Big 5th wheel towing opinions.

[Bldrinker]

I’m looking for something like this. Rather not have to go to Texas to get it lol. 

 

[J Alper]

40 foot to me is not really a big 5th wheel, about average size,  any 3/4-1 ton truck should be fine,  most do it all the time,     a lot of 5th wheels now are hitting the 45 foot and 47 foot mark that will be a big beast that should be towed with a Dually, 

My WW, was heavy and was around 40 foot and I towed it with a single wheel F250 Short bed and was super stable,   

So are we really talking 40-foot or 43ish and bigger,  yes it makes a difference, 

A true 40 just aint that big, 

and 

YES the sliding hitch to me is not worth being in the Sport just not enough time on this planet to F with the issues of the sliding hitch,  Dangerously heavy to get in and out,  any mistake getting out and can be some damage to the truck or yourself just not worth it, 

The best option for a short bed is a pivot box style hitch, they are amazing and can get the truck almost facing back to the trailer, works great for short beds and can then use a light weight hitch 

DANGER watch your self,   so far 3 close friends have broke the Anderson Aluminum hitch,   one broke out of a tuck and destroyed the tailgate on his platinum F250 almost 5K in damage,  another close friend had cracks in it we welded it up and added more gussets, and another clapped,  Stay away from the Anderson, 

Really anytime you modify the stock trailer box, you should ask yourself ?   

You can run a G or E rated tire on both the trailer and the Truck, Running a D rated tire on the Truck towing is just dumb,  common sense should tell you that any 3/4 or 1 ton truck should have E or better,  Most larger bumper pulls are in the 16K weight, 

Large 5th wheels will get into the 21K range of weight,  

If you run a Short bed truck look at the 5th airborne hitch that reese took over,      

 

[J Alper]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEpqGdXDtZw&t=31s

this is the link for the 5th airborne they work amazing 

 

[J Alper]

 

[J Alper]

 

[lincster]

2 ways to look at the weight/tow ratings question.

Do you want to stay within the tow ratings of the truck or not?

If the answer is NO, then buy the SRW and hook up and go.

Any "newerish" diesel, since 2005 or so, has plenty of juice to handle a rig like that.

If you want to stay within the tow ratings of the truck, only way to be sure if to weigh everything.

The 2018 F350 SRW you showed will be around 7700-8000lbs with full fuel and no passengers.

I scaled my F350 Dually and it came in at 8248lbs with full fuel, no passengers and 5th wheel hitch in the back.

From there it is simple math to determine the most weight you can tow.

For the question on short/long bed, I won't have a 5th wheel without a long bed.

The long bed makes everything so much easier for maneuvering etc.  

 

[Bldrinker]

40 foot to me is not really a big 5th wheel, about average size,  any 3/4-1 ton truck should be fine,  most do it all the time,     a lot of 5th wheels now are hitting the 45 foot and 47 foot mark that will be a big beast that should be towed with a Dually, 

My WW, was heavy and was around 40 foot and I towed it with a single wheel F250 Short bed and was super stable,   

So are we really talking 40-foot or 43ish and bigger,  yes it makes a difference, 

A true 40 just aint that big, 

and 

YES the sliding hitch to me is not worth being in the Sport just not enough time on this planet to F with the issues of the sliding hitch,  Dangerously heavy to get in and out,  any mistake getting out and can be some damage to the truck or yourself just not worth it, 

The best option for a short bed is a pivot box style hitch, they are amazing and can get the truck almost facing back to the trailer, works great for short beds and can then use a light weight hitch 

DANGER watch your self,   so far 3 close friends have broke the Anderson Aluminum hitch,   one broke out of a tuck and destroyed the tailgate on his platinum F250 almost 5K in damage,  another close friend had cracks in it we welded it up and added more gussets, and another clapped,  Stay away from the Anderson, 

Really anytime you modify the stock trailer box, you should ask yourself ?   

You can run a G or E rated tire on both the trailer and the Truck, Running a D rated tire on the Truck towing is just dumb,  common sense should tell you that any 3/4 or 1 ton truck should have E or better,  Most larger bumper pulls are in the 16K weight, 

Large 5th wheels will get into the 21K range of weight,  

If you run a Short bed truck look at the 5th airborne hitch that reese took over,      

Trailer we are looking at is 39’ and change.  
 

I just sold my bumper pull stealth that was 37’ tongue to bumper. It was 10k empty and 13k loaded. 
 

So I might be a touch shorter on overall length but will weigh empty what I used to be loaded. Hence the truck upgrade. 
 

Truck will be minimum E rated. I think Toyo has an F rated I will look into. 
 

I think an F350 will be fine like shown above. 
 

Gonna wait a few weeks and see if prices come down any. They came down the last 2 weeks. 

 

[Bobalos]

7 hours ago, J Alper said:

This is interesting.  its moving the pivot point back on the hitch instead of in the truck. 

I gotta wonder how good that kind of maneuvering is on the axles on the trailer.  Maybe not a huge deal on a solid axle/leaf spring setup, but I know how much my Torsion ones get cranked on when I do that kind of stuff on my trailer.  I can see the tire camber in/out, if I crank on it hard....  I would guess if its occasionally, its not a big deal..

 

[danwalker]

7 hours ago, J Alper said:

I have a 2019 F250 short bed, replaced my pin box on my WW 3505 with this Reese Sidewinder. Works absolutely perfect! Air bag in the hitch makes a huge difference.

Definitely the way to go.

 

[tjZ06]

I towed a LE3505+2' (about 40' total) and a Genesis Envy 34A (38' 2 or 3" total,. but very heavy for the size) with over 3300lbs pin-weight, might have been over 3500, with my '11 Chevy Silverado 2500HD crew cab standard bed and it worked extremely well. 

Speaking of beds, time for a TJ rant... a ~6.5' bed is NOT a short bed.  It's a standard/regular bed.  Most of the manufacturers just label them by length with no short/standard/long "title" but GM does give them a name, the ~6.5' bed is standard: 



Only the 1500 gets a ~5.75' short bed: 



Okay, rant over..

The Envy was around 17k lbs loaded.  Before buying the Envy I got new wheels/tires for my truck with incresed weight capacity, the wheels are rated at 4,500lbs each, but the best I could do on tires was right around 4k (80psi load range F load range).  My truck has air bags, is deleted and tuned.  It's also lifted ~4.5" on 35x12.5-18"s.  When I had my 5'ers previously I only leveled the truck and stayed with a ~33" tire.  However, after the Warriors we went to RVs for a while and I lifted the truck.  When we went back to a 5'er I regretted the extra lift and bigger tires *a little bit.*  Of course, we then sold the 5'er and went back to an RV, so now I don't regret it at all, lol. 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, the point is my truck was way over GVWR on paper with the Envy, and most would say you "need" a dually for the pin weight it had.  But my truck did great with it and it towed extremely well, very stable and plenty of power/brrakes.  The *only* change I would have made if I kept it would be gearing the truck a bit (still on stock 3.73s) for some of the mountain camping we did.  Leaving a particular site we liked there was a stretch several miles long where you don't get enough speed to get up high enough in 2nd for the torque converter to lock, so it built more trans heat than usual (still under 220 degrees).  4.10s or 4.56s would have gotten it into torque converter lock.  

 

Now, all of that said, if I was buying a truck specifically for towing a "big" 40'+ 5'er I'd get a dually.  I'm just saying it can be done safely with a SRW.  If I was buying a truck for a 5'er at this point there's no question it'd be a F450.  I like the 6.7/10-speed combo a lot (had it in my '21 Thor Magnitude on a 4x4 F550 platform, and that was the de-rated 6.7, the F450 gets the full 475/1050 HP/TQ) and Ford is the only one putting a pickup box on a greater-than-one-ton truck right now.  The F450 costs about the same as F350 but has way bigger axles and brakes, and a much tighter turning radius.  It just seems like a no-brainer for a rig specifically purchased for a 5'er.  

-TJ

 

[Cookie]

I used to have a WW LE3705, I towed it with a 2006 F250 long bed (6.0) for a couple of years, towed roughly $10,000 miles (maybe more) with it since I was using it as a Mobile Showroom for my business at the time.  Zero issues, I did upgrade the tires and added Air bags.  That 6.0 got lemon lawed, then I got dually.

The Dually will always feel more stable, especially on mtn roads, but the Single Real Wheel towed great.  Towing 5th wheels are a dream compared to a bumper pull.   My only recommendation, get the long bed, the wheelbase does make the ride smoother and gives you a bit more room for firewood.

 

[Darkjuju]

I have a 2018 RAM 2500 Mega cab, I tow a 34GSXL (36'). Knowing that the pin weight was going to be over I invested in replacing the rear coil suspension with a Kedlemans airbag system which boosted my payload rating to 4000lbs and adding the light weight Anderson hitch (I know everyone hates these) plus upgrading my tires to 35" @ 3750lb rating each I feel I have a very save tow rig for this load, 2 1/2 years running no issues other than I need another set of tires at 35k.

I took a trailer blow out @ 70 coming out of the mountain from Quartzite down into Ehrenberg anyone that runs from Phoenix to Glamis knows how bad sections of that concrete is, I was able to keep it under control and limp to the Chevron exit. 

 

[Jersey_Jeff73]

if a dulley is a option get it but for what you are doing 3/4 to will work. i had a 1999 f350 drw towed a 48 ft race trailer across the country back and forth 6 times the last time the trailer brakes failed going down a hill. I could not keep the trucks speed down and i started at the top at 35mph and about 100 at the bottom scarry Crap. got a 2017 450 now the brakes on the 450 are massive.   my gross truck and trailer was 36k it was loaded perfect ever tire had 3k.   18k on the truck 18k on the trailer axels it towed great with either truck

 

[J Alper]

Dually VS non dually i think determines day to day driving.

If you drive it every day, i am pretty sure a dually will wear you out,  parking fuel ect... 

My Dually is only really for towing and i drive it about twice a month non towing.

Everyday Driving   I think i would want to stay with a Standard/short-bed   

 

[GBR]

Dually VS non dually i think determines day to day driving.

If you drive it every day, i am pretty sure a dually will wear you out,  parking fuel ect...

I go with Jason on this I have had both really liked the dually for towing 38' TH hated it for everything else, 3/4  SRW pulled the same trailer just fine with no problems the dually is just a more stable feeling. I went DP and enclosed, we travel for other things can pull the jeep and moho is really comfy to travel with. If you are going Ford I would do the F450 as talked about earlier.

 

[Bldrinker]

I towed a LE3505+2' (about 40' total) and a Genesis Envy 34A (38' 2 or 3" total,. but very heavy for the size) with over 3300lbs pin-weight, might have been over 3500, with my '11 Chevy Silverado 2500HD crew cab standard bed and it worked extremely well. 

Speaking of beds, time for a TJ rant... a ~6.5' bed is NOT a short bed.  It's a standard/regular bed.  Most of the manufacturers just label them by length with no short/standard/long "title" but GM does give them a name, the ~6.5' bed is standard: 

View attachment 10801

Only the 1500 gets a ~5.75' short bed: 

View attachment 10802

Okay, rant over..

The Envy was around 17k lbs loaded.  Before buying the Envy I got new wheels/tires for my truck with incresed weight capacity, the wheels are rated at 4,500lbs each, but the best I could do on tires was right around 4k (80psi load range F load range).  My truck has air bags, is deleted and tuned.  It's also lifted ~4.5" on 35x12.5-18"s.  When I had my 5'ers previously I only leveled the truck and stayed with a ~33" tire.  However, after the Warriors we went to RVs for a while and I lifted the truck.  When we went back to a 5'er I regretted the extra lift and bigger tires *a little bit.*  Of course, we then sold the 5'er and went back to an RV, so now I don't regret it at all, lol. 

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, the point is my truck was way over GVWR on paper with the Envy, and most would say you "need" a dually for the pin weight it had.  But my truck did great with it and it towed extremely well, very stable and plenty of power/brrakes.  The *only* change I would have made if I kept it would be gearing the truck a bit (still on stock 3.73s) for some of the mountain camping we did.  Leaving a particular site we liked there was a stretch several miles long where you don't get enough speed to get up high enough in 2nd for the torque converter to lock, so it built more trans heat than usual (still under 220 degrees).  4.10s or 4.56s would have gotten it into torque converter lock.  

 

Now, all of that said, if I was buying a truck specifically for towing a "big" 40'+ 5'er I'd get a dually.  I'm just saying it can be done safely with a SRW.  If I was buying a truck for a 5'er at this point there's no question it'd be a F450.  I like the 6.7/10-speed combo a lot (had it in my '21 Thor Magnitude on a 4x4 F550 platform, and that was the de-rated 6.7, the F450 gets the full 475/1050 HP/TQ) and Ford is the only one putting a pickup box on a greater-than-one-ton truck right now.  The F450 costs about the same as F350 but has way bigger axles and brakes, and a much tighter turning radius.  It just seems like a no-brainer for a rig specifically purchased for a 5'er.  

-TJ

What would you do if you had budget of a 120k for truck and trailer total? 
 

Im just an average Joe with a broke mans budget. 

 

[Hondajimz]

What would you do if you had budget of a 120k for truck and trailer total? 
 

Im just an average Joe with a broke mans budget. 

I would pay cash for a used truck / trailer and put the rest of the money back in the bank. 

 

[tjZ06]

What would you do if you had budget of a 120k for truck and trailer total? 
 

Im just an average Joe with a broke mans budget. 

IDK if $120k is a broke man's budget!  In sane times, before 2020, I would prob try to find a used late-model F450 (sure, it won't have the 10-speed but still has the updated 6.7 and all the other advantages) and a used Momentum 5'er.  2 years ago that could be pretty easily done for $60k/ea == $120k total.  Now?  Crap I don't know... prob have to pay $120k just for the truck.   

-TJ

 

[tjZ06]

I would pay cash for a used truck / trailer and put the rest of the money back in the bank. 

The rest?  I guess you haven't looked at used truck/trailer prices lately...

-TJ
 

 

[Bldrinker]

IDK if $120k is a broke man's budget!  In sane times, before 2020, I would prob try to find a used late-model F450 (sure, it won't have the 10-speed but still has the updated 6.7 and all the other advantages) and a used Momentum 5'er.  2 years ago that could be pretty easily done for $60k/ea == $120k total.  Now?  Crap I don't know... prob have to pay $120k just for the truck.   

-TJ

I found the trailer it’s going to be about 69k

truck is going to be minimum 45k and they have atleast 100,000 miles. And that’s single tire 1ton