short box and 5er's

[RMalone]

Hi guys, spend most of my time on the third gen forum. But I'm looking to get a small 5er. I did a quick (real quick) search on this forum and it looks like a 5er and short-box is a no-no. Any suggestions? Also who makes quality 5er's and who doesn't? Thanks in advance for any and all replies. I'm absloutely clueless about R. V. s and don't really trust a salesman to educate me.

 

[DavidC]

Short box works ok on 2nd gen but a slider hitch either manual or automatic is almost mandatory for anything over about 75 degree turning. 3rd gens probably require the automatic slider being they lost more room with those back doors and inside legroom. The automatic slider is nice but pricey.



Dave

 

[Jay]

RMalone, I've towed a 5th wheel with 4 short bed pickups (2 Chev's, my '01 and now my '03), and I have not had a problem. Be sure the 5'ver you get has an extended pin box. Also, I did put a manual slider in the '03 as the distance between the back of the cab and the center of the axle is shorter then the '01 was. While I've not had to use the slider, it's cheap insurance in case I get into a tight spot someday!



I own and recommend Sunnybrooks... actually I am a repeat buyer... as are 90% of the members of the Denver chapter of the owners club. I've not owned one, but Artic Foxes gets good reviews, too.



Not trusting RV salespeople is a good thing... !



Jay

 

[RMalone]

Thanks for the info guys, how much do sliders cost?

 

[SHobbs]

Not sure about the cost of a slider but, when I bought my 5er the hitch was part of the deal as well as the trailer brake. My current hitch is a Reese 2 way 15k and was around 650 installed. If you get a chance check out Forest River, they make a great product and the service is very good. Luckily I went to a better than average dealership and they have been very helpful.

Some things that might help in your decision is to have in mind what you will be using the 5er for. If only weekends or vacations find a unit with only the equipment you need. Myself I am full time so I needed a larger unit with more eqiupment. One thing that has been very handy is having a blackwater flush connection, drain the tank and hook a water hose to the conection outside the trailer and let the water run for a few minutes. No more dragging the hose into the trailer to stick it down the toilet to rinse that thing out. Another consideration is slideouts. You can go nuts with all kinds of floorplans and up to 5 slideouts. Find a floor plan you like with plenty of room where you want it. One thing to keep in mind is where the kitchen or galley is located, try to keep away from a rear kitchen find one where the kitchen is over the axles of further forward. Never had one but plenty of full timres have talked about everything getting thrown around when going down the road in the rear.

Also when you are looking at trailers check out the way the cabinets are made, I was told that you can tell alot about the way a unit is made by the way they are put together. My current one all the cabinets are screwed together the same way residential cabinets are, no staples or nails shot in with an air nailer.

If you can I suggest maybe a double slide, I find having one for the bedroom a must, it will add around 500lbs or so to the tongue weight but it is worth it.

 

[RMalone]

Thanks for the infomative replies, TDR members really are the most helpful people.

 

[Jay]

If I remember correctly, the Reese I have was around $700. 00 plus rails.

 

[dzldpatriot]

Ditto on what SHobbs wrote. I had a 2nd gen short bed with no problems, moved up to a 3500 as I wanted more room for the kids and room to grow, aka bigger camper :-laf We too, are new to the RV world. We bought a Wildcat last winter and have been very happy with it. The previous truck towed it without breaking a sweat. The hitch slider is a must, I used it quite a bit to avoid the chance of crunching it against the cab. As stated... think about a bedroom slide... we didn't. Now we're kinda wishing we'd picked up on that. Otherwise we've been happy with ours. Take a look at wildcatonline.com, I think its similar to TDR, plus it may have a link to all of the Forrest River made RV's. Good luck

 

[klenger]

I prefer the long bed. More truck, less total money, and it fits in my garage with no trouble.

 

[Grizzly]

Longbed is always best, but if you already have the shortbed a slider hitch is a must. I disagree with what others have said about Forest River. They and Fleetwood are very cheaply made. They may look good on the surface, but look underneath them and in storage areas. Talk to people who repair RV's but do not sell any. They will endorse what they sell. They can tell you which are the best made for the money. Good luck.

 

[CUMMINZ]

Short bed and new Forest River-Cedar Creek

My Cedar Creek is built well.



#ad
I have short bed 2004. 5 and SuperGlide and love them.



#ad

 

[SHobbs]

Longbed is always best, but if you already have the shortbed a slider hitch is a must. I disagree with what others have said about Forest River. They and Fleetwood are very cheaply made. They may look good on the surface, but look underneath them and in storage areas. Talk to people who repair RV's but do not sell any. They will endorse what they sell. They can tell you which are the best made for the money. Good luck.

Well I can I can argue this one. I had a Fleetwood Terry for 2 years and it was in the shop at least 6 times for stuff falling down, off and otherwise. Not to mention several leaks in the roof. My Forest River after 3 years has been in the shop 2 times for just an awning adjustment and one slide leaked a little. As far as customer service there is no comparison, Forest River stands behind their product Fleetwood does not. Here is an example in my Fleetwood one of the recliners broke. Called the dealership they referred me to the factory said I need to talk to them and work it out with them, it took a month to get a replacement. Same thing happened with the Forest River. The dealership handled all the calls and in the same day they pulled a chair from a new unit that was in the showroom. I called the factory to let them know how much I appreciated them replacing the chair so quickly. I was told no problem and if I needed anything else just say so. Fleetwood never returned my calls. Also like I said in my earlier post look at the cabinets, well Fleetwood are stapled not screwed like the Forest River.

 

[AMink]

No matter what you buy, top or bottom end, make sure that YOU go over it thoroughly before accepting it. On that Wildcat site that was mentioned do a search for PDI (Pre delivery inspection). There is a guy on there that has a very good list of things to check. I just bought a Wildcat TT and like it, however it is not without some issues. Things like noisy water pump, the water lines were not tight so it sucked air, screws missed frame, etc. Even on expensive Class A's there are numerous quality issues. If I was a dealer, I'd be ticked that I had to fix so many things. I have also heard that price should start at about 25% BELOW MSRP. Do lots of research and you will find that trailer that you love for a good price online. Maybe a local dealer can match it, maybe not. Good luck and have fun!

 

[SHobbs]

I do have to agree on the water pump. Mine is noisy also, working on a fix though one way or another

 

[Bertram65]

I have been very happy with my Forest River Wildcat, it is not a top of the line trailer but it is a decent trailer that is a good value for the money compared to what else is out there in the same price range.

As far as the short bed, I have not used my slide at all since I took the time to see how far I could go without sliding it back, I would not buy the slide again if I had it to do over again, with enough time I am confident I can put the trailer anywhere without sliding it back.

As for hitting the cab, you can easily do it but I would think only if you are not paying attention, I can clearly see how close the trailer is to the cab when I am backing, if it get's too close I just pull forward and take another bite.

 

[BSchulte]

I have the pullrite superglide 16K with super rails on my swb 3500

never have a problem!

Really convenient to hook up and go.

Never have to worry about forgeting to pull the hitch to slide it back.

I figure that one bang against the cab of the truck from a jack knife would pay the added expense of the hitch.

 

[RMalone]

Thanks for the info, Im just starting to look at 5ers and wanted to make sure it was feasable with a shorty, now I know it is. Im seriously considering a used unit, but who knows??

 

[jwduke]

As for a hitch, check out Ebay. I bought a near new Reese 15k slider hitch, with the rails for $245. The install kit was another $70. I installed it my self. Just keep the rails lubed with, "Dry Lube", and you can slide in under 30 seconds!



Good luck & Happy trails!