Newbie to towing +Retirement

DW and I have a 25ft TT towed by a Ford E-150 van. Total investment $25,000 (bought a used van for $10k). We've traveled all over the country - about 18 mo. in our TT over the last 9 years. Relatively inexpensive and easy to manage. Gas mileage about 9.5 towing. Vans are the most overlooked TV. The stuff we put in the van would require a 2-3ft larger trailer. The van is a useful 2nd vehicle at home. More muscular vans can tow up to 10,000lbs. Our Dual-Cam hitch keeps the TT where it belongs at highway speeds. We wouldn't have anything else.

To the OP. Pick out the 5'er you want then get the truck to match. The new 350/3500 SRW's will tow way more than 5-10 yrs ago. Will a DRW do it better? Sure. Doesn't mean it's necessary though and could save you some $$$$.
If you find a 5'er that is on the heavy side then by all means go DRW.

kz, man you are preaching to the quire and the other half have deaf ears. :W

The statement that all fivers over 12K # GVWR need a dually may have been true in the 1990s, but it's certainly not today. As stated in the post above, work with the actual trailer and truck weight numbers, not any preconceived ideas. I think there are fivers up to about 14K lbs that can safely be towed by newer SRW trucks. That leaves you with a lot of options that don't require a DRW. Good luck.

Me Again wrote:
NO ONE owns and operates a Class A MH and tow car cheaper than a pickup and 5th wheel.

Chris

I believe this and my next setup may be a fifth and truck.

JIMNLIN wrote:

cinker wrote:
Thanks. Yes, bumpy, I had similar concerns about driving dually around cities. but reading some of the posts on this forum, it seems that a dually takes away all the towing problems. Is there a rough indicator somewhere for mpg versus 3/4 ton versus 1 ton SRD and a dually? I understand this will vary by towing weight, but are there any average figures?

I have a 2500 Dodge/Cummins and a 3500 DRW 454 4x4 crew cab 4.10 gears gazz guzzler chevy beater. Lots of places my 2500 Dodge can go where the DRW will not go as its physically impossible to do so.

There are no average figures that nails down fuel usage rates across the board. Best bet is to hang out on one of the Ford/Ram/GM diesel websites for several weeks and take a average of posted MPG numbers paying close attention to each particular trucks weight/city vs highway/empty vs load pulled/trucks configuration/brand/etc.

I'm not a fan of posting a certain weight that a certain size truck can handle. I prefer to match the trailers number to the trucks numbers for best results.

Having towed/hauled for a living I'm also not a fan of "you can't have too much truck" that gets posted on RV websites. I simply get the truck I need and match my trailers to its potential.

Some of the new one ton SRW trucks have 17k lb tow ratings and payloads up to 4500 lbs which equates to a nice big 5th wheel trailer. The Ram 3500 SRW has up to 12400 GVWR and 7000 RAWR and 17900 lb tow ratings.

You sure don't need a DRW unless you just want one.

This makes alot of sense . Many Thanks

cinker wrote:
Thanks. Yes, bumpy, I had similar concerns about driving dually around cities. but reading some of the posts on this forum, it seems that a dually takes away all the towing problems. Is there a rough indicator somewhere for mpg versus 3/4 ton versus 1 ton SRD and a dually? I understand this will vary by towing weight, but are there any average figures?

I have a 2500 Dodge/Cummins and a 3500 DRW 454 4x4 crew cab 4.10 gears gazz guzzler chevy beater. Lots of places my 2500 Dodge can go where the DRW will not go as its physically impossible to do so.

There are no average figures that nails down fuel usage rates across the board. Best bet is to hang out on one of the Ford/Ram/GM diesel websites for several weeks and take a average of posted MPG numbers paying close attention to each particular trucks weight/city vs highway/empty vs load pulled/trucks configuration/brand/etc.

I'm not a fan of posting a certain weight that a certain size truck can handle. I prefer to match the trailers number to the trucks numbers for best results.

Having towed/hauled for a living I'm also not a fan of "you can't have too much truck" that gets posted on RV websites. I simply get the truck I need and match my trailers to its potential.

Some of the new one ton SRW trucks have 17k lb tow ratings and payloads up to 4500 lbs which equates to a nice big 5th wheel trailer. The Ram 3500 SRW has up to 12400 GVWR and 7000 RAWR and 17900 lb tow ratings.

You sure don't need a DRW unless you just want one.

NO ONE owns and operates a Class A MH and tow car cheaper than a pickup and 5th wheel.

Chris

donn0128 wrote:

cinker wrote:
Thanks. Yes, bumpy, I had similar concerns about driving dually around cities. but reading some of the posts on this forum, it seems that a dually takes away all the towing problems. Is there a rough indicator somewhere for mpg versus 3/4 ton versus 1 ton SRD and a dually? I understand this will vary by towing weight, but are there any average figures?

Generally speaking if you choose a fifth wheel that weighs over about 12,000 GVWR you should choose a dually
BTW driving a dually is no more difficult than driving any large vehicle. The only place I have not driven my dually is a car wash. They are not designed for them. Someone once said on these forums that the widest place on dually is the mirrors. That is true for all trucks.
Am I cautious about where I drive? Sure. With a vehicle nearly 30 feet long and weighing over 8000 pounds one would be crazy to attempt to drive it like a mini. We camp host in the summer, so the dually is our only vehicle. Know your vehicles limitations and learn to drive it properly and any sized vehicle can become second nature. My dually averages 10.5-11.5 towing and 17 non towing highway. I think that's pretty good for such a large vehicle.

Here we go again!!

You don't need a DRW to pull a 12,000# GVWR 5er, I do it with an 01 Ram, with no suspension enhancements, yes over GVWR, but well under ALL axle and tire ratings (this is not a recommendation to do, it works for me). If it is a newer 35000 SRW no issue at all, also easily within the ratings of a 2500.
Where do I drive, Donn0128 speaks about being cautious where he drives, I am assuming looking ahead and not getting into a tight spot. I will pull into parking lots, to get grocery's with the 5er in tow, you just need to look and drive accordingly.

As far as road driving, I am cautious, was taught to be a defensive driver in the beginning, that said most of our trips require driving 70 to 100 miles to the coast on State highways with many sections like the picture below, traffic on these roads moves at 55 to 60+, mostly 60, I have no issue with this.

cinker wrote:
Thanks. Yes, bumpy, I had similar concerns about driving dually around cities. but reading some of the posts on this forum, it seems that a dually takes away all the towing problems. Is there a rough indicator somewhere for mpg versus 3/4 ton versus 1 ton SRD and a dually? I understand this will vary by towing weight, but are there any average figures?

Generally speaking if you choose a fifth wheel that weighs over about 12,000 GVWR you should choose a dually
BTW driving a dually is no more difficult than driving any large vehicle. The only place I have not driven my dually is a car wash. They are not designed for them. Someone once said on these forums that the widest place on dually is the mirrors. That is true for all trucks.
Am I cautious about where I drive? Sure. With a vehicle nearly 30 feet long and weighing over 8000 pounds one would be crazy to attempt to drive it like a mini. We camp host in the summer, so the dually is our only vehicle. Know your vehicles limitations and learn to drive it properly and any sized vehicle can become second nature. My dually averages 10.5-11.5 towing and 17 non towing highway. I think that's pretty good for such a large vehicle.