Towing a small 5th wheel with a 1/2 ton truck

kzspree320 wrote:
I think what he was trying to say above was if you buy a small enough fiver that a half ton truck might marginally work, then you could get the heavier components and additional payload capacity of the 3/4 ton gas truck for very little extra. It was an oranges to oranges (gas to gas) comparison. Although I love my Cummins, you don't necessarily need a diesel if the fiver is small enough that it might to able to be pulled by a half ton truck. A lot of the 3/4 tons actually cost less than many maxed out half tons, but can carry much more payload. Good luck.

That makes sense to some extent. Although as someone shopping for a truck and camper package it seems there are really 3 logical "tiers" so to speak.

1/2 Ton. One can pair a reasonably we'll equipped 1/2 ton that has adequate engine and payload with a smaller lightweight 5th wheel. Although one would want to keep careful eye on the payload numbers. Some possible choices might be the Ford EcoBoost or new Ram 1500 diesel, especially in the 2x4 versions. The advantage is a more agile and economical daily driver. And considerable cost savings. Not everyone wants a giant camper, especially for infrequent or weekend type use. Although someone going down this route might better consider a bumper pull trailer. Something like a 30' airstream with an efficient 1/2 ton truck is a hard to beat combo.

3/4 or 1 ton SRW. A whole lot of people are driving around with medium weight 5th wheels towed by 3/4 ton or 1 ton SRW diesel trucks. Lots of argument about whether this is ideal. But fact of the matter is that the majority of 5th wheels in 2000-3000 lb pin weight and lower teens towing weight are being hauled around by 3/4 ton diesel SRW trucks. Or better yet F350/3500 SRW trucks. This seems to be the standard option and going this route will probably run $20-$30 grand more for truck, camper, heavier hitch, etc. This route leaves one with the biggest truck that can be reasonably be driven around as a daily driver for most folks. For me it would be the biggest truck I could possibly park in my garage which is one of my requirements.

1 ton Dually. This it the heavyweight option that will to most 5th wheels that should be towed and I suspect the way to go for those who are living the full time or near full time lifestyle with heavy trailers piled full of possessions. If one lives in the country and has limitless parking space this sort of truck is appealing. But for a lot of urban and suburbanites with limited parking space and need for daily driving in more congested environments this is a less appealing option. I simply have no way to park a DRW truck and so simply can't contemplate buying one.

Yes one can certainly buy a bigger truck than one needs. I've seen 1 ton diesels pulling little12' popups. And people say you can never have too much truck. But I think it is quite reasonable to shop for any of the above matched sets. If circumstances change one can always buy something different in the future.