Rough roads, 4x4 truck?

I had a 8000 lb TT that towed like a dream. Easy, straight, with a mild ride. Sold it and bought a 14k 5th wheel since its what we always thought was the best way to go and we needed more room. 5th wheel is much heavier so the truck now rides much stiffer, and the chucking can be an issue if not loaded perfect. Thats not to say that everything about a TT is great, but that I now know the pro's and con's to both setups.

But if you're after a trailer that can handle rough off road conditions, I'd say that a TT is less likely to come in contact with the truck.

Ride wise..... A 4wd is always going to ride somewhat rougher than a 2wd. Just for sake of more unsprung weight in the front suspension and stiffer suspension.

Ask Gallant - he wrote it.

It has to be about the height. We go into a lot of rough areas, so we lifted the FW 4 inches to give us enough clearance between the TV and FW.

Only reason I see a 2WD being better than 4WD is you lose some of the payload capacity when you add in all the equipment of a 4WD. I have never had an issue with the height of my 4WD and it is an '07 with higher bed rails, still maintain about 5" of clearance and towing level. Some do have to remove blocks from axles on the TV to get the rear lower. Just my $.02

Did they mention anything about the newer trucks using higher side rails? That could cause problems withs older TCs or 5vers. You need to do your own home work before purchase. Take the measurements yourself.

I've pulled a 10k TT for over five years and now have a 16k 5er. I doubt neither one is any better than the other on really rough roads. Both my tow vehicles were 4x4, and there were several times I was very happy to have it with the TT. Only once with the 5er so far. Mostly due to steep hills, sand or poorly graded gravel CGs. Doesn't happen often, but you'll really be happy if you don't have to pay for towing.

I haven't had a problem with my 5ver and our 4WD. I have frequently switched to 4WD when driving across problematic land, thru big puddles for example.

However I don't think 5vers are better than TT for rough roads. The best for that sort of driving would be Truck bed campers and maybe Class C campers. Ground clearance and solid construction are big pluses for that sort of driving. The RV will get a real shaking and it will test all those welds in your Lippert frame.

Tho we do as much back country exploring as possible we prefer to leave our 5ver in a CG near by and do the exploring in the truck.

Only problem I can see about a 4x4 and a 5th wheel is that the 4x4 are higher in the rear and can be a problem getting the 5er level and still have adequate bed rail clearance.