Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire RV folks

We have been RV-ing for 20 years off and on. Navy threw me from coast to coast so we learned the RV life.

We currently have a Forest River 33 ft fiver. Left Alabama Friday headed for Vegas for family visit.

Driving across America is pretty cool if you're confident in your tow vehicle. 2018 RAM 3500 with HO Cummins and AISIN, deleted and tuned, that is a freaking towing BEAST. This truck will pull your house and not even blink.

Vegas Baby. MAGA

Glad to see you have a good and proper tow vehicle. I'm on my third Ram CTD, all 2500's. I don't pull anything much heavier than 10K. It's a hoss when towing. I can pass Lesbaru's going uphill with the trailer attached. Just a treat to see someone else that isn't trying to max out their tow rating and driving 50 in a 65 on a summer holiday weekend with 30 vehicles jammed up behind him.

Nice setup. I know duallies are great for supporting heavy loads, but changing an inner tire is a SOB!

I have a f350 diesel but single rear wheel, not a dually. We recently sold our RV and probably won’t buy another for a couple years in this economy. My question is, does the dual rear wheels make a huge difference in towing. I never had any issues with our trailer but it was only 26’ long and not that heavy. I have pulled lots of gooseneck horse trailers without an issue, though they are generally not as tall as a 5th wheel. Just weighing cost vs benefit in my next truck purchase.

Nice set-up. Too many people are convinced by dealers that "it will handle it" when they are maxed or over on weight for the vehicle. I like to have twice the tow rating for the trailer I am pulling.

Rv life is Great
We Have a 42ft Montana 5th wheel that we live here in FL 7 Months out of the year in central part of the state.
And a 35ft Montana 5th wheel that we travel with for the remaining 5 months. We are headed to Branson MO at they end of April,
I like Mo it's borders touch 8 other states and if you do just a little dogs leg through one of the bordering states it increases to 13 states.
you can get to see a lot of country in half a days drive.

Dean

PS: my tow rig is a 2019 chevy 2500 with 14400lbs 5th wheel cap

I like your tow rig....

You can't go wrong with that combo!

Just jack 'er up and pull the wheel off, same as a SRW only you have to pull two wheels.


Airing up a low inside(or outside) dual can indeed by a pain in the ass if you don't have the proper air chuck.

I do a lot of RVing too since I retired from the USN. I have a 34 ft Keystone 5th wheel.

I made a deal with my wife I would bring her to see "The Pioneer woman" place in OK
And Then we go see the giant Paul Bunyan and his OX Blue and then for the Trifecta the worlds biggest ball of yarn. LOL

I have a 2018 f350 4wd dually 6.7 deleted and tuned that pulls my 2018 35' montana......pulling is a breeze.....get the dually it is better....bob

This! it is huge to have overpower. As I travel the Interstates I see ENORMOUS trailers pulled by underpowered trucks.

I see 40+ trailers pulled by trucks that I KNOW are not capable. but hey, it's their insurance.

Ford included a 7.3 gasser starting in 2020. Same HP as the diesel, but lacking in torque. With the 4.3 rear end, it’s rated at 28,500 GCWR for fifth wheel towing. And somewhere near 3700 payload. Went to buy an F350 in 2020 thinking I needed a diesel to pull my 14,000 lb fifth wheel. Dealer talked me out of it, partly because I planned on towing maybe 3000 - 4000 miles per year. Glad he did. The diesel package was 11K more and diesel now is over $1 more per gallon around here, more than offsetting the fuel economy difference.

I can't speak for Dodge but the DRW F350's have a way heavier set of springs compared to the SRW.

No contest, the recent SRW F350 spring setup is WEAK.
(thank you Home Depot mulch warriors)

I bought a set of heavy duty 'bump stops'(Timbren) and they made a huge difference.




As for pulling(stock trailers) I don't notice any difference between DRW and SRW, but I imagine DRW would be nice on a windy day pulling a large camper trailer.

My Son hauls a 37' 5th wheel with his Ram 250 Cummins and has been across the country and up into Maine several times. Wifey and I had a Gulfstream 28' motorhome with 4 bunks in back and a queen cabover back in '99 when kids were young. Ran out West for a month with kids to let them see the sites but time changed and we sold it. Last August 1 we ordered a Gulfstream BT Cruiser 5255 to once again start to enjoy RVing. Picked it up in Texas when it finally came in 3 weeks ago and drove to Orlando for a few days then to Atlanta to see the kids there and then worked our way home here in NY. It has the new 7.3L and WAY more power than we will ever need. Got 13.3 MPG cruising down South on those level roads and averaged almost 12 MPG coming home - about 1MPG more than our old machine which is great.

No schit - we bought a 31.5' 5th wheel 5 years ago and dipshit at dealer bragged up how it was '1/2 ton rated'. No fuggin way I would consider that...

YES, especially with longer/heavier trailers... We pull this, 44' Fuzion 427 - 19K GTW:





With this:

Nice OP. Since 1972 our family has enjoyed camping and touring the entire US and run the gamut with equipment - pickup mounted big campers, hitch pull and 5th wheel trailers, toy haulers and motor homes. All are good if we get it right.

One blessing has been those valve stem extenders that bring the Schrader valve to easy reach outside the dual wheels. Another has been a big 4wd Cummins powered Dodge. And, more recently, an older TREK.