Bumper pull VS. Fifth Wheel

I am following the other toy hauler thread and I was wondering.

What are the Pros and Cons of the fifth wheel say for a same size 27-30 foot trailer?

About how much does it cost to outfit the bed to be able to hook up the fifth wheel?

Is it easier to to pull/ park the fifth wheel?

 

5ers are way easier to pull, park, drive, everything. Some of the other questions depend on the truck. Short beds usually require a slider 5th wheel hitch which is way more than a normal hitch.

Normal I would estimate 850 installed, slider 1500ish(not that sure here, but guessing close). I have the BW turn over that was installed on my truck when I bought it and the 5th wheel attachment was 850.

Pros are cab over sleeping saves tons of room for living room, kitchen, and bathroom, plus garage. I have had both and cannot imagine a bumper again. The extra room, ease of use, and just how nice they tow makes them well worth it. I could go on but you get the drift. Chaotic will give a bigger list than I put and probably has more install pricing knowledge as my truck had my stuff already in it minus the hitch itself.

 

I've never had one, but watching at campgrounds and tracks, the 5th wheelers are supremely easier to park and navigate than a bumper pull. I was jealous and embarrassed at my "10 pass" attempts in comparison. The flip side is that if you are trying for something to use with a light-weight truck (as I was), the weight of the trailer carried by the truck is generally much higher. Realistically, it wasn't possible for my Tundra, even with a "lightweight" 5th wheel (they actually never had these back when I was looking). This is where the "half ton pullable" falls apart. The tow ratings assume more of the weight is actually on the wheels of the trailer.

Otherwise, I think it is all pros for a 5th wheel setup, particularly for a toy hauler.

 

Also biggest thing; If you tow rig breaks down or is in the shop with a mechanical, better have a buddy with a 5th wheel hitch, NOT just a gooseneck.

 

I've had both and am still amazed at how much easier the 5ver tows 3 1/2 years later.
FYI, I Just switched hitches last fall and am glad I did. I went from a cheapo (Curt) to the B&W Companion. Night and day difference in towing and I now have clean bed again when it's out.

 

I've got a 24' tag and a 46' gooseneck. I pull them both pretty often and long trips. Anything longer than 24' is not fun as a tag. It has the ability to really move your truck if it's loaded wrong, or gets caught by a side wind.

My 46' is always planted. Never does anything crazy and other than it's really long, is way easy to drive. The 46' is so planted that I had to set the speed limiter in my truck so that I wouldn't end up going 85+{ with 25k+ lbs.

Remember though, campers are measured from the ball to the bumper. We had a 27' camper that was about 24' of camper and 3' of tongue.

 

Can't tow a fiver with a van.

 

Sage advice right there.

 

Wtf?
Is the hitch on top of the suv?

 

And this is also a thing now

 

Oh hell no.

 

where can you tow doubles w/o a CDL?
cause that rig looks like 2 trailers to me.

 

If you dont NEED the bed space 5er is the way to go. for the same length you get more use out of a 5er and for same length the 5er is actually shorter when towing because of the overhang in the bed.

The 5er is more planted than a tag and they turn much differently because of where the pivot point is. In high crosswinds or fast passing vehicles the tag trailer will push the truck again because of that pivot point behind the wheel. With a 5er when the same thing happens the pivot point of the pin is slightly in front of the rear axle which means the trailer has to sort of try and push the whole truck vs simply kicking the rear out from the bumper with the tag trailer.

Parking and backing is much easier for the same reasons as the winds above, because of the pivot point, backing with the 5ver is much smoother because there is less "lateral" movement of the trailer with the turn of the wheel. So although you need more turns of the wheel it's harder to jack a 5er than a tag.

Some of the Cons for a 5er is weight. A 5er will have 15-25% pin weight with SOME of it put on the front axle because of the pin being a few inches forward of the rear axle. A tag trailer should have 8-12% tongue weight 100% of the weight is behind the rear axle, much further behind. So for the same weight trailer a 5er will use more payload from the truck.

Hitches: 5er will use a in bed and there are a few ways to go about it. The first is with in-bed rails which are pretty universal. you can get universal side plates which requires drilling the frame but the cheapest and easiest if you aren't afraid to drill your frame. The other option is custom rail install which has plates which sandwich the frame and is what I installed in an apartment parking lot. Little more expensive but no drilling. The rails that stay in the bed are universal and nearly every hitch will fit. The other option is something like a B&W which is a gooseneck install and requires drilling a 4" hole in the bed they run about $400 in Texas, from there you buy the B&W companion hitch with is something like $800. for comparison the custom side plates and bed rails were $200 and I bought a hitch on CL for $120 ($200 new) even the bigger, better ones are no more than $500.

Short bed vs Long: if you have a long bed the answer is simple get a standard hitch and you're done. If you have a short bed there are 3 solutions. Get a 5er with the wedged type nosecap. Most have them now, and heartland is famous for them you still have a risk with very tight backing though. Option two is you get a manual slider hitch $500-$800 when you need to do tight moving you get out and pull the lever which allows the trailer to slide back about 18" or you get an auto slider $1,200-$2500 and it does it all for you without getting out. Option 3 is you replace the Pin box on the 5er itself if a sidewinder pin box which locks out movement at the hitch and pivots further back. I have the sidewinder and I like it, I use a standard hitch with my shortbed and I can go past 90* when backing.

I'm sure you know the bumper pull hitch options which run 2-$400, hooking up to a 5er is simple and 1 person job once you get used to it and there are no bars and chains to deal with on a 5er, also no safety chains when using a 5th wheel hitch.

 

37 foot bumper pull toy hauler here. No issues. Load it right tow it right.

 

See ya that and raise you this...

 

Yes, you can.


And before you say its not a van, theres 2 of these rolling around here with CAR PLATES. Their beds are a bit shorter than this one.

 

A 5th wheel with a full size sleeper over the top....drawback? The thing is 13'6" tall but my barn door is only 12" so no parking it inside. I did have a work & Play that was only 11'6" tall but hated crawling up into the sleeper and only having a few feet of overhead. Solution? Build a taller barn next time.

 

LOL, I'll say it anyway. That's not a van.

 

Got you all beat.