I'd like to hear from those who have done either. My wife really wants to buy a bigger camper this year and is 80% convinced that it must be a 5th wheel rather than a travel trailer style. I've been told that the 5th wheels are more stable on the road and easier to maneuver when parking them.

As for the travel trailers that just hitch to the tow vehicle's hitch receiver, my wife is concerned primarily about vehicle sway and hence, safety. I'm not too concerned about this and have told her that with weight distributing hitches and loading the vehicle and trailer properly, we'll have no problem.

I'm often talking to her about the wide range of information covered here at the Campfire, and the useful advice usually given to questions posted. So, what's the skinny according to those here who have done it? 5th wheel versus Travel Trailer. What do the Campfire members say?

She's right... I've towed trailers for decades.. My current camper is a 30' 5th wheel.. I hardly know it's back there.. But I've sure seen some awful wrecks when a TT begins to cycle... You MUST have a superior hitch and anti-sway system installed with a TT. Even so, there's no comparison to a good 5th wheel..

The only con re: 5th wheels is the bed of the truck's not as available to carry other items unless they're small enough and/or situated in such a way as to not interfere with the trailer..

The longer distance between the pin and the axles of the 5er makes loading the camper less of a factor than a TT.. Those must be loaded very carefully in order to ensure you have the correct ratio on the tongue.. Many times the only way to find that out is to load it up and head for a weigh station or a farmer's elevator that has a scale..

You can tow from the "bumper", as you say, when properly equipped.
That said, as one that has towed several days per week for near 30 years, I recommend the 5th wheel.

I tow pumps that weigh between 5k and 12k pounds, some of our equipment trailers and portable labs weigh +17k pounds.

For the ultimate in safety, comfort, ease of operation and wear and tear on the tow vehicle go 5th wheel/ gooseneck.

Thanks Redneck. Your experience mirrors what we've been told by others. My BIL, a very thoughtful and deliberate guy, used to tow/deliver campers for a living. His advice is to go 5th wheel, but that a bumper pull TT is OK if loaded properly and the right hitch and anti-sway equipment is used.

I own both currently. The 5th wheel is very easy to pull if you have the proper tow truck. We are talking diesel. Big brakes to stop with, heavy duty, so if the wife wants a 5th wheel, get it, this is your chance for the diesel if you don't already have one.

your both right. hows that for passing the buck?
really though it just depends on the trailer. a bad bumper pull will make you cuss. usually the tow bars will cure it, but i once pulled a small one with my dually for a friend that was dangerous. he sold it.
other suble differances- the bumper pull will track the truck and the 5th will cut you short in a turn in town, but it backs somewhat easier. to back one the front of the truck has to swing a long way to make the turns, not so with a bumper, it needs more room for the back of the trailer to turn.

if the bed is over the truck in the gooseneck, it will allow for a shorter trailer with the same interior facilities. hook up is a little hassle for the bumper type but the bed of the truck is open to use. sometimes the bed is needed to make up for the lack of space in the bumper. in short, it dont matter, they are just differant animals.

with both it is important to get a tow vehicle that is capable. you would not believe the overloaded vehicles that are on the road. dont look at the tag and think that is the weight, weigh it. really weigh it, loaded, and then check your tires to see if they are rated to carry that much wt.

Thanks Terry. Sounds like you have a lot put in a lot of miles pulling trailers. I appreciate the advice.

The wife won't have a diesel truck. Don't ask me why. We are looking at the lighter type 5th wheels that are well within the tow ratings of newer, more powerful 1/2 ton trucks.

One thing I forgot (but another noted) is that you haven't mentioned what your tow vehicle is..

I tow my camper with an '04 F-350 DRW CC PSD 4X4... I've had dualies since '77 and prefer those for towing.. More tires = better load distribution. That also translates into a more stable towing unit. Once you're used to a trailer or camper behind you, making turns in towns or similar gets to be a piece of cake....

If your vehicle is a half-ton, you're going to be limited in camper selection.. A 3/4 is better, but a one-ton (properly equipped with camper package etc.. ) can tow a very large TT or 5er with relative ease..

If you're going to pull a trailer that can gross 12K or larger, you need to research your truck specs and stay within limits.. If it's a diesel, ensure you have an EGT and trans temp gauge - either factory installed options or as added equipment.. Those are the two I watch constantly when towing the 5er..

Best of luck..

I'm not really promoting the idea of a TT instead of a 5th wheel. I just don't want to limit our options. I believe that 5th wheels are a bit safer and more controllable, also I've heard that people going from a TT to a 5th wheel may see and increase in fuel economy, Although when towing, what's the point of worrying about that.

LOL.. That got posted just before my last one..

Why won't she consider diesel? Cost?

Anyway, if you're going to use a half-ton PU, that will limit your camper sizes to something around 20' or less, depending on GVW of the camper and truck.. Check your truck's manuals for towing info.. It should be in there and fairly specific..

With a gasser, expect mpgs towing will be under 10.. If it's a new truck, ensure it has a camper package. If not, using it for a camper can give the manufacturer an excuse to void warrantys..

The smell, of all things!

She will occasionally drive my/our truck to haul our kids when the roads are too bad for her mini-van. Doesn't like the slightly rougher ride of a Super-Duty or the smell and noise of a diesel.

My truck is a 2007 Tundra, tow rating of 10,100 pounds. The 5'er she has her heart set on weighs about 6,400lbs dry, so fully loaded we should still be well within that. The truck has a lot of oomph for a gas engine and those I've talked to who tow comparable loads with comparable trucks are happy with it's power and handling.

Maybe when she decides in a few years that she wants a bigger camper, I can talk her into a 250/350 diesel.

Oh yeah, it has a tow package and tranny gauge and cooler.

Just my two farthings worth -- my summer rig is a tandem-axle 24' Ragen toy box, hitch mount. Loaded with bikes and water it goes around 8K lbs. The stabilizing system works well for something of this weight.

I chose this over a 5th-wheel primarily to preserve the bed space - I have a hard cover on it. Tow rig is a 4wd '03 Duramax with Allison tranny that had plenty of power stock, more so now with the Banks. There might be a bigger 5th-wheel in the future if it comes to pass that I have more time to travel.

Hint -- buy now -- prices are right, especially lightly-used rigs.

5th wheel..
my man cave is a 36'er, and my ghetto is a 28 foot bumper pull.

i also drive big trucks for a living in the oil field, (well usta til last week)
a pin in the bed is wayyy better than a pin in the rear.

better turning, and easier to manuver. it pivots in the bed instead of cratering your rear bumper trying to get into a tight camping spot. you do have to watch the cormers of your cab tho with the 5th wheel.
also get a hitch that pivots side to side as well. makes off road travel to the hunting spot a lot easier.

Get the 5th wheel and you won't have to go through the pre-flight weight and balance checks prior to take off and the ride is far and above more stable. Pull it with what you have now unless you are going to be pulling it 90% of the time.

I pulled a 32' 5th wheel Prowler all over most of the western states with a short wheel base 1/2t Chevy with a 350 cid. You couldn't even get a diesel engine in a light truck back then. The best way to go? Absolutely not, but it's what I had and I put thousands of miles on it with that combo at 12-15 hundred miles at a time. The biggest down side were the matching dents on the cab of the truck due to the short turning radius and distance from tongue to cab. You don't need a diesel to pull a large 5th wheel unless you plan on putting 3-5,000 miles a month on, but they are nice and you will notice the difference from gas.

David

I appreciate the responses from you all. Right now I've got to get outside and get my day rolling. I'll check back later. Thanks again!

We opted for a bumper-pull so we could haul a 4-wheeler, didn't like any of the toy haulers we looked at. Down side is to unload the machine you have to unhook.

The bumper-pull decision was made easier when we were given an antique Airstream!

I see trucks with a small true "fifth-wheel" hitch in the bed, usually about a foot high. Others have a ball in the bed, some low, some high.

Pros and cons?

Thanks,

Bruce

Having the hitch in the bed is not really a problem. We have an RBW Little Rocker 15,000 lb hitch and it comes right out with only 4 pins to pull, my wife and I can lift it out and lay it on the ground with no problem, whole thing takes about 90 seconds.

I've had both. I eventually downsized to a 23' bumper pull just for the fact I can use the bed of the truck to carry a full size freezer on hunting trips while pulling the trailer.

Going down the road you really don't notice the difference if you have sufficient truck for either one. That being the key. I see a lot of very large and very long bumper pulls being pulled by 1/2 ton trucks makes me wonder. There's more to towing than being able to pull it in a straight line on a good road.

You do notice it when it comes time to hook it up and back it up. Depending on how the trailer made a lot of the 5th wheel trailers will be much taller even if they weight the same.

Just some thoughts.

I use a 3/4 ton diesel. The nicest thing about a disel besides it just goes and never bogs down is that if you get 18mpg in the truck on the interstate and you hook up your trailer you'll still get 17mpg with the trailer - at least that's been my experience. I'm sure it would go down if I had a much bigger trailer.

redneck is trying real hard to tell you something in his last post.
i personally would not believe the tow rateing on most gas burners, but half tons in particular. voice of expierance speaking.

i see you will be in flat country a lot so you may get by.

Tell her no diesel, no fifth wheel.

There's no comparison between towing a fifth wheel vs. a travel trailer, a fifth wheel is much nicer. The only downside is the loss of bed space with the fifth wheel.

Check the pin weight on that fifth wheel you're talking about. I'll bet that the pin weight puts you over the payload of the tundra. Half ton trucks aren't really meant to tow fifth wheels.

I've pulled lots of trailers, goose necks, 5th wheels, bumper pulls. Currently have gooseneck horse trailer, 5th wheel travel trailer w/ gooseneck adapter. Wouldn't change a thing. The 5th wheel/gooseneck is by far the best way to pull a trailer. And I like to pull them with a diesel (Ford F350, SRW). I've never heard anybody pulling complain about too much spring or too much power, FWIW. I don't like dual rear wheels, have never seen the need.

I like my fifth wheel, but I have always had a 3/4 ton, used to be a Ford, now I have a 1996 GMC K2500 which is a four wheel drive, extended cab, long box with a 4L80E tranny, with a 454 engine, and I went up to a 99 Coachmen 22 foot fifth wheel, from a 1986 Prowler fifth wheel 18.5 foot long, still have both fifth wheels, wife wanted bigger, now have to sell the smaller one.
But having towed trailer and fifth, I do like the fifth, and I went long box to have a bit of space to put stuff in the back.
Am going to install a front hitch so I can fabricate a boat carrier when towing the fifth wheel.

Watch those gross weights when you do select a combination. I've heard that insurance companies can get persnickety if you have a wreck and it turns out you were overloaded. I pull a 31 ft. TT with a 3/4 ton and it sometimes feels like I'm driving the spaceship from the beginning of Spaceballs...loooooong. Will be looking for a 5th wheel toy hauler when we upgrade. Good luck.
SD

I appreciate all the responses. I knew I could count on the Campfire members for some good advice.

You haven't gotten good advice until someone tells you to get a can of OJ and shave your junk...

There is good and bad with either.Myself I prefer a TT. I have owned and towed both for over 35 years and our current one is a 25' HR. I have a Tundra and this past year pulled this trailer somewhere in the 15K miles for my work. This was over several mountain passes and we never had any problems. We were in the tri-cities area and the wind was unreal and with the proper hitch set up it was an easy tow.
I like and use the bed of my pickup so TT was the only option.

Been pulling live and dead weight for 40 years in the Rockies, on paved two lane mountain highways and off-pavement backcountry roads--in the early days with underpowered, overloaded pickups.....

Like you said, 5th wheels/goosenecks pull easier and are more manueverable. 5th wheels render the pickup useless for anything else except hauling a gallon of milk. The gooseneck ball can be hidden under the bed when not towing.

TT/hitch trailers don't use up the pick up bed, and are less expensive to buy (usually)

I run camper shells on 2 out of 3 pickups, so I usually grab the hitch trailers for that reason.

Couple things, last I knew GM is still making the "light duty 3/4 ton trucks--a 1/2 ton with the 3/4 ton rear axle and heavier springs--it is intended to be a puller.

Secondly, the new gas engines have lots of power--even in the mountains and at altitude where normally aspirated engines lose hp. I tried out my 2001 1/2 ton with the 5.3 this fall (which has been my Sunday-go-to-meeting truck since I bought it a few years ago) and pulled 3 horses in a 3 horse plus tack room trailer up to 9000 ft altitude, and was surprised how well it did on the highway and on the FS roads--and that was with 6 ply tires even. The newer motors have even more hp.

I sold my turbo-diesel because I didn't use it enough to justify its cost, and instead use my light duty 3/4 ton and my 1/2 ton trucks. On the rare occasion I feel the need for more, I grab my dad's turbo diesel.

My next camper will be a TT. I don't want to lose my camper shells, good, used TT's are a dime a dozen right now, and I don't want or need anything bigger than a 20-24 ft TT. With an equalizer hitch, good tires (8 or 10 ply), any of my trucks are fine.


Casey

I'm also in the market for a 5Th wheel this spring. Last fall went out and bought a new PU to haul it.
I looked real hard at diesel vs. gas and did a lot of research on both plus talked to a number of my shooting buddies that had diesels. I ended up buying a Chevy Extended Cab 2500HD with 6L gas, 6 speed tranny.
1. I live where it gets cold and didn't want to have to plug in the truck every night
2. I'll use the truck 75% for travel and 25% for towing
3. I get 14 in town and 18 on the highway, just a 1 or 2 mpg short of my buddies diesels.
4. Gas is almost 50cents cheaper than diesel, makes up for the difference in mpg.
5. Maintenace is half what the diesel costs, oil changes and repairs.
6. The $8000 difference in price from gas vs diesel will buy a lot of gas.
7. Availability of fuel when traveling in remote places.
Three of my friend that own diesels now say if they buy new it will be gas.
Those are the reasons I bought what I did, I'm sure you diesel owners have your own reasons and I guess that's why they offer both.

I went back and did a little calc on that Tundra and the 5er she's looking at.. Most 5ers have pin weights of about 20% of total weight, therefore you'll have 1280# in the bed before you load it up.. Add 2-3 adults, full fuel tank, gear etc., (not to mention the hitch) and you're overweight. That truck's gonna squat and that means you can bottom out on dips and break things.. Plus, what weight are you licensed for? What's the load rating on your rear axle? What's the axle ratio?

My 5er's pin weight is about 1640# and the EW of the trailer's nearly 8,000#. GVW is 12,500#... My truck's GVW is 11,500# GVW and the rear axle's rated for 9,000# with an axle ratio of 3.73.. And I probably should have 4.10 instead, but I rarely carry to full load - maybe once per year..

If your trailer weighs about 6640# empty, that means max GVW is more likely close to 10,500#.. That's too much trailer for that truck and for sure you're going to have issues with payload.. And yes, while it's flat where you are now, are you going to be camping always in flat areas? When you find hills you'll wish you had a bigger truck.. Plus, there's the issue of braking.. Do you have a good controller? Is your truck an auto or manual trans? If manual, your gears will sure help on downgrades..

If you do nothing else, do NOT listen to the trailer salesman who will tell you that your truck can pull a 33' triple with ease.. Call Toyota and talk to someone who can give you honest answers as to what weight you can carry and how much trailer you can pull...

Since you tow rarely vs. commuting etc., the gas makes sense.. Your mpg is about right.. But what is it when you're actually towing? Gas here is 2.79/gal. Diesel's 2.95/gal, not much different.. Oil changes are $90 for my diesel, $34 for a similar gas.. But I can go 5000-7500 miles between changes vs. 3000-5000 for a gas truck.. Overall, it's close. Where the difference will come into play is longevity between the two.. The diesel can literally last a lifetime.. I got one calf-hauler in town who had over 1 million miles on his 7.3 and it still ran well. Towing with a gas engine over that period and you'll be on your 3rd engine, plus..

I hear ya on the $8,000 difference though.. It's a bunch.. But when you wanna tow serious loads for a long time it's the only way to go - and worth every penny.. My truck should last me the rest of my life. I have no intention of ever replacing it..

redneck is telling it like it is.

weigh it or you will never know!

6ply tires towing 3 head sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. a light trailer has about 1000lb on the truck with no tack or horses in,add animals, horse crap and tack and you will have over 2500 on the truck without counting wt of the truck or payload or passingers or whatever. check the tires, just cause the engine gets it up to the top dont mean it is safe. running on the edge of the wt. rateing bothers me to no end. the same thing with the tires on the trailer. lots of trailers come with 6 ply and if you weigh them they are way over what the tires should have on them.
that little 5.3 gas will do fine if you only use it twice a year. durability is important to me.

I have a 2008 Tundra with the 5.7. I pull a 30 ft. bumper tow with it. The trailer is an ultralight, 4900 lbs. empty, and I use an equalizer hitch. I have never towed a 5th wheel, but I have no complaints about this set up. The Toyota pulls it smoothly without much stress, the trailer tracks well, and I can honestly say I have forgot to hook up the electric one time, and I did not even realize it, the brakes on the Toyota handled it fine. Before the Toyota, I had a 2006 F150 5.4 liter, and before that a 2004 Dodge 1500 with Hemi. The Toyota is hands down the best tow vehicle out of the three.

Couple of things:

DONT listen to the salesman when he tells you your truck will pull his trailer with no problem!! They all do this with no regard whatsoever for the reality of the situation, they will tell you your Ranger or Tacoma will pull their 32 footer. Know your tow ratings when you walk on to the lot.

DONT put much faith in the sticker in the trailer that tells you how much it weighs. They can be off by quite a bit.


ALWAY take into consideration the weight of the stuff you will be putting into the trailer. You will be amazed how much stuff your True Love will be packing in there, and how much it will weigh.

ALWAYS, take your truck over the scales with full fuel and passenger load, then you will know for sure what you have. Then, hook on to the trailer of your dreams and do it again. You will almost always be surprised and amazed.

I think you can get by with a gas tow vehicle if it is rated for the trailer and you tow mostly on level ground. When you travel in an area with a lot of big hills or mountains is when you really appreciate the power of a diesel. My current tow vehicle is a 2005 Dodge diesel with the 6speed standard and 4.10 differential. I wish I had bought a diesel years ago. My gas trucks didn't have enough power, gas milaeage was terrible and I burned up several transmissions. I don't think the automatic transmission in the Toyota will last long towing. If my wife forbid me to buy a diesel I'd buy 2 just to show her who's boss. I guess that's why I'm not still married.

Now THAT'S tellin' her!!!

Don't think your question got addressed, there Bruce. Friend of mine has both a 5th wheel & a goose neck. He didn't want 2 hitches so he extended his 5th wheel hitch so all he needed was a ball in the truck bed. The only problem was the point of pivot on the 5th allowed the bottom of the trailer to touch the top of the truck bed on rough terrain, thus damaging the top sides of the truck bed. Goose neck trailers usually are narrow or higher up where they go over the sides of the bed so they can pivot in rough terrain without touching the sides of the truck bed.

'bruin, you got good advise here. Personally, I pull a 24' 5th wheeler with an '03 Dodge diesel & like redneck, don't expect to wear it out. I also put a 2" receiver on the back of the trailer to pull a boat or quad trailer which we can do legally in Alberta. When not towing a trailer I have an aluminum tool box mounted there to haul extra stuff securely & out of the weather. Works really well.

Let me throw in one more thing here. Most folks from back east or the midwest have no concept of what altitude does to the available power of your engine. If you tow in the Rockies or the Sierras with a gasoline rig, you can easily be operating at 7000-10,000 feet at which point you only have 60-70% of the engine power you had at sea level, and on hot days it will be even worse. The nice thing about having a diesel is that the engine does not know it is operating at altitude, it always thinks it is still at sea level (turbocharger) and you have available 100% of rated power. Many gasoline rigs are marginal at best when operating in the Western states.

It has been a few years since I worked on a pickup but I remember that 3/4 ton and 1 ton pickups came with much larger brakes than 1/2 ton pu's. The power to pull something is less important to me than being able to stop.

One other observation. We've all seen instances of the tail wagging the dog with rear mounted hitches. I've never seen the phenomenon with a 5th wheel.

I currently have a 29 foot travel trailer which dry weighs in at around 5,000lbs. Add your propane, water, grey water, black water and your gear and supplies and your over 6,000lbs pretty quickly.

When I 1st bought the TT I had a Ram 1500 4x4, auto, 4.7. It was rated somewhere around 6,500lbs for towing. With this rig I had weight distribution bars and a sway bar. When I was doing serious trips with it, I'd dump grey and black and only have the potable water about 1/4 full. Within a few thousand miles over a couple trips, it took a serious toll on that 1500 truck via the transmission, and braking. I brought it into the shop and asked them to look at both - they said no problems, but I could see the difference when I drove it.

I traded the truck for a Chevy 2500HD 4x4, 6.0L gas with 4.10 rear end. In the mountains in the east, this rig is great. Braking is much better, power is amazing and their is no hesitation in the tranny. I don't use the weight distribution bars or the sway bar anymore. With the additional weight on the tongue, I find I don't sway much at all anymore, but my tong weight is about 15% of the TT weight.

Anyway, if I were to do the tow behind camper again, I'd buy a 5th wheel, although the wife and I have already decided that when we replace the TT, we're going to pick up a nice used large class C motorhome. Much easier with the dogs, bathroom breaks, lunch on the road and I don't mind towing a small town vehicle.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Mike.

Yup.. Pulling is one thing - stopping is quite another.. One thing I love about this F-350 is the tow/haul trans feature. Going down a long grade with engine braking is the cat's azz...

Forgot to add: I have had an older Tekonsha controller that I'm replacing this spring with the new Prodigy P-3.. It should make brake synchonizing a whole lot better than the present unit..

Bruin,

I've had both travel trailers and 5th wheels. The fiver is the more stable tow. Less sway and wind rattle. My fiver is a 36' double slide that weighs upwards of 11k. My F350 pulls it without a problem. The only problem I've ever experienced is from bucking and that has only happened on very rough, washboard type roads.

Hooking up is very easy and much quicker for me. As far as parking, there is no compasrison.

Pulling a 11000 # TT, 34 ft. with a 3500 Dodge with 5.9 Turbo Diesel, crewcab, 8ft. bed and with a cap. Love the truck pulls great, takes about 45 min. to hookup and break camp....but I can use my truck for storage of all my stuff and keep out of wifes hair. I would have the engine brake if I could have but the 2005's have a gadget on the auto tranny making it hard or extremely costly ($3,000ish). still like it. Cost wise the motor homes depreciate in one or two years for what I paid for my 3 yr. old TT.afish4570

"I don't think the automatic transmission in the Toyota will last long towing"

Pfft...

Stay within the weight ratings for the Tundra and you will have no issues.

Expat

One thing to remember is trailers gain weight. I think a lot of people look at the tag on the trailer and it's within their tow capacity and forget about it. All the crap you stuff into a trailer adds up. Clothes, food, TV's, etc....I bet most 22' or larger RV's have a 1,000 pounds of "stuff" in them easily.