Thoughts on 42' 5th wheel

[Pete Morris]

Very nicely stated.

[6Kampers]

I hope.someday I'm experienced enough to write a respond like that !!!!!!!!

[Duramax12]

Originally Posted by 6Kampers

I hope.someday I'm experienced enough to write a respond like that !!!!!!!!

That is the honest advice and experience that i'm looking for .
Thanks again.

[Todd727]

Great answer.

To simplify it just a bit, you need to have the mindset of a long haul trucker when towing big.

[AtomicRT]

Originally Posted by Dasmoeturhead

Attachment 155296A 42 ft trailer with tow vehicle can be challenging at times. How do I know, well,I towed ours in all lower 48 states for 17 months, and many,many rv parks.campgrounds,parking lots,interstates,back roads, through small towns,and whatever else you could possibly imagine. ......

That is some really good advice! To add on a bit about the re-fueling, I recently bought my first 5th wheel. I have many, many miles/years of trailer towing experience (bumper pulls, car haulers, etc.) but never a 5er. I have a heavy 38-footer with a 13'1" height. The trailer pulls, brakes, handles beautifully - so much better than any bumper pull. But my expectations for re-fueling were much too high. First tow was 1300-miles on the Interstate and I assumed that re-fueling would be the easy part since there are Loves, Pilot, Flying J, etc. at many locations along the way. Man, was I wrong!

These truck stops were mostly nightmares. OK, part of the problem is I was traveling in the dark for half the trip (and that is something I plan to avoid at all costs in the future). Many of these truck stops are on crazy winding, unlit service roads making it difficult to even find a way into the facility. Then many of the so-called 'RV Lanes' are along with the normal pumps out front and perpendicular to the building - no possibility of getting my rig out, unless I wanted to back it out into a busy parking lot. Lots of truck traffic to deal with. Eventually, I even tried the truck lanes out back - well, they don't take debit-credit cards and one wanted a $300 hold on my bank account to use the pump. Gambling on a 'regular' gas station is just that. Good luck getting in or out due to turning radius or height restrictions. Few have their canopy heights marked at all.

What did I learn? Planning, planning, planning ahead of time. Searching out fuel stops in advance and checking them out on Google aerial and street view etc. Also, getting used to the height is intimidating even on the Interstate where you know the clearance is fine

[wingnut60]

Dasmoeturhead,
That is a nice looking trailer. Now you need a white Nike swoosh on the truck to match them up. What hitch are you using with the short bed?

[Dasmoeturhead]

Originally Posted by wingnut60

Dasmoeturhead,
That is a nice looking trailer. Now you need a white Nike swoosh on the truck to match them up. What hitch are you using with the short bed?

B&W Companion , non slider, and negative on the swoosh.

[JDT]

Originally Posted by AtomicRT

That is some really good advice! To add on a bit about the re-fueling, I recently bought my first 5th wheel. I have many, many miles/years of trailer towing experience (bumper pulls, car haulers, etc.) but never a 5er. I have a heavy 38-footer with a 13'1" height. The trailer pulls, brakes, handles beautifully - so much better than any bumper pull. But my expectations for re-fueling were much too high. First tow was 1300-miles on the Interstate and I assumed that re-fueling would be the easy part since there are Loves, Pilot, Flying J, etc. at many locations along the way. Man, was I wrong!

These truck stops were mostly nightmares. OK, part of the problem is I was traveling in the dark for half the trip (and that is something I plan to avoid at all costs in the future). Many of these truck stops are on crazy winding, unlit service roads making it difficult to even find a way into the facility. Then many of the so-called 'RV Lanes' are along with the normal pumps out front and perpendicular to the building - no possibility of getting my rig out, unless I wanted to back it out into a busy parking lot. Lots of truck traffic to deal with. Eventually, I even tried the truck lanes out back - well, they don't take debit-credit cards and one wanted a $300 hold on my bank account to use the pump. Gambling on a 'regular' gas station is just that. Good luck getting in or out due to turning radius or height restrictions. Few have their canopy heights marked at all.

What did I learn? Planning, planning, planning ahead of time. Searching out fuel stops in advance and checking them out on Google aerial and street view etc. Also, getting used to the height is intimidating even on the Interstate where you know the clearance is fine

The answer to that problem unfortunately adds to another. We changed out our stock fuel tank to a 60 gallon Titan. I have traveled up to 550 miles in a day without having to stop for fuel. For us that is about the limit of what we want to do in a day and most of the time it is less. I can unhook after setting up at our stop and then go find fuel wherever I want and usually a little better price off the main highway.

You can also get the in bed tank systems which have more capacity but I did not want to give up the extra bed space.

The big downside for you would be the extra weight of the fuel as it appears you are getting close to your limits. For our dually it was a not a problem.

[DKRITTER]

Duramax we did something similar a few years a go and really prefer a 5th wheel over a TT.
Towing is different, be aware the 5r tracks differently than a TT so it turns a little tighter and the back tends to swing more. Backing is a whole different animal, starts slow then really speeds up.

I can't speak to Dutchman, but I can say take your time go very slowly and control the sales process. The RV industry is fraught with quality issues and poor customer service so a real strong buyer beware attitude is needed. Good luck

[JohnBoyToo]

As stated...
practice, practice, practice...

our 42 foot 5'er with the f-350 dual cab truck was easy to back up if room was there Now I can only say that after learning HOW to do it and knowing that backing a 5'er is different than backing a class a or a tt...

with the 5'er you have to let it react to the initial turn and then chase it, if you keep turning until it's pointed in the right direction before you chase it, you've waited too long but that comes with practice... and watching the 5'ers tires/wheels

and with the long overhang, we could get into some short sites as long as the entry roads, and site width allowed us to get into there... the opposing slides were usually more of an issue than length !

[AtomicRT]

Originally Posted by JDT

The answer to that problem unfortunately adds to another. We changed out our stock fuel tank to a 60 gallon Titan. I have traveled up to 550 miles in a day without having to stop for fuel. For us that is about the limit of what we want to do in a day and most of the time it is less. I can unhook after setting up at our stop and then go find fuel wherever I want and usually a little better price off the main highway.

You can also get the in bed tank systems which have more capacity but I did not want to give up the extra bed space.

The big downside for you would be the extra weight of the fuel as it appears you are getting close to your limits. For our dually it was a not a problem.

I was considering an auxiliary tank at the end of that particular trip but after thinking about it, it was a highly unusual trip. We don't plan to travel that distance in 2 days very often at all in the future. We plan to stay put for weeks/months at a time and than probably a day trip of less than 400 miles to the next location (about my range with stock fuel tank, 12.5 MPG at 32 Gal.). We'll see. I do have some reserve for the added fuel weight if I had to (25,010 lb tow capacity and 5680 lb payload).

As far as reversing, I was very good with TTs. The 5er is a bit different but I can't describe why. Haven't had any real problems, just not as precise as I like to be! Need more practice

[JDT]

AtomicRT, I should have been more clear that my reference to reaching the trucks limits was meant for the original poster. You got plenty.

[Todd727]

If you are a Good Sam member, sign up for the RV Plus card which works at Pilot and Flying J. It is taken at the truck lane pumps and you get a discount. When towing big, it is not the time to find the station that will save you $.05/gallon. It isn't worth the trade-off in the convenience.

Using the truck lanes is definitely the way to go when towing big. Pay attention to the procedure everyone uses. Pull in, refuel, then pull forward and let the next truck pull in while you run inside, jump in the camper, etc. Don't block the pumps if at all possible.

Never use a debit card at a gas station, hotel, car rental, etc. They invariably put large holds.

As far as extra tanks, it's just not worth the hassle to me. I have a 105 gallon tank I can drop in my bed, but I lose cargo room, introduce the chance for spilling or dripping a little diesel into the bed and with those tanks, it's much easier to introduce water and dirt into your fuel system. I never really want to run more than five hours without stopping anyway. If you insist on adding a more fuel capacity, I'd seriously consider a larger under bed tank or a second tank under the bed.

[spock123]

I had the chance for a bigger fifth wheel and now I wish I had brought it. My fifth wheel is 36ft long. I have a 100gal fuel tank in truck, I use a credit card that I get 5% off at the pump. I never go in a truck stop, I get fuel a lot cheaper at smaller gas stations. The new gas stations that Walmart is putting in you can't get a camper in. Some National Park campgrounds I can't get in