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Old 10-27-2011, 05:30 PM   #1
jq1031
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Wow, a 5er!!

Just got settled into the Laredo TT........know thinking about moving up! God help me. What I really don't know is how the king pin set up works. My TV is a short bed, 6.5 ft. Where do I go from here?
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Old 10-27-2011, 05:58 PM   #2
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Big difference Joe in hauling, in a good way. I feel the fiver tows better than the TT. I find it easier to pull, park, and OMG the storage room. The hitch is similar to the big rigs, the king pin slides into the hitch and then locks in place with jaws that either clamp or wrap around the pin. With the short bed its not that much of a big deal any more with the new rounded front ends and/or sliding hitches. I have a slider but in our twenty or so trips I only used the slider once just because. I've gotten to the point where I know the turning limits and adjust from there. Hope this helps, good luck, Happy camping, Sam
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Old 10-27-2011, 06:17 PM   #3
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Joe, Once you tow the 5r you will never go back. Especially on long trips there is no comparison. JM2¢, Hank
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Old 10-27-2011, 06:53 PM   #4
jq1031
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Thanx Guys, still pulling my hair out, the ones I've left!
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2011 Laredo TT 297RL
2011 GMC Sierra Denali 2500 HD 4X4, Duramax Diesel/Allison Transmission, 3.73 Gears, Reese WD with two sway bars. Dometic 3000KW Generator.
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Old 10-27-2011, 06:56 PM   #5
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Joe, I'm with the others, been pulling fvers most of my life and the only way to go. Alot smother ride, easier to back into campsite, gets into tighter spaces, very little or no trailer sway when big rig passes etc. 5ver all the way for me. Happy Campin............Ron
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Old 10-27-2011, 06:57 PM   #6
jq1031
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Handysam View Post
Big difference Joe in hauling, in a good way. I feel the fiver tows better than the TT. I find it easier to pull, park, and OMG the storage room. The hitch is similar to the big rigs, the king pin slides into the hitch and then locks in place with jaws that either clamp or wrap around the pin. With the short bed its not that much of a big deal any more with the new rounded front ends and/or sliding hitches. I have a slider but in our twenty or so trips I only used the slider once just because. I've gotten to the point where I know the turning limits and adjust from there. Hope this helps, good luck, Happy camping, Sam
Sam, what's a slider?
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2011 GMC Sierra Denali 2500 HD 4X4, Duramax Diesel/Allison Transmission, 3.73 Gears, Reese WD with two sway bars. Dometic 3000KW Generator.
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Old 10-27-2011, 07:23 PM   #7
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A slider is a hitch that rolls or slides back in the pickup bed to move the king pin further from the cab allowing increased clearance in backing maneuvers. It needs to be moved back to the forward position over the axle for travel due to the weight transfer in the rear position.

As for towing a fifth wheel vs travel trailer. We have had everything from Airstreams, Holiday Ramblers, shorter Jayco travel trailer. I thought after towing a straight wall trailer across Kansas that the "miracle" of Airstream was profound. It really towed much nicer in crosswinds. Now that I have a fifth wheel, I wonder how I ever managed all those years. We arrive at campgrounds after a long tow much more relaxed and ready to roll out the awning and enjoy the evening. When we were travel trailering, often, after a windy tow, we didn't even talk to each other for a good part of the evening, just from the tension.... All (well at least most) of that is gone with the fifth wheel... I won't call it the best, but for us, we'll not go back to a travel trailer given what we know about the future. "Never say never" but it's not in our plans to go back !!!
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Old 10-28-2011, 03:58 AM   #8
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Hi Joe,
A word of caution, it is very easy to find yourself under-trucked in 5er land. With your 2500, you will need to keep a close eye on the pin weight of your 5er choices. I would imagine your truck's payload capacity is around 3000 lbs. Thus you would want the empty pin weight below 1800 lbs. Yes, this is the voice of expensive experience taking.
Have fun shopping!
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Old 10-28-2011, 04:57 AM   #9
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Hi Joe,
A word of caution, it is very easy to find yourself under-trucked in 5er land. With your 2500, you will need to keep a close eye on the pin weight of your 5er choices. I would imagine your truck's payload capacity is around 3000 lbs. Thus you would want the empty pin weight below 1800 lbs. Yes, this is the voice of expensive experience talking.
Have fun shopping!
I agree with this 1000%!

We've talked with a number of folks that are somewhat hung up on buying a new 1500 series truck because of the high tow ratings. But they overlook payload ratings of the truck and that is a serious error, especially when considering TT's and 5er's that are going to weigh in around 8-10K dry.

Both tongue weight (for TT's) and pin weight (for 5'ers) matters big time. 1500 trucks are generally rated around 1,500-1,600# payload in the bed of the truck. 2500's are rated right around 3,000#, and the 3,500# duallies come in at approximately 4,500# or better. (3500 single rear wheel trucks generally fall in the same weight rating as a 2,500, but there are some exceptions. Study specs closely.)

Our new Cougar is factory spec'd with a pin weight of 1,565#, but I suspect it is actually quite a bit higher. An even ton would not surprise me.
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