Hello from Orange County California. 260RD, 303RLS, 335RLS???

RobW33

New Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2024
Messages
3
Hi all,

Quick introduction. My wife and I are excited about post kids pre retirement living. We started looking at RV life because we love camping but hate the idea of "roughing it" like we did when we were kids. We are super close to pulling the trigger on a Grand Designs Reflections 5th wheel. We've done so much looking and researching hoping to find a good fit that doesn't miss the target. We have contemplated Reflections 150 Series 260RD and moved from that to a 303RLS and then someone planted the seed that the 337RLS is the right choice. We are only put off on the 303RLS by the bathroom, particularly the shower given our relative size. So the wheels are spinning on 32" 1-" vs. 35' 7" and the extra weight that comes with it. We have a 2024 Ford F250 Tremor (18,200 tow rating, 3003 lb payload). I don't need to rehash the fact that the F250 Tremor is exactly the same truck as the F350 Tremor, so for arguments sake we can assume I have an F350.

Given that we are looking for a premium "couples" RV I would love to get some opinions from others who may have been in the same boat. It seem like it is a good time to purchase a 2024. I'll preface the discussion by saying I'm not worried about my F250 Tremor pulling the 337RLS - it is a heavy RV but the Tremor has the HO engine and beefed axles along with F350 rear suspension. I am curious to know if any others in their early 60s have had the same experience. I do not want to buy an RV and replace it 2 or 3 years later with the one we should have bought at the start. We want to camp state and national parks and road trip to visit kids and (hopefully) grandkids soon. Easing into the RV life style is the objective since I have about 3 to 5 more years before retirement. I can see us going from camping 4 to 5 times a year to several weeks a year when retirement kicks in.

Thanks in advance!
Rob W9
 
Hi all,

Quick introduction. My wife and I are excited about post kids pre retirement living. We started looking at RV life because we love camping but hate the idea of "roughing it" like we did when we were kids. We are super close to pulling the trigger on a Grand Designs Reflections 5th wheel. We've done so much looking and researching hoping to find a good fit that doesn't miss the target. We have contemplated Reflections 150 Series 260RD and moved from that to a 303RLS and then someone planted the seed that the 337RLS is the right choice. We are only put off on the 303RLS by the bathroom, particularly the shower given our relative size. So the wheels are spinning on 32" 1-" vs. 35' 7" and the extra weight that comes with it. We have a 2024 Ford F250 Tremor (18,200 tow rating, 3003 lb payload). I don't need to rehash the fact that the F250 Tremor is exactly the same truck as the F350 Tremor, so for arguments sake we can assume I have an F350.

Given that we are looking for a premium "couples" RV I would love to get some opinions from others who may have been in the same boat. It seem like it is a good time to purchase a 2024. I'll preface the discussion by saying I'm not worried about my F250 Tremor pulling the 337RLS - it is a heavy RV but the Tremor has the HO engine and beefed axles along with F350 rear suspension. I am curious to know if any others in their early 60s have had the same experience. I do not want to buy an RV and replace it 2 or 3 years later with the one we should have bought at the start. We want to camp state and national parks and road trip to visit kids and (hopefully) grandkids soon. Easing into the RV life style is the objective since I have about 3 to 5 more years before retirement. I can see us going from camping 4 to 5 times a year to several weeks a year when retirement kicks in.

Thanks in advance!
Rob W9

Stick with the 303 or under. The 337 has plenty of potential to be at or over your capacity. (especially if you add the weight the correct way, with the hitch, anything you put in the bed, and the weight of occupants)

The 2200lbs advertised empty pin weight isn't even close to camp ready weight, with adding a battery and filling LP tanks. Then add in all your "stuff" (with the large pass through area, it's easy to fill).
 
Thread moved to New To RV'ing, Purchase Questions & General Concerns.
[MENTION=331]huntr70[/MENTION] 's advice is sound. Our 337 consistently came in over 3,000 lbs. pin weight (use 23% of a fifth wheel's GVWR for an estimated loaded pin weight).

That said, the 337 is a great couples floorplan. After 4-1/2 years full-time in ours we moved to a Solitude 310GK-R (same floorplan in the smallest Solitude) to gain dual pane windows, better insulation, auto-leveling (our 2016 337 didn't have that), a dedicated washer/dryer closet and some other amenities. We pulled both fivers with an F350 dually.

Rob
 
The GVWR of that 337RLS is 13,995 lbs, so just round that out to 14,000 lbs. Almost ALL 5th wheel hitch type campers are going to have a minimum of 20% of the trailer weight put down as pin weight. Many are even higher than that and some will even approach the 24-25% range, although that higher number is not nearly as common as 21%/22%. So the point is that the published 2300 lbs of pin weight, which is the empty pin weight of the trailer will do nothing but go up and up as the trailer is loaded with your "stuff."

If you look at the numbers and do the math, you can see pretty quickly that you could pretty easily go over the payload numbers for your truck. Let's say that you load the trailer up to somewhere between empty weight and GVWR......say 13,000 lbs. Doing the 21% factor for pin weight, you see that the trailer is putting 2730 lbs or so on the truck. Then add up the weight of the 5ver hitch to that, plus anything and everything else that goes into or on the truck. And don't forget that if you've added anything to the truck since it was new.....a toolbox and tools, a bed cover, etc, those things all take away from the original payload capacity. If you've done any of that, your best bet is to take the truck to a CAT scale, with the truck loaded as it would be when ready to camp....full of fuel, passengers (if any), bed with the hitch in it and anything else that might be there when you are going camping......and get a weight on the truck. Then deduct that weight from the GVWR and you then will know exactly how much "available" payload the truck has for the trailer pin weight.
 
Welcome to the forum. Why not the 260RD? We love ours. Your truck will handle it easily. A great couples camper.
 
The GVWR of that 337RLS is 13,995 lbs, so just round that out to 14,000 lbs. Almost ALL 5th wheel hitch type campers are going to have a minimum of 20% of the trailer weight put down as pin weight. Many are even higher than that and some will even approach the 24-25% range, although that higher number is not nearly as common as 21%/22%. So the point is that the published 2300 lbs of pin weight, which is the empty pin weight of the trailer will do nothing but go up and up as the trailer is loaded with your "stuff."

If you look at the numbers and do the math, you can see pretty quickly that you could pretty easily go over the payload numbers for your truck. Let's say that you load the trailer up to somewhere between empty weight and GVWR......say 13,000 lbs. Doing the 21% factor for pin weight, you see that the trailer is putting 2730 lbs or so on the truck. Then add up the weight of the 5ver hitch to that, plus anything and everything else that goes into or on the truck. And don't forget that if you've added anything to the truck since it was new.....a toolbox and tools, a bed cover, etc, those things all take away from the original payload capacity. If you've done any of that, your best bet is to take the truck to a CAT scale, with the truck loaded as it would be when ready to camp....full of fuel, passengers (if any), bed with the hitch in it and anything else that might be there when you are going camping......and get a weight on the truck. Then deduct that weight from the GVWR and you then will know exactly how much "available" payload the truck has for the trailer pin weight.

Thanks for the details. The Tremor package on the F250 is a bit unique. It is the exact same mechanicals as an F350 (Sterling 11.6 axle and F350 spring pack), but de-rated to hit the 11,000 lb GVWR rating to help lower insurance in some states, from what I've been told. So even though my label says 3003 lbs payload, it really is closer to 4000 lbs. That being said, I am concerned about the real world experience pulling the 337RLS with a SRW F350 (or F250) vs the 303RLS. To me it seems comical that Grand Designs and others promote half ton towing for the 295RL. All these spec sheet ratings aside, there is a massive leap between a half ton truck and ¾ ton truck. Not so big between a ¾ ton and 1 ton until you get to DRW.

We are both really excited to get started on this journey, so all the input is very much appreciated. We are trying to avoid the situation where we buy a 5er this year and in 2-3 years we figure out that we need something different. Over analysis is a problem I may need therapy to cure!
 
Thanks for the details. The Tremor package on the F250 is a bit unique. It is the exact same mechanicals as an F350 (Sterling 11.6 axle and F350 spring pack), but de-rated to hit the 11,000 lb GVWR rating to help lower insurance in some states, from what I've been told. So even though my label says 3003 lbs payload, it really is closer to 4000 lbs. That being said, I am concerned about the real world experience pulling the 337RLS with a SRW F350 (or F250) vs the 303RLS. To me it seems comical that Grand Designs and others promote half ton towing for the 295RL. All these spec sheet ratings aside, there is a massive leap between a half ton truck and ¾ ton truck. Not so big between a ¾ ton and 1 ton until you get to DRW.

We are both really excited to get started on this journey, so all the input is very much appreciated. We are trying to avoid the situation where we buy a 5er this year and in 2-3 years we figure out that we need something different. Over analysis is a problem I may need therapy to cure!

With all due respect, and not to be argumentative, none of that really matters. The sticker on the door post of the truck that was put on the truck at the factory during the build, is the gospel for the payload capacity of the truck. Under normal circumstances, and in most states, the "over payload" issue may never come up....BUT....if there is ever an accident involving the truck and trailer and there would be serious injuries to someone, or heaven forbid a fatality accident, the insurance companies are are going to be fighting each other to determine "fault". One of the things that may get looked at is the weights of your setup, and if you were over any of the truck/trailer limits.....that will be GVWR, RAWR, FAWR, Payload, GCVWR, Tire load capacity ratings.....everything. That is one aspect of the situation. The second aspect is that serious injuries/fatalities may end up in a civil court and suing for damages, based on fault or some percentage of fault. An example might be that you and the truck/trailer rig was driving the posed speed limit but you were say 1000 lbs overloaded. Someone runs a red light or pulls out in front of you and you can't get stopped in time to avoid the accident. A court may find that even though you were travelling at the posted speed limit and that the other guy pulled out in front of you, there was still some fault on your part because you were over the truck/trailer capacities or limits. It all just depends on the totality of the circumstances and what is determined to be "your" fault or percentage of fault in the accident

That may seem very unlikely to happen in the scheme of things, but I can tell you that personally, I've worked too long and too hard to have something taken away from me because I chose to not abide by the the rules......or in a case like this.....posted weight/capacity limits. It's a personal decision that everyone of us has to make at some point in time, and I chose to be in the camp of not overloaded on both the truck and the trailer. That's why you see in my signature, I'm towing a triple axle Momentum with a 20,000 lb GVWR capacity, with a CrewCab Dually that has a 14,000 lb GVWR.....and I can tell you, every part of the capacity ratings/limits are within the posted number for the truck and the trailer. Our out west trip in 2021 had my truck weight at around 13,600 lbs, which is close, but still within the limits.....and of course as I drove it became lighter as the 95 gallons of fuel was burned off.....until it was time to fill up again.
 
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The 2600 doesn’t have travel access to the bathroom with the slide in.
I’m also in Orange County, not sure where you’re considering buying from but we traveled to Trailer Hitch RV in Nipomo Cal and saved over $5k from what Mike Thompson’s would sell us our 2500RL for. In addition they were so much easier to deal with. At Mike Thompson’s they wanted our ID and a credit card for a deposit before they would even give us an OTD price and I’ve bought from them previously!! The first time we walked into Trailer Hitch RV the salesman was a little busy so he told us all the RVs were open, just go ahead and look around on our own and he would catch up to us in a few minutes, no pressure. And their advertised sale price is the price plus tax and license, no add ons. Couldn’t have been happier buying from them.
 
The 2600 doesn’t have travel access to the bathroom with the slide in.
I’m also in Orange County, not sure where you’re considering buying from but we traveled to Trailer Hitch RV in Nipomo Cal and saved over $5k from what Mike Thompson’s would sell us our 2500RL for. In addition they were so much easier to deal with. At Mike Thompson’s they wanted our ID and a credit card for a deposit before they would even give us an OTD price and I’ve bought from them previously!! The first time we walked into Trailer Hitch RV the salesman was a little busy so he told us all the RVs were open, just go ahead and look around on our own and he would catch up to us in a few minutes, no pressure. And their advertised sale price is the price plus tax and license, no add ons. Couldn’t have been happier buying from them.

Thanks - we actually spoke to the the Trailer Hitch guys yesterday. Side question for you - I get the sales tax amount, but I'm curious about the license fees. I checked the DMV site yesterday and it shows $20. Also - do you pay any property tax on a trailer in Orange County? I have a boat that I'm getting rid of and that gets hit with property tax every year. Just trying to understand the whole cost side of things...
 
I’m not sure about the DMV fee but I pay no property tax. Talk to Kevin Winters at Trailer Hitch RV. He’s the GM and a straight shooter. Most of their prices are 25-30% off which I consider more than fair.
 

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