greystonecowboy wrote:
How about if I went with a 26 footer? I love all the feedback. Is there a certain 5er that is lighter than others?
There are some 5'ers that are short and light enough to be towed by certain half tons. I've seen them around and the Ford F-150's only have half an inch smaller of brakes compared to the super duties. However, have you shopped around for trailers in that size class? Do you know if you'd be happy with any of those 5'ers? I know my wife wasn't happy with anything in that size range. I also truly wanted a 5th wheel that was between 27' and 30'. Looks like I've had to bump up my size range 2 or 3 feet to appease the wife's tastes. So you could possibly find a 5'er that works with your F-150, other have. However, please be careful of the pin-weight. The 6-lug rear axles are truly rated at 4,500 lbs, but the rims are only rated at 2025 lbs per side. That's how the door jam arrives at the 4050 lbs limit on the rear axle. Saw it on Ford Truck Enthusiast somewhere at one time. Also, the rear axle was featured on an off-roading magazine where the Sterling 9.75 is rated at 4,500 lbs and built pretty rugged compared to a Dana 60. However it does have thinner tubes so that's why it doesn't have the Dana's weight rating of 6,000 lbs. The 7-luggers have quite a bit more capacity and can handle roughly another 500 or 1,000 lbs depending on truck configuration. I've seen 7-luggers pulling around some 27/28' 5'ers around my parts and it looks like the truck wasn't working all that hard to do it.
