Trailer or 5Th wheel -- please help

[SGriffiths]

My wife and I are trying to figure out the best way to upgrade our RV. We currently own a pop-up trailer. It has been great but now we want a little more. We have many questions, but most importantly, should we buy a travel trailer or a 5th wheel? We really enjoy camping in out of the way places where there are rough roads and few amenities. Would a 5th wheel handle better than a trailer on gravel?



We have seen a 28 foot Colorado 5th wheel model. Seems to have all we need but I’m not sure what the key issues are. What should we be looking for, and thinking about?



Any and all help would really be appreciated.



Thanks,

Steve

 

[GWBourne]

i would look into a 5th wheel with a 5th wheel hitch that can do a little more twisting than others. i think an air ride hitch that slides if ya have a short box. 5th wheels dont liek to flex side to side or diagonal much and htat puts added stress on the truck and trailer. a goose neck hitch for off pavement areas is best in my eyes. a trailer is nice for off pavement areas as well, but ground clearance can be a lil more of an issue. also less flex than a GN.

grant

 

[AMink]

I have a travel trailer, mostly because I like to leave the shell on the truck. It also gives me a lot of room to haul bikes and stuff that I (read "my wife") don't want to haul in the trailer. I've never pulled a 5er, but have heard that they do pull easier. That being said, I've not had any problems. If ground clearance is an issue, you can "flip" the axle on many trailers. A 5er will give you more usable space in a shorter total length, with 4 feet or so over the truck. Some trailers now have a rear slide, so you tow a 24' and camp in a 30'. Kind of a neat idea if you don't mind crawling over each other to get in and out of bed. Do your homework on prices; they vary greatly! Lots of brands have sites like this one for Cummins. Check them out. Also check out internet prices. Good luck and have fun!

 

[RHARVEY]

I have had both... and pulled both. Each one has its good and bad points. Each one pulls a little different than the other. With the 5th wheel you can get into rv slots easier because you can bend them in tighter places.

If you look at a 5th wheel ... make sure you have plenty of head room in the master bedroom,room to walk around the bed and all that other stuff. We do like a 5th wheel but the TT are nice too.

First and formost. . check the quality of the units. Its those little things that really make the coach a prize! Our last 5th wheel was a Cardinal made by Forest River. . and now we current have a Montana TT by Keystone. . We can really tell the difference in the way they put a coach together!

When its time to shop for another 5th wheel ... we will know what to look for. .



Good Luck in your search. .



Rick

 

[Grizzly]

My wife and I are trying to figure out the best way to upgrade our RV. We currently own a pop-up trailer. It has been great but now we want a little more. We have many questions, but most importantly, should we buy a travel trailer or a 5th wheel? We really enjoy camping in out of the way places where there are rough roads and few amenities. Would a 5th wheel handle better than a trailer on gravel? Steve

First of all, list your Truck Profile so that we can see what you have to tow with. Fifth wheel is almost always best for many reasons already stated. My first RV was a 10. 5' cab-over camper, then a 29' 5th wheel. Now Iamb back to a cab-over camper. For the off road type camping my wife and I do, the camper works best because it will go anywhere the truck will go provided you have the room needed for the larger RV. If I could afford it, I would have the cab-over and a 24' 5er (fifth wheel) without slide outs. That's the best of both worlds.

 

[nps]

I've got a TT - couldn't find a 5th wheel floor plan that we liked in a package small enough to stay within GVWR/GCVW. The 5ths put more weight on the hitch than a comparitively sized TT. Also I didn't want to worry about flipping axles or lowering my bed. And my bed is open to carry stuff even when pulling the trailer.



I've never pulled a 5th but most say they pull better. Must be a real dream because I have no issues with pulling a 10K# TT.



Think you'll go right in either case.

 

[RJOL]

Do a lot of research before you buy any trailer. I would recommend sites like:



http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm



Whatever you do, you will learn by experience. It might be best to buy a used trailer, in good shape, and then find out what you like or dislike about it. Believe me... Experience will be a good teacher.



I've owned both travel trailers and 5th wheels. I personally like the 5th wheel more, but it depends on what your going to do with it. It tows better, but it is a little harder to learn how to back it into a site, as the pivot point is over the rear wheels, not the bumper.



If you need your bed to carry camping items, get the travel trailer. You will lose the bed space with a 5th wheel, and if you do use it to pack items around the hitch, you could overload a 2500 real quick. JMHO...

 

[RustyJC]

Yes, you lose bed storage space with a 5th wheel, but you gain basement storage space in the RV. As others have said, there are lots of "puts and takes" - you have to decide your priorities and then determine whether they are best met by a 5th wheel or TT.



Another RVing forum I'd check out is iRV2.com - in the TTs and 5th wheels section in particular.



Rusty

 

[CLAYTON]

I love my 5th wheel. I've never had the opportunity to tow a TT. If I had to do it over again I would buy another 5th wheel. It tows unbelievably plus here in the state of Utah you can tow tandem which I wouldn't want to do behind a TT. In fact I'll be towing tandem down to Moab again in a couple of weeks.

 

[SGriffiths]

Thanks for all the great info. We'll certainly take all of your advice.



BTW... sorry about missing truck specs but it was in my truck profile and I thought it would automatically attach it to the message. Hopefully, it's shown below now.



Steve

 

[gonzo2]

We did the switch this winter to a fiver and I still believe it is the way to go if you want to get over about 25' in trailer size.



The main benefits seem (to me) to be,

1 better towing (sway etc)

2 more on board storage(including water and sewer)



The main trade offs

1 higher profile, more weight (especially at the front)

2 loss of most of truck box.



We are very happy with our set up but we don't go down what I would call rough roads and would not go where some people go with truck campers or Bigfoot style trailers deep into the bush etc.



The other item to consider is that you may want to upgrade your trailer tires if you run lots of gravel roads. The fifth wheel will pull better than a comparable tow behind, but a smaller conventional trailer would be lighter on it's feet, so to speak.

 

[CLAYTON]

Hey gonzo2 how you liking your Jazz now that you've had it for a while? Which model did you get again? Put about 17k miles on mine in the last year and a half and it's still running and holding up great.



On Edit: I just looked at your readers rig gallery and saw that it's the 2780... that's the bunk bed model isn't it?

 

[gonzo2]

CLAYTON that's good to hear and yeah, we got the bunker. So far we (including the little ones) are very happy with the unit.



We haven't got the miles on it you have but we're off again on a run through Alberta next week.

 

[TCordero]

Well, I see your dilema on upgrading from a pop-up to a larger RV. We traveled the same road earlier this year. Bottom line - we switched from our trusty 1983 Coleman Pop up tent trailer to a 2004 Wanderer Wagon 5th wheel toy hauler. Towing the 5th wheel is much nicer in my opinion over the larger TT's. Also, take in to account the safety factors in towing longer TT's. Typically if the hitch to axle is longer than the wheelbase of your tow vehicle then the trailer is controlling the vehicle. There are anti-sway items and other items than can help improve this. But for me - the 5th wheel is the way to go, hands down!



Tim

2004 QC, LB, 6 sp, Pacbrake, 28' Wanderer 5th wheel, kayaks, bikes, kids & dogs...

 

[Forrest]

Towed many a TT with many different floor plans. We're 5'er types now, won't go back. Towing & connect/disconnect is far easier.



The next 5'e will be a rear lounge model ... either the Montana or the Titanium. They're building the rear lounge models in shorter 5'ers. We want to stay uner 30'.

 

[etaneyhill]

go 5th wheel what size truck do you have?

 

[jwduke]

Well I've towed both, and do prefer the 5er.



A 5er is more stable in a cross wind, they seem to follow better. They also seem easier to back in.



You do loose the use of your pickup box, but do gain it in the camper. A 5er also has more head room. I think a 5er seems more like home, too.



Good luck on your choice! It will be the right one!