Which Come's First-5th or Truck

[dlshow]

We have horses so the truck was 1st. We learned the hard way by trying to tow with trucks that were undersized and unpowered. Once we finally went to the diesel there was no looking back. I find a dually to be more stable and there is not the overheating problem with the diesel like a gas engine can have. Our 1st diesel was a 98 Cummins dually. We have now gone to an 2007 GMC 3500 dually, 4 door with the 8 foot bed. I love it. We bought it with 179,000 miles and it had a 70 fuel tank in the bed. We tow a 33' Teton Experience (14,000 empt). It was great towing up the mountains from 1800 to 6600 in Arizona. It had tons of power and the Allison transmission was awesome. I am sure the Cummins and International do just as well but I am partial to the interior of the GMC. You will never say I have to much truck for my RV! When your truck is struggling to make it up the mountains you won't be a "HAPPY CAMPER"! I am amazed at some of the RV/Truck setups I see going down the road that are just looking for trouble. I sold a 24" sailboat to a guy who wanted to tow it with a 6 cylinder BMW SUV. He said the "BOOK" said it would tow it. HUMMM! "OUCH"!

[YstoneWY]

I bought my 2014 F250 SD just cause I wanted it...about a year later my stepson (granddaughter) moved out of state, to which my wife said..."we need to get an RV"! Since I knew nothing about towing, it took both of us about 200 hours of research (not exaggerated) to back into a Cougar Xlite 27RKS. Perfect match.
My advice: Pick your trailer/5th wheel 1st, then get the truck to haul it properly!!!

[illinibill]

My dealer simply said, there is no 1/2 ton ‘ that is going to pull a fiver SAFELY. So I bought a GMC 2500 HD with Dura Max and Allison.

[Wyfbane]

My wife and I went truck first. Got a great deal on a very lightly used 2017 Ram 3500 4x4 DRW with the Cummins diesel. We are now searching for the perfect 5th wheel, secure in the belief that we can pull whatever we decide on with that truck.

Mike

[MTK46]

If you bought the 5th wheel first how are you going to get it home without a truck. Pay someone to do it, not me.
We know what used 5th wheel we are looking for so we bought the truck that can tow it. Looking at a used Mobile Suites 36' models. Bought used 2014 F-350 diesel CC dully with only 83k miles on it.

[fatboy4909]

You should find the trailer you want first. Then go out and find the truck necessary to pull the thing. If you get the truck first, you then will definitely compromise on the trailer. Honest!!!!!

[DobeBus]

Originally Posted by fatboy4909

You should find the trailer you want first. Then go out and find the truck necessary to pull the thing. If you get the truck first, you then will definitely compromise on the trailer. Honest!!!!!

Kind of like, which came first, chicken or egg. Truth be told, it was the ROOSTER

[MTK46]

Originally Posted by fatboy4909

You should find the trailer you want first. Then go out and find the truck necessary to pull the thing. If you get the truck first, you then will definitely compromise on the trailer. Honest!!!!!

No I've always bought truck first. Truck has always been more than needed for RV I bought. That way I could upgrade RV without needing a new truck down the road.

[Wundertaker]

Originally Posted by MTK46

No I've always bought truck first. Truck has always been more than needed for RV I bought. That way I could upgrade RV without needing a new truck down the road.

Makes sense to me.....that's what i did and it was the right decision!!!

[Bgonzo]

Been down the road of buying a truck first and made the mistake of not getting enough truck.

Long story short, we decided to move to a 5th wheel full time and decided on a toyhauler. I bought a 16 chevy 3500 dually with the 6.6 duramax and 3.73 rear. I never really thought about what it could "legally" haul because after all...it was a dually, right?

Fast forward 8 months and now we are looking at a Full time 5er. Still haven't finalized our choice but we are looking at DRV, Luxe, New Horizons and Spacecraft. The 22.6k rating on the chevy was now out the window. Yes, it can haul more than 22.6k but in the unfortunate event of being in accident, I didn't want to be the subject of a lawsuit. Soooo....
I traded it for an 18 Ram 3500, 6.7 H.O. Cummins, Aisin Tranny, 4:10 gears, and self leveling rear suspension. I looked at Ford, but even the F450 only has a 27.5k rating on the 5th wheel. Only thing I see from here is a MD sport chassis but not wanting to go down that road atm. I think I have what I need to get the job done.

[Grzly03]

Bgonzo, I have always bought the truck first, in that I trade every year or two. But, we are impulse buyers, and exercised that trait in May when we upgraded to a DRV 40KSSB4. I knew I was on the verge of being "under-trucked" and had been looking around for something more robust than my 2017 F-350 SRW short bed. I finally did find a 2011 F-450 King Ranch long bed dually last week and bought it. Almost pristine, and hooked up to the DRV for the first time yesterday. It is a wonder, and has all the features I need for the job. I highly recommend it to you.

By the way, we love the DRV, and have been to the plant in Howe, IN, to witness the construction, materials, and personnel. Very impressive. It is like most other RVs, however, there are small things you might have to DIY on, but overall, we really love it, and enjoy getting out of the S and B house whenever we can because of having it. It is the first RV my wife has actually admitted to "loving." Good Luck!

[Ragermack]

Ram 3500 last week.GD Reflection 337 RLS early next year. With the truck bought I can pick where I want to get the trailer and not worry about getting it home

[Wundertaker]

Originally Posted by Ragermack

Ram 3500 last week.GD Reflection 337 RLS early next year. With the truck bought I can pick where I want to get the trailer and not worry about getting it home

SRW or Dually?

[Ragermack]

Originally Posted by Wundertaker

SRW or Dually?

SRW