Is This Heresy?

chnlisle

chnlisle

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Now that I'm looking at 68 in a couple of months I'm thinking about getting one of these. http://tucson.craigslist.org/rvs/1936755348.html
If I play my cards right I can have it and the FWC(at least for a while.) Both Pam and I would like to do more road trips that don't necessarily involve remote camping. Fall in Vermont, cross Canada, and a tour of National Parks. The CTD has about 45K on it, hence the 5th wheel. I like the idea of not having to tow another vehicle to get around and still not being a pedestrian when I get there. I know virtually nothing about 5th wheel campers. Hitches(I'd like to beable to use the truck when I'm at home and not using the trailer?) Slide outs (electric v. manual,) etc,. etc.

Help!
 
Now that I'm looking at 68 in a couple of months I'm thinking about getting one of these. http://tucson.craigslist.org/rvs/1936755348.html
If I play my cards right I can have it and the FWC(at least for a while.) Both Pam and I would like to do more road trips that don't necessarily involve remote camping. Fall in Vermont, cross Canada, and a tour of National Parks. The CTD has about 45K on it, hence the 5th wheel. I like the idea of not having to tow another vehicle to get around and still not being a pedestrian when I get there. I know virtually nothing about 5th wheel campers. Hitches(I'd like to beable to use the truck when I'm at home and not using the trailer?) Slide outs (electric v. manual,) etc,. etc.

Help!


Jay,

I don't know a whole lot about trailers, but for that price I don't see how u can go wrong. I'd offer 5000.00
 
5th wheels are really nice. My brother has one and at the Colorado rally last year I hung out in it. At night time we had microwave popcorn and watched movies with surround sound. With the slide out there was enough room for ballroom dancing.

That being said I wouldn't have one. When I was in Alaska a few months back, while fueling up in Tok, I got to talking with a fellow from Idaho with one. He hated it, and told me was going to sell it when he got back home. He complained it was just to much RV and not worth the hassle.

If I was going to go with a trailer I would do the bumper hitch type. While 5th wheels are easier to maneuver the hitch is always in the bed. This really cuts into the usefulness of the bed. A bumper pull would allow you to keep the FWC and still give you a roomy trailer. If you get one with a slide-out you'll marvel at the extra room. Plus you can haul a trail bike, generator, bikes or what ever in the bed.

This is just my opinion and we all know what opinions are worth. But I hope I gave you more to think about.

mike
 
I have a buddy that has a 27' fifth wheel and the hitch in the bed is removable. When it's out of the bed, there's 4 holes in the bed where it sits into some type of mounting mechanism under the bed. The mount is heavy and he uses a hoist in the garage to lift it off the truck. With that type of hitch you can have both your FWC and a 5th wheel.
 
Thanks for all the input guys. Keep it coming. Any of you familiar with this type of unit?
http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/Fifth-Wheel-System-eliminates-in-bed-hitches-451484
They say it eliminates the big heavy 5th wheel in the truck bed.
 
Thanks for all the input guys. Keep it coming. Any of you familiar with this type of unit?
http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/Fifth-Wheel-System-eliminates-in-bed-hitches-451484
They say it eliminates the big heavy 5th wheel in the truck bed.


That's pretty cool. You can also get a gooseneck adapter on *some* FW designs, depending on how rugged they are.
 
Not all 5th wheels are Huge. Though it might be hard to find a new one that isn't. I've thought about them too, but would definitely convert the hitch to a gooseneck.

That's pretty cool. You can also get a gooseneck adapter on *some* FW designs, depending on how rugged they are.
 
Some of the 5th hitches use low profile tracks that permanently mount in the bed. The removable 5th hitch assembly then attaches to those rails. I've seen two types, one that sets those rails across the width of the bed, and another that runs them length-wise. A friend has the cross-bed type and he complains about sweeping the bed out being a PITA with those rails like that. I would suggest looking for the length-wise versions unless there is a serious downside to that design.

My friend's thinking on a slide-in camper (he pines for a Lance) is to make a plywood spacer with cut-outs for the rails. Lay the spacer down over the whole bed and slide the camper in over that. Would raise the camper in the bed in the range of 2 inches or less.

I don't know if a gooseneck offers more angularity (gullys, twisting ramps, etc.) or not. Seems like RV's all use 5ths and larger utility/working/livestock trailers all use goosenecks. I've long wondered if either has a real advantage over the other.
 
I'm thinking in the same direction, Jay.
Our FWC is starting to feel a little cramped when we're not in the outback. We had a 21' Class C some years back that had plenty of room for us and would probably feel palatial after the Grandby. Do they make 5Ws that small?
 
Hey Bob.
I've seen them as small as 17'. My thought is a 23 footer is about the same as a 19' travel trailer out behind the truck and way easier to drag around. Because its just the 2 of us that would be plenty big. I don't know about slide outs. They look great but I have no experience with them and they do violate the KISS rule. But the 5th wheel as a unit does and they do make interior even nicer. We're still planning to go to Laguna San Ignacio next spring so we'd keep the FWC for that and then who knows. I really want to start doing more traveling to places I've never seen not just rough country camping. Don't get me wrong I love this and previous FWC's. They've served me well for many years. But a bit of luxury on (with apologies to Kyle) paved roads would be great on extended road trips. And we've already got the chihuahua.
 
Hey Bob.
I've seen them as small as 17'. My thought is a 23 footer is about the same as a 19' travel trailer out behind the truck and way easier to drag around. Because its just the 2 of us that would be plenty big. I don't know about slide outs. They look great but I have no experience with them and they do violate the KISS rule. But the 5th wheel as a unit does and they do make interior even nicer. We're still planning to go to Laguna San Ignacio next spring so we'd keep the FWC for that and then who knows. I really want to start doing more traveling to places I've never seen not just rough country camping. Don't get me wrong I love this and previous FWC's. They've served me well for many years. But a bit of luxury on (with apologies to Kyle) paved roads would be great on extended road trips. And we've already got the chihuahua.

I am leery of slide-outs too. Guess I need to keep my eyes open in the RV parks to see what's available. Whatever we choose, the CTD wont even know it's there.

[Have fun at Laguna SI. We're headed down the east coast of Baja next month, hoping to cross over on the ferry and come up the other side.]

~ Bob
 
Hi

We have a 21.5 ft FW and it has a gooseneck adaptor, the reson for doing this is the pickup bed usage. I have the B&W turnover ball hitch. With this i still have my complete pickup bed use when not using the trailer. nothing sticking up to interfear with putting in a slide in camper. It is a nice setup and the FW only being 21.5 ft we can get most places we want to with it and have many comforts. (Generator, AC, etc...) I wanted to keep the bottom of the pickup bed flat for future use of an Alaskan as well for more backcountry trips.
 
Hi
We have a 21.5 ft FW and it has a gooseneck adaptor,


What brand/model is your 5W? What is a gooseneck adaptor? If you can have full use of the bed with the gooseneck, why would anybody ever use the conventional 5W hook-up? As you can see, I'm totally new to this.
 
I just committed heresy :eek: I came close to getting a smaller toy hauler a few months back but the guy wouldn't haggle. I'm an ebay vulture and saw this
1049280534_nJc8F-S.jpg

It has got an 8x8' rack for the toys and then 22' of hard sided trailer with pop out bunks at each end. Not something I want to tow across the country, or to Alaska, but good if I want to go to Big Bend or Utah for a week, set up base camp, and explore on the bike.
The seller thought it would go for quite a bit more, 4 years old and about 1/3 the cost of new. I didn't think it would make reserve or that someone else was more motivated than I was. My bid hit with 2 seconds left and for $500 less than I was willing to pay :D
 
I saw one at California speedway last weekend (Nascar infield). Very clever arrangement.
Seems like you would need to pay attention to the weight distribution, a sort of balancing act.
What is the weight cap?
 
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