Bought a 5th wheel..

[dzldpatriot]

... now all the questions will start! Went to the RV show in our area with check book in hand for a TT we had been looking at previously. Dealer was not there, but we stumbled across a nice 5th wheel we all liked. We bought a 27' . It weigh's in at 7,200# with a pin weight of 1,100#. Not too familiar with "Wildcat by Forrest River", but it seemed to be well built; insulated tanks, smooth sides, solid wood cabinets, easy maintenance access, lots of options, etc. Anyone have insight on these? It was sort of an impulse buy, but you only go around once! Part of the deal was a 16k Reese hitch. Only issue for me is my cap. I don't use the entire bed on a regular basis (most working out of a tool box on the tail gate). I weighed the pro's/cons and I opted for a better tow with 5th wheel vs a TT.

So..... as I start my list of "to do's" on the truck (besides the 60k maintenance), I'm looking at new shocks (Rancho 9000's?), transmission temp guage for starters... anything else I'll need up front? I can think of a long list, but that quickly moves into BOMBing :-laf First things first TDR member's Gorilla & BIGDIG are coming over today, they are always willing to "help me with truck mods" Any thoughts/opinions on this unit & towing a 5th wheel would be great. Have gone from tent camping to a 5th wheel in one day :--) Thanks in advance...

Glen

 

[klenger]

Congrats on the new toy. You will love the 5th wheel.



Check my sig for links to my truck and RV pages. You might find some usefull info there. It looks like you are in good shape as far as towing weights go .



Also, check out www.irv2.com if you have not already. Lot's of good people there.

 

[J&LRam]

Glen

Congrats on the new 5er. If you have ever pulled a TT you will enjoy pullin' the 5er. Lots of Wildcats sold and have a good rep. Another popular web is RV. NET . IF you join a rv web don't ask what people think of a particular brand, its worse than asking whats the best brand of oil. It will start a flamin' war but they are places with lots of info... ... ... ... JIM

 

[Bertram65]

What model did you get? I have an '02 28BH, had it less than a year but so far I have been very happy with it. They seem to get better and better every year, with more neat features.

 

[Forrest]

The 27 foot'er is a nice length ... same as mine. That weight tows really well too. I went to the Rancho 9000s. Set them on #3 up front & #1 in the rear, solo. When the 5'er is on there, I crank the rears up to #4 or #5. It takes that 'bounce' out.



Do you have a rear anti-sway bar? If not, get one asap. Really stabilizes things.



Does the Reese model hitch pivot side to side? Really helps & you should swap it out with them, being it's so new & get a side to side tilter.



Edit: Ck out the hitch in Scottys truck ...



http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/pics/showphoto.php/photo/5398/password//sort/1/cat/500/page/1



Consider a 5th wheel tailgate. I swap mine every summer. It only takes once.



Best of luck.

 

[EricBu12]

heres my trailer. A keystone made Raptor toyhauler. has a 12' garage that is separated from the living area.



i have heard a lot of good things about the forest river products... very well made. Hope your trailer is aluminum framed, mine is... .



Glad you bought a 5th wheel... if you were not familiar towing, getting a 5th is better than a TT. BUT... Don't get too comfortable and drive like a solo truck... you need more room to stop... . I would recomend the Jacobs E-brake for initial slowdown like on off-ramps... . If you do some power mods you NEED to get a 4" exhaust to keep tems down. I have 400hp rear wheel and when I tow, I have to make sure I don't push too hard because the temps go up big time when towing... Good luck on the new trailer.



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[dzldpatriot]

We bought the 27BHWB... not too sure what the "WB" stands for. The bunk bed idea works great for the kids and their friends. When not in use, they fold flat against the back wall so I can store bikes in that area. I have the factory sway-bar (camper package) and will replace the shocks soon. Everything I have heard about towing has been positive. The hitch that was included with the purchase only slides fore & aft. If the cost is not too bad, you say a hitch that pivots side to side is worth while huh? I'll look into that... need to find time to get to the dealer for hitch install then picking the ole unit up Cool pictures of yours EricBu12, how big a trailer is that? I was initially concerned with weight, but will be fine with this. Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

Glen

 

[SHobbs]

Forest River builds a great product

Glen, I currently have a Cardinal by Forest River and have been very pleased with it. I have a 38ft triple slide tipping the scales at around 13k. I have only had it in the shop three times in the first year of ownership. They build a quality product and stand behind them as well, they have always done thier best to resolve any problem I have had with the 5er. You will enjoy pulling a fifth as well, they pull much better than a tt just remember to take wider turns with it lol. Good luck with it.

 

[corprimo]

We have a 2000 30' Cardinal by Forrest River - has held up well, with 2. 5 round trips on the Alaska Highway so far. We have 16 inch wheels with Alko torsion axle suspension on the trailer.



I'd recommend an exhaust brake and Mag Hytec rear diff cover with a good synthetic gear lube. We had a bearing go out in our rear diff. last summer coming up through Canada.



Side to side pivot on the hitch is important unless you will always be hitching and unhitching where it's perfectly level!

 

[jandtjil]

dzldpatriot

Okay it has been more than one day, time to post pictures Glen.

Tent to 5th wheel... You won't regret that move, now you can go camping in places where the Mrs wouldn't allow previously due to 28 degree evenings, places like http://www.nps.gov/glac/maps/mcdonald.htm .

Congrats dude!



jj

 

[Steve.A]

dzldpatriot,

I have the reese 16K signature hitch and it has the 4 way pivot, left/right and front/back. It is also a slider as I have a SWB like you though I have never had to use the slide feature, just never turned that sharp even backing in.



As far as BOMB's go, I would suggest taking it for a test drive with the trailer before you do any mods. You may find that there are some things you just don't need. May as well save that hard earned money if you can!



Enjoy your new trailer.

 

[Bertram65]

We bought the 27BHWB... not too sure what the "WB" stands for. The bunk bed idea works great for the kids and their friends. When not in use, they fold flat against the back wall so I can store bikes in that area. I have the factory sway-bar (camper package) and will replace the shocks soon. Everything I have heard about towing has been positive. The hitch that was included with the purchase only slides fore & aft. If the cost is not too bad, you say a hitch that pivots side to side is worth while huh? I'll look into that... need to find time to get to the dealer for hitch install then picking the ole unit up Cool pictures of yours EricBu12, how big a trailer is that? I was initially concerned with weight, but will be fine with this. Thanks for the info, much appreciated.

Glen

Is that the model with the two doors? I saw it at a RV show a couple weeks ago, real nice rig, I think that model is brand new this year, I really liked how the bunks fold up and the second door.

 

[SHobbs]

More info

Glen, just to let you know the three times my 5er was in the shop it had nothing to do with the trailer structure. One was a small leak in the bedroom slide, other was a faulty CO2 detector and the third was the awning. All that aside the trailer has been awesome. Well insulated, pulls great and very well built of course the price tag proves that, lol. As far as upgrades for the truck the best bang for my buck was adding an Edge EZ, BHAF and the MEK kit from Genos. The difference after adding the edge was very noticeable. As far as a transmission temp guage I believe the word would be yes, I don't have an auto but I have seen enough posts here and most that are pulling with thier trucks have one.

 

[wild4stangs]

Good choice ! I just purchased an 04 Wildcat 28RK... I did a bunch of reasearch, and these are considered to be quality units. Can't wait to pick mine up... Probably wont be until April as mine is snowed in at the dealers... All you can see is the roof.....



John

 

[Prairie Dog]

I looked at just about every brand out there before I bought our new F. R. last summer. They're about the best there is in that price range.

 

[Rosco]

I have an '05 Wildcat 29bhbp that I ordered and took delivery of last June. For the money I spent I'm very pleased. We used it quite a bit over the season and had zero trouble with it other than a few minor cosmetic issues that were repaired during the fall.

 

[dzldpatriot]

Well, the hitch is in the truck... . gonna go down Saturday and pick it up. Gettin' anxious now Oo. Once I get it back to the house, I'll track somebody down with a digital camera so I can post pictures. Yea, not exactly with the times. Boy, I love the rotary knob TV's :-laf

Anyway, great to hear about the positive aspects of the FR. Looking forward to camping... if thats what its called in a 5th wheel

Hey Wild4Stangs..... you know BIGDIG? He lives in your part of the world. He's down here for some R&R after your big snow fall.

Stay tuned for pictures, thanks again for the info.

Glen

 

[wild4stangs]

dzldpatriot: Nope don't know em... But I have had enough of this sub zero crap... Been running the block heater alot, not looking forward to seeing my electric bill. :--)



John

 

[dzldpatriot]

Know what you mean... . we lived in Maine for 11 years. We miss New England alot but not the sub zero stuff. BIGDIG still had a truck bed full of snow when he came to the house. Makes for a great cooler though :-laf

Bring that rig down here this spring... starts warming up for good in early March!

 

[wild4stangs]

Problem is that the camper will probably not be thawed out until May ! I can only see the top 3 feet of the camper !



John...