Short or Long Wheelbase

[Bob Landry]

I'm out of my comfort zone here, so here's a question for you seasoned RVers.
I'm currently pulling an Outback 277RL with a Toyota Tundra 5.7L with all the trimmings. The combination is great and I love both truck and trailer.
I'm starting to get the truck bug and after seeing no major changes to the Tundra for 2014 and no possibility of major redo for another 7 years, I'm looking seriously at a F250 with the 6.2L. No, a diesel is not in my future. I've always had trucks with shorter beds mainly for aesthetic reasons, so my question, at the sound of getting way ahead of myself, is... In the even that I would ever decide go to a fiver, would I be OK with the 6.5' bed or is the 8' bed really a necessity? DW and I both still work and our camping consists of weekend trips for the next 10 years, so except for an occasional trip out west, there is very little mountain driving and the truck will be more of a daily drive than a tow vehicle. I just want to have options. I've read a little bit about the sliding hitches, but don't know a lot about them, basically that it gets the front of the trailer away fem the cab for sharp turns and backing. Any thoughts from you guys.

[Javi]

If you don't mind a slider the the 6.5' will work.... For myself, I will never again own a short bed pickup... the long bed is just more practical when camping and a bit more stable because of the extra wheel base...

Others may have another opinion... but that's mine

[Festus2]

Bob -
I've pulled 3 different 5th wheels over the course of "far too many years". All of them have been pulled with a short bed and I've never blown out a window or left any impressions of my truck on the 5th wheel. Come close a few times.

I've used an adjustable hitch on the last two 5ths and never have had to use it but I can manually move it back to give me more wiggle room should I find myself in a tight spot.

With the Cougar and its recessed front, it does provide me with even more wiggle room than our older RV which was pretty much straight across with no recessed corners.
For me, the short box has worked well. It is a bit easier to move around in parking lots but it isn't our daily driver so that isn't a big plus.

At times, a long box would be nice to have --- more room in the box for "stuff", negates the apparent need for a sliding hitch, and long box trucks have a larger fuel tank.

With today's modern fronts on 5th wheels, I can't say that a long box is a necessity. With a manually adjustable hitch, you will be okay. Sometimes, it depends upon what type of camping you do. If you usually frequent sites with full-hookups and are "wide open", then the need for a long box or an auto-sliding hitch lessens. If you often spend time in campsites that are a bit "tight", hard to get to and into, or more remote, then you might want something that will allow you to make those extra-tight turns.

So far, I've been happy with a short box and can't see any reason to start looking for something longer. Being a 5th wheel, it tracks well being pulled by a short box and I really don't think it would make any significant difference towing if it were a long box. Towing a travel trailer is a different matter, however. Then a long box would certainly be preferable.

But then again once the effects of being bitten by the truck bug have worn off, you just might be content with what you have! Your wallet and wife will love you even more.

[raytronx]

I like my 8 foot box, lots of room for my tool chest and 2 other storage chests. It's a pain some times to park but a dually anyway so I'm always way out at the edge of the shopping center.

Good exercise!

The longer the wheelbase the better the sway control should be in theory. But it does add to the total length and turning radius is worse.

[Outbackmel]

Buy what makes you happy. Once you have the right engine and gear ratio for your maximum projected load, then the rest of the decision is personal preference. My 36ft triple slide Outback 5er was my max choice when I bought. Since then, I have looked a a dozen toyhaulers, however, in the end we decided to not step up in truck to pull one. (Dodge 2500).

Leaving in a week for south west Florida to Riverside RV Resort, then on up to Ormond Beach and Bike Week, then 2 weeks at Rock Crusher Canyon in Crystal River, FL, then back to N GA mountains 1st week of April.

To tell you how good of a "salesman" I was when working, I have convinced my wife to haul both big motorcycles on our motorcycle trailer behind her SUV for the trip.

Life is good!!

[Bob Landry]

I'm in kind of the same place. My wife has a new Sequoia, and with that, goes away the excuse for not pulling my boat when we go for a weekend, and yes, life is good.. LOL

[therink]

Hello. If you are considering a fiver in your future, I would seriously consider a 1 ton SRW. A short bed would be fine inmy opinion. If going gasser, get the 4:10 or 4:30 axle. Take a look at the 3/4 ton truck payload ratings and factor in the potential of loading a 2,000 to 3,000 fiver pin on it. You run out of payload real quick with a 3/4 ton. I learned this through my own experience. The cost diffrence for a new 3/4 ton versus 1 ton is around $800 and well worth it in my book. You would likely need to factory order a truck set up this way as 1 ton SRW gassers are not common on dealer lots, esp with the low geared axle.

Steve

[SteveC7010]

Bob, I just went through a similar decision making process. We had a '01 Dodge Super Cab 3500 long bed duallie. It pulled the 5er OK except that we knew the tranny was beginning to show its age. Plus it was beginning to show signs of body rust from road salt.

I really like the Super Cab. It's not as long as a full crew cab, but gives plenty of interior space for the dog and some gear. But the super cab and the long bed and the dually was just too much truck for a daily driver. It was a pain to park in most circumstances except my own driveway. And it had a big turning radius.

So when we decided to trade it for a new truck, we thought long and hard about what we really needed for a tow vehicle and a daily driver. The SRW short bed plus Super Cab won hands down. It's a very manageable size for parking and maneuvering, and still enough more than enough truck to pull the Cougar. I haven't picked up a sliding hitch yet based on the reports of many of the folks here.

I have the new 6.7L Power Stroke diesel and am delighted with it. It's no louder than a similar size gas engine, and with fuel prices they way they are lately, the added fuel economy of the diesel offsets the slightly higher fuel cost. But gas or diesel in these new Fords is mostly personal preference I guess.

BTW, while my truck is the F250, it has the 10K# GVWR option so for all practical purposes, it's nearly indistinguishable from a SRW F350.

Get the tow package and the HD options. I like the XLT series fine, but if you can, the Lariat or even the King Ranch are pretty sweet.

[Bob Landry]

That's very much like what I'm looking at, but I don't think the percentage of towing that I'm doing justifies the initial up front hit for the diesel. I havn't read anything bad about the 6.2L gasser. With just DW and myself, the Super cab will do fine for us. The drive train is almost identical to my Tundra, but my issue with it is the payload. it's a half ton and it is what it is.

[JRTJH]

Bob,

The F250 supercab XLT with 6.2L gas engine can be ordered with the 35 gallon fuel tank, 10K gvw and 3500 lb payload. The max tow rating for the 3.73 gearing is 12300 and for the 4.30 gearing is 12500. It doesnt appear that there's really a lot of difference in max tow capability with the lower gearing, so for fuel economy, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to go with the 4.30 rear end unless you're looking at maxing out your trailer tow rating.

As for a slide hitch, there are a lot of people who feel it's a security blanket that's worth the extra money. I'm not really inclined to agree. If you look at the newer nose caps on fifth wheels, they are pretty much designed to cut better than a 45 degree angle. On my F150 with the Springdale front end (not a fiberglass cap) I can easily get to 60 or 65 degrees and maintain at least 3" from the trailer to the back of the cab. Now, if you'll think about the angle you're currently able to cut with your bumper mount hitch, when you're at 45 degrees max and the truck bumper and trailer front are pretty much too close to really feel comfortable, you're an easy 15 to 25 degrees less angle than I get without a slide hitch.

As for bed side rail clearance and sliding hitches, I would agree that if you're backing DOWN a hill, having a sliding hitch may help with clearance, but if you're backing on an angle or uphill, the only thing a sliding hitch will do is move the truck bed rail dent 16" back. Truthfully, we dry camp in some pretty "unimproved" campsites and I've never had the occasion to even "wish" for a sliding hitch. We have a 90 degree right turn with a huge oak tree at the end of the driveway and I've pulled out of the drive onto our private 15' wide road for 3 years without ever feeling cramped.

If you do decide on the short bed, CURT hitch company fifth wheel hitches can be purchased without the slides and later, if you decide you want them, you can order the slides and mount your current hitch head on them. So, you can try it without the slides and if you want them, install them for cost of the rails rather than having to buy a new hitch assembly.

I don't know if other hitch manufacturers have that option or not, but I know CURT does offer it.

I'm not suggesting you do what makes me happy, but I did probably the most critical looking I've ever done for a vehicle when I bought this rig. The Ford supercab, regular bed (6.5') 4X4 6 speed transmission with 3.73 gearing is a pretty neat truck whether you want an F150 or step up to the F250. As for the F350, there's not a lot of difference in payload between the F250 gas truck and the F350 SRW diesel truck. That's not an "apples to apples" comparison, but trying to find a F350 gas is nearly impossible.....

I'm thinking a F250 supercab "regular bed" (6.5') is all the truck you'll need for a 32-36' fifth wheel.

[Brantlaker]

I have a F250,6.2 with a 3.73 rear and a 10,000lb GVW. I ordered it with a 5th wheel tow pkg. MY bed is flat when I remove the hitch. You can order a Reese 18K with a slider that fits with out any adapters.My Cougar weighs out at 11,521lb when traveling on a trip (never less than 1,000 miles )I am very happy with it I get 18-19 mpg on the road at 70mph , 14-15 around town and 8-10 towing.When you order the Towing Pkg. it comes with a trailer anti sway that is connected to the brake controller. By the way with the 4.10 gears the mileage only drops about 10%.

[Bob Landry]

That's around the towing MPG i was expecting. I'm getting 10 with my Tundra pulling around 8K. I haven't checked it lately, but I don't think I'm getting that good in town with a very similar engine, but with a 4:30 rear end. But then Tundra'a claim to fame has never been fuel economy

[Bigsky3625]

Had a 3/4 ton gasser to pull a 28' TT. We got the footsies and started looking at 5th wheels.

Hands down we went with a 1 ton and it is a diesel. Do yourself a favor and get the wheelbase and power. You won't be sorry. I learned the hard way.

[MrAndy]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Bob,

The F250 supercab XLT with 6.2L gas engine can be ordered with the 35 gallon fuel tank, 10K gvw and 3500 lb payload. The max tow rating for the 3.73 gearing is 12300 and for the 4.30 gearing is 12500. It doesnt appear that there's really a lot of difference in max tow capability with the lower gearing, so for fuel economy, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to go with the 4.30 rear end unless you're looking at maxing out your trailer tow rating.

As for a slide hitch, there are a lot of people who feel it's a security blanket that's worth the extra money. I'm not really inclined to agree. If you look at the newer nose caps on fifth wheels, they are pretty much designed to cut better than a 45 degree angle. On my F150 with the Springdale front end (not a fiberglass cap) I can easily get to 60 or 65 degrees and maintain at least 3" from the trailer to the back of the cab. Now, if you'll think about the angle you're currently able to cut with your bumper mount hitch, when you're at 45 degrees max and the truck bumper and trailer front are pretty much too close to really feel comfortable, you're an easy 15 to 25 degrees less angle than I get without a slide hitch.

As for bed side rail clearance and sliding hitches, I would agree that if you're backing DOWN a hill, having a sliding hitch may help with clearance, but if you're backing on an angle or uphill, the only thing a sliding hitch will do is move the truck bed rail dent 16" back. Truthfully, we dry camp in some pretty "unimproved" campsites and I've never had the occasion to even "wish" for a sliding hitch. We have a 90 degree right turn with a huge oak tree at the end of the driveway and I've pulled out of the drive onto our private 15' wide road for 3 years without ever feeling cramped.

If you do decide on the short bed, CURT hitch company fifth wheel hitches can be purchased without the slides and later, if you decide you want them, you can order the slides and mount your current hitch head on them. So, you can try it without the slides and if you want them, install them for cost of the rails rather than having to buy a new hitch assembly.

I don't know if other hitch manufacturers have that option or not, but I know CURT does offer it.

I'm not suggesting you do what makes me happy, but I did probably the most critical looking I've ever done for a vehicle when I bought this rig. The Ford supercab, regular bed (6.5') 4X4 6 speed transmission with 3.73 gearing is a pretty neat truck whether you want an F150 or step up to the F250. As for the F350, there's not a lot of difference in payload between the F250 gas truck and the F350 SRW diesel truck. That's not an "apples to apples" comparison, but trying to find a F350 gas is nearly impossible.....

I'm thinking a F250 supercab "regular bed" (6.5') is all the truck you'll need for a 32-36' fifth wheel.

I bought a 2012 F350 diesel crew cab with the long bed. Depending on which combination of cab and bed length you chose, you got either 37 or 25(?) gallon fuel tank. You WANT the bigger tank for towing, especially if you go gas.

[Bob Landry]

I bought the F250, CC, short bed, and 6.2L gasser, 3:73. I've learned from being in the marine industry as an owner and as a technician, that you buy a specific item based on your immediate needs, not based on what you "think" you will be doing 2, 5, or 10 years from now. I've seen more than one couple buy a $100,000 boat with aspirations of cruising around the world only to end up day sailing on the local lake because family or medical circumstances dictated otherwise.

While I hope that a 5th Wheel may be in my future someday, that is not chiseled in stone and at some point could change. What I have a need for right now is a truck that will handle my trailer safely for weekending and an occasional long trip out west, with the primary use being as a daily drive. With that criteria in mind, I think the crew cab, short WB gasser meets the brunt of my needs as far as towing ability, fuel economy, maintenance, and convenience of in-town driving. For my particular situation, I think I ended up with the best of both worlds. Some may disagree and that's OK, but I have to live with this truck for a while or all I will have a need for will be enough gas to get out of town until the smoke clears.

[JRTJH]

Well stated, Bob. That's pretty much the same logic I used when buying my F150. I knew it would fit in the garage and I knew it would handle my RV. I also knew that the F250 would have been too tall and too wide to fit through the garage door. I "could have" bought for the future and started planning a garage upgrade and probably still been parking it outside next year (4 years old) or buy what I needed at the time and enjoy the "perks" of the decision.

Hopefully you won't need to escape till the dust settles and your decision will serve you well with some room for adaptability if you decide to go that route.

What size fuel tank did you wind up with? I'm not sure what Ford was putting in the crewcab. I think it is the 36 gallon tank in the supercab.

[crash]

I like my 2008 f350 super duty long box dually it makes for along combo hooked to the 42ft raptor but its what I like.

[Bob Landry]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Well stated, Bob. That's pretty much the same logic I used when buying my F150. I knew it would fit in the garage and I knew it would handle my RV. I also knew that the F250 would have been too tall and too wide to fit through the garage door. I "could have" bought for the future and started planning a garage upgrade and probably still been parking it outside next year (4 years old) or buy what I needed at the time and enjoy the "perks" of the decision.

Hopefully you won't need to escape till the dust settles and your decision will serve you well with some room for adaptability if you decide to go that route.

What size fuel tank did you wind up with? I'm not sure what Ford was putting in the crewcab. I think it is the 36 gallon tank in the supercab.

All of the Super Duties with the 6.2L gas engine have a 35 gallon gas tank. I can't speak for the previous years. The size of the fuel tank on the diesels will vary depending on the cab style and the length of the wheelbase.

[audio1der]

That 35 gallon tank is a nice touch.
I was wondering if you park in a agarge as that may be the deciding factor for bed length?
I would have liked a longer bed/frame but I'm adament about vehicles parking inside our garage.

[Bob Landry]

Originally Posted by audio1der

That 35 gallon tank is a nice touch.
I was wondering if you park in a agarge as that may be the deciding factor for bed length?
I would have liked a longer bed/frame but I'm adament about vehicles parking inside our garage.

I live in a Condo and do not have a garage, but wheelbase length was certainly key in deciding on a truck. My vehicles are used far more as town drivers than for towing, so parking and mobility comes to the top of the list.