What to know about a 5th wheel toy hauler.

Really good stuff here.

Super important is the size of the tanks, including the Pot water. The weekend can get very aggravating if you run out of water and/or run out of tank storage. The separate garage is also a big deal. While I love the smell of race fuel, it probably wouldnt be good breathing it for 3-4 days straight.

Aside from that, the best advice I can give you is to change the junk OEM tires immediately. That is one of the places most of them try to skimp to cut costs. The OEM tires will likely be shit. And I would have 2 spare wheels, with new tires mounted.

Also, if you dont have one of these, get it.

 

3/4 Ton trucks, for the most part are NOT a good tow vehicle for a 5th wheel camper type trailer. That includes traditional 5ver camping trailers AND Toy Haulers. A couple of important things to know here. Most tow behind trailers will/should put down approx. 13% of the trailer's weight as tongue weight. Example...a 10,000 lb trailer (actual weight not advertised weight) needs to put down around 1300 lbs of tongue weight on the truck in order to not have towing issues like trailer sway....the trailer wagging the truck. On the 5th wheel side of things, the PIN weight (which is what they call tongue weight on a tow behind trailer) will be much high, for the same weight trailer. An example....a 10,000 lb 5th wheel camping trailer will put down 20% up to sometimes 25% of the trailer weight. So that same trailer that weighs in at 10,000 lbs in a 5th wheel version will put 2000 lbs to 2500 lbs of pin. You will almost NEVER see a 5th wheel camping type trailer that has less than 20% pin weight being put on the truck and many times it will be 21%, 22% and up to almost 25% in some cases.

So that brings up the next thing to consider. A 5th Wheel camping type trailer will almost always exceed the truck's payload capacity LONG before you reach the towing capacity of your truck. And the reason for that is because of the pin weight that the trailer puts down..vs...the amount of weight the truck can "pull". So the difference then becomes what your truck can "carry" (pin weight) and what it can "pull"....total weight of a trailer.

Most diesel 3/4T trucks that were made before 2020, with have payload numbers in the low 2000 lbs range. My 2011 F250 diesel crewcab, 4x4, XLT (not a loaded up Lariat), had a payload capacity of 2,148 lbs, as per the sticker on the door post of the truck. So using that example of a real world truck (my truck), a 10,000 lb 5th wheel camping trailer would put down AT LEAST 2000 lbs of pin weight on the truck. That leaves me with 148 lbs of payload left for everything else that goes in/on the truck. The 5ver hitches many times are in the "at least 150 lbs" range, and many will go higher than that....170 lbs, maybe more. So now, after buying and installing the hitch in the bed of the truck, you have now totally used up the payload capacity of the truck....and there is no more payload capacity for anything else, like anything AND everything else that goes in the truck....passenger(s), extra fuel, a toolbox in the bed with tools, a generator, etc, etc.

Most every 3/4T truck made prior to 2020 model year had a GVWR of 10,000 lbs. In the 2020 model year, some of the manufacturers started increasing the truck's GVWR up from the 10K GVWR, to 10.6K and sometimes a bit higher. The result is that payload numbers usually went up too. If a pre 2020 diesel truck weighs 7800 lbs with a GVWR of 10,000 lbs, that gives you 2200 lbs of payload. If that same truck in a 2020 and up version weighs the same 7800 lbs and the truck now has a GVWR of 10,600 lbs.......your payload number just went up about 600 lbs, so now instead of 2200 lb of payload, you will have 2800 lbs of payload. But remember, those changes didn't start until the 2020 model year and not every 2020 model has the higher GVWR.

So back to the T.H. discussion, and what to know.
1. The actual payload capacity of the truck you are going to use to tow the 5ver camping type trailer or T.H. That number is located on a sticker on the door or door post on the driver side of your truck.
2. When calculating how much trailer (5th wheel type) your truck can handle, always use the GVWR of the TRAILER......even if you never plan on having the trailer loaded so heavy that it actually achieves the GVWR. And the reason for that.....Always calculate for the "worst case scenario" vs. what you might be loading up to.....because you will likely be loaded heavier than you think.
3. Remember....ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that goes into or on your truck, counts against the truck's rated payload capacity. The payload capacity was calculated when the truck was brand new and rolled off of the assembly line. Anything and everything that has gone on the truck (bedliner, running boards, toolbox in the bed of the truck, etc) since it was built, has lessened the listed payload capacity that is on the door sticker. The exceptions of course were that the payload was calculated considering a full fuel tank (the stock tank, not an aftermarket tank), and 150 lbs worth of driver for the vehicle. Anything and everything beyond that, counts against the already feeble payload numbers of a 3/4T diesel truck made before 2020.
4. AIRBAGS do NOT add any additional payload capacity to the truck.....they never have, they never will. The sole purpose of air bags are to help to level a sagging truck, usually because someone has overloaded the truck by exceeding the payload capacity of that truck. In fact, technically speaking, airbags actually REDUCE the payload capacity of a truck by the amount of weight that they take away from the posted payload numbers. Yes, it is nit picking....but being pointed out because anything and everything added to the truck after it was built will take away from the posted payload numbers.
5. Rated Towing Capacity of a truck is an almost useless number when towing a 5th wheel camping type trailer because 99.9% of the time you will reach and exceed your truck's payload capacity LONG before you reach the towing capacity of the truck.

Sorry for the long winded post, but these are the facts that you really need to know before making a 5th wheel camping type trailer. And very likely, since you have a 3/4T diesel truck, you might be far better off with a tow behind trailer vs. a 5ver. Remember, the tongue weight on a tow behind is normally in the 12-13% range of the trailer weight. The 5ver trailers are in the 20% plus range for the pin weights....which will quickly overcome and exceed your truck's payload numbers. Hope all this helps a bit.

Experience: 1st truck/trailer combo......F250 diesel and a 34 1/2' tow behind Fuzion Impact Toy Hauler. 2nd truck/trailer combo....F350 Dually with 5,270 lbs of payload capacity towing a Momentum Toy Hauler with a 20,000 lb GVWR and running about 4000 lbs of pin weight on the truck. This combo puts down right at 21% of the trailer weight (just under 19,000 lbs) as pin weight....the ~4000 lbs.

 

@Once a Wanker.. I saw your question on the Class C vs Toy Hauler debate you're having. I don't want to thread jack that guys For Sale ad, so I'll comment here.

One thing that may sway you to a direction in that debate is usage. Will you be using your mobile casa for more than just the track? OR is this a track only use situation.

Here's my 2 cents on the difference:

Class C/Track Only: Load up for the weekend with your gear in the trailer and provisions in the Class C for the weekend. Never need to leave the facility...glorious. Yes, you can both drive this combo (maybe), but maybe that's a sacrifice worth making in the second option below.

Toy Hauler: The above scenario, AND camping/weekend getaways NOT racing. Toy Hauler for the camping spot AND you can unhook and use the truck to go to the closest WalMart
if you need to get "stuff". This combination gives you that versatility I don't think the Class C does. Maybe she cannot or does not feel comfortable driving in this scenario...but, maybe the added versatility is worth it.

I offer these thoughts as I too debate that scenario myself. I currently have the 5th wheeler, but in 10ish years when I'm retired, do I want to make a switch to a Class A/Super C so I can travel America for a while and enjoy myself seeing the sights and learning where I want to move as a retirement home base.