New 5th wheel

[Jim McElwee]

Ready to retire. My wife and I have never owned a RV. We are thinking of buying a 28-30 foot 5th. We like our comforts. Is this a size that we can stay with or will we next year want to move to a larger unit. It will be pulled with a Durimax 2500. Will we have problems in some State Parks, I think there is a length restriction?

[Jim McElwee]

Ready to retire. My wife and I have never owned a RV. We are thinking of buying a 28-30 foot 5th. We like our comforts. Is this a size that we can stay with or will we next year want to move to a larger unit. It will be pulled with a Durimax 2500. Will we have problems in some State Parks, I think there is a length restriction?

[RoyandNancy]

We have a Montana 2955RL. It is 32 ft in length. We have not had problems in our state or county parks here in Oregon.

[Miles]

Our Unit is 28.5 ft long. It was our first 5er. We are now retired and wish for something a little larger. The extra room makes for easier living. The 28.5 lenght was perfect for weekend and week long trips but for extended travel and stay would like something a little longer.

[zip]

We have a 30.5 ft 5'er with one slideout and it's 32 ft long from tip to tail. The Duramax pulls it very well. Looking to upgrade, and we will stay in the 30 ft range. Some of the newer 30 footers may put you over the towing weight rating of your truck since many 5'ers now have multiple slideouts. Look for 16" wheels- we're having troubles with our 15" tires blowing out.
Recommend you buy the book Full Time RVing by Bill and his late wife Jan Mohler. It's a must read, even for those of us who only get away a few weekends a year- Good traveling to you.

[MADDOG`]

No problem with that length in most States, Jim. As RoyandNancy said, out here in Oregon that's not a problem here.

What can your truck tow? Check your 5vr tow rating in the Owner's manual, then find the truck dry weight in the manual or at chevrolet.com, then plug those numbers in here, Jim, and caclulate what you can tow. Here's my calcs based on a 2006 Dmax 1Ton crewcab, SRW (Single Rear Wheel)of what I can tow.

GCVW Calculation:

Max GCVW (5vr) = 23,200 (from owner's manual)

Truck Dry Weight = 6,322 (from owner's manual)

Truck Capacity = 3,578 (dry weight – max GVWR)

Fuel Weight Info:

Diesel Weight Lb / Gal. = 7

Full Tank = 238

Normal Truck Weight Calculation:

Truck, Dry 6,322

Add Fuel 250

Add People 800 (crewcab)

Add Gear 600
Hitch, tools, etc

Contingency 500
More hitch tools, etc

Total 8,472

Max Trailer Weight Calculation:

Max GCVW 23,200

Normal Truck Weight - 8,472

Max Trailer Weight 14,728

Jayco Eagle 341 RLQS Max 14,000