Overall Length, Towing, etc.

[rvdd]

Looking at the Cougar 36BHSWE. http://www.keystonerv.com/cougar

A few questions:

1) Is a 2017 Ford F-350, long bed, 4x4, diesel, SRW appropriate to tow this?
2) The specs say it is 38' long. Given the overhang, how long would the above truck and trailer be combined?
3) Would the above length be severely limiting? Seems like it would be hard to find parks, campgrounds, resorts, etc. that can accommodate that length (tandem or side by side), or those that have spots that long would have only a few of them.

[rhagfo]

goducks10 wrote:
38' 5th wheel, 22' truck = 60' - the overhang 4' = 56' long. You'll be fine with most RV parks. But if you're doing St parks or forest service CG's then you'll be really limited. You need to think about where you're going camping and then start looking at the CG's site to see whats available for that size 5th wheel.
Many times you can hang the rear over the sites parking spot and sometimes angle you're truck in a bit.

X2
GoDucks covers pretty well!

Something else to think about is the 1,910# payload for a 38' 5er, that isn't very much.

[goducks10]

38' 5th wheel, 22' truck = 60' - the overhang 4' = 56' long. You'll be fine with most RV parks. But if you're doing St parks or forest service CG's then you'll be really limited. You need to think about where you're going camping and then start looking at the CG's site to see whats available for that size 5th wheel.
Many times you can hang the rear over the sites parking spot and sometimes angle you're truck in a bit.

[john_bet]

My signature rig is 49' long. The trailer is 32" long. You should be in the 54' to 55' range. I have had only one commercial park access problem.

[ChuckV1]

rvdd wrote:
Looking at the Cougar 36BHSWE. http://www.keystonerv.com/cougar

A few questions:

1) Is a 2017 Ford F-350, long bed, 4x4, diesel, SRW appropriate to tow this?
2) The specs say it is 38' long. Given the overhang, how long would the above truck and trailer be combined?
3) Would the above length be severely limiting? Seems like it would be hard to find parks, campgrounds, resorts, etc. that can accommodate that length (tandem or side by side), or those that have spots that long would have only a few of them.

First I have been checking the new F-350's against my older F-350 (2005) DWD 4x4 crew cab and I only see an 1 inch to an inch and a half difference in the two..

Second I would measure the trailer, my new trailer paperwork states it is 40.4ft, it is 41ft long 🙂

Third, you have to think about the pivot point, with a TT it's at the bumper thus you have allot of vehicle out front and need much more room to back into a space. With a 5th wheel your pivot point is in the bed of the truck thus less room to pivot..... Now you have to take into consideration the length of the trailer as well and the truck bed. So if you are going from a short bed truck to a long bed turn you have to add a few feet and thus more room to back thus more room up front. But again not as much as you would with a TT and a long bed truck.

Remember when backing trailer with pin box's (ie 5th wheel trailers) the longer they are the easier they are to back.

Last as the OP stated there are State and national parks that 35ft to 36ft TT or 5th wheels are about the limit and you will now have to us look for larger CG's, the length i'm talking about dozen included the truck just the trailer ....When calling I have always stated the length of my trailer and not my overall length truck and trailer. I have found that there is most always (90%) parking places for your tow vehicle if needed .....

[nickthehunter]

Be sure to consider the cost to have the Trailer lifted as it probably will not have adequate clearance above the sides of your new truck.

[IdaD]

Figure you'll gain about 4' with the overhang. That would be a long outfit. Your profile says you live in the Pacific NW. If you want to enjoy the state and forest service campgrounds, or get into some more primitive sites, you're going to be pretty restricted with a rig that long. I have a short bed and a 32' fifth wheel and I feel like even that combo limits me some.

[rickeoni]

You also need to consider the length of the truck when backing the trailer, a 22 foot long truck has a lot of front end swing and some older campgrounds have narrow roads.

[agesilaus]

rvdd wrote:
Looking at the Cougar 36BHSWE. http://www.keystonerv.com/cougar

A few questions:

1) Is a 2017 Ford F-350, long bed, 4x4, diesel, SRW appropriate to tow this?

That may be getting into dual rear wheel territory. Check the pin weight.

2) The specs say it is 38' long. Given the overhang, how long would the above truck and trailer be combined?

Guessing five feet of overhang. So ~21 ft (truck) + 38 ft (fiver) - ~5 ft (overhang) = about 55-56 ft

3) Would the above length be severely limiting? Seems like it would be hard to find parks, campgrounds, resorts, etc. that can accommodate that length (tandem or side by side), or those that have spots that long would have only a few of them.

It would certainly limit you, it depends on the campground. Many COE CG take units up to 75 ft. But you'll rarely find national park CG sites in that length. Probably likewise with many National Forest sites. Commercial CG will be more likely to have long enough sites.

[Allworth]

1. Yes. (you may have clearance problems with the high bed rail design.)

2. Measure from the front bumper of the truck to the center of the rear wheels. Add that to the advertised trailer length (which is approximate, anyway) for a good guess.

3. You will be somewhat limited in older public campgrounds (National Park, State Park, COE, etc), but not in private CGs or newer public units.