5th Wheel w/ 1/2 Ton
I literally put the cart before the horse and bought a late 90's 5th wheel trailer before buying a truck to pull it with! I'm not sure if I can get away with a beefy 1/2 ton or should look for some...
Forum Discussion
sidewalkdrop wrote:
I literally put the cart before the horse and bought a late 90's 5th wheel trailer before buying a truck to pull it with!
I'm not sure if I can get away with a beefy 1/2 ton or should look for something larger. Problem is, it seems harder to come by, and obviously, more expensive to move up to a 3/4 or 1 ton.
The unloaded trailer weight is 5400. Max loaded weight is either 7200 or 7900 pounds, I forget. I think it's 7200 though.
I've come across a few 1/2 tons with bigger engines (I think I've seen Chevy 1500 or Ford F150 w/ 5.7sor Ram 1500 w/ a 5.9) and "towing packages" (not sure what that means other than lights wiring and maybe brake controller) and am curious to see if that's enough to pull my 5th wheel. The max distance we're pulling the camper is probably less than 100 miles, probably closer to 50-60 and won't be facing any serious hills in our relatively flat section of Ohio, unlike places in WV or PA.
I've talked to a few other campers and people seem to really like 1/2 tons for pulling stuff, but I'd rather err on the side of caution and don't want to buy a truck (albeit cheap and used), only to destroy it pulling more than it was meant to.
I'd love to load up the camper with normal usage items and weigh it to see what we're actually dealing with, but again, cart before the horse and nothing to move the trailer with!
I'm not an experienced RVer by any stretch but I have done the 1/2 ton dance (already had the truck, then got a TT) and have since upgraded to a HD truck (and a new fiver). The difference is not trivial. Even though I previously worked hard to stay within my ratings, hit the scales, etc -- it was always a struggle. And towing -- although hardly white knuckle -- was always something that was mentally taxing. Not terrible mind you, but now... Well, I feel so much safer and solid with the bigger truck. I have zero dread hitching up. Priceless. (Well, it was expensive, but you know what I mean...)
My 2 cents (heavily discounted for my "newbie-ness") :-)
