5th wheel plate

[Caveman_Charlie]

Hi, I've been on this forum for awhile but, because I own a Travel Trailer I don't come to this section very often.

I have a friend that is looking at a 5th wheel camper and I was just wondering , roughly, what it would cost to put a 5th wheel plate in the bed of his pickup.

I understand that there are going to be differences in prices depending on a whole bunch of factors I was just hoping someone here could give me a range of prices that I could tell him today. (On a weekend near the holidays all of out RV dealers are closed so we can not call them for a price) .

Have a nice Day
Caveman Charlie

[mdamerell]

Caveman Charlie wrote:
I understand you need more info. It's a 04 GMC Denali. Yes, it's a half ton but, the 1991 Forest River Salem he is looking at has no slides and doesn't seem to weigh much more then my TT. Plus, since it's a 5th wheel with the pin in the bed of the truck which is better then on the bumper like my TT has I believe he can tow it on the local flat ground we have around here.

http://www.hemmingsenrv.com/Details.cfm/750103253/1991-Forest-River-Salem/Tracy-MN/#phototabs

I found a listing for similar 5th wheels (1991 and 25') to what you posted and they are like 4,000# units so 20% is 800#. Even if he loaded it to 5,000 which I suspect is near its gross, its a 1,000# pin. Depending upon his truck this is very doable. I'd figure around $1000 for the hitch installed. I'd just have him weight his truck 1st. Open the drivers door and look for the GVWR sticker probably GVWR (6,100#) - truck actual weight (with people, camping stuff and fuel) = remaining cargo capacity for 5th wheel. Saw a generic curd weight of 4,100# in one listing so if he verifies his numbers he should be good to go. That year truck was rated for about a 10,000# trailer.

When looking at 5er's most trucks run out of cargo capacity to carry the pin weight (avg 20%) before they run out of towing capacity.

Good luck and be safe.

[Caveman_Charlie]

Thanks for all your responses. When I talked to my friend today he had already decided not to purchase that 5th wheel so the question is no longer valid.

I appreciate all your help

Happy New Year to all.

[donn0128]

I call bull! Have you ever run across the scales? I assume not or you would not be citing MFG dry numbers. Go get loaded ready to camp scale weights and come back then.

[Dandy_Dan]

agesilaus wrote:
In general it is a bad idea to tow a fiver with a half ton. As mentioned above the payload is a big problem and the other issue is brakes. The manufacturers and rv salesmen will tell you you can, but once the papers are signed and the fiver is off the lot they don't care what happens. They have their money.

There are many 5ers that are light. My 34' weighs in at 8500# I have a friend that pulls a low profile Coachman with a Ford Ranger. Everybody told him it couldn't be done with a Ranger. His response was that he sure was glad he has done it over 10 years before some expert told him it can't be done. If your friend is truly interested maybe have someone pull it to a platform scale and weigh it with the trailer and back axle of the truck and then drop trailer on scale. You will be able to figure pin weight and total weight of the unit.

[agesilaus]

In general it is a bad idea to tow a fiver with a half ton. As mentioned above the payload is a big problem and the other issue is brakes. The manufacturers and rv salesmen will tell you you can, but once the papers are signed and the fiver is off the lot they don't care what happens. They have their money.

[donn0128]

Caveman Charlie wrote:
I understand you need more info. It's a 04 GMC Denali. Yes, it's a half ton but, the 1991 Forest River Salem he is looking at has no slides and doesn't seem to weigh much more then my TT. Plus, since it's a 5th wheel with the pin in the bed of the truck which is better then on the bumper like my TT has I believe he can tow it on the local flat ground we have around here.

http://www.hemmingsenrv.com/Details.cfm/750103253/1991-Forest-River-Salem/Tracy-MN/#phototabs

Towing is not the issue here. Load carrying capacity is! A 2004 1500 pickup is going to be lucky to have 1000 pound load carrying capacity after it is loaded with family. Even small and light fifth wheels place 20-25% of their weight in the bed of the truck. Sooooo, a 10,000 pound fiver is going to load around 2000 pounds on the truck. That would seriously overload a 1500 GM. Dont get me wrong, there are fifth wheels that would work. But at 15 feet he probably would not like them much.

[2112]

I saw some used ones on my local CL this morning for $150 to $250. This did not include the rails.

[Caveman_Charlie]

agesilaus wrote:
Newer model trucks may have preinstalled hitch prep packages. In that case all the buyer has to do is drop the hitch into the hitch prep holes. No installation required.

The higher prices being mentioned in this thread are for high end 'slider hitches' which may be required if the truck has a short bed and the fifth wheel is an older model. Newer, meaning less than 8-10 years old fifth wheels probably don't need a slider hitch.

Non slider hitches run in the $500-$1000 range, with some of the better models running around $900. If the owner buys the installation package (and hitch) himself from one of the many online retailers, the price will be a lot lower. Tweetys.com and Etrailer.com are two popular sellers.

That's what I was thinking but, I was not sure.

He would have it installed and not be doing the job himself. A local mechanic would be doing the installation.

[Caveman_Charlie]

I understand you need more info. It's a 04 GMC Denali. Yes, it's a half ton but, the 1991 Forest River Salem he is looking at has no slides and doesn't seem to weigh much more then my TT. Plus, since it's a 5th wheel with the pin in the bed of the truck which is better then on the bumper like my TT has I believe he can tow it on the local flat ground we have around here.

http://www.hemmingsenrv.com/Details.cfm/750103253/1991-Forest-River-Salem/Tracy-MN/#phototabs

[Cummins12V98]

What truck and what RV?

[agesilaus]

Newer model trucks may have preinstalled hitch prep packages. In that case all the buyer has to do is drop the hitch into the hitch prep holes. No installation required.

The higher prices being mentioned in this thread are for high end 'slider hitches' which may be required if the truck has a short bed and the fifth wheel is an older model. Newer, meaning less than 8-10 years old fifth wheels probably don't need a slider hitch.

Non slider hitches run in the $500-$1000 range, with some of the better models running around $900. If the owner buys the installation package (and hitch) himself from one of the many online retailers, the price will be a lot lower. Tweetys.com and Etrailer.com are two popular sellers.

[robsouth]

I would suggest that your friend not intall a 5th wheel hitch himself based on your comments. An installed hitch can cost from the neighborhood of $1000.00 to $3000.00 installed, depending on the choice of hitch. It is critical that it be installed correctly.

[donn0128]

By "plate" do you mean hitch?
New fifth wheel hitches run from 500 to over two thousand dollars. Plus a couple hundred for custom designed mounting rails and another three hundred for installation. Depends on what he wants and how much work he does him self.