Help finding the right hitch, plus other questions

[TehnoGypsy]

Hello RV Enthusiasts!

My partner and I are very excited to give the full time on the road lifestyle a try. Right now we are on the verge of purchasing a Chevy C/K 2500 diesel pickup. We want to go with the fifth wheel for maximum flexibility and not having the motor tied to the living quarters. I see this truck is rated at about 10k lbs and we are looking at 25 foot trailers. Does everything sound alright here?

I'm also trying to wrap my head around the whole hitch thing. How can I find the right hitch/rails for this truck? Also, I want to install the hitch myself. What do I need to know to do it right and what sort of tools will I need? Thank you for any tips you can offer!

[wandering1]

Find your trailer first so you know how much it weighs, you have to know how much weight you are going to tow before you can pick a truck that can tow the weight. Look at the trucks towing specs to pick the truck configuration that can handle the weight of the fifth wheel trailer. Contact the dealer or manufacturer for the trailer towing specs. You are legally responsible for having an adequate tow vehicle. Do not trust the personal opinions about weights, get the facts. I would get the hitch dealer or RV dealer to install the hitch.

[sayoung]

That 10000 lbs is probably the total truck wieght as my 2003 Chevy was rated for a 15000 lb fifth wheel and it had no trouble.

[laknox]

aruba5er wrote:
Just came back from a two week trip and met 2 guys towing Jayco Ultra light 295's One guy had a Toyota Tundra and the other a Ford F150. Both guys said it towed well without overworking the truck Their units had 2 slides. There are people on this fourm that say you need a dually or even a MDT to pull anything. I guess that is BS. How much money you got. Hensley TrailerSaver is probably the best hitch made because of the airbags and the Holland/Brinkly hitch but it is expensive. Dealer wont throw that in with purchase. Mine wanted to GIVE me a hitch and I told him Forget It. I got something much much better.

I'd challenge them to drive to AZ without going south and taking I-10 across, and see how well their trucks work. 😉

Lyle

[aruba5er]

Just came back from a two week trip and met 2 guys towing Jayco Ultra light 295's One guy had a Toyota Tundra and the other a Ford F150. Both guys said it towed well without overworking the truck Their units had 2 slides. There are people on this fourm that say you need a dually or even a MDT to pull anything. I guess that is BS. How much money you got. Hensley TrailerSaver is probably the best hitch made because of the airbags and the Holland/Brinkly hitch but it is expensive. Dealer wont throw that in with purchase. Mine wanted to GIVE me a hitch and I told him Forget It. I got something much much better.

[laknox]

TehnoGypsy wrote:
Hello RV Enthusiasts!

My partner and I are very excited to give the full time on the road lifestyle a try. Right now we are on the verge of purchasing a Chevy C/K 2500 diesel pickup. We want to go with the fifth wheel for maximum flexibility and not having the motor tied to the living quarters. I see this truck is rated at about 10k lbs and we are looking at 25 foot trailers. Does everything sound alright here?

I'm also trying to wrap my head around the whole hitch thing. How can I find the right hitch/rails for this truck? Also, I want to install the hitch myself. What do I need to know to do it right and what sort of tools will I need? Thank you for any tips you can offer!

Hard to beat a B&W hitch of any flavor. Depending on the FW you're looking at, the weak link in the equation is always the payload capacity of whatever truck you are looking at. Don't pay much attention to tow capacity, only payload.

Lyle

[sdetweil]

TehnoGypsy wrote:
Hello RV Enthusiasts!

My partner and I are very excited to give the full time on the road lifestyle a try. Right now we are on the verge of purchasing a Chevy C/K 2500 diesel pickup. We want to go with the fifth wheel for maximum flexibility and not having the motor tied to the living quarters. I see this truck is rated at about 10k lbs and we are looking at 25 foot trailers. Does everything sound alright here?

I'm also trying to wrap my head around the whole hitch thing. How can I find the right hitch/rails for this truck? Also, I want to install the hitch myself. What do I need to know to do it right and what sort of tools will I need? Thank you for any tips you can offer!

you might be surprised that a 10,000lb gvwr for the truck isn't all that much for capacity. my 2012 F250 10,000 gwvr weighed 8300 lbs empty. leaving a total of 1700lbs to haul stuff (hitch, people, fuel, stuff, and trailer hitch weight).

so you might want to recheck that your tow vehicle has enough carrying capacity, in addition to towing capacity.
you should plan on the trailer gwvr/4 (25%) as a guideline on what you need to carry from the trailer weight. (best 20-25%).

I upgraded my TV to a 2012 F350 dually, and it weighed in at 11,900 on our first tow back from the dealer. (not fully loaded). the trailer gvwr is 15,500.

from a hitch perspective, you need to ask yourself, what will you do with the truck the rest of the time? do you need a flat floor?

if you do, then a two part hitch that many like is the B&W Companion (18k/4.5k hitch weight) which connects to their turnoverball under bed hitch (also supplies gooseneck hitch). My (new to me) dually came with rails already installed, and I purchased a B&W Patriot which sits in the rails perfectly. 16,000lb support, with 4k (25%) hitch weight.

I installed the underbed gooseneck hitch myself on a prior vehicle in about 3 hours.

there are many other brands. Reese and Curt are two of the more well known.

Sam

[guidry]

I did a lot of research and finally decided on BW hitch. Then when I bought my 5th wheel trailer, the dealer included the hitch and told me he only installs the best. It was a BW so I figured my choice was correct, then knew it was the first time I used it!

As to install, it was included so I can't help you there. Good luck