Advice on Light weight 5th wheel

[CTRussells]

My wife and I are looking for a new light weight 5th wheel, to be towed by my 03 3/4 dodge cummins. We have owned a hybrid since 2010 but now want to upgrade. I'm looking for advice on what to look for in a 5th. Light weight and good quality, is that possible? Which brands are considered top of the line, average and below average?

We looked at the Cougar 301 CAB and the similar Flagstaff Classic Super lite 8528BHWS. We like the floor plan with a smaller bunkhouse and bathroom off of it. Anybody have anything similar that you would recommend?

Any advice would be appreciated. We are in CT. Thanks in advance.

Paul

[bobx2]

goducks10 wrote:

Mootpoint wrote:
I towed a 30' all over North America with my '01 with no problems.

To make any rig lighter and still have the features you want you have to think "where did the extra weight go?" Has to be in the quality and structure.

No it doesn't. Light weight materials, lighter slide mechanisms, less bling, aluminum framing, etc. The frame and suspension can still be strong. The heavier ones have more features but that doesn't make them built better. Just because a 5'er has real Corian counter tops as opposed to lighter LG brand doesn't make it built better. After looking at 5'ers several months ago at an RV show I couldn't see any difference in construction qualities between shorter $40,000 units or $60-70,000 units. Only thing was you get high gloss finish, maybe more insulation, fancier window treatments, better docking compartments and bigger TV's. All the drawers and doors were made the same way. Same latches, same stapled drawers, same tables, chairs etc.

My 28' 5'er has an UVW 7185lbs with a CCC of 4315lbs. That's an 11,500 GVW.

I have all the features of most 5'ers and more than some that are definitely heavier.

I will agree with you to some degree that some makers are definitely pushing the limits. When you have a 37' 5'er that only weighs 10,000lbs dry there could be some issues. IMO the key to determining structural integrity is to look at the 5'ers CCC. The ones that only have 1200-1500lbs are probably not as well built as the ones that carry in excess of 2500-3000lbs of CCC.

Following your thought process makes me think that with 3,400 lbs. of CCC, my light weight 5th wheel may be a pretty well built unit. Just shows that there are some high quality, light weight 5th wheels on the market. While some may not measure up, the same can be said of some of the more expensive, heavy weight 5'ers.
Just FYI, My XLT has a dry weight of 6,5xx lbs. with a max of 9,999 lbs.

[Sue_and_Bill]

Forgot to mention, the dry weight of the Open Range 297SL Light is 7,465 lbs. It has 3 slides--very spacious. Open Range also makes regular 5th wheels in addition to the Light. We actually tow ours with our 5.7L V-8 2008 Tundra. The Light series is meant to be towed with a 1/2 ton pick-up, so sure your Dodge will have no problems. But check out their other units, since you wouldn't be limited to the Light series. We already had our truck, so that's the way we went, but we don't regret it. Met several other people on a trip to Texas a month ago that were traveling in Open Range 5th wheels or travel trailers. Every one we spoke to was very happy with their unit.

No, I don't work for Open Range.

[Sue_and_Bill]

We bought a 2014 Open Range Light, 297SL fifth wheel in June of 2013. It has a fantastic, open floor plan with a very long couch for my tall husband and two very comfortable recliners. The finishing in the unit looks good, though being light, of course you don't have granite or Corian counters. But they did a good job with the laminate--it has rounded edges, looks very good. No problems with it so far, and we absolutely love it. Feels like we're staying in a cottage rather than a trailer. Definitely recommend Open Range.

[Ryan_Elli1]

I just bought a 2014 Cougar RBS. It weights 7780lbs per the sticker. Nice front bedroom with wardrobe slider and a rear bunk bedroom. We have a 13 year old daughter who needs some space of her own. It has outside kitchen and several other things I didn't expect for a FW at 7780lbs. SO far so good.

[B-J1]

You may want to check out a Fox Mountain.....made by the same folks (Northwood) that makes Artic Fox but it's their "light weight" model

[CTRussells]

Thank you for all of the replies. My family consists of my wife, myself, my 11 year old daughter and 23 y.o. son. My son doesn't come very often, but my daughter likes to bring a friend or two. We tend to camp for a few long weekends and a week during the summer. Last year we stayed at one campground nearby for a month. I would love to buy a slightly used unit, but because I don't know much about them, I'm afraid of getting a lemon.

I tried to find a website that rates 5th wheels but haven't found much. I know I should look for a quality built unit, but I don't know what that is. That is why I will probably go new.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I will be researching each one online and finding where the closest dealers are.

Does anyone have experience with rv direct?

[bobx2]

bpounds wrote:

CTRussells wrote:
My wife and I are looking for a new light weight 5th wheel, to be towed by my 03 3/4 dodge cummins. We have owned a hybrid since 2010 but now want to upgrade. I'm looking for advice on what to look for in a 5th. Light weight and good quality, is that possible? Which brands are considered top of the line, average and below average?

We looked at the Cougar 301 CAB and the similar Flagstaff Classic Super lite 8528BHWS. We like the floor plan with a smaller bunkhouse and bathroom off of it. Anybody have anything similar that you would recommend?

Any advice would be appreciated. We are in CT. Thanks in advance.

Paul

I assume you mean Cougar 301SAB.

You don't say how you intend to use this fiver. But I find the Cougar to be well built and we haven't had any real issues in the 2.5 years we've had it. Has not been back to the dealer for any work. I don't think you would want to live in it full time, but for a vacation travel rig it suits us fine.

You will be a little heavy on your 2500, but nothing that can't be dealt with safely.

Funny how some people know so little about these things, that they can only judge quality by how much it weighs. I guess they must have some kind of lbs/sqft equation.

Those would be the same people who link quality to the price, and are often quoted as saying, "you get what you pay for." If that were only true, it would make shopping so much easier. :B

[bpounds]

CTRussells wrote:
My wife and I are looking for a new light weight 5th wheel, to be towed by my 03 3/4 dodge cummins. We have owned a hybrid since 2010 but now want to upgrade. I'm looking for advice on what to look for in a 5th. Light weight and good quality, is that possible? Which brands are considered top of the line, average and below average?

We looked at the Cougar 301 CAB and the similar Flagstaff Classic Super lite 8528BHWS. We like the floor plan with a smaller bunkhouse and bathroom off of it. Anybody have anything similar that you would recommend?

Any advice would be appreciated. We are in CT. Thanks in advance.

Paul

I assume you mean Cougar 301SAB.

You don't say how you intend to use this fiver. But I find the Cougar to be well built and we haven't had any real issues in the 2.5 years we've had it. Has not been back to the dealer for any work. I don't think you would want to live in it full time, but for a vacation travel rig it suits us fine.

You will be a little heavy on your 2500, but nothing that can't be dealt with safely.

Funny how some people know so little about these things, that they can only judge quality by how much it weighs. I guess they must have some kind of lbs/sqft equation.

[goducks10]

Mootpoint wrote:
I towed a 30' all over North America with my '01 with no problems.

To make any rig lighter and still have the features you want you have to think "where did the extra weight go?" Has to be in the quality and structure.

No it doesn't. Light weight materials, lighter slide mechanisms, less bling, aluminum framing, etc. The frame and suspension can still be strong. The heavier ones have more features but that doesn't make them built better. Just because a 5'er has real Corian counter tops as opposed to lighter LG brand doesn't make it built better. After looking at 5'ers several months ago at an RV show I couldn't see any difference in construction qualities between shorter $40,000 units or $60-70,000 units. Only thing was you get high gloss finish, maybe more insulation, fancier window treatments, better docking compartments and bigger TV's. All the drawers and doors were made the same way. Same latches, same stapled drawers, same tables, chairs etc.

My 28' 5'er has an UVW 7185lbs with a CCC of 4315lbs. That's an 11,500 GVW.

I have all the features of most 5'ers and more than some that are definitely heavier.

I will agree with you to some degree that some makers are definitely pushing the limits. When you have a 37' 5'er that only weighs 10,000lbs dry there could be some issues. IMO the key to determining structural integrity is to look at the 5'ers CCC. The ones that only have 1200-1500lbs are probably not as well built as the ones that carry in excess of 2500-3000lbs of CCC.

[Mootpoint]

I towed a 30' all over North America with my '01 with no problems.

To make any rig lighter and still have the features you want you have to think "where did the extra weight go?" Has to be in the quality and structure.

[htowners]

I'm happy with my set up pulled by a 3/4 ton gasser.
On long steep grades, the engine does like to wind up and drink some gas, but I've never had any issues related to temps of the H2o, Oil or Tranny, so I know you're CTD will easily handle a rig like mine.

[bobx2]

Jayco Eagle HT and Heartland Sundance XLT are a couple of options as well. Both lightweight and equally well built. Biggest difference between the two is price. Jayco is expensive. Several floor plans to choose from, with all coming in under 10,000 GVWR. Pin weight on my XLT is under 1,200 lbs. and the trailer is 26.5' long.
I would consider both of these to be the top of the line in light weight 5th wheels. Both use many of the same materials that are used in the high end units. Use these as the standard to compare the others to. I did about two months of research when I was looking for a good, light weight 5th wheel, and the Sundance came out on top for me. The comparable Jayco would have cost me about $7000 more, for basically the same trailer.

[aruba5er]

Saw a couple of Jayco Eagle ?? pulled by a F150 and a Tundra. If they can do it they must be light. And Jayco has been a round a long time so I would not expect junk.

[krisbc1]

CT, you might not be happy with the ride, you do need a good amount of weight for the suspension to operate correctly. Hence I had an 07 chevy 3500 dual and put a light weight fifth behind it. That ended up producing the roughest RV ride I had in years. Towed it from NY to Fl, ended trading in FL. Then I got a 15,000 # unit rides great!!