5th Wheel Purchase

doscalfees · Joined: 30 Jan 2008 Posts: 52 Location: Southern Oregon

Hello,
Within 2 years we plan on purchasing a 5th wheel. We own an 08 Dodge 1 ton w/6.7 L Cummins, long bed. We have grandchildren in Georgia and Arizona, and plan to travel to each and staying for a few months. Eventually we are going to purchase a home in s/w Georgia and still travel about. Going from high humidity to very little, I need suggestions on a brand of 5th wheels to consider and what options. Right now we live in southern Oregon.

Is it best to purchase a hitch after the 5th wheel purchase? Thank you in advance to any advice and opinions.

Switched from m/h to 5th wheel: better when storing RV cause you can still use truck. Laughing

elh3946 · Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 1650 Location: Sioux Falls, SD

Well, you have an RV manufacturer right there in Oregon that makes very nice fifth wheels...Northwood Mfg., maker of Arctic Fox, Nash, and Desert Fox. They're located in La Grande. http://www.northwoodmfg.com/

Other good manufacturers are Excel (Peterson Ind.) and Hitchhiker (NuWa).
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LindaH
2007 Excel Classic 30RKE
2007 Dodge Ram 3500, Cummins diesel
On the road fulltiming...see where we are now:
http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=1167

azbound · Joined: 14 Oct 2008 Posts: 20 Location: Redding, Ca.

Good questions. You have excellent choices of dealers in your area in both Medford and Grants Pass. They sell some of the better 5ers on the market. I have buddies who own HitchHiker's Champagnes, Jayco Designer and Eagles, and Keystone Montanas. I own a Heartland Bighorn. We all swear by our rigs so we are biased. I can tell you that HitchHiker, Jayco and Heartland have great reputations for standing by their products and are great to work with on warranty issues. I suggest you check out your local dealers and see what they have. Remember you have to match your new 5er to your tow vehicle. Don't take the dealer's word that your vehicle can pull what he is trying to sell you. Do your homework in that area. It's the weight, not the length that is important. And there are so many floorplans available today that the fun is in the shopping.
You can get a lot of help on this and other forums like rv.net when it comes to what you can tow.
As for the hitch, I wouldn't rush out and have one installed. Rather wait and try and negotiate the hitch and brake controller in to the purchase of the trailer. You may not need a slider hitch, depending on the length of your truck bed, and many of the new 5ers are now designed to tow with a short bed truck. Example" all Heartland 5ers are short bed towable.

So go out there and check them out, find the weight, length and floor plan that best suits you, and take the plunge. Prices have never been better and the dealers have never been more eager to make great deals.

Good luck and good hunting.
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Gary & Janet
azbound
2009 Bighorn 3400RL
Chevy 3500HD Duramx/Alison

garynjudy · Joined: 09 Sep 2006 Posts: 16 Location: La Center, WA

5th wheels made by Northwood Manufacturing are top notch. As far as a hitch, we have a 16K Reese slider (for short box). Pullrite is one of the better hitches. You can probably shop around and get a good deal (Poulsbo RV, Camping World, etc.) ahead of time, or when you decide on an RV purchase, you can negotiate with the dealer on a hitch.
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2006 Dodge Laramie 2500 quad cab short bed w/ Cummins
2006 Arctic Fox 27.5 5th wheel
2007 Jeep Compass

Gary and Judy (frmr owners of Winnebago "A" gas and diesel)

alanbarreca · Joined: 20 Sep 2008 Posts: 3

We began our search for a fifth wheel thinking that a 1/2 ton pickup and a super lite fifth wheel would be great. In the end we purchased a 38-foot Newmar Mountain Aire with three slides. You have heard that the best RV size is three feet longer than the one you have. I have yet to feel that it is too big to go where we want, and as full-timers we boondock quite a lot. At 18000 lb travel weight, we needed an 06 Dodge diesel dually. We are quite happy with our choice even though we are only getting about 9 mpg. I strongly recommend opposing slide configurations to provide a cozy living area, especially if you are a full-timer or spend months at a time on the road. We just minimize our traveling when fuel goes through the roof. One final point, a quality used RV at a price you can handle is better than a brand-new one of lesser quality. Newmar is one of the better makers, and our unit was slightly used at a great price.

elh3946 · Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 1650 Location: Sioux Falls, SD

alanbarreca · Joined: 20 Sep 2008 Posts: 3

You may be technically right about the weight behind a Dodge/Cummins diesel dually since I have not looked at the book, but I would still be surprised. Practically speaking, there is no problem; I think any Dodge dealer would tell you the same thing. I have been pulling this rig around (with Mohr-Ride) for over ten thousand miles with no trouble at all. I know many others who pull loads over 20,000 lbs with the same machine. I have added a Pacbrake for added safety. The Mohr-Ride is tandem wheels and dual axle: a total of eight wheels. I recently had a blowout and did not know about it until a visual inspection alerted me. I feel totally safe going down the road.

garynjudy · Joined: 09 Sep 2006 Posts: 16 Location: La Center, WA

At 18,000 lbs, you are about 2000 lbs overweight. The Cummins will continue to work for you. The problem that you will probably have is with the transmission. The 48RE does NOT like hard work. If it was an Allison, you would have more leeway.

Go to the Dodge or Cummins website and look at the horror stories.

Our wet weight on our 5th wheel is 11,000 lbs and I would not want to go heavier. We even travel with water half full and holding tanks empty. We have an '06 Dodge quad cab diesel 4x4 upgraded to 1 ton. I have had the transmission temp light go on when maneuvering...I then go to 4x4 low.
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2006 Dodge Laramie 2500 quad cab short bed w/ Cummins
2006 Arctic Fox 27.5 5th wheel
2007 Jeep Compass

Gary and Judy (frmr owners of Winnebago "A" gas and diesel)

ruhlronnan · Joined: 23 Jun 2007 Posts: 3 Location: Tucson, AZ

Our first fifth wheel ('84 Holiday Rambler Alumalite) had a center kitchen. Our second one ('96 Holiday Rambler Alumascape) had a rear kitchen. On its maiden voyage after arriving at a campground, we opened up the door and there were broken plates (Corningware) and bowls all over the floor. After that I had to be sure the cabinets were tied closed. A crockpot was even destroyed during one of our trips. My husband even had shocks added to no avail. Our third and last one ('06 Holiday Rambler Alumascape) has the center kitchen and I'm once again a happy camper. The island in a kitchen prevents you from working in the kitchen once the slide is in. Be sure to close all the slides to see how much maneuverability you have - include the bedroom slide as well (the second one prevented us from using the bed with the slide closed).

elh3946 · Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 1650 Location: Sioux Falls, SD

Motor31 · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2008 7:58 am Post subject:

Using the Trailer Life towing guide I checked the tow ratings for Dodge.

In 2006 the highest tow rating was for the 3500 model and only a very few of them got up to 16,000 lbs.

In the 2008 model year, to get up to 18,000 lbs you needed the 4500 or the 5500 series truck. The 3500 was still rated to 16,000 (+ or - 350 lbs) and again only a very few option models got that high.

If you are towing 18k lbs with a Dodge 3500 you are overloaded and that includes 2008 models on down. It's not an uncommon situation as many do not want to spend the money to get enough truck to tow safely but dumb multiplied does not equal smart.

Check your insurance policies for exclusions. You may be just be towing without insurance by towing overloaded. Any excuse to terminate coverage in the event of a collision can be used by an insurance company to leave you hanging. It's also illegal to be over weight, over size and or over length even if you are not commercially towing.
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Mike, Nancy and the Fuzzies
2005 MS 38 RL3
2001 Volvo MH (HDT)
2004 R1150RT (piggyback)
1996 Jeep Cherokee (toad)

doscalfees · Joined: 30 Jan 2008 Posts: 52 Location: Southern Oregon

Thank you all for your comments.

We took the plunge and purchased an 08 34' Montana Mountaineer with 3 slides, 2 of which are opposing in the living room. We think we got a good price for it at Triple A RV in Medford, OR. They have a pretty good reputation for service after the sale.

We are going to take in on its maiden voyage on Valentines's Day to 7 Feathers RV Park up in Canyonville, OR. Ronnie Milsap will be headlining that evening. Very Happy

TannerBee · Joined: 28 Oct 2006 Posts: 702 Location: Rock Hill, SC

Congratulations! Hope to see you on the road one day.
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Floyd and Tanner
Coachmen Santara 35
Rock Hill SC

Time is either spent or invested.