Buying Fifth Wheel Trailer, Any Tips Welcomed

[DwayneKelch]

Experienced RVers,



Sold my home and want to full-time RV for a year or so. Have never owned a fifth wheel trailer, but looks like a better option than a motor home (I previously owned one) or travel trailer.



Since I'm new to this arena, I would like some help from those with 5er experience. I have done some research, but the more I do, the fuzzier my head becomes. However, I have come to a few conclusions:



1. I/we (wife included) want a 4 season coach w/3 slides, ranging in length from 34 - 37 feet.



2. Want a used 5er 2000 - 2002. Leaning towards Alfa, Nu-Wa, Newmar, and Sea Breeze (National RV).



3. Must be able to hold a stackable (not combo) washer/dryer.



4. Must have good axles, suspension, and G rated tires. What's best, Torq-flex, leaf springs, etc... ?



5. Want good, strong slides. Is hydraulic or electric motor better?



6. Need good A/C and heat units. Must be able to heat well in Alaska winters, and cool well in Arkansas summers.



7. Must be known for longevity/quality.



Doesn't necessarily have to have all the glamorous things, just functional and dependable. Something that won't shake apart on the ALCAN.



Ordered a new 2004. 5 (only 'cause I couldn't find a 2004 equipped the way I wanted it... you guys bought up the good ones) 3500 4x4 QC ETH/DEE to tow with. Will be equipped with an exhaust brake. Looking at the B&W turn-over goose-neck ball and companion 5er hitch... any others? Too, will install Brakesmart brake controller. Lots of other mods, but will have to add those when the wife isn't looking.



Okay, I have pad and pencil ready to take notes. Oo. Oo. Oo.



Thanks.



Dwayne

 

[B.G. Smith]

#1. I would go with the shortest unit that will fill your requirements. #2. I have a Newmar, good unit, if I were buying right now I would look hard a New Vision. #3. Ok. #4. The new Mor-Ride looks good. I think it is a Dexter unit. #5. Stay with electric. I don't know about all hydraulic slides but some of them are dead in the water if you have motor failure or leak whereas the electic I have had have mechanical hand crank capabilities where yoou can move them in or out. #6. With a unit as large as you are talking about you may need two AC units and heaters. #7. This one gets sticky. Several manufacturers rant about their quality but most still have quality control problems. (They still use people to put them together, right?) There are several web sites that sell/display used units. To get what you want, you may have to special order a new unit. Barry, who is the moderator of this forum is a reputable and very helpful dealer. Another thought, if I were just getting into this business, I would consider buying the most inexpensive unit I could find that fit my needs and learn from there. It's tough to buy what you think is the best and then be dissatisfied (and stuck ) with a very expsnsive unit. Just my opinion. bg

 

[Vic]

Think you've covered all the important stuff. We've towed an estimated (actually towing) 150,000 miles with three different fifth wheels over the past 11 years and had a two bearing and several tire problems, but you're already on to getting robust axles/tires. (I learned that late. )



The only thing I'd suggest you consider is getting one of the air ride hitches. There are several different types available that have been discussed on this site (do a search). I've towed with one for three years... and wouldn't be without it on long trips (We're just back from wintering in the south... arriving to snow here yesterday and today!!!! ).



As to length, different strokes for different folks, of course. My three fivers have been 26', 30' and currently 28' ... handy for smaller sites and frequent moves. We like to move around. If we planned to park for long periods and then move to another long stay location, we'd probably have something larger, but ours works fine for us. Two rigs have had slides (including currently), both electric. No problems. But you might look into what the mechanism has for manual operation. We looked at one that was really awkward/inaccessible.



Have fun (If it's not fun, it's not worth doing). .

 

[willyslover]

suggest you look close at the hitch... have read many sites while I was looking and came to the conclusion that a G/N hitch with an 5er adapter is nowhere as good as a 5er hitch [ala a Reese or PullRight or any other good brand]with G/N adapter much more stable for long term use with no ill affect on the use for G/N. . short term use no matter which way you go



I also HIGHLY recommend Barry Millet as a source for your rig , advise or just plain old great friendship !

 

[J&LRam]

DEWAYNE

go to rv.net and Irv2.com webs for more info and answers... ... JIM

 

[DwayneKelch]

All,



Appreciate the info. Looks like I should consider a smaller coach and a different hitch system than I originally planned. Will take a look at the websites mentioned by Jim.



It appears a person would be well advised to take their time and do lots, and lots of research. Need to get more paper and pencils (lots of mistakes, you know).



Thanks for sharing your experience and hope to be in a new home soon.





Dwayne

 

[mbaston]

and, make sure who is doing your hitch work really knows what they are doing with a Dodge. I have seen some crazy stuff including a tack welded on hitch that broke loose... not a pretty site.



Also, look at Keystone products. The Montana is currently the top selling 5th wheel; I just bought one and I have pulled several. Nice rigs. I think the 2908 is a fantastic layout.

 

[GFrance]

We have a 32ft Everest made by Keystone who's owned by Thor.

We really like the floor plan model 323p tripple slide, well insulated, hydrolic slides. Ive had electric slides & had several problems on another 5vr we had. Ours has hook up for all in one washer & dryer but we will never use it most camp grounds have laundry fac. Why pack unnecessary weight? The two oppossing slides really open up the living area. More counter space than alot of others we looked at.

Good luck in your quest.

Glenn

 

[cwsoules]

Take the time to look at the weight of your intended unit. As you haver your truck look up the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating)and GCWR (Gross combined weight rating) for your truck. Then have it weighed with all the stuff, including passengers, you expect to have in the truck. You can estimate the weight of the hitch. Now GVWR - truck weight = max pin weight of your loaded 5er. GCWR - truck weight = max weight of the loaded trailer. I recommend using the trailer GVWR as it's weight. Estimate pin weight at 20% of 5er GVWR. I listened to a sales man and estimated that my loaded 5er would be well under it's GVWR. Actual result is I am about 200# over the truck GVWR and 400# under GCWR. I should have ordered a 3500, or purchased a lighter 5er.



My hitch is a RBW and I would have no other. When it snaps closed when hooking up, there is no way that 5er will get loose from my truck.



Enjoy your travels. We part time but ahve put 35,000 miles on the 5er and 74,000 on the truck in 4 years.

 

[dhauser]

Dwayne, punch up Trailer Saver on the net. I too sold house, purchased 5er, yadda yadda yadda and we are going to be full timing for a year or two. I just recieved my Trailer Saver hitch and it is one QUALITY piece of gear. I haven't towed yet as we will pick up our trailer next week but a buddy at work installed one after towing his rig 35,000 mi. He said it was like night and day and he would never use anything else. One thing I liked was all the welding is done by certified welders and the design has been tested by an outside lab facility. I won't be going up the Alcan but I am hedging my bet and I purchased what I thaught was the best hitch on the market. Best of luck, hope to see you on the road, Dave

 

[RMcCulloch]

Dwayne,



I'm another one of the Montana advocates.



While my floorplan doesn't support the stackables, many do.



We've been quite comfortable at -25F outside, +75F inside. Of course, one of our primary shopping concerns was the "R-values" of the insulation.



As others have said, take a good look at the air suspension hitches: my EasyRider has saved my tailbone, my truck's rear axle, and my trailer's frame.



Good luck!

 

[DwayneKelch]

Received great info from everyone... lots to consider. Will have to quit my job so I can start looking, countrywide, at 5ers.



My wife is focused on the Alfa Gold. Trying to get her to realize there are other good 5er makers out there. Think I gained some ground there... actually someone she works with recommended the Montana and Big Sky, and of course she listened to them. Funny how that works.



Really like the Newmar products, but they get heavy when you get past 34 feet. The r-value is important, so that narrows the search a little. I'm a patient person, but this 5er buying rattles my nerves. Fortunately, we have great friends we're staying with now. They told us we're welcome to stay as long as we need to.



The reason I sold home is to get away from Colorado and my job. Want to relocate to Missouri or Arkansas, waiting on job offers now. If nothing by end of May, I'm heading for Alaska to fish for a couple months. At least there's water there so I can fish... haven't put my boat in the water in almost a year.



Appreciate the info everyone provided... the more, the better. Thanks.





Dwayne

 

[BarryG]

I just got doing some research on hitches as I am contemplating getting a fiver myself. After doing a lot of reading and asking a lot of questions to people who use various hitches as well as trailer manufactureres. I personally decided to use the B&W with the companion hitch. Reasons are I need a clean bed when not towing the trailer (I use my bed quite a bit), need to be able to pull a gooseneck on occasion. Every one I talked with who has one regarded them very highly. The companion is not the same as a gooseneck adapter. Most trailer manufacturers will not warranty the trailer if using a gooseneck adapter as it puts too much stress on the box however there are some manufacturers that can and will reinforce their box for use with a gooseneck/adapters but not many. Not saying the B&W w/companion is the very best 5'r hitch just a very viable alternative for my needs.



Also in doing my research I ran across a group called rvcg (rv consumer group) who puts out an annual rating of rv. 's from diesel pushers all way to pop up tent trailers. It is well worth looking at. You can join the group, buy the book or do what I did and just go to the library and look at it. Is it unbiased, not for sure but it didn't appear to be biased. It is just one more tool to use when making the decision. Their website is www.rv.org , happy hunting their are enough choices out there to make your head spin.

 

[BJMarshall]

My wife and I have been in ours a little over a year now. We did a lot of looking before we bought. We really liked the Glendale. We've got a 32E37DS I think. It's got 2 slides and a stacked washer and dryer. I've only pulled it 2 or 3000 miles, but it pulls great. We were in GA last summer and the air ran non stop on the 100 degree days, but it stayed 75 inside. The winter was no problem. The heater would heat the trailer from 30 to 65 in less than 20 minutes.

We're about ready to move back in to a house and settle down. Email me if you are interested.

 

[Driftwood Ram]

Alfa

I own a 2000 Alfa Ideal 31RL and would not buy another Alfa. Get with Barry on this site. He has helped others.

Tracy

 

[Radshooter]

Have not seen this addressed yet, and if I mised it, sorry for repeating. Depending on how long and heavy your rig is, you may want to think about a doubly dually setup for your axles instead of triple singles. We have triples on our rig, and scrub the tires pretty badly sometimes on tight turns or jacknifing into sites. Our neighbor has the same length rig as ours, but with double dual axles. He loves them. They don't scrub near as bad as my triple.

Take your time. We spent about 1 year researching before we bought ours and are very happy with it.

 

[DwayneKelch]

All,



Whew, information overload. However, through this thread, my eyes have been opened up to things I haven't considered before. All the replies have been very helpful... more work for me, but well worth researching all the tips.



There are a lot of good to great fifth wheel trailers out there. Just need to select the one that will fit our needs the best. Hey, you think the manufacturers would get together and build a hybrid fifth wheel trailer?



Well, off I go again. Didn't put this much effort into buying my truck. Then again, I already knew I was buying the best... Cummins anyways. Thanks to all.



Dwayne

 

[Dick R]

buying a 5th wheel

so far all the advise is excellent , but i found out the hard way one should check into the construction of the prospective unit , especialy the construction of the walls in the case the camper would have fiberglass walls , (seperation) of the siding , the unit I had purchased new , had fiberglass walls and did just that , caused by a small water leak in a place it could not be seen , the water leached between the foam into the wood that seperates the fiberglass from the foam , from what I was told by the company that will be repairing my camper is that( NOT) all campers have fiberglass walls constructed in this fashion and if I would have known this to be a problem I would have looked at other brands besides the unit I had purchased , and mine listed at 32000. 00 for a 27 footer ? something to consider . Dick R

 

[Loren]

Dwayne,



Here's some more information because you don't have enough to think about yet...



1) Also consider a Holiday Rambler fifth wheel. We've had two of their travel trailers, a 1970 and a 1995. We like the aluminum frame construction. Even if the roof or sidewall leaks, there is no wood frame to rot.



2) I want to repeat the advice (from B. G. Smith) to buy a used, smaller unit and trade up after you really know what you will want. Trailers are like boats; you will never get the right one the first time.



3) Whenever your truck is hitched to the trailer, have a padlock on the hitch. There are people out there who will unlatch your hitch while you are eating breakfast or paying for your fuel. When you pull out, your trailer will drop onto the truck bed, damaging both trailer and truck.



4) Go to RV campgrounds and talk to the people there. Ask what trailer they would like to have and why.



5) Realize how heavy the trailer will be. A fifth-wheel with three slide-outs is going to overload just about any pickup. Our Avion (not recommended) with two slide-outs weighs 14,000 pounds ready to travel.



6) Three axles will scuff tires badly in turns, but will provide 50% more braking. This assumes that all axles have brakes. Make sure they do.



7) We removed the washer/dryer and the nice, Flexsteel recliner from the Avion because I wanted to get the weight down. I would never carry a washer/dryer again. You can always find a laundry, and the machines weigh hundreds of pounds.



Happy hunting,

Loren

 

[Casey Balvert]

I agree with Radshooter that the tandem duals is the way to go for heavy rigs instead of three axles. The Dexter duals are rated at 9,000 pounds each and the tubes are huge. Those babies are built. I don't know of any make but Newmar that has them however. My trailer came standard with two 7,000 pound axles and after putting the rig on the CAT scales on our way south recently those axles would have been close to the limit of their capacity. Instead with the duals I had 4,000 pounds to play with, not that I would ever need it but nice to know it is there.



This is our second Newmar and we are happy with it. Our first one was still like new after 7 seasons but we wanted a larger unit. But they are heavy because they are built solid. This rig weighed 18,000 on our trip south recently, and is one of the shorter rigs in the Mountain Aire line and has two slides. The water tank was half full. My wife loaded that thing up with all sorts of stuff for the trip down and I am in the process of removing a lot of junk we never needed to bring it more in line with the truck's 16,000 pound tow rating. Even then we will be about 1,000 over the GCWR. A triple slide in this line will put you into MDT territory unfortunately. The American Star and Kountry Star models are somewhat lighter and may provide a better alternative in triple slide models.



We use the Pullrite hitch and I am very happy with it. They make a good solid unit that is built like a tank and will last you for the rest of your life if you maintain it.



I strongly suggest narrowing your trailer search to 2 or 3 makes and then take a factory tour of each to see what is under the fancy trim they put on. We did that 7 years ago and it sure opened our eyes. We were down to two makes and after taking a tour of the first factory, we totally removed that unit from the list. We were just disgusted with the shoddy work. A tour of the Newmar plant the next day convinced us which unit to buy. Good luck in your search.



Casey