Best Construction of Fifth Wheels

K&R757 · February 12, 2017

Hello Everyone!

My name is Randy, my better half is Kathryn. We are looking into buying a fifth wheel, and me being a bit of a "how it's made guy", I want something that is well built, no OSB, good frame, well, you get the idea.

Any recommendations on what to look at? We don't need a new one, used is good, if it is well built and well maintained we are definitely interested.

Our first purchase will be the truck, probably a one ton with diesel engine, long bed, and most of the nice trimmings with it to keep us happy driving down the road.

What say you? Thanks for your insight!

grumpydoc · February 12, 2017

Depends on how much you are willing to spend! The best made rigs are the custom made rigs. They are also the most expensive rigs. Used New Horizons, Spacecraft, Continental Coach and pre 2005/6 Tetons would be my recommendation for quality used rigs. Second tier would be DRV, Holiday Rambler, Travel Supreme and Hitch Hiker. Others will have their opinions, read them all and then do your own due diligence, Best Wishes, Jay

GlennWest · February 12, 2017

And the first five mentioned you need bigger than a dually LDT.

MrSeas · February 12, 2017

Same yourself some possible grief and "zero in" on the trailer you want first before buying a truck. This way you can match the capacity of the truck to the weight of the trailer. You can never have "too much" truck.

Big Greg · February 12, 2017

Kansas RV Center (formerly NuWa) has a good reputation and so do NuWa HitchHikers. Here's a link to

their website and you can browse their used inventory and the new fifth wheels they now sell. Greg

http://www.kansasrvcenter.com/rvSearch.aspx?ptypeid=1&manufacturerid=538&s=True&status=1&typeid=5&page=1

theeyres · February 12, 2017

Depending on where you live Arctic Foxes can be hard to find but they are one of the best, if not the best mid-priced fiver on the market. Your dually would pull them with ease and they are built like tanks. Just compare their I frame to any other one in that price range.

Kirk W · February 12, 2017

First of all, welcome to the Escapee forums! Always happy to have new folks join in.

As you are shopping, it is important to keep the weights of the trailers in mind as well of the weight limitations of the truck that you will tow it with. As a general rule, higher quality trailers will weigh more than the lower quality ones, just as they cost more. RVs are built for a wide range of price/quality markets, just as houses are. In many ways they are comparable to a house which was built to be hauled over the highways. Even in used ones the lowest priced models will rarely ever be of high quality. Just how you plan to use the RV is a major factor for most of us in terms of what we will choose to buy since the price range is so wide. For weekend & vacation use, most of us will buy one of the lower priced models and they serve well but if you live for extended periods in one of make it your only home, it almost always better to stay with the higher cost & weight trailers. Of course, the size of the RV is also a big factor in your decision. A one-ton, diesel truck should be capable of towing most of the choices out there if it is of recent manufacturer as the towing weights have been increased in all of the newer models.

SIBERNUT · February 12, 2017

I'd suggest you explore the differences in sticks-&-screws vs welded aluminum frame. Both have their pros & cons, weigh out the comparison. That will shorten the list. Buy the tow vehicle that will pull the rig you'd like to **eventually** have, not the minimum for what you can buy now. Good luck!

kb0zke · February 13, 2017

By all means slow down a bit and do some research before you spend your money (unless you just won the lottery and have money to burn). If you can't wait very long on buying a truck then you will have to either guess or let the truck determine the trailer. I'd suggest that you make a list of all of the trailers that meet your needs and wants. Figure out which one has the highest Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and use that one for your calculations. If you end up buying something lighter you will still have enough truck. Figure 25% of the GVWR is what goes on the hitch/pin which sits on your rear axle. Add a bit for the weight of any tools, passengers, etc. that will be in the truck. Find a sample truck of whatever brand you are considering and tell the salesman that you want to weigh it, and for their trouble you will bring the truck back with an almost full tank of fuel. Go fill the tank(s) and weigh both axles. Now look at the sticker on the door frame. You know what the rear axle is carrying, so subtract that from the Rear Axle Weight Rating. Does the difference allow you to take the hitch/pin weight you calculated? If not you need a bigger truck.

BTW, I use hitch/pin weight as some people refer to the weight of the part that sits on the hitch in the bed of the truck as the hitch while others use the term pin. For all practical purposes the two terms are the same.

I have heard that an F450 has a smaller turning circle than a similar F350. Don't know about the others or how much of a difference it really is, but that might be something to check into as you are researching trucks. While you are talking to sales people remember that most of them are only interested in making a sale of something that is on their lot. They don't really know or care what the safety implications are if you don't have enough truck.

Final suggestion: Buy a USED trailer, and maybe a used truck. You will save a huge amount of money over buying new, and you won't lose as much when you trade it in a short time later for something that is closer to what you need. You won't really know what you need until you've been full-timing for a couple of years.

Two stories: Many years ago Wally Byam, founder of Airstream, towed an Airstream with a bicycle. Just because he could do it for a short distance doesn't mean that it is fine to do so down a mountain. Some years ago some friends of ours bought a brand-new well-known brand of motor home for their full-time adventure. Less than a year later they traded it even-up for a 10-year-old Foretravel because they could see that their original purchase wouldn't stand up to full-time use.

Do your research and keep more of your money in your pocket for the fun stuff.