Moving up to a Fifth Wheel?

[gr8daggett]

Hi Everyone
We are thinking of moving up from a Travel Trailer to a Fifth Wheel and looking for advice from your experiences.

What should we look for in a Fifth Wheel hitch?? Looking to pull a 337RLS with a 2005 Chevy 2500HD Duramax/Allison?.
Any other extra expenses to look for when moving to a Fifth Wheel?

Thanks, Mike

 

[thompsons 369rl]

Your hitch may depend on truck bed length. If it's a short bed, you may want a slider hitch. Lots of good hitches out there and as many opinions as to which is best so I won't even try to recommend which one to buy. You can do the research and decide for yourself based on your particular needs. No other major expenses switching from a TT to a fifth wheel as long as we're talking similar weights. You WILL find that a fifth wheel tows way nicer than a TT IMO.

 

[Cate&Rob]

You won't have a problem with how much your truck can pull, but be sure of what pin weight (payload) you are comfortable carrying.
Read through another thread on this forum at Reflection/Tow Vehicle/Tow Vehicle for 303RLS & 337RLS . . .
In particular, note the observation "I scaled our 337 at 2820# pin and 12880# total...much more than I expected"
And remember that the hitch, the passenger(s) and anything else in the truck are all part of payload.

Rob

 

[Scott and Jan]

We also upgraded to a 337rls from a TT. Love it! 5w does tow alot better.
One other expense that I can think of is if you carry any toys with you (ie. bicycles or kayaks) they can't go in the bed of truck anymore. You would need rack to carry them on back of trailer or on front of truck.
Other than that - good to go. Good luck.

 

[Aeromech]

Another expense is a new surge protector. Most TT's are 30 amp so you'll need a 50 amp along with new adapters etc for 50 amp. Also 50 amp extension cords are more expensive than 30's

 

[Bamaman]

Many of the items in your old trailer can be moved to a fifth wheel.

My biggest expenses were the under bed frame mounts and the above bed rails to mount the B&W Patriot fifth wheel hitch. I also had to get the wiring harness to move the 7 pin electrical connector into the bed and a new electric brake controller.

My SuperDuty bed is slightly longer than the other brands, but the design of the front cap on the Grand Designs minimizes the need for a mucho expensive slider hitch.

 

[SkiSmuggs]

I think the Reflection line works fine without a slider for a 6.5' bed, but the Solitude line looks like it doesn't have an extended pin and may require a slider hitch.

 

[SkiSmuggs]

Oops, another look at both lines and they both look like they have the cutaway nose corners and extended pins, so they should both work with a 6.5' bed.

 

[agoutdoors]

for what its worth, consider an air ride 5th wheel hitch (comes with air bags) that reduces the vibration between the truck and the trailer. they are more expensive that standard 5th hitches, but when you are spending the kind of money for a truck and new 5th wheel I think its worth the extra $$.

 

[WhittleBurner]

Marcy and I also have the air hitch. We got ours from air safe and have been very happy with the ride that we get from it. It has 4 air bags and two shocks. We got the 20k omni-directional. Not getting all the chucking and banging from the 5th wheel is a lot easier on the truck and trailer. Not to mention bad backs.