Truck questions

[wewent]

We are buying our first fifth wheel and truck. Trucks are very hard to find. Therefore I find myself pursuing some slightly nonstandard pickup trucks. Two scenarios:

A.) Can a flat bed truck (Ram 3500, Ford F350 or Chevy 3500) with a fifth wheel hitch installed work for pulling a fifth wheel RV? Is there some important reason I should not do that?

B.) Can a utility truck (Ram 3500, Ford F350 or Chevy 3500) with metal storage boxes on the sides work for pulling a fifth wheel RV? The open part of the bed is only 4 ft wide with the storage boxes on the sides.

I would appreciate any experience you can share! Thanks!

 

[rpsinc]

Option A- yes pretty common practice mostly seen with horse trailers and some hotshot guys

Option B- Biggest limitation will be height of the boxes, as they can interfere with the front of the trailer.  Many use "hauler" beds(many have gooseneck hitches in them).  Shorter boxes to allow for above mentioned limitation.  Be careful about getting talked into 5th wheel to gooseneck adapters.  Some add stresses on the 5th wheel frame and may cause broken welds and stress fractures.  A Goosebox is an alternative although I have no personal experience with them.

[Star Dreamer]

A) Flat bed truck with the 5th wheel hitch cut should work fine for pulling a 5th wheel RV. You will want to make sure the hitch head height will work with your 5th wheel or has adjustment if needed. You will want to watch that the weight of the flat bed didn't not reduce the capacity of the truck. You may find that the flat bed doesn't offer much for being able to carry other items without being secured.

The utility sides are typically too tall to allow a 5th wheel RV to turn and pivot. You would need to do some measurements to be sure.

[Duane Hinkley]

I feel your pain, just went through it.  One dealer marking up MSRP 14K.  No dually's available.  Finally lucked out and got a one year old truck that was just traded in the previous day and not yet on the lot.

I considered 4500s and 450 but didn't want the rougher ride with the stiffer springs.

[wewent]

Thank you all very much! This was very helpful.

[sidpost]

I'm more of a farmer regarding pickup experience with things like this.

If you get a flatbed, definitely get one with the boxes below the bed.  These are awesome for messy, odd shaped, and heavy things.  Beds like this typically won't takeaway from the 'load capacity' in any meaningful way.  Make sure the fifth wheel on the bed has the good re-enforcements on the underneath side of the bed to transfer the weight.  Cheap beds will skimp here it won't matter much on 16' cattle trailer but, it become a problem on a heavier travel trailer.

With traditional service bodies, they simply won't work.  Some service bodies will let you take the top boxes off which might be an option.  Generally, they are going to be too heavy if you are pulling a heavy fifth wheel trailer.

If you can find an oil field or construction flatbed DRW Dodge Cummins pickup, check the condition pretty well.  Specifically, look at the tires.  Are they in good condition and a name brand you recognize like Toyo or Goodyear or some off-brand cheaper option like Crosswind.  Are the seats ripped, is the dash broken from sun fade, is the paint in good condition.

With used pickups like this, you will likely want to rebuild the seats, my experience the best guys are the ones near prison's and jails because they do good work and charge a reasonable amount for it.  Look for one with plenty of miles on it, >30K miles a year.  Letting a pickup like this sit is far worse than using it regularly in my experience.

 

A plug for Ford F-350's with the 7.3L gas motor, I had the good fortune to speak with an oilfield drill head rep that pulled rolled down the road in the 30,000lb and up range.  He said the pickup performed better than the Dodge Cummins he traded in and was better than his previous Ford with the CAT diesel.

The Ford 4x4 I just spec'ed out for my order is the XLT with Dual Cab, Moon Roof, Fifth Wheel prep, and a bunch of additional options for a pretty nicely equipped pickup with a lot of modern things like backup cameras, blind side radar, etc.  I'm at $65K and 4-months to delivery with no mark up.  I don't know where you live but, in the larger cities, I saw $8K to $12K markups and, the smaller dealers ~50 miles away where straight MSRP with no markup!  I live in East Texas between I-20 and I-30 so, it may be easier for me to get away from the price-gouging but, I also won't support price-gougers with my dollars.

A small truck is also a viable option but, they won't be as comfy and as inviting to drive down the road.  The frame, brakes, fifth wheel, tires, etc. are all much better to pull a fifth wheel though!  We have purchased old 'beer wagon' pullers with a gas engines for $5500 and things like the Internalal FL70 for the low $20's.  On the flip-side, I would say a Ford F-450/550, Dodge Ram 4500/5500 is every bit as much of a beast as these small trucks but, you are looking at $70,000 to $95,000 on your tow vehicle depending on how you option it out.  Keep in mind the Diesel engin and transmission package will be a ~$14K option but, with diesel prices up and better gas engine fuel economy, I have made the conversion to the Ford 7.3L gas engine.