Truck Shopping for Fiver

[JAL_Camper]

It's been awhile since I have been on the boards. Looking to move from the current lashup ('02 Suburban 2500 LT, 8.1l / '05 Jayco Eagle 29 BHS TT) to a Fiver and Truck.

Settled on a Jayco Eagle Fiver 336FBOK

Unloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs) 11,745
Dry Pin Weight (lbs) 2,215
GRVW (lbs) 13,750

Total Exterior Length 39' 8"
Exterior Travel Length (Pin box to bumper) 38' 9"

Going with a 3500 Diesel, Club Cab.

Questions:
1. Long Bed or Short (6'4")?
2. If short bed, sliding hitch -- Manual or automatic?
3. DRW or SRW?
3. Minimum Payload (The range has been 4,200 - 5,500 in my searching, only duallies so far)
4. Minimum Towing Capacity? (Range has been 23k - 30k, so I'm OK there so far)
5. Fuel Tank / In-Bed Aux Fuel. So far it's been 31 or 50 on the truck. Think I'll be OK with 50 and not have to add an In-Bed Aux Fuel.)

Regarding slider hitch - RV Dealer told me most ppl never use it. (I assume they are not backing up at sharp angles and/or have tapered front on their fiver?)

This will be the biggest (and likely last) RV as we are both now retired and plan to do extensive travelling and will be in the Rockies and other high elevations.

Thanks in advance to all your input!

[cummins2014]

alboy wrote:
I had 3.42 in our 2015 ram Dually pulling 17500 lbs, the sweet spot is 1700 -1900 rpm towing,empty loved the 3.42 lots of power

No way in the world would 4:10's be needed for the OP's weight, especially with the Aisin , and the lower first two gears then the 68RFE that I tow with .

[cummins2014]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Get the AISIN Trans, Factory Rear air Ride and 4.10's. You WILL thank me!!!

The AISIN is in many Medium Duty applications and is truly bullet proof.

Get the larger fuel tank as it WILL bring you more than $295 on future sale.

I don't think RAM offers the 3.42's any longer.

Yet your previous truck had 3:42's , and if not mistaken you said it did a great job. I too have 3:42, and although the Asian is a great transmission, the 68RFE does a great job for me towing a 13,500- 14000 fifth wheel. If I was going with a new Ram, yes the Aisin .

As far as 3;42's no idea if it is offered now, but with the torque ,and HP of the new Rams, I would still stay with 3:42 if offered , unless I was hooked up to that fifth wheel everyday, then I might go 3:73. Knowing what I know on how well 3:42's are with what I tow with a 2014 Cummins, no way in the world would I go 4:10's with my weight or what the OP is towing, 13,750 GVWR .

[4x4ord]

Your 2015 was capable of making 285 hp at 1800 rpm. On the level at 65 mph you probably used about 140 hp towing your 17500 lb rv so you had plenty of reserve power available to take on modest hills without downshifting. The 2015 Cummins needs to be turning about 2550 rpm before it can make the kind of power that the 2021 makes at 1800 rpm. I believe the new engine would be even more comfortable towing at 1500 rpm than your 2015 was at 1800.

[alboy]

I had 3.42 in our 2015 ram Dually pulling 17500 lbs, the sweet spot is 1700 -1900 rpm towing,empty loved the 3.42 lots of power

[4x4ord]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Get the AISIN Trans, Factory Rear air Ride and 4.10's. You WILL thank me!!!

The AISIN is in many Medium Duty applications and is truly bullet proof.

Get the larger fuel tank as it WILL bring you more than $295 on future sale.

I don't think RAM offers the 3.42's any longer.

Why 4.10 gears? You’ve got 4.10 gears pulling your rig with only 865 lbft of torque and it likely works fine. With 1075 lbft of torque 3.73 would work very well for towing. At 1800 rpm the Cummins is capable of making 368 hp ..... you certainly don’t need to be running at 1800 rpm while towing a 16000 lb fiver down the highway. 3.73s would put the engine at 1550 rpm at 65 mph vs 1700 rpm with 4.10 gears.

[ACZL]

^^^^^^^^^ What he said ^^^^^^^^^^^

[Cummins12V98]

Get the AISIN Trans, Factory Rear air Ride and 4.10's. You WILL thank me!!!

The AISIN is in many Medium Duty applications and is truly bullet proof.

Get the larger fuel tank as it WILL bring you more than $295 on future sale.

I don't think RAM offers the 3.42's any longer.

[JAL_Camper]

Everyone: Thank you all so much for your responses! Super helpful!

Due to price, likely going with 2021 RAM Bighorn with some add ons. Mid $60's. Can't see going $10-$20k more for the Limited or Laramie. Since my current TV will no longer be a teenager this year, I think I'll be fine with what's in the Bighorn.

To answer a few questions that came up:
Diesel -- Yes going with that (was in original post)
Fuel Tank -- It's my understanding that RAM standard tank size is 31-32 gallons. It's a $295 option to go with the 50 gal. Seems like it's about half and half what out there. I'm looking more for convenience (stretching and walking at a rest area instead of fuel stop) and driving past higher fuel prices.
I've only seen 6 speed tranny in the RAMs I've come across. Current TV has 4 speed, so the 6 will seem nice.

Further Questions:
Seems like the 4.10 gears get you 30k towing while the 3.42 seems to be at 24k, more than enough for us. How much will fuel economy (or lack there of) differ in these two?

Thanks, again!

[jdc1]

Go drive that truck. DRW trucks are not easy to park in crowded areas. Take your wife....let her drive it on a freeway.

[ACZL]

FWIW, IMO, 1 ton SRW, short box a/ aftermarket midship replacement tank. Slider.....no. Yes a 3/4 ton will do, but jumping up to a 1 ton gives you more truck GVW in case you ever add/carry things or even perhaps get a larger 5er (to a point). I do miss my short box, but truck is what it is in sig. Agree w/ others---go diesel if towing in high elevations.

[4x4ord]

All these questions you have are personal taste questions. I’d go with a Ford srw short box and be content with the smaller fuel tank but if having fuel for more than 350 miles is important to you, you could either just go to a long box which has a bigger tank or add an after market fuel tank.

[Cummins12V98]

55" top back corner of bed with 6k pin or solo with Factory Rear Air.

[ford_truck_guy]

miltvill wrote:
As already stated a long bed ford has a 48 gallon tank and a long bed Chevy/GMC has a 38 gallon tank. Not sure what a long bed Ram's tank size is. Just make sure you get a small step ladder. They are making them really tall these days.

my 2020 sits 2" lower in the rear than my 2015 did.

[miltvill]

As already stated a long bed ford has a 48 gallon tank and a long bed Chevy/GMC has a 38 gallon tank. Not sure what a long bed Ram's tank size is. Just make sure you get a small step ladder. They are making them really tall these days.

[IdaD]

Grit dog wrote:
That camper will easily pull behind any short bed 3/4 ton, on up truck.
Personal preference as to dually vs srw is your real consideration.
Half the people will say dually ,some will say srw. All will be “right.”
The rest of the options are generally personal preference as well save for the possible necessity of a slider with a short bed. But that is either you need it or you don’t. Not a question of what others think.

This exactly. The only thing I'd add is get a diesel since you will be towing at elevation.

I've had great luck with my 2015 CTD Ram. If I were buying a new truck today, I think I'd go Duramax for the non-CP4 injection pump and more gears in the transmission. Although I do think the 2021 Rams dropped the CP4 so I would still consider it and truthfully a 6 speed trans isn't exactly torture even if it's a bit of a drawback these days. Lots of guys love Powerstrokes and they're very capable trucks but diesel Fords aren't really my thing, just my opinion on that point based on my perception of track record.