Some background.Been camping all my life. We recently sold our travel trailer that was sitting on some land we owned. We sold it with the land because I had no way to tow it hence why it sat at that land. Well, that was 4 months ago and since I bought a new half ton truck shortly after selling the land, we got the itch to buy a camper that we could actually go places with. So we went to the dealer with full intent on buying a mid 20's footer travel trailer. Well, thanks to a good salesman and my negotiating wife we got a great deal on a 2018 Arctic Wolf 265dbh8 fifth wheel. I've never owned a 5th wheel!!!!My truck is a 2015 Chevy Silverado half ton, crew cab with 3.73 gears (10,900lb towing capacity)I guess my biggest concern is towing this trailer with this truck. Any insight as to what I'm getting into?ThanksMatt

Too much for the truck. Your first mistake is listening to dealers.

Well, now your turn! Time for a new TV, I would be looking for a good deal on a 350/3500 SRW.

At a glance the Arctic wolf's GVWR of 11,519 seems a bit much for the Chevy with its 10,000 tow cap. Also your pin weight empty of 1300 empty, by the time you add a hitch, load batteries, and fill the basement and water tanks will get hard on a payload of about 2100 in the truck.Nice looking unit though.

Why is my truck not enough?Unloaded its 8300. Hitch weight is 1300.Last time I weighed our gear we were under 1000lbs.

Well I am not getting into the weights etc. that others are posting. But the same thing happened to us 3 yrs. ago. didn't have any thing to do one Saturday afternoon, figured we would look at new trailers just kill some time and to see what was out there. Low and behold, at the second dealer we went to, the salesman showed us a unit he thought we would like. My wife stood in the center of the living room looked at me and said Nope, not it. We proceeded to look a second unit, again she stood in the living room, did a 360 turn, looked at both me and the salesman and said, "Yep" this is the one. The next thing I remember I was sitting in his office signing papers ! That is the last time we are just going to "Look" at something just to kill some time lol !!! Good Luck and Happy Camping !!

Did I just buy a 5th wheel?!?!?! What did I get into?

Cummins12V98
Explorer III
Jul 31, 2017
"get at a min 3/4 ton supper duty"

Geeze, it goes without saying it needs to be a "Super Duty". ;)
packnrat
Explorer
Jul 31, 2017
easy answer is this.

1/4 - 1/2 ton trucks are great to fetch the groserys. move a row boat.

want to tow something.

get at a min 3/4 ton supper duty with a diesel set up from the factory for towing.

.
otrfun
Explorer II
Jul 30, 2017
webejpn wrote:
. . . i was surprised that as my truck sat as is, she only dropped about 3". So it actually leveled my truck out perfectly in terms of front to rear wheel well space.
Without knowing how much suspension travel you have empty, 3" of drop may or may not be a good thing. On some trucks 3" of squat/sag is enough to cause the axle bump stops to be in constant contact with the axle housing.

Kudos for all the research you did. Unfortunately, the one thing you didn't check/research prior to purchase, which is critical, were your realworld axle weights (i.e., CAT scale ticket). Granted, how well it drives and the amount of squat/rear end sag, may be a good subjective warm and fuzzy. However, for those who put some credence or trust in the manufacturer's ratings, the objective results of a CAT scale ticket easily trump any subjective observation.

YMMV.
2112
Explorer II
Jul 30, 2017
Realize you will be well over RAWR when hitched up with full gray and black tanks. You have 120gal of waste tanks. That's over 900lbs of extra weight. I'm in the same boat. I take it slow moving to the dump station and crawl over the speed bumps.

I have used Timbrens for years. I do not know how much sag I would have without them because the Timbens were installed before I bought the FW. I moved them over from my old truck prior to trade.
Sprink-Fitter
Explorer
Jul 30, 2017
kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Sprink-Fitter wrote:
donn0128 wrote:
Too much for the truck. Your first mistake is listening to dealers.

Did he say the dealer said he could tow the fifth wheel trailer with half ton truck?

Forest Rivers brochure advertises that unit as being for "light duty" trucks. Likely the dealers folks were running with that.

What I'm getting at is the OP never said "the dealer said I could tow this"
Dayle1
Explorer II
Jul 28, 2017
X2 it is not an Artic Fox, that would be quite different.
Cedarcityman
Explorer
Jul 28, 2017
I believe he is buying an Artic Wolf not an Artic Fox. I have been looking at the Artic Fox and they are heavy.
jarata1
Explorer
Jul 28, 2017
webejpn wrote:
jarata1 wrote:
No way will it tow that plus you bought one of the heaviest brand 5th wheels one good thing is trade in is great on that model

Please enlighten me on which rigs are lighter:

Artic fox are made for year round camping that is why they are mostly in the colder climates.You can't find them out here in the east I wish you could I would by one.Most all the other 5th wheels in the same length will be lighter
jarata1
Explorer
Jul 28, 2017
webejpn wrote:
I appreciate everyone's feedback/opinions on this matter. I will be the first to admit that unlike every other single purchase i make, i did not research the snot out of it (my wife hates that i do this).

I went to the dealership last night to make things final. I straight out told them what i had learned on here, all the folks i called yesterday (GM, Forrest River direct, couple local GM dealers, etc.). They gave me absolutely no hassle that if i wanted to call the deal off, i could without any implications. But they also gave me the opportunity to hitch it up and take it for a spin. If i didn't feel good about the way it dropped my truck or how it handled, again, i could kill the deal. So we hooked her up....boy, if i get nothing out of this other than seeing the ease and simplicity of hooking up a 5'ver.....DANG THAT WAS EASY!!!! I can see how this is a marriage saver!!
Anyway, i was surprised that as my truck sat as is, she only dropped about 3". So it actually leveled my truck out perfectly in terms of front to rear wheel well space. Took her out for a spin and she handled like a champ. Now remember, all i have to compare to is TT and flat trailers with wheelers on them.

So needless to say, i felt comfortable and confident with proceeding with the deal.

To the folks that said, go ahead and try it and see what YOU think...thanks for your encouragement.
For the naysayers...stay tuned to my future postings to see how it pans out and if i fail miserably feel free to use me as the "I told you so.." example

Then do it obviously your not listening and made up your mind GOOD LUCK
jerem0621
Explorer II
Jul 28, 2017
Congrats! I think you will enjoy the truck and the way it pulls. Any softness in the rear end can be shored up wth some Airbags or some Timbrens and airing your tires up to Max psi.

Be safe.

Thanks!

Jeremiah