New to RVing, Looking into a 5th Wheel

[MuseMaiMKR]

Hello All,

I am new to RVing (as in I do not yet have a TT or TV) and I am looking at a 2001 Skyline Layton Rampage 3300 with no slides. To tow it I am looking at a 1993 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab Dually with the 7.4L in it. I do prefer a diesel, but I am mainly looking for a TT and TV to start with, there is always room for upgrading and modifying once I have a place to start.

The TV has a UWV of 8210 lbs and a GVWR of 12100 lbs. The TT has a Gross Trailer Weight of 10000 lbs and a max Rear Axle Weight of 7500 lbs. The TV has 2 axles also. With these stats, will the truck be able to tow the trailer within safe limitations? I have looked at the equation for figuring out if the TV exceeds the TT limits, but I'm still not able to understand it. 😕 If I am missing any variables to the equation, please let me know and I will post them to this thread.

Thank you for your time in reading this and replying to it. Take care and God Bless.

Very Respectfully,

Muse

[MuseMaiMKR]

Craig and MFL, thanks for the info. I have a bit of mechanical, automotive and semi truck/trailer background so upkeep will just require learning the specific equipment onboard the TV and FW. Ideally, my end game TV of choice is going to be the C4500 Kodiak (with 5th wheel hitch apparatus mounted on the back only, no 'pickup bed'). I prefer using a Diesel TV because of the low gearing in the transmission and high torque that a Diesel produces. At the moment, even a used C4500 Kodiak is a bit out of my price range, so I will go with what will safely complete the pull until I am able to purchase what I am looking for. Now I just have to find an RV park that is long term and is not a 55+ only RV park. Orange County, CA is such a tourist/vacation area...that it's really sad for people, like myself, who would rather live more 'mobile' than a foundation cemented into a piece of land.

Thanks again and take care.

Very Respectfully,

Muse

[MFL]

Curly2001 wrote:
You are correct and I was wrong. What is the 8.1 then?

496

[Curly2001]

You are correct and I was wrong. What is the 8.1 then?

[MFL]

Curly2001 wrote:
Just a quick note that the 8.1L is the 454 from what I remember. Never heard of a 7.4L Chevy unless it is the 427.
I may be wrong though but never mistaken.
Curly

Sorry Curly, you are wrong, the 7.4, and 454, is one and the same. I can't say on the mistaken.;)

Jerry

[Curly2001]

Just a quick note that the 8.1L is the 454 from what I remember. Never heard of a 7.4L Chevy unless it is the 427.
I may be wrong though but never mistaken.
Curly

[MFL]

Yes Muse, you are on the right track! Towing with a FW is going to be a good experience. I think your no-slides idea is good too, when it comes to an older model. Even newer RVs, can have some slide issues, but they are more refined than older models.

Yes, trailers this size will have it's own brake system. They do require some maintenance, but are not hard to service.

Craig is right, the 7.4 does not have the power of the newer gassers, but will work if you are not in a hurry. If the truck is 2WD, it may be possible to lower the gearing as well. They used this engine in some heavy motor homes, so it will pull, when geared low.

Jerry

[C_Schomer]

I'd drive other TVs to compare. I've driven that era of 454s and they were terrible dogs... and that's when they had low miles on them. The brakes also had a terrible feel. Just trying to save you some disappointment. You're on the right track with a FW tho... muy bueno! Craig

[MuseMaiMKR]

Just to confirm; the TV is a 1993 Chevrolet Silverado, Crew cab, Dually with the 7.4L engine, and the FW is a 2001 Skyline Layton Rampage 3300 (with 2 axles).

MFL, you are correct with the weights and terms. I do have my acronyms mixed up. It would be a TV and a FW. 😄 I am sorry for the mix up. Still learning here. Thanks for all of the input. The truck was a 'show truck', but I have not been out to do a full checklist walk-around of it, and then test drive it before I consider it as a TV. The FW I have not been out to give it a full walk-around and check for signs of wear and leaking.

I am looking for no slides because I feel it would be a better way to 'ease in' to RV Full-timing. For a FW of this size, would it come with it's own braking system, to supplement the TV braking system? I have driven a Diesel TV (crew cab, dually) with a 40' boat trailer for about 4 years. The loaded weight of the boat trailer with boat was just over 15000 lbs., but it used a hitch under the rear bumper. After driving it around, I much prefer to have a FW type trailer for the fact that a portion of the FW weight will be applied as close to directly above the rear axle as possible. I feel it is a more stable connection without the stress that will be placed on the frame/hitch if the hitch assembly was bolted to the frame under the rear bumper.

Please let me know if I am not viewing the 'whole' picture since I am new to the topic of RVing, specifically in the area of a TV and FW.

Thanks for your time and input.

Very Respectfully,

Muse

[MFL]

rhagfo wrote:
Muse, I think you have terms confused.
TT = Travel Traler or Tongue Tow
TV = Tow Vehicle
FW = Fifth Wheel

Russ and Lyle, I googled the TT that Muse is considering. It is a fifth wheel toy hauler. It has unloaded wt of 8,200 and 12,100 GVWR. It is the truck that has a 7500 RAWR, with a 10,000 lb tow capacity.

Muse, that truck will work, for that trailer, if the truck is in good running condition. You best not load the toy hauler to full capacity, due to the trucks 10,000 lb tow rating.

Jerry

[DutchmenSport]

My first 2 TT's did not have slides. I was perfectly OK with that. When looking for my 3rd, I was looking for one without slides again. Then we found it! And yes it has slides .... 3 of them, and now wonder how we did it in the first 2 TT's without slides!

[rhagfo]

Muse, I think you have terms confused.
TT = Travel Traler or Tongue Tow
TV = Tow Vehicle
FW = Fifth Wheel

[hdfatboynj]

Suggestion.......Get at least one slide. After my 1st TT I swore I would never own another camper without one. My currant FW has 3

[laknox]

MuseMaiMKR wrote:
Hello All,

I am new to RVing (as in I do not yet have a TT or TV) and I am looking at a 2001 Skyline Layton Rampage 3300 with no slides. To tow it I am looking at a 1993 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab Dually with the 7.4L in it. I do prefer a diesel, but I am mainly looking for a TT and TV to start with, there is always room for upgrading and modifying once I have a place to start.

The TV has a UWV of 8210 lbs and a GVWR of 12100 lbs. The TT has a Gross Trailer Weight of 10000 lbs and a max Rear Axle Weight of 7500 lbs. The TV has 2 axles also. With these stats, will the truck be able to tow the trailer within safe limitations? I have looked at the equation for figuring out if the TV exceeds the TT limits, but I'm still not able to understand it. 😕 If I am missing any variables to the equation, please let me know and I will post them to this thread.

Thank you for your time in reading this and replying to it. Take care and God Bless.

Very Respectfully,

Muse

Muse, with a trailer (as opposed to a FW), it's the weight of it and the combined GVW of both truck and trailer that will be your max. With a TT, you'd be using a weight transfer hitch, so you can control how much load goes onto the truck, unlike a FW, which has no real control over the pin weight. With a truck that age, you'd certainly be able to tow more RV if you went with a TT rather than a FW, that's for sure. Might get a better answer if this were moved to the TT forum and not the FW forum.

Lyle

[MFL]

Muse, your post is a little confusing. You say you are looking into a FW, but seem to be talking TT. You may have to be more specific, what it is that you are asking.

It seems the truck mentioned should be able to handle that TT, or a FW, if it is in good running condition.

Jerry