Forum Discussion

jdrinco's avatar
jdrinco
Explorer
Jul 12, 2014

Short 5th wheel

My wife and I are camping travelers. Our trips in our 27' FW have ranged from a few hundred miles over a weekend to 15,600 over 3.5 months. We have explored every Canadian province except Nunavut, much of Mexico and all of the US except Hawaii and the southeast. We have pulled it on Alaska's Dalton Highway; to Yellowknife, NWT; Goose Bay, Labrador; Cancun and Tehuantepec, Mexico and into the north side of Dinosaur NP down an 18% gravel grade. It has seen some rough country in its 11 years and almost 55,000 miles! In those travels we have had broken springs, cracked wheel rims, brake pads separating from their shoes and 26 blown/worn out tires even though, according to CAT scales, it has never been overloaded. We prefer NFS, NPS, BLM, CoE campgrounds and boondocking and will occasionally use a state park. We seldom use RV Parks, KOAs, etc if something else is available.

We are looking for a new FW less than 27' long. We haven't found many short ones and the ones we have found are all in the light weight realm. The floor plans we like so far are the Cougar Half Ton 244RLSWE and Rockwood Signature Ultra Lite 8244WS. Has anybody used these or any of the other light weight trailers on the market today? Do the lightweights hold up to a lot of travel? Are they well built? Are they sturdy enough for the occasional and sometimes rough gravel road? Are there any other options? We would appreciate any input you have to offer.

15 Replies

  • we are in same "boat" have been considering B+ Thor or Winnebago
  • Maybe too small, but this is what I went with.

    Escape 5.0TA

    Unfortunately the specs have not been updated for the new twin axle model and pertain to the single axle.

    Build quality is outstanding.
  • The Fox Mountain line would be a good choice, these are built on Northwood frames which are rugged. Unfortunately Northwood doesn't make anything in the Arctic Fox family under the 27-5 which is actually 29'5" long, it seems that line is just getting bigger and bigger every year. Lots of Northwood Owners over at afnash.com
  • John,

    I have no personal experience with these, but I share your frustration with trying to find something small. Small ones, if you find them are likely to be lower quality, entry level units. It is just how marketing and price points work in America.

    One you might look at is the Northwood Manufacturing Fox Mountain 235RLS, Exterior Length (approx. w / hitch): 27'10".

    They claim to have Four Seasons Insulation, but I don't know a lot about that. I know the Alaska types here seem to like them.

    fred
  • Our 25footer weighs in at 5700 dry/empty with aluminum studs. I don't think Crossroads make them this short anymore. We sure like the quality of ours.