Travel trailer or Fifth wheel

[kcbarnes]

My wife and I have started looking at RVs and although first we were looking at travel trailers I have shifted our search towards a fifth wheel. All the units we have looked at have been the light weight styles, 24' with an aluminum framework,ect. so either one could be pulled by my 1/2 ton 4wd pickup. Can anybody(Bird) give me an idea why one is better than the other.

 

[Bird]

Kevin, whole books have been written on that topic. But I've had both and read some of those books /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif so I'll just tell you a few differences to think about. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

1. Fifth Wheel trailers cost more for the same length.
2. But when a length is quoted; i.e. 24', that is the approximate overall length and in the fifth wheel
that's all usable space while the conventional trailer has a 3' to 4' tongue,
3. So the cost per square foot of living space is about the same,
4. Overall length of your rig will be considerably greater with the conventional trailer because of that
tongue and because of the fact that part of your living space in a fifth wheel is up over the bed of
the truck,
5. The conventional trailer will require the lift bars to go with the load distributing hitch and
sway bars,
6. The fifth wheel does not need a separate sway control or sway bars and is by far safer and
easier to pull,
7. The fifth wheel is taller, requiring greater overhead clearance (watch those tree limbs),
8. Most conventional trailers have all the living space on one level (nice for us old folks),
9. Fifth wheels usually have the bedroom (although it may be the living room) in the upper front,
spend more time going up and down steps and sometimes those steps are not of uniform height,
10. Fifth wheels usually have more storage compartments (although some manufacturers are
now making "basement" models with the conventional trailers,
11. Fifth wheels usually have a compartment suitable for installing a generator (many even come
pre-wired for that),
12. Only recently have a few of the conventional ones had any place you could put a generator.
13. Fifth wheel hitches take up space in the bed of the truck, while the conventional trailer leaves that
space available for other cargo and even a camper shell if you wish.

Like I said, big books don't cover it all, but that's just a few things to consider. Personal opinion; I'd much rather pull the fifth wheel, and I'd rather live in a conventional trailer. And like tractors, much boils down to personal preferences. There are big differences in construction materials and workmanship between different brands and it helps to be familiar with them, but I think perhaps the most important factor is the floor plan and how comfortable you are with the floor plan and arrangement of furnishings.

Hope this helps a little, and I know it barely scratches the surface on the topic. You can send me a private e-mail if you have any specific questions you think I can help with.

 

[kcbarnes]

<font color="blue">"Personal opinion; I'd much rather pull the fifth wheel, and I'd rather live in a conventional trailer." </font>
Thank You for your input Bird I knew you would come through for me. I think your quote sums up my thoughts very well and you have given me some stuff to chew on. My only other thought on the fifth wheel route, right or wrong is that the "buddies" or inlaws can't borrow a fifth wheel as easily. Thanks again and I may be sending a pm if I have more?s.

 

[Bird]

<font class="small">Code:</font><hr /><pre> "buddies" or inlaws can't borrow a fifth wheel as easily </pre><hr />

Good point. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif One other important point. I don't know whether you have the long bed (8') or short bed (6.5') pickup, but many fifth wheel trailers cannot have the fifth wheel mounted in the proper place (over the rear axle) in the short bed pickups because you wouldn't be able to turn short enough without getting the front of the trailer into the truck cab. There have actually been some dealers install a fifth wheel hitch way back in a short bed pickup, and if the pin weight of the trailer is too much, that can be dangerous.

 

[MikePA]

<font color="blue"> but many fifth wheel trailers cannot have the fifth wheel mounted in the proper place (over the rear axle) in the short bed pickups because you wouldn't be able to turn short enough without getting the front of the trailer into the truck cab. </font>
When we bought our gooseneck horse trailer, I bought one with a tapered front section instead of the standard square nose just because of this since our 1991 K1500 Extended Cab has the 6.5' bed. Our hitch is mounted directly above the axle where it belongs. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

Yep, Mike, that's the way to go, but I don't know of any of the fifth wheel travel trailers built with the tapered nose (of course some may exist I don't know about), and the fifth wheel travel trailers also may have more of the "box" forward of the pin than most goosenecks. However, there are quite a number of fifth wheel travel trailers that do have a pin and pin box that extend forward at an angle to compensate to some degree. A brother-in-law used to have a 25' one with that arrangement and pulled it with a short bed Ford, but still had to be careful to not turn too short.

 

[kcbarnes]

I have an 8' box so I should be ok. Friday my wife and I went to Elkhart Ind. to look around and we found this fithwheel that has our intrest web page I know it is not a major name but the factory is only about 30 miles from our house.Is there anything to watch for or to be concerned about when buying? I am going to call the factory on mon. and see if I can visit the production line.

 

[RanchMan]

<font color="blue"> know it is not a major name but the factory is only about 30 miles from our house. </font>

I'll let you in on a few secrets...

1) I recently "mapped" out this mess ( /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif ) of who made what and came to discover that the RV trailer industry is a lot like VCRs - there are only a handful of manufacturers but lots of brand names out there. In other words, with a little change here or there, they re-badge the same trailer and market it under a different name. Fleetwood, Forrest River, Thor, Coachmen, Jayco, Trail Lite, Sun Valley, Skyline, and of course K-Z (which you already found) are the main mfgs. of trailers (some make pop-ups too). (Some would say "what about Keystone? - but Keystone, who makes over a dozen brands themselves, is owned by Thor. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif)

My point is that if you dive deep in to each company, you'll find TONS of brands and your "non-name-brand" is a name brand.

2) Most trailer mfgs. are located in Indiana. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I'm not saying anything pro or con about KZ - just that other trailer mfgs. are also "near" you and that there really aren't that many mfgs. out there.

3) Yes, there are different construction techniques and I'm not saying all trailers are created equally, however most of the hardware used in ALL the brands of trailers come from only a few mfgs. themselves. Attwood, Dometic, etc. So for a lot of the hardware and major appliances it's not like having a "Ford" alternator or a "Chevy" alternator - it's more like having Goodyears - they can go on a Ford or a Chevy.

Here are a couple of links to "TBN-like" message boards for RVs/Trailers. Lots of good info on them, but again, be careful about people talking up/talking down specific brands of trailers. Just like some TBN'ers, people have strong feelings regarding brands and often put down brands to which they have no actual experience with. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Good Sam Club

RV USA

Good luck!

 

[Bird]

I agree with Ranchman's information. Lots of "brand names" are made by the same manufacturer. There are more manufacturers of RVs than there are of tractors, but still not nearly as many as the number of names you see might indicate. And as he said, you only have 2 or 3 choices in air-conditioners, water heaters, refrigerators, cookstoves, furnaces, etc. regardless of the brand name on the RV. I know nothing about the one you're looking at, but one thing that's important to me is the bed size. I see they use a double asterisk for the "regular 60" bed". Many advertise "queen width" (60") but may only be 74" long (I want a regular queen size - 60" x 80"). You said aluminum framing, so I won't go into the wood framing, but what kind of insulation in the walls (may not make a difference, but sometimes the vibration on the road can cause fiberglass to settle and leave the tops of the wall uninsulated; block styrofoam won't do that). What kind of roof? Flat? Will water stand on top and/or leak in around the roof air-conditioner - very common problem. I've had such roofs and it may not get to be a problem, but it sure can be. I like a domed or slightly rounded roof better. What kind of roof material? Metal, fiberglass, or rubber? I kind of like the rubber roofs, but it should come down over the edges and the top edge should be rounded a bit. My brothers are repairing one this week; sharp corners at the top edge have caused the rubber to crack and leak and now has some rotten wood to replace also. The customer elected to have a non-guaranteed patch job for about $500 instead of replacing the rubber roof with new for over $1,000.

I guess all the manufacturers are using radial tires now, but does the trailer have shock absorbers? Many do not, some offer them as an option. Sure makes a difference in how much stuff you scatter around inside when you're towing it.

Oops, too complicated a topic for this forum. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif If you like it, go for it. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[kcbarnes]

Thanks for the info, I have already seen the common components between mfgs and I guess I'll ask this-are there any brands of appliances ect. that I should stay away from?