What I wish I knew before I bought my 5er

[Topper Harley]

Greetings,

I’m looking for help from some seasoned veterans of the 5th wheel community. Mainly what my title says, but before we get into that let me give you a brief overview of my camping heritage and experience.

I’m 58, and I’ve been a tenter up until last year when my wife and I purchased a 37’ travel trailer which we love. My wife on a 1-10 scale has camping experience of 3. 3 being not much and it’s all new to her. Myself on the other hand am an 8. A lot of that self assessment is from my experience as the son of Campground owners. So I’ve spent many a summer doing all the things (except the bookkeeping and payroll) that keeps a nice campground running smoothly. However, the only towing I’ve ever done was moving trailers with our old ford tractor and towing my trailer last season. I’m fairly well experienced mechanically and with plumbing and electrical but my carpentry skills are definitely second rate.

In about 5 years we are planning on retirement and the possibility of full time snowbird fifth wheeling around the country.

1st question: Vehicle, go for the biggest most badass towing vehicle? I’m guessing our tow vehicle budget will be somewhere in the $60k range.

2. Hitches: I’ve read a few discussions on different opinions on the type of hitch to buy, but I have zero experience with 5th wheel hitches. What do you wish someone had told you before you got your first hitch setup?

3. We are looking at Cedar Creek and Mobile Suite for a 5th wheel choice. Budget will be about $125k. We definitely want the most bang for the buck. Going back to the hitch/tow vehicle question, what do you wish you knew before you signed on the contract?

4. My wife and I have been ballroom dancing for about 6 years now. I had 3 left feet, but now feel that if I can do it anyone can. Question: would this be an activity you would be interested in learning the basics of if it were offered at a campground?

Thank you all in advance.

Jim & Lisa

[davel1971]

Cedar Creek is nice, but Mobile Suites are much better suited for full time living. Both would require a diesel dually to tow. The very smallest Cedar Creeks might be able to squeeze by with a single rear wheel 1 ton, but not worth trying. Duallys are so much more stable for heavy loads, and required to be within payload ratings for all the hitch weight of the units being considered.

[Sierra360PDEK]

Welcome to the world of fifth wheels. We started 5 years ago and jumped on with both feet purchasing a 40' FW and a 2005 F350 DRE. It didn't take us too long to realize we purchased the wrong truck, $7000 in engine repairs the first year and the truck just didn't feel steady pulling that big a FW. We traded out to a 2008 GMA 3500 DRW and have had a great years towing.

Looking back my advice is by the biggest truck you can. Our next truck will be an F450.

As for the hitch our first was a Reese 16K and it creeped and moaned so after tons of research and advice we went with a B&W Companion and Turnover Ball. Very happy and so much easier to hitch and unhitch.

As for the FW itself look getbtge Cardinal and Riverstone line. The Riverstone is FR top of the line and boy are they nice and heavy too, hence the bigger truck. Make sure you spend plenty of time in the unit before buying to make sure it's the one. This is a mistake we made and cost us dearly when we traded two years later.

Ask lots of questions here and on other forums like RV.net.

Best of luck

Sent from my SM-N920V using Forest River Forums mobile app

[wahoonc]

I have been messing about with RV's for more years than I care to reveal...

1. Look at Class 7 trucks, you will never have a towing problem. I know where there is a 2002 Freightliner ready to roll for $30k
2. Depends. I preferred ones like the B&W Companion which I could swap out for a ball if necessary.
3. Mobile Suites are nicer then CC, there are others out there. Don't be afraid to go gently used to get even more bang for your buck. Teton Homes were some of the best units ever built, unfortunately they went out of business around 2008.
4. Maybe?

To me the key for finding the "perfect" RV is to find one that you are happy with, do a very, very thorough inspection. If you find something you cannot fix or are not willing to deal with walk away. The rest is just in the details.

Aaron

[tomkatb]

We purchased a couples trailer last week. We wanted a smaller, lighter, low tongue weight, more mobile unit of above average quality everything. We bought a Cedar Creek 34RE.

1-Buy at least a 3500, diesel. Todays diesels are easy to live with. Plenty of HP. Acceleration etc. My wife uses it as her daily car and loves it.

2-There is a hitch for everyone. We wanted the lightest easiest to manage. The Anderson. My wife and I are not as strong as we once were. I would prefer the Goosebox however it is the odd one. I though in a difficult situation we might be stuck with that one.

We have a B&W turnover ball in the bed. Disappears in a minute. My son installed it last weekend.

3-We thought the Cedar Creek Hathaway was the best bang for the buck in the modestly priced units. Ours has the gas refrigerator. Washer and dryer. Lots of batteries. We want to be mobile for the time being. 3 years from now who knows.

Better define your needs. There is a lot to choose from. Your head will soon start spinning!

[timfromma]

I wish I was better versed in the various weight and towing capacities of my truck so I could've made a more informed choice of which trailer to buy.

[JohnVtx]

Andersen hitch all the way. Get towing vehicke to match after you decide on trailer

[Topper Harley]

Originally Posted by timfromma

I wish I was better versed in the various weight and towing capacities of my truck so I could've made a more informed choice of which trailer to buy.

I hear that. Never trust the RV salesperson!

Our plan is a minimum of a new 3500 dually.
The RV itself possibly something (when the time comes) that is no more than 2 years old.

Thanks for the reply.

[Topper Harley]

Originally Posted by JohnVtx

Andersen hitch all the way. Get towing vehicke to match after you decide on trailer

I use the Andersen no sway hitch for my TT and like it.

[dmac1951]

Best tow vehicle in my opinion is a Dodge Ram with the Cummins engine and Aisin transmission.

[Herk7769]

As to the Ballroom dancing question, I would just post a flyer at the community bulletin board and see who calls.

Its hard to gauge interest from an online board because we have 100,000 plus members. If you get 200 people interested here, it may give you a false impression of the degree of response at a given campground/camper mix at any given time. Your interest may vary by campground and age of population. Older campers would most likely be your demographic.

[CHICKDOE]

ram 3500 drw longbed, cummins 6.7l diesel, and aisyn transmission work just fine for our 16,000 lb 5th wheel. i like the factory installed puck for mounting the hitch. i suspect ford and chevy have comparable configurations.


double check then triple check what tires and rims will come with the trailer. you want load range G and 110 psi rims. then double check and triple check all the weight limits on trailer and truck. know how much 'stuff' you can put into the trailer and still tow it safely.


if you are ordering the trailer new look into the following options: disk brakes, generator, mounted satellite antenna. these are all your personal choices but it is easier to have them installed up front than trying to add them later.


double check tank capacities. the specs on ours said 70 gals fresh, 40 gals black, and 80 gals grey. sounds great until we found out the 80 gals grey was actually two non connected 40 gal tanks.


make sure you fully understand the warranty terms and conditions. what is covered? who will do any warranty repairs? if you are full timing you may not be near the selling dealer.

[tomkatb]

We purchased the 34RE because we mistakenly purchased the truck first. Wife changed her requirements as she saw more fifth wheels. She needed the king bed and washer and dryer!

So with a light hitch weight and the Anderson hitch we are ok.

Not buying a 3500 was a mistake. Love the ram diesel.

[desiphil]

I guess the Cedar Creek shares some similarities with the DRV. If you are comparing full body paint models, I assume you are looking at a $30k difference in price between the two. I'd personally pick the CC as I don't know that the DRV today is necessarily the same level of quality from 5-10 years ago.

Nothing personally against the Ram, but I test drove two with the 68RFE transmission and they both shifted like crap compared to my 15 Duramax and now 17 Powerstroke. Maybe the Aisin is that much better, but I recommend you drive the big three and make up your own mind. DRW all the way.

Good luck!

[desiphil]

Also, if you are spending ~$100k on a rig, you will most likely be in a long bed dually or larger - there is no way I would go with the Anderson. Traditional hitch all the way for me. I've read reports recently that Lippert/Keystone has already made clear towing with the Anderson will void a structural warranty in the event of a defect. The confusion over whether or not this is a gooseneck adapter could lead to warranty issues down the road if something were to happen. Nothing personal to those of you who own one, but the Anderson is only something I'd recommend to folks with 6.5' beds who didn't want to deal with slider hitches.

For your new Cedar Creek or DRV, look hard at the B&W if on budget or TrailSaver TS3 air ride

[KRedburn]

x2 on don't be afraid of a class 7

I like the AirSafe 32K hitch. Isolates trailer movement from tow vehicle movement

We traded this on our new DX3. Loved the 5er but lots of living has rendered body not as flexible at 66.



IMO if trailer weight is above 16K then tow vehicle needs to be at least a
F-450 or larger.

Long story short. Had brakes go out on trailer with an F350 diesel tow vehicle in front on a winding 7% grade. We were very lucky!

Happy camping!

[SlowrideHD]

I love the built in quality and reasonable price of the Cedar Creeks. My brother has a Cardinal, beautiful rig with LOTS of little problems. We were both at the Goshen rally this year. The service techs were swarming the Cardinal area.

Everybody makes a good diesel dually. I love a cummins engine for fuel mileage, but for long lasting resale value I'll stick with my F350. The new generation powerstrokes are shedding the unreliable image that the old 6.0 and 6.4 engines deserved.

I like a Curt fifth wheel hitch. Very easy to use and absolute reliable lockup.

[alsdas88]

Everyone here is giving sound advise. I have a '12 Ram Dually that I tow my Columbus 35' 5'r with. I agree the older Ram transmission is not a smooth shifting one and would have preferred to have a newer Aisen transmission, but I am not disappointed either. Ford has finally fixed their diesel problems with the 6.7 and you should not have any issues with any make of truck you decide. Just make sure you do not settle on a SRW truck for the weights you are looking to tow. the margin of safety is just not there. I have selected the B+W Companion hitch for my needs and am very satisfied with how my rig feels when towing thru all conditions. Very stabile, and no lurching. Very solid feel.


Good luck in your future plans. You are on the right track by researching early and asking questions.

[Jesse]

Cedar Creek Champagne & F-450 works well for us 2 adults and a 60 pound fur child. We got it for the big bathroom, commode space, large shower, two sinks, king size bed, household refrigerator, electric oven and range.

[Topper Harley]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

As to the Ballroom dancing question, I would just post a flyer at the community bulletin board and see who calls.



Its hard to gauge interest from an online board because we have 100,000 plus members. If you get 200 people interested here, it may give you a false impression of the degree of response at a given campground/camper mix at any given time. Your interest may vary by campground and age of population. Older campers would most likely be your demographic.

Good point