Which Come's First-5th or Truck

[Txglamper]

Originally Posted by Super Thirty

For sure. I have looked at B&W sliders and Curt Sliders that have the puck system for our truck. I’ve only looked at the manual sliders up to now. The trailers we’ve looked at have pin boxes that appear to extend longer forward, is that what you are referring to?

Yes. Ive also looked into the Anderson hitch that connects to the gooseneck ball. There adapter sets the pin a few more inches back and i think they make a mount for a short bed as well. Some people don’t trust them due to being made of aluminum but there are more good reviews than bad. One draw back is it has a bigger footprint than other 5th wheel hitches.

[JollyCamper]

The pickup we are going to be upgrading to already has a fifth wheel hitch, is short bed, and already has been kissed by the front of trailer on the back of the cab. Since we are buying a truck/trailer package from a family member, we know that there is a problem possibility. I have been looking at the Anderson as well. They make one that goes for the gooseneck and also one that attaches to the "rails". I will need this pickup to be usable to work with/out of most of the time, so wrestling the existing hitch monster in and out kind of makes my back complain just thinking about it. The Andersen I think is less than or right around 50 pounds. That is the biggest advantage to me!

[HDGoose]

Originally Posted by JollyCamper

The pickup we are going to be upgrading to already has a fifth wheel hitch, is short bed, and already has been kissed by the front of trailer on the back of the cab. Since we are buying a truck/trailer package from a family member, we know that there is a problem possibility. I have been looking at the Anderson as well. They make one that goes for the gooseneck and also one that attaches to the "rails". I will need this pickup to be usable to work with/out of most of the time, so wrestling the existing hitch monster in and out kind of makes my back complain just thinking about it. The Andersen I think is less than or right around 50 pounds. That is the biggest advantage to me!

I enjoyed my PullRite auto slider hitch. I spent the money for the under bed system and enjoyed that. I bought a chain fall to lift my hitch out of my truck bed an into a raised pallet with wheels.


I had never owned a 5th wheel or a diesel truck before. I really appreciated the auto slider. And I did have to cut things tighter than planned because of other drivers. And I would have needed to manually slide the hitch back. But the autoslider was great for me.

[gertpacu]

Truck came before the rig for me.. I know this thread has morphed into something else, but you got to get the truck first. I made sure the truck I got could pull anything.

[GatorTIm16]

New user and RVer here, hello! For us, we decided to get the camper first (5th wheel) since the dealer delivered. After that, we shopped for a few months for a truck and ended up finding a 2016 F-350 Platinum w/ only 34,000 miles on it. It's literally putting the cart before the horse, but for us it worked out.

[Nlambert]

We've tried every combination imaginable before we figured out what we needed.

1st RV - 2008 Jayco 29' bunkhouse TT, pulled with 2005 Ford Expedition
2nd RV - 2008 Coachmen Adrenaline 5th wheel 42' TH - pulled with 2012 Ram 2500 crew cab short bed
3rd RV - 2013 Heartland Prowler 34' rear living 5th wheel - pulled with 2012 Ram 2500
4th RV - 2017 Keystone Hideout 298BHDS 34' 5th wheel - pulled with 2016 Ram 3500 DRW
5th (and current RV) - 2020 Coachmen Chapparal 392MBL - pulling with 2016 Ram 3500 DRW

1st camper was too long and heavy for the Expedition. 2nd camper was way too big for the truck. 3rd camper was slightly too heavy for the 2500. 4th camper combo worked just fine. Current camper was carefully spec'd so that we didn't do this dance again.

In short, I say get the truck first and always buy more than you think you will need. It pays off in the long run if (WHEN) you decide to upgrade later.

[Dlleno]

old thread but wanted to agree with the previous poster. Always research and know the trailer you want and expect to afford -- when buying the truck. semantics game i know, but as a practical matter you can't take delivery of a fifth wheel trailer without the truck, so you WILL have to buy the truck first. just make sure to inform you truck-buying adventure with the trailer that you expect to pull behind it.

and just for a good anchor point: 3500 (or F350) SRW diesel trucks these days are phenomenal towing machines and daily drivers, and will accommodate most 16,000 lb. "ish" GWR trailers. Ram is a little behind here, primarily because that big heavy Cummins -- and various truck options (Mega Cab, for example, weighs more than a long box crew cab) that make this truck a 9,000 lb. (ish) rig with fuel and people on board. ergo, you can have between 3000 and 35000 lbs on the pin.

From a strictly payload numbers perspective, the F350 wins out over the Ram, primarily because of its 12,400 lb. GVWR (100 lbs more than the Ram) and because the curb weight is lower to begin with.

So, generally speaking, if your desired trailer is in the 15,000 lbs to 16,000 lbs region (fully loaded at GVWR), then a SRW 1-ton diesel is the bees knees. Some of the lighter fifth wheels can be towed by the mightier of the 3/4 tons, such as the F250 with 1080-lb. GVWR package, but you gotta be really careful to watch the numbers especially pin weight. Personally I wouldn't pull a 15,000 lb. 5er with a 3/4 ton truck; thats a job for a 1-ton.

[enigma2me]

Originally Posted by Cummins12V98

Start off right, get a RAM Dually and then you can haul most any RV out there.

That's what we did. Bought the truck first (2019 RAM 3500 HO Diesel DRW) figuring that we could tow almost anything.

We even knew we wanted the Villano 320GK at 35' and 16,000 gross weight, which is well below the specs for the truck.

When we started looking for the truck, we were told there are significant shortages out there, so we were prepared to wait a while to find the truck. As it turned out, we were lucky and found our ideal truck within weeks.

Lastly, we figured owning a truck without a 5th wheel was much better than a 5th wheel without something to tow it. Having said that, we now own both, but haven't been able to pick up our 5th wheel because of delays with hitches.

Just our thinking.

[WyoFree]

Old thread but a good one.

My cousin just ordered a 2022 ford F350 SRW and will be towing a fifth wheel seeming way to big for the truck. I wrote this down from the brochure he has. Hitch 2455 - UVW 14844 - GVWR 17300 - Length 40.7.

He doesn't want a Dooley or a Diesel so there you go. I noticed you guys talking the Anderson and that's his plan as well. Will he be able to tow and keep his engine and tranny intact?

[NTXNEWBIES]

Originally Posted by WyoFree

Old thread but a good one.

My cousin just ordered a 2022 ford F350 SRW and will be towing a fifth wheel seeming way to big for the truck. I wrote this down from the brochure he has. Hitch 2455 - UVW 14844 - GVWR 17300 - Length 40.7.

He doesn't want a Dooley or a Diesel so there you go. I noticed you guys talking the Anderson and that's his plan as well. Will he be able to tow and keep his engine and tranny intact?

He will be borderline per the weight numbers for that truck but may be way under powered for climbs etc.

[Txglamper]

Originally Posted by WyoFree

Old thread but a good one.

My cousin just ordered a 2022 ford F350 SRW and will be towing a fifth wheel seeming way to big for the truck. I wrote this down from the brochure he has. Hitch 2455 - UVW 14844 - GVWR 17300 - Length 40.7.

He doesn't want a Dooley or a Diesel so there you go. I noticed you guys talking the Anderson and that's his plan as well. Will he be able to tow and keep his engine and tranny intact?

Ive heard good and bad about the Anderson Ultimate Hitch. Ive seen some that have used it for a while and there still good, and then some that have had theirs fail on the first use. Im planning on using the Reese Goose Box myself. It will keep me from having to uninstall a heavy hitch when i need to use the bed or goose neck hitch. I drive a 2015 Chevy Dully and we purchased it before the 5th wheel because we were still undecided on what size and if we were going to be full time or not. Ive seen SWR pullin some crazy stuff but most have been diesel. Ford raves about their towing power on all their trucks but it is still a Ford.

[WstTxCowboy]

Have driven Dodge, Ford and GM trucks over the years. In Dec'2019 ordered a 2020 F350 Platinum, DRW 8' bed with Turbo 6.7L Diesel, Crew Cab, 32K Hitch. appropriately named the Beast, I tow a 5th Wheel, 41' Grand Design BHS, which is about 1/2 my towing capacity at 15K. Cross winds do not push me around. Short stops due to inconsiderate drivers do not cause us anxiety. We plan to upgrade in a year to a Toy Hauler, so the additional tow weight is well within our capacity as well. Figure the truck will be around a lot longer than a particular RV trailer. Best Toy I have every bought myself, it is a dream to drive.

[douginpoway]

One downside of trailer first is now you are on the clock to get truck. Most dealers won't store trailer for you long.
How about having all your homework done, be patient and buy both at once?

[Dana Anderso]

Originally Posted by caissiel

Satisfy the DW first then tell her that now you need a freightliner to tow the unit. Both will be happy.
We had the truck first and bought the unit that added to Gross Combined Weight Rating of the truck. She is happy and my wallet is also.

And old saying, “ You don’t buy the cart before the horse”.