First 5th wheel?

[mcgowan]

We are about to buy our first 5th wheel and dont know where to start.how the tow vehicle weight rating works or not much else for that matter. Do you have to weigh them? Should I leave the slides out while not in use? I just want to do all the right things if im going to spend all of this money on a 5th wheel. Thanks for your time. I need 5th wheel 101!!

[Allworth]

To pick up a little on Porkchop's final thought...


Many years ago a very wise RV saleslady (yes, there are such things; although Camping World bought this particular dealership and promptly ran her off!)told us to consider our first RV purchase a "Training Trailer". Find a gently used trailer that you feel you can live with and learn what is really important and what is frosting.

Our second trailer was closer to "right" and the one we have now fits us well. We will probably keep the Titanium until we get too old to handle the travel. Hopefully that will be a long time. We love this particular unit, even though it has its quirks and problems.

We now realize that a lot of "new" features we see at shows or dealerships are not really adding much to comfort or convenience. (But, boy, do they add to price!)

The only other thing I would add is the old saw "There is no such thing as too much truck." No matter what you start with, you will end up with something bigger and heavier. Having to replace a fairly new truck just so you can get a new trailer is a heartbreaker.

[porkchop1221]

What I did was look at all the different types of toy haulers out there first. I was originally going to go with a TT type but our 2007 GMC 1500 Sierra would be iffy to tow it so I decided I would get the a bigger truck. So we looked at what a SWR type of truck would haul and looked at that size... picked the 5th wheel TH and also the truck at the same time to make sure they both matched on what could be hauled.

Best thing to ask yourself is what do you WANT - we had ours built and looking back I might have gone with the Autolevel vs some of the little extras I got (no need for central vac or rear awning. But these are things you learn.

Good luck!
PS then you also need to look at short bed/long bed and whether or not you need a slider or not. That's a whole other debate!

[Puttin]

This site will address what you need to know...have fun with your purchase.

Before you buy

[mlts22]

There was another posting about the #1 cause of RV wrecks, and that is too little TV, too much trailer, and the wind, lack of braking, or another issue finishing the job.

I'm with ependydad; squarely within the #1 camp, even with CCC ratings on the trailer (which are pretty good due to the fact it has no slideouts.) I wouldn't want it on my conscience that my cutting corners or lack of preparation caused damage or injury, or even took someone's life.

[ependydad]

As someone else said - the floorplan is probably the single biggest factor in knowing what you want. I love ours except I can't easily get to the fridge with the slide in. It's more and more of a nuisance as time goes on (and we've only owned it a year now).

Otherwise, for the truck - there are 2 schools of thoughts on this and each party vehemently demands that they're right and the other is stupid:
1) You must stay within all of the ratings for the truck - this includes the maximum the truck can carry (aka gross vehicle weight rating or GVWR), the axle weight rating (GAWR) and the tire load capacity and finally the gross combined vehicle weight rating (GCWR) (i.e. the weight of the loaded truck and loaded camper).

2) It's acceptable to exceed some or all of your weight ratings - for instance, as long as you're within axle ratings and tire load capacities, you're safe.

3) Ok, I said 2 groups, but the 3rd is those that say, "it tows and feels fine, therefore I'm OK".

Personally, I fall into the first group and feel you should stick within your ratings. I understand the reasoning and logic behind the second group. The 3rd group, well... to each his own, I guess.

NOW- how do you know if you are or are going to be within your ratings? A little bit of art, a little bit of science.

Since you don't have a truck, the easiest thing is to pick the trailer and then work backwards from there. I'm a fan of doing my calculations based on the maximum weight the trailer is designed to carry (it's gross vehicle weight rating). More often than not, you wan't get anywhere near this number - but it's good to have in your back pocket. Most of the time, depending on the size of the fifth wheel, you'll be anywhere from 1,000 to 2,500 pounds over the completely fictional advertised "dry weight".

Once you have a ballpark estimate (or go fully risk adverse and use the maximum weight), you need a truck that can carry 20%-25% of that weight as part of it's payload in addition to you as the drive (whatever your weight is minus 150 pounds), your passenger(s), your pet(s), your stuff in the truck, your add-ons to the truck, your hitch and anything you might store in the truck bed. As you can imagine, that payload number gets eaten up pretty quick. For me, I found that myself, my family, my truck add-ons and our stuff weigh about 1,200 pounds. I then add my fifth wheel's pin weight (the 20%-25%) is about 2,300 pounds (mine is actually 16% of my loaded camper's weight of just under 14,000 pounds).

It's all a bit confusing. See if these two write-ups will help you out:
What Can I Tow?
What Can I Tow? A real world example

[huskyfan1968]

Just be aware that you have to take your truck's payload capacity into consideration in a 5th wheel (since a percentage of the weight is in the bed of the truck)- I've always left the slides closed when not in use......

[sele]

There are several that are much better at the weight issue than I so my advise once you figure the weight issue is to start looking at floor plans. LOL one of my wifes main concerns when we bought ours was the bathroom and kitchen layout. She must have figured it out we still have ours and it is 10 years old and still looks brand new. With this type of investment we treat it as a second home like most everybody else does. Good luck.

[brirene]

Weighing your unit is a good idea, but you usually do that when fully loaded and ready for a trip. To know weights while shopping, each unit will be different and it will be displayed inside the unit. Use those as very general guidelines. You'll need to have a truck capable of towing whatever unit you're interested in. I usually keep my slides in when not in use, others keep them out. Do some research, here and other places. Use the search function, and ask specific questions. You'll find lots of help here.
P.S. Don't take a dealer at his word when he, or she, tells you what you can tow. They are notorious for being incorrect, at best. Do your research so that YOU know what you can safely tow.