Long 5th Wheel Experience

[rkelso98]

Wife and I are looking at 5th wheels, she wants the ones that are 36' to 40' long. Dry WGT avg is 11-12k and GVWR 14-17K. I want to know if anyone on the TDR pulls a 5ver of that length and weight on a regular basis? How tough is it to get around? Any campgrounds turn you away due to the length?



Looking at Openroad 366 and up, Sandpiper 36RLTS Ax6 and the Everest 364Q in that order.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Depends on what type of CG's you use or plan to use - high-dollar fancy CG's will handle you just fine - many state CG's will have a FEW spaces for larger units, but never can predict whether one will be available when YOU get there. We have found plenty of spaces for our 24 footer when they were turning longer jobs away one after another - being POOR does have its advantages!

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

OH - and by the way - older/smaller CG's often have problems handling slideouts and 50 amp mains as well - newer ones have mostly upgraded - but MOST of the places we stayed at on our 3 month 8000 mile trip last fall would NOT have handle a 35 foot with slides and 50 amp power requirements at all - the parks were as poor as WE were...

 

[Bug Out]

Had 30', now have 37'

I had a Jayco 30' 5th which was real nice, never a problem getting into 80% of places. It had plenty of room for me etc. Wife had bigger ideas. She wanted/got a 37' Alpenlite 3xslide 15,000 GVW.



It is VERY nice and big, but we can't just "get up and hop away" for a weekend like we used too. I have to plan and see where we are going, to make sure they have spaces big enough etc.



If I had it to do again, I'd go MAX at 32' which will give you plently of room if your not living in it, yet still get you into most parks. .



Like Gary said, he can go places 30' and up will never get into. fed parks and a lot of state parks.



Good luck on your choice. Ed

 

[klenger]

At least you have the right truck for it.



40',... man that's as big as an older moble home.

 

[jimnance]

I presently have a 33 ft fiver, soon to be 37'. A lot of campgrounds are upgrading and have more larger spots than in the past. The same is true of 50A service.



National Parks and some State Parks cannot accomodate the bigger rigs.



So far, we have yet to run into any trouble with our 33'. We'll have to see about the 37'. The places we frequent are no problem. Boy, the big rigs are comfortable. A bit of a pull though. The EZ helps a lot.

 

[rweis]

I have an Alfa Ideal 35'.



I have a switch for 30 amp / 50 amp. It cut out one of the a/c's and no electric water heat. So 30 amp is not a problem with it.



Length and slides do have to be planned for though.



Bob Weis

 

[rkelso98]

Thanks for the posts, keep em comming. BTW currently pull a Trail-Lite 26' TT with an Astro Van. I was looking at 35' and down 5ver and made the mistake of telling wife new truck could pull anything she wanted. Didn't realize the dang things had gotten SO BIG! Now I am trying to sway her back to a more manageable size. LOL taking away is harder than giving. Gary - KJ6Q - I'm not rich or I would have a Newmar. ;-) Sell trailer to get a bigger one, pinch pennies for several years, etc...

 

[boonsur]

Can't say from experience how easy it will be to get a big unit into most campgrounds. Mine (on order) is 36' long, to replace my 30' TT (which I could get in just about anywhere). My hopes are, the 5th wheel won't act that much bigger because the extra length is over the truck. I do think swinging it in tight lanes/sites will be harder. May look for pull-through sites until I'm more comfortable with it.



On second note, I'd get the Sandpiper 36RLTS in a heartbeat. Absolutely love the floorplan (my favorite). However, the wife decided we needed the bunkhouse for the kids, rather than having them sleep on the couches. Still not sure if I agree, but I certainly know when to quit. Plus, it was quite a bit cheaper.

 

[RMcCulloch]

Well, so far we haven't had any problems.



I usually check ahead to book a space and, since I'd prefer a pull-through, tend to select those CGs that can handle us.



When overnighting enroute, I don't worry too much about finding the odd CG (Flying J's are our favorites) since we're rather well self-contained.

 

[rkelso98]

RMcCulloch how long is you 5er and what are you looking at as far as empty and loaded wgt?

 

[NVR FNSH]

I tow a 36' 5th wheel Patio Hauler single slide, my dad tows a 36' 5th wheel Carri-lite double slide. I weigh in at ~21,500 - not sure what my dad's GCVW is but it's probably close to mine.



My wife and I lived in my parent's trailer for a month before our house closed escrow and there were several local parks/cg that couldn't handle a 36ft 5th wheel. My parents didn't have any problems with CGs turning them away when they were fulltiming but they were staying in more residential/long term type places. My parents would like to 'down grade' to a 32' triple slide if they could find what they wanted at a decent price. Lose 4ft of length but keep the floor space with the additional slide.



I use our trailer to support dirt bike riding and the length has been an issue in some places - particularly in the Sierras. Most designated OHV camping/staging areas are large enough that I don't have any problem but life would be easier with a 28-30 ft 5th wheel.



Brian

 

[knewman]

i have a 36 foot and get in and out with no problem but drove 18 wheelers for 16 yrs my trouble is 50 amp service not always ava so have to use 30 witch is ok for 1 a/c

 

[Larry Willard]

We pull a 35' double slide one. Like has been said here, there will be some limitations to National and State parks. I always try to plan in advance so as to try and ensure that they have a large enough space. I have more than once heard that yea we can accommodate your size only to find that once you squeeze the trailer in there is no place for the truck.

We will probably drop back to a 32' triple slide when/if we ever replace this one.

Larry

 

[rkelso98]

Thanks guys for all the posts, I will try harder to sway the wife. BTW what is the total length from front bumper to end of your trailer? Tell me how long each is seperate as well. BTW steel prices may slow down my purchase for a while, more time to think on this. May be a good thing. Again thanks for all the great posts.

 

[NVR FNSH]

How are you going to use the trailer?



Brian

 

[rkelso98]

Originally posted by NVR FNSH

How are you going to use the trailer?



Brian

We will use it for short and long vacations. We go away as much as we can. As the kids we have left go to college plan on staying in the 5ver while visiting. Not ready for fulltime yet, unless I get layed off . We like to go somewhere and stay for a min of 3 days, the longer in one place the better. 14 days in Disney, 10 days at the OBX. 10 days up at Oskosh for EAA, that kind of thing.



Ray

 

[Big MAK]

I had a 36' "posted" (38. 5' actual) 5th wheel dbl slide that I pulled all over the country for 7 years. No problems. But you have to be pretty confident (and capable) at getting into and out-of tight places by doing jack-knifing tricks, etc. I didn't really mind; but I just bought a 28' (30' actual) so read what you want into that Less worries and better mileage. Also consider that the medium size units are a LOT EASIER to resell. Big units are extremely tough to resell IMO. A medium sized unit (30ish) with triple slides is a really good option.

 

[RThompson]

We travel about 90-100 days a year, and that is sometimes over long distances. After going thru a number of RV's we have settled on a 27/32 cab over design. It's not perfect but it is handy and it pulls very easy. The bigger units with multiple slides are just extra work to set up and prep before leaving. If you dry camp for a nite in places like a casino or wally world you will need something that you can utilize the kitchen without putting out a slide. Same thing goes for stopping for lunch. A lot of units are not set up for 'OTR' travel. We have found that the inside sq. footage is less important in warm climates than having a workable floor arrangement.

The overall length really comes into play when parking outside of grocery stores and pulling into tight fuel up stops.

A bigger issue for me is the really cheap (on edit: let me add a couple of more, cheap, cheaps) axles and brakes that almost all of the trailer manufacturers put under their units. A little word of advice here, buy the biggest axles, best tires and wheels that they will put under your trailer, and that might not be enough. No fun seeing tires disintergrate at 60-70 mph and eat up side of your trailer!

 

[rkelso98]

Good advice, and well thought out. Still would like to know just how long the trailer really extends from the rear bumper of the tow vehicle. I have a 27' TT add ~4' for the hitch, and the ball extends about 10" from my bumper. So total length is around 32'.

So how long would say a 35' trailer actually extend from my rear bumper to the end of the trailer? Best est. would be fine.