Hello, folks. This is my first post on this forum. I'm a long term RV fulltimer who has experience in motorhomes but never with a trailer. I plan to shortly purchase a new Hitchhiker fifth wheel and new Dodge diesel truck. I would like to avoid having to get the dually setup on the truck and I think the 5er I have in mind is in the right weight range, but I want to be sure.

The pin weight on the 5er will be around 1850 lbs. That's with the trailer unloaded, so I assume that weight will rise somewhat. How much can I assume that weight will go up after loading the trailer? Do you think I can get away with a single rear wheel setup on the truck? Other specs on the 5er are: UVW, 8988 lbs. GVWR, 12,800 lbs.

I'll probably have more questions in the near future, but these will suffice for now. Thanks for any input you can provide.

 

For a conservative estimate assume 25% of the 5'vers GVWR. In your case that would be 3200 lbs. More than likely you'll end up several hundred pounds less than that.

With that load I would have no reservations pulling it with a 3500 SRW truck, no matter what the weight ratings say.

Hope this helps.

 

Mr Ed,

If you want a single rear wheel truck, then get it. The axles, brakes, spring packs etc. on the SRW 3500 are the same as a dually. The weak link is obviously going to be the tires. A dually will be more stable, but for the size trailer you are planning to tow, I doubt you would ever have any problems.

You can also solve the weak tire problem by buying a set of heavy duty 19.5 wheels and G rated tires. Here is a link to one co. that sells them. http://www.ricksontruck.com/

 

Thanks to both of you for your help...

 

i have had a 26ft5er and my new 34ft fiver

hand down the dually is the way to go,

even if the srw can haul it the difference with my dually is well worth any reason for not having a drw

and they look cooler

 

Another reason to have a dually pulling an RV isnt just the weight, its stability in side winds. I was pulling a smaller RV in west Texas with a SRW 3500 and a crosswind darn near flipped the trailer and truck. It didnt, but what it did do was dismount one rear tire from the wheel just from the shear sidewall load. Not to mention what was darn near dismounted from me! A 5th wheel trailer is typicly pretty tall and acts as a BIG sail in the right wind load conditions. So its not the weight of the trailer that concerns me, its the side loading of the tralier and its effects on the truck. I will never pull with less than a dually again.

 

Thanks, Guys. Tim, I never thought about the side wind effect. Thanks for mentioning that. It looks like a dually is in my future....

 

I tow a 5ver a little heavier than what you are going to buy with a srw, not a single problem ever, its in my sig. You will not be sorry with a HH 5ver.

Best of luck to you.

 

I've been pulling trailers/boats for near 40 years and have never used DRW. 95% of the time you are not towing and running two extra tires just doesn't make a lot of sense. First fiver weighed in at 16000. Use good sense and good tires inflated properly and you will not need duals. You will find a different answer from every person you meet. Come join the fun, retirement is great.

After reading this I forget to mention the extra width. See those banged up fenders all the time from someone trying a drive through.

 

I have an eagle 341 quad slide 5er. I was shopping around for new trucks as my truck is getting a little to hyper for towing. While doing this shopping I found some very interesting facts. A dually can not tow as much as a srw legally. It is due to overall weight of the truck, a dually is only legal for 14 something pounds, whereas a srw is legal for well over 15k. As far as stability, my trailer is as tall as they get and I have driven through mountains, through windy areas (southern alberta is about as windy as anywheres in the world) And I have never had a problem with my 2500 srw. So I would expect even less problems with a 3500 srw. I would as a matter of course throw a set of airbags on it, but other than that your good to go.

One thing to keep in mind with a dually, more tires to wear out, more weight to push around, so less fuel mileage.

Kevin