5th Wheel Purchase Advice

[danrclem]

Howdy from a new member here. I'm new to this site but not to camping. I've been camping for close to 40 years using a tent then a truck camper and then a motorhome.

I'm retiring soon and want to buy a 5th wheel. I want a small one and don't want to get one over about 10 years old so I'm looking for suggestions. Anybody know of any makes and models that would be under 22' long? I found a 2004 Sun Valley Road Runner 190 (a little older than I wanted) for a good price but it has a soft floor. I don't know what it would involve fixing it so I think I'll pass. I do like the size and layout of it. It's 19'7" long and weighs in at a little less than 4,000 lbs.

My 2nd question. I have a 2003 Silverado 1500 (less than 70k miles) 4x4 single cab with an 8' bed with a 4.8 and 1 step above standard suspension. If I put an oil cooler on it would it be up to pulling a 4,000 lb. camper? I plan to upgrade later on but I'd have to use this truck for awhile.

Thanks for any insight.

Danny

[danrclem]

Does Sun Valley make a decent camper? I found a 2008 23' X-Treme Lite for a little less than low book. What do you experts think?

Is the only difference in the Sun Valley Road Runner and X-Treme Lite the aluminum vs wood construction?

Is there a place where I can find the specs of these campers? Google search isn't getting me much information on most of them.

Thanks, Danny

[danrclem]

I found a Northwood Artic Fox M-21-5R that I like a lot but possibly may be sold by now. I'm going to send a message and see.

I like it a lot.

edit;
It was on rvt.com and I sent a message. I then found it on Craigslist listed one day ago. Listing deleted. I guess it's already gone.

[Padlin]

Escape makes a 21'er, and yes you could manage it fine with your truck. You''ll be hard pressed to find used though.

[blacktop]

Arctic Fox makes or made a 23 footer that would line up with that truck. It weighs around 7600 lbs.

[JIMNLIN]

The brakes on your '03 1500 truck will work fine as long as their in top condition for towing trailers in the weight range your 1500 truck can handle.
Fresh turned rotors and a good set of HD semi metallic brake pads will work as good as you can get. The same 1500 truck with the bigger 5.3 engine with the same brakes can have up to 7k-8k tow rating capacity and stops just fine. A 5k trailer won't be a issues with your same 1500 truck chassis.

[danrclem]

I agree 100% with having good brakes but I don't know if they can be upgraded or not. It'll be worth checking into.

I couldn't find any used Allen 199 RBs for sale so I'll check out the Scamp lineup that NC Hauler posted about. Nothing against a TT but I just think I'd be more satisfied with a 5er.

You guys/gals are getting me on the right track.

[NC_Hauler]

JIMNLIN wrote:
welcome to the forum.
Your going to get the usual "a 1500 truck can't tow a 5th wheel trai;ler" from the usual crowd so be prepared .

Sure....the truck will handle a small 5th wheel trailer under 4700-5200 GVWR depending on gear ratio. The 4x4 4.8 engine truck takes a big hit in tow performance at only 5200 lb/4.10 gear number is from trailer life towing guide
Your std duty 1500 truck is good for around 900-1100 lb hitch (pin) weight. By the time you add 200 lbs for the hitch and other necessary junk in the truck/occupants/etc your going to be close to a 3800-3900 rear axle weight/tires max loads.

The small 4.8 gas engine is more of a econo engine and will struggle in the hills-mountains/high head wind country. I wouldn't mess with a engine oil cooler but a aux tranny fluid cooler in that year model is a big plus.

http://www.allencampermfg.com/default.html Check out these folks small 5th wheel trailers.
Also their TT's. Notice you can tow a larger TT than a 5th wheel trailer.

Small used 5th wheel trailers are rare as there isn't much of a demand for them. Good luck on your search.

Kind of funny what you stated "the usual crowd"....., yet you covered everything that needed to be covered that quiet a few of us would have stated....He needs a light weight 5er for that truck:)


Might also look at "Scamp" 5ers. Allen manufactures pretty good light weight TT's and 5er's as mentioned by JIMNLIN.

[oldtrojan66]

Just to add my $.02, I would be more concerned about the brakes than the engine. If you plan on another truck soon, this one will probably do alright till then. I wonder if there is any way to beef up the brakes. Larger discs, better pads, etc. I can go up hill as slow as necessary (also retired), but I want to be in control of the decent. JMHO

[danrclem]

Thanks for the quick replies and the link to allen camper. The 199RB is definitely the type camper I had in mind. If anybody knows of any other manufacturers of small late model campers let me know. The more options the better.

I wouldn't be logging a lot of miles but I do have one extended trip planned for the near future.

I said oil cooler but I meant transmission cooler. My truck has 3.73 gears. I figured that it would be pushing it but wanted some opinions from people who had already done it. I do plan on upgrading to a heavier truck but it wouldn't be right away.

Thanks again for the replies and now I'm going to do a search for a 199RB. 🙂

[x96mnn]

Your going to get your normal crowd who will tell you that you can tow anything with a 1500 and the crowd that will tell you your negligent. Neither can tell you what YOU can or cannot do, that's up to you.

I would tackle a 4000pd camper with your truck! Would I want to do it for 20000 miles a year, not really but if I was not in any hurry, say retired would consider it. Main thing for me is how long will the truck last? It is the better part of 13 years old, yes 70k on it but it is still 13years old. I am not overly mechanical and would need to rely on shops to fix it if something happened, towing a lot with it I would expect some issues to pop up.

Tranny cooler if not already installed is a must in my opinion, cheap and relatively easy to add.

I will advise you to pay attention to your weights, i think they were put on the truck for more then just Chevs peace of mind. Personally I have found that when I get past 80% of the recommended tow rating the tow vehical handles poorly. Only can comment on a travel trailer and that experiance though, my fifth wheel is hauled by a DRW truck that's not close to its tow rating.

[JIMNLIN]

welcome to the forum.
Your going to get the usual "a 1500 truck can't tow a 5th wheel trai;ler" from the usual crowd so be prepared .

Sure....the truck will handle a small 5th wheel trailer under 4700-5200 GVWR depending on gear ratio. The 4x4 4.8 engine truck takes a big hit in tow performance at only 5200 lb/4.10 gear number is from trailer life towing guide
Your std duty 1500 truck is good for around 900-1100 lb hitch (pin) weight. By the time you add 200 lbs for the hitch and other necessary junk in the truck/occupants/etc your going to be close to a 3800-3900 rear axle weight/tires max loads.

The small 4.8 gas engine is more of a econo engine and will struggle in the hills-mountains/high head wind country. I wouldn't mess with a engine oil cooler but a aux tranny fluid cooler in that year model is a big plus.

http://www.allencampermfg.com/default.html Check out these folks small 5th wheel trailers.
Also their TT's. Notice you can tow a larger TT than a 5th wheel trailer.

Small used 5th wheel trailers are rare as there isn't much of a demand for them. Good luck on your search.