, per the factory. This is the max weight the factory says the unit should weigh, whether it's the FW or the truck. Many people won't hesitate to exceed the TRUCK's GVWR, so long as they don't exceed the max axle weight rating and/or the tire rating. Many others are by-the-bookers and won't exceed =any= rating.

GCWR - Gross Combined Weight Rating. Simply, the maximum weight of the truck and trailer, per the factory. Again, another arbitrary number that a fair number of people consciously exceed by a bit, though usually with mods that alleviate some issues in doing so. Also a fair number of people exceed this by a LOT, and don't think twice about it. Not hard to tell these guys in a lot of instances, especially at night, when their headlights are looking for B-17's instead of illuminating the road.

GAWR - Gross Axle Weight Rating. Another factory-set number stating the maximum load on the axle. As I said before, many people will use this as their max weight guide rather than the GVWR, =especially= if they're under the Gross Combined Weight. Different FW's can have wildly different pin weights, so this is an area where it's of great import to know.

GHWR - Gross Hitch Weight Rating. Related to all the above but, unless you actually weigh everything, is only an approximation. The only way to =approximate= this is to divide the published dry pin wt by the published dry (shipping) weight of the FW. Multiply the published GVW of the FW by this number and you will get an =approximate= pin weight AT the gross weight of that particular FW. (Example: 8,000 lb dry wt FW, with 1,600 lb dry pin wt; 1600/8000=.20. Assuming 10k GVW: 10,000*.20=2,000 lbs pin wt AT GVW.) This will NOT take into account anything you add in the way of payload or =where= that load is. Adding a generator and multiple batteries, which all tend to be at the front end, will massively change the ratio and will skew the ratio. Again, the only way to know is to weigh the thing after you buy it and get it loaded. If you're lucky, you'll find someone who has the identical FW loaded near to what you want and has actually weighed it and can send you real-world weights.

Hope this helps and doesn't add too much to the confusion.

Lyle