New member questions

What a lot of people also don't realize is that when it comes to trailers of any kind, how you load the trailer is just as important as how much it weighs in most cases. I grew up pulling a 40' flatbed gooseneck on the farm that weighed 7k empty. If you put 2k on it up front it would handle/pull 10 times worse than if you had 25k on it properly loaded/spread out. I know my truck can pull a lot more than the sticker rating, I'm just trying to stay as close to legal as I can. What irritated me was that I was asking for recommendations on a hitch primarily and what I got was a bunch of jackholes running their mouth about how I didn't have enough truck to pull a toy hauler which couldn't be farther from the truth. I guess I'm just of the mindset that if you don't have anything useful to contribute to a conversation it's best to keep your mouth shut, which apparently is a sentiment not shared by several contributors on this forum. I greatly appreciate the handful of you who actually provided useful information and recommendations rather than just wrongly trying to tell me I don't have a big enough truck, the rest of you need to realize you don't need a 3500+ to pull a 5th wheel trailer and in many cases all you're doing is overpaying for a vehicle you don't need but hey, if you've got extra money to spend there's worse things to waste it on I guess.

Tankrat wrote:
Wow, I wasn't really expecting so many judgemental and completely unhelpful/useless comments in a forum like this, I've always heard that the RV'ing community was better than that...

Greene728 wrote:
Not enough truck.

Really? Yeah, you're going to have to explain/justify that comment because as it is you just sound like a jealous Dodge guy who doesn't actually know anything about towing ;)

donn0128 wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
"but will spend little time actually going down the road so I'm not looking to shell out extra money for things that are really only needed for extended towing periods"

What equipment isn't needed when towing every two weeks for a hundred miles but is needed when towing every day for three hundred miles?

Whether your towing 10 or a thousand miles you still need the exact same stuff. Brake controler, hitch, trailer light/brake wiring.

Perhaps I should've spelled it out a little better, I didn't realize that seasoned RV'ers wouldn't understand the difference between a need and a want when it comes to equipment. What I was getting at is that I'm not interested in spending extra money for things that are only going to improve my comfort while towing because I'm only going to be towing the trailer once every 6 months or so as I move from one contract location to the next. As to your "What equipment isn't needed when towing every two weeks for a hundred miles but is needed when towing every day for three hundred miles?" question...lots of things. I don't NEED an airbag on the pin box or airbags on my truck to tow my trailer a couple hundred miles once every 6 months but if I was towing it a 1,000 miles every month I would probably WANT those items and they would probably be a good investment. I already have the brake controller and trailer wiring, missing the hitch which was my first question...which ironically enough nobody addressed at all.

donn0128 wrote:
So much done to the truck, so little of it any good for pulling. If your going to a fifth wheel, stick with something in the 10,000 pound GVWR range. Any more and you will be one umhappy camper. You do need to remember, toy haulers are probably some of the worst for heating andmcooling. That huge back door makes for lousy insulation.

"So much done to the truck, so little of it any good for pulling." Please explain. The only things not stock are the 'charger and the LSD, yeah, the LSD doesn't help towing really unless you happen to end up on sand or soft ground but it's not hurting my towing and as far as the 'charger goes, if you think that isn't a huge help for towing then you need to share what you're smoking because it's apparently some good stuff. I've been trying to stay in the 8,000-9,000 lb dry weight range when I look even though I know the advertised numbers aren't usually correct, it's someplace to start until I get serious about a unit enough to put it on a scale. The heaviest things I'll be putting in the garage are a W/D, a 400lb motorcycle and a toolbox that weighs around 300 lbs. I travel very light as far as clothing and household items, everything I have in my apartment right now will fit in the back seat and under my tonneau cover. As to toy haulers being the hardest to heat/cool, yeah, that was my first thought when I started looking at them. That's why I'm trying to find one that has an actual wall between the garage and the living area, that should help a little but it's just something I'll have to live with as I need the garage for my bike and toolbox.

Dutchmen Sport & MFL, thank you for your non-judgemental comments.
Dutchmen - I get what you're saying in your sig line and I've done it both ways, much more comfortable being overprepared and never needing it :)
MFL - Good info there and thank you for the tip on GM's having a longer axle center, I'll have to do some measuring in addition to my planned trip to the scale with my truck.

~Lucas

What a lot of people mean by not enough truck is you have a 3/4 ton. I've had 2,200 pounds of rock in the bed of my truck and I wouldn't want to go more than a few miles like that. Hence why I get your comment on not towing very much. My rig is overkill for my toy hauler, but it's because I tow 500 miles in a day 10 times a year.

The limiting factor is your rear springs being 3/4 ton. Your power train is more than adequate for anything. Watch pin weight the most. You can fix this by getting tires that handle a bigger load than stock (mine are upgraded to 3,415 per tire). Air bags help. But you'll most likely be over the legal limit of your GVW no matter what. Most fifth wheel toy hauler have over 3,000 pounds tongue weight.

The best bet is the smallest fifth wheel from shockwave (forest River). With an unloaded tongue weight of 2,200 pounds, I still would not want to tow very far. I'm at 7,700 pounds with family and gear. My GVW is 9,200, so this is 500 pounds over legal weight right off the lot.

http://www.forestriverinc.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=181&Image=5075&ModelID=3583#Main

Thanks for the info TugCE, your setup sounds like what I'm looking at, I'm not interested in the monster toy haulers, I'm looking at the 37' and under basic ones since it's just me, my bike and my toolbox that's going to be in it. I don't have to worry about having my family and the 5,000 odd extra things you take with you on family trips. The guy that came to fix the heater in my apartment this winter walked in, looked around and asked when I was actually moving in. I told him I've lived here since June...he looked at me like I had two heads 'cause the living room and dining room are completely empty :) All I use my apartment for is to sleep and eat, hence why a trailer would be a perfect fit for me, heck, it'd be an upgrade for me :)

I have a 2006 3360 R-Vision 37' Fifth Wheel Toy Hauler. My 2005 Chevy 2500 Diesel tows this with no problem. The last ticket that I got from a Cat Scale had my Rear Axle at just over 5,000 pounds and this was with the Garage Empty. Stock my truck was tired to just over 6,000 pounds, so even if it was completely stock it could handle this Toy Hauler.

So, there are Fifth Wheel Toy Haulers out there that are 3/4 ton towable. When I get ready to put this Fifth Wheel on the market (we just got a new to us Class A), I will be listing the weights to show that it is possible to tow it and still stay under the Manufacture's rated Rear Axle limits.

Good Luck, I hope you find something that will work for you.

Thanks Jerry!

I have looked at the Patriot as well, it's at the top of my list of non-sliders. B&W is a name I know well and trust as we've had several of their gooseneck hitches in our trucks on the farm, very well built hitches! I'll have to go measure my truck today and see what I come up with. In addition to a walled off garage, a rounded nose is another thing I look for, I may not need the extra clearance but peace of mind would be nice :)

~Lucas

So, Lucas, welcome to the forum! :)

I thought I'd add, on my Ford, the distance from axle center, to back of cab, is 41"s, yours should be about 42-43. I have towed several FWs, with several Ford 6'9" beds, and never came close to NEEDING a slider. My hitch pin center right now, is 40.5 inches behind my cab. Yes, You need to be aware/alert, when backing in tight, just like backing with a bumper pull.

A non slider is cheaper/lighter. I don't think bed rails are in the way, as much as many think. A B&W Patriot is an excellent choice in a rail hitch, and priced right too! Check at E-trailer.

Jerry

Wow, I wasn't really expecting so many judgemental and completely unhelpful/useless comments in a forum like this, I've always heard that the RV'ing community was better than that...

Greene728 wrote:
Not enough truck.

Really? Yeah, you're going to have to explain/justify that comment because as it is you just sound like a jealous Dodge guy who doesn't actually know anything about towing ;)

donn0128 wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
"but will spend little time actually going down the road so I'm not looking to shell out extra money for things that are really only needed for extended towing periods"

What equipment isn't needed when towing every two weeks for a hundred miles but is needed when towing every day for three hundred miles?

Whether your towing 10 or a thousand miles you still need the exact same stuff. Brake controler, hitch, trailer light/brake wiring.

Perhaps I should've spelled it out a little better, I didn't realize that seasoned RV'ers wouldn't understand the difference between a need and a want when it comes to equipment. What I was getting at is that I'm not interested in spending extra money for things that are only going to improve my comfort while towing because I'm only going to be towing the trailer once every 6 months or so as I move from one contract location to the next. As to your "What equipment isn't needed when towing every two weeks for a hundred miles but is needed when towing every day for three hundred miles?" question...lots of things. I don't NEED an airbag on the pin box or airbags on my truck to tow my trailer a couple hundred miles once every 6 months but if I was towing it a 1,000 miles every month I would probably WANT those items and they would probably be a good investment. I already have the brake controller and trailer wiring, missing the hitch which was my first question...which ironically enough nobody addressed at all.

donn0128 wrote:
So much done to the truck, so little of it any good for pulling. If your going to a fifth wheel, stick with something in the 10,000 pound GVWR range. Any more and you will be one umhappy camper. You do need to remember, toy haulers are probably some of the worst for heating andmcooling. That huge back door makes for lousy insulation.

"So much done to the truck, so little of it any good for pulling." Please explain. The only things not stock are the 'charger and the LSD, yeah, the LSD doesn't help towing really unless you happen to end up on sand or soft ground but it's not hurting my towing and as far as the 'charger goes, if you think that isn't a huge help for towing then you need to share what you're smoking because it's apparently some good stuff. I've been trying to stay in the 8,000-9,000 lb dry weight range when I look even though I know the advertised numbers aren't usually correct, it's someplace to start until I get serious about a unit enough to put it on a scale. The heaviest things I'll be putting in the garage are a W/D, a 400lb motorcycle and a toolbox that weighs around 300 lbs. I travel very light as far as clothing and household items, everything I have in my apartment right now will fit in the back seat and under my tonneau cover. As to toy haulers being the hardest to heat/cool, yeah, that was my first thought when I started looking at them. That's why I'm trying to find one that has an actual wall between the garage and the living area, that should help a little but it's just something I'll have to live with as I need the garage for my bike and toolbox.

Dutchmen Sport & MFL, thank you for your non-judgemental comments.
Dutchmen - I get what you're saying in your sig line and I've done it both ways, much more comfortable being overprepared and never needing it :)
MFL - Good info there and thank you for the tip on GM's having a longer axle center, I'll have to do some measuring in addition to my planned trip to the scale with my truck.

~Lucas

Lwiddis wrote:
"but will spend little time actually going down the road so I'm not looking to shell out extra money for things that are really only needed for extended towing periods"

What equipment isn't needed when towing every two weeks for a hundred miles but is needed when towing every day for three hundred miles?

Whether your towing 10 or a thousand miles you still need the exact same stuff. Brake controler, hitch, trailer light/brake wiring.

"but will spend little time actually going down the road so I'm not looking to shell out extra money for things that are really only needed for extended towing periods"

What equipment isn't needed when towing every two weeks for a hundred miles but is needed when towing every day for three hundred miles?

Toy haulers generally have more pin weight, about 25 percent, compared to a normal 5th wheel being closer to 20 percent. This means a possible pin wt of 3K, if looking at a Toy hauler with 12K GVWR. You will need to weigh your truck, loaded ready to go, full fuel, weigh rear axle to see what is left, before going over RAWR/tire max rating.

RVs normally do not have to stop at DOT scales. As to being a target with triple axle, if you look like you are way over weight, look unsafe to be towing whatever rig, you could get pulled over by any LEO.

GMs have a longer axle center, to back of cab, than others. You may not need a sliding hitch. Many do not, depending on front of trailer design, and if pin box extends to front.

Jerry