40 or 45 ft 5fer, any difference

[speediq99]

Hello,

We are contemplating 2 fifth wheels, one 45ft which we like best, another a 40 footer. My research indicates that towing either one is about the same. I am struggling with the campground challenges.

We pre-book everything so we are comfortable with the site length. We move sites every 2 weeks all summer. I am a bit uncomfortable with access to the site and entry to it. Would you need that much more driveway width to back in a 45footer towed with a Ram 3500 dually 8ft bed?

Any feedback is appreciated.

MC

[philh]

What do you gain with the longer unit?

We looked at and looked at and looked at a lot of 5th wheels in the 40+ category.

We bought Arctic Fox 27-5L, which is 29'9" 🙂

Biggest differences, bathroom is a little smaller, TV is smaller, no chance for residential fridge, which I didn't want anyway. WAF, she had to realize no dishwasher or washer dryer.

[Rollochrome]

I went from a 32'TT to a 44' 5er and am managing just fine.

Especially with a dually like what you have, you'll do fine

[ACZL]

Diamond c wrote:
We went from a 38, to a 41, and haven’t had any problems yet. I just make sure that they know exactly how long we are when I call to make reservations.

^^^^^^^^ LIKE ^^^^^^^

[Diamond_c]

We went from a 38, to a 41, and haven’t had any problems yet. I just make sure that they know exactly how long we are when I call to make reservations.

[Veebyes]

When you are too long, you are too long.

Sure site lengths are judged by pad depth but there is always the what do you do with the truck issue. At model number 34 we are actually under 36' LOA pin to bumper. Hooked up, according to length as measured for ferries, we are 54'LOA.

Reality is that there has not been a length limit 30' CG that we have not been able to get into. There is almost always a few sites where the closest obstruction is more than 10' behind the pad. Using rear stabilizers is not terribly important to us so if the back hangs out over space, so be it. We have room to park the truck off the road one way or another.

Works for us. We are multi month travellers seldom spending more than 3 or 4 days in one spot. We are not park it & leave it seasonals or snow birds.

Many of our style of CG cannot accommodate us if we were 5' let alone 10' longer.

You do your research on how you expect to use it & start making choices from there. Not smart putting down big bucks then finding out that you bought the wrong toy.

[BurbMan]

JIMNLIN wrote:
I've never heard of a rv'er being measured for a single rv trailer length but we have had other members, myself included measured for a max double tow length.

Never been measured at a CG, but on the ferry across Long Island Sound they charge you by the foot and come out with a walk-behind measurer. Our TT was a "280" model, implying that it was 28', but it was really 31' ball-to-bumper. Add the extra length for the Hensley Arrow and the storage box I put on the back and I was paying for 36.5' PLUS the Suburban on the ferry ride.

If a CG asked how long my rig was I would always say 30', and sometimes it took some real finessing to get in the site...

Our new 5er has a brochure length of 33'2". Does that mean there's only 30' or so actually behind the truck?

[JIMNLIN]

Any feedback is appreciated.

MC

Just sayin' but states do have max rv trailer lengths laws. My state is 40'. Other states set their own max rv trailer length limits.
Some thing you may want to look into as you travel around the states.

I've never heard of a rv'er being measured for a single rv trailer length but we have had other members, myself included measured for a max double tow length.

[ACZL]

We went from a 35' to 41' (tho mfr says it's shorter) and love it. We don't travel a whole lot per se, so we know in advance where we can fit into. So far, no probs, but we always ask/tell them how long the coach is to be sure we can fit. Most CG's we've been to and asked this have been very good about stating there or nor they can accommodate us. We've also considered going smaller just as others have said about fitting into state/provincial parks and all, but each time we say that, we keep coming back to the fact as to why we bought what we have now.

As for fueling, always stop at truck stops w/ trailer in tow and fuel at truck pumps. May have to wait for one to ,open up, but much more room ro maneuver around. If no trailer, I try to find a fuel stop used by many or local companies that fuel there so as to get a high turnover of fuel.

My co-worker bought a Cyclone TH 45' a couple years back and when he pulled into a CG, a camp worker stopped at his driver window and said "Man that things is long". But he didn't have any probs getting into his site (truck driver). So as many have said, choose the floorpan you like best and go for it.Just make sure you have enough tow vehicle for it. We didn't and had to upgrade that the next year..........didn't want to..........safety won out.

[joebedford]

"I would think a 40' to 45 foot 5th wheel would be for someone who wants to be a Snow Bird and not move around much." I'm at the stage in life where I want to park my 42' 5er and travel to and from it not travel with it. We don't use it at all in the summer except one time we wanted to fill in our bragging map and a lot of those places you can't go in the winter.

[Chuck___]

Are you sure you want that big of a 5th wheel? I have a 2010 34 foot Mobile Suites and question myself all the time if I purchased a too big/long of a unit. I have to make sure I have a 50 feet RV space for my 2017 Ford 350 long box truck and 5th wheel. A lot of state camp grounds have a limit on the length of a unit. I find I am limited on the camp sites I can fit into all the time.

You have to decide on the life style you want with a RV. I would think a 40' to 45 foot 5th wheel would be for someone who wants to be a Snow Bird and not move around much. Anything over 34 foot RV you really have to plan out and be limited to the camp sites you can get.

[Lantley]

Good point Burbman. There is a mindset that goes with pulling a longer rig, once you past the 35' threhold, which is sort of the safe length that ensures you can fit into most places there is no turning back.
If you choose to stop at 40' or go for 45' you need a sort of adventorous I can squeeze this rig in anywhere attitude.
Now some can do without all the squeeze it in drama and choose a 35' rig to avoid the challenges a longer rig creates.
However if you can get it done with a 40 rig you can likely get a 45' in as well.
Over the course of a camping season I imagine there are 2-3 times when I manage to squeeze my 40 rig in that I don't think anything larger would have made it.
However the TV plays a factor as well. Length of TV and turning radius become a major factor when it comes down to squeezing an oversized rig into a site.
For the record I now have a 40' rig, if I found a floorplan I loved that was longer I would not hesitate to go to a longer rig.

[BurbMan]

Hold on, lemme get my calculator...the difference between 40 and 45 ft. is....lessee....5 feet!

Seriously, 40' is already locking you out of many state/national parks and older CGs, if you're gonna go 40' you may as well go 45'.

[Veebyes]

The bigger you go all you are getting is more floor space & more storage space. The furniture is the same size. The stove is the same size. The fridge is the same size. The only thing bigger is likely to be the TV.

As pointed out the biggest loss with size is CG options. Once you get past the mid thirties in length your availability in nice SPs, CPs etc. is drastically reduced leaving little choice but the private CGs all jammed together.

Choices & compromises.

[Lwiddis]

A lot of us rushed home in and around March 2020, Joe.