WHAT TO BUY

We are just now exploring buying a 5th wheel to live in full time. Retired couple. Been reading a good deal. Have never owned a Big pickup truck, and keep reading about all the needed specs. We plan on buying a 28-34 foot 5W. What are the important things to look for in towing vehicle? Is there a good article anyone can recommend?

BB l5, I hear you loud and clear. Opinions abound about what you can and cannot tow with what truck etc. After reading a bunch of these posts I became concerned that our truck might be inadequate to pull our 5th wheel. My husband reassured me that we are fine and that he knows exactly how much we can tow safely and he would never put us in jeopardy, although I am sure there are a lot of people on this site to who would vehemently disagree with him.
We have towed our 5th wheel up mountain grades and all over the west and never had any problems. So I am going to relax and just enjoy the ride.
Best of luck finding a camper that meets your needs. If you're going to park it then I would get the biggest and best built rig your budget will allow.
I have noticed that Forest River now makes "cottages" for people like you who want to park them in one spot for a long period of time. You might check their website....they are beautiful and much more residential in look and feel.

I think you may be buying the wrong type of trailer. If you had a bumper pull trailer you could put a canopy on your bed and your 3 dogs could ride in the bed. But I guess it depends on how big your dogs are... I have German Shepherds.

Just something you might want to consider.

BB - by now - aren't you sorry you asked here, LOL!

Tough crowd - know *everything*.
They tried to tell Toyota, the Tundra couldn't tow a Space Shttle..;)

Since (I think) you plan on leaving the 5th wheel in one place for extended periods, your current truck should do fine. Some suspension additions (air bags) for load carrying capacity would help....as well as paying attention to the pin weight of the trailers you are considering vs load capacity of your truck.
Besides the load, you *do* have to consider stopping capability as well as towing capability.

Soooooo - go to shows, dealers, etc.
Collect the brochures - beside the floor plans, etc. - compare the specs.
That will help a lot - even if you buy a used trailer.

Good luck..:)

~

Looking at the 2001 Ford towing guide, here are your numbers.

GVWR 8800lbs
RAWR 6084lbs
GCWR 20,000lbs
Max 5th wheel trailer weight w/4x2 14,000lbs
Max 5th wheel trailer weight w/4x4 13,500lbs

Ivylog wrote:
Other than more HP, what is the difference in a 02 and a 13 GVWR? I parked my son's 2013 F350 next to my 02 and I could not measure any differences. OK, bigger rim diameter tire which are more expensive and do not ride as well.

Well, for one thing those larger tires and wheels have a higher weight capacity as do the springs and brakes. I can't quote the GVWR'S between the two but someone will be along with them, but the '13 has a much higher rating. Just saying!

Bamaboy15 wrote:
My "Vintage" truck is one if the best tow vehicles ever built there buddy.

Really??? My 99SD 4x cc 7.3 is a complete slug compared to my 06 and my 06 in factory trim is a slug to the 13`s. I suggest you tow with a newer truck and you will amend that comment..

No comment

B B 15 instead of saying My "Vintage" truck is one if the best tow vehicles... "that Ford ever built" would have helped with the Dodge/Chevy flack. I have a 99 and a 02 PSD and see no reason to upgrade. I have a tuner for the 02 that I have never installed as with the manual tranny it has plenty of power. I used to put 20,000 lbs behind it but decided I was pushing my luck in the mountains so now I have a M2 Freightliner when I'm going to pull that heavy.
Since your 01 has rear airbags it probably did not come with the Camper Package. If it has a rear sway bar and two sets of springs... one multi leaf and one single helper spring like a F350 then it has the Camper Package.

I strengthen my receiver hitch by tying the bumper hitch to it as I do not use WD with my diesel PU as I can adjust the tongue weight by where I place the load on the trailer. While my stock F250 hitch is not rated 1300 lbs I pull 13,000+ all the time with this bumper pull.
What you cannot see is the large nut that is welded to the top of the receiver that the bolt threads into connecting the 500 lb rated bumper hitch to the receiver hitch.
For the weight police... I've been doing this for over 10 years and thanks for your concern in advance.:B Other than more HP, what is the difference in a 02 and a 13 GVWR? I parked my son's 2013 F350 next to my 02 and I could not measure any differences. OK, bigger rim diameter tire which are more expensive and do not ride as well.

Bamaboy15 wrote:
My "Vintage" truck is one if the best tow vehicles ever built there buddy.

Don't forget that you're =carrying= a whole lot more than if you had a trailer, and you don't have a weight transfer system with FW's.

Later: OK, after reading that you want to tow the FW very rarely, maybe only 1 time, to your hunting/fishing spot, I'm with the guy that said to buy what you'd like, then have it towed to the site. Another suggested a park model. They can be found pretty cheap, and will give you a lot more "homey" feel. Shoot, for $70k you can buy a nice double-wide around here in AZ. :-) Save the money and get a well-matched FW and truck when you're ready to hit the road on a regular basis.

Really, people on here are willing to help and give advise, based on their experiences. Yeah, sometimes it doesn't come across all that well, but I will say, neither does the attitude you've shown, so far. Just sayin'... Take it easy, don't get offended and try and learn something. Posters here will try and help you to NOT make a mistake, help you make your camping experiences more enjoyable and try and keep you safe while you tow.

Lyle