Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone Community Forums > Odds 'n Ends
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 10-27-2011, 05:30 PM   #1
jq1031
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Venice, FL
Posts: 484
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?
__________________
Joe & Carolyn, Venice, FL.
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.
jq1031 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2011, 05:58 PM   #2
Handysam
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Cincinnati,Oh.
Posts: 365
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
__________________
2007 Dodge 2500 6.7 Megacab CTD
2011 Keystone Cougar 327RES
Handysam is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2011, 06:17 PM   #3
hankpage
Site Team
 
hankpage's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Venice
Posts: 5,346
Joe, Once you tow the 5r you will never go back. Especially on long trips there is no comparison. JM2¢, Hank
__________________
Hank & Lynn
2007 Cougar 290RKS, E-Z Flex, 16" XPS RIBs ( SOLD .. Gonna miss her ... looking for new 5r)
2004.5 Dodge 2500 QC, LB, 5.9HO, WestTach gauges, Ride-Rite
hankpage is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2011, 06:53 PM   #4
jq1031
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Venice, FL
Posts: 484
Thanx Guys, still pulling my hair out, the ones I've left!
__________________
Joe & Carolyn, Venice, FL.
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.
jq1031 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2011, 06:56 PM   #5
Ron
Senior Member
 
Ron's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Washington State
Posts: 859
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
__________________
Ron
99 Freightliner FL70 Western Hauler CC 300 HP Cat/Chipped/ Allison Auto
12 Montana 3800RE/Level-Up Auto Leveling/Slide Toppers/MorRyde Hitch/VuQube 2000
01 F350 7.3 PSD Crew Cab DRW 4X4 6 Speed/Chipped


Ron is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2011, 06:57 PM   #6
jq1031
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Venice, FL
Posts: 484
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?
__________________
Joe & Carolyn, Venice, FL.
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.
jq1031 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-27-2011, 07:23 PM   #7
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,841
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 !!!
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2011, 03:58 AM   #8
Paddler
Senior Member
 
Paddler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Clearwater, Fl.
Posts: 220
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!
__________________
Steve, Margo & April the campy Cocker
SOB Motorhome
Paddler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2011, 04:57 AM   #9
SteveC7010
Senior Member
 
SteveC7010's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Northville NY in the Adirondacks
Posts: 2,128
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paddler View Post
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.
__________________

'11 Cougar 326MKS loaded with mods
'12 Ford F250 SuperCab 6.7 PowerStroke Diesel
Amateur Radio: KD2IAT (146.520) GMRS: WQPG808 (462.675 TPL 141.3)
SteveC7010 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2011, 06:09 AM   #10
SAABDOCTOR
Senior Member
 
SAABDOCTOR's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: WESTERN,CT
Posts: 2,095
PADDLER HAS IT RIGHT! ANDWHEN YOU GO TO BUY YOUR NEW 5ER. REMEMBER THAT WHEN DW LOADS IT UP WITH STUFF THE WEIGHT WILL GO UP! ON THE PIN TOO. SO LOOK AT YOUR PAY LOAD CLOSELY. ALSO I TOO WENT FROM A TT TO A 5ER. 30 YEARS WITH A TT WHEN I GOT THE 5 I WAS LIKE A MONKEY WITH A STRAIGHT RAZOR!! YIKES WHAT ADIFFERANCE I WAS TURNING TO TIGHT BACKING UP WAS AWFULL. SO I WENT TO A BIG EMPTY PARKING LOT. IN A HALF HOUR I HAD IT DOWN. WILL NEVER GO BACK!!! TOWS SOOOOOO NICE SOME TIMES I LOOK IN THE REAR VIEW AND JUMP I THINK SOMEONES TAILGATING NO IT MY TRAILER YEP I'M TOWING. SO GOOD LUCK AND ENJOY WHATEVER YOU BUY
__________________
BARNEY AND CHRISTINE
2010 MONTANA 3750FL
2005 DODGE 3500 DUALLY TD
2 RESCUE PUPS: SUSITNA AND CRYSTAL. RIP ALYESKA!
SAABDOCTOR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2011, 06:19 AM   #11
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,841
Steve's advice is very sound. We looked long and hard at fifth wheels before buying ours. We tow with a F150, and although we have managed to keep the weight within truck specs, it's not always an easy task. Our reasoning for the 150 was storage (garage parking) options on the truck, pricing, fuel mileage, not wanting a diesel again, etc. At any rate, we compromised and bought the F150 and a lightweight small fifth wheel. Our pin weight loaded is about 1200-1300 lbs, but that is achieved by making a packing list and then removing those things we "really don't need" (but would be nice to have) and leave them at home... Sometimes, that means we get where we're going wishing we'd have brought along something.

It's not really "that bad" but it is always a challenge to stay within our weight limits, for example, do we take the extra 6 water jugs (240 lbs) for the dry camping weekend, or do we take the generator? Would be nice to have both, but there's just not enough weight capacity to do that...

Don't get me wrong, the F150 tows our fifth wheel as well as any truck I've owned would have towed, but when it comes down to staying underweight, it's a challenge... It is very easy to face the same dilemma with most any truck if you buy too large a trailer.

I'd strongly suspect from what I've seen on the highway and in campgrounds/rest areas, that there are a LOT of 250/2500 series and some 350/3500 series trucks that could use some weight reduction. We saw an enormous toy hauler in West Virginia this past summer being towed by a 3/4 ton truck, the bed was almost touching the rear wheels and the front was so far up in the air I really wonder if he could steer. He was going down the mountain passes over 70MPH and climbing them in the truck lane at 20-30MPH. The sad part was he had at least 4 (maybe more) kids in the back seat. Now that was unsafe and overweight towing if I've ever seen it. The reason I bring this up is that some people think that the answer to towing a fifth wheel is that you need a 3/4 ton truck. Just owning one of those critters doesn't mean that you can walk onto an RV lot and pick out any fifth wheel there and expect your truck to tow it. There are some fifth wheels on the market that would challenge F450 and F550 load ratings.

Keep your expectations realistic, watch your truck specs and compare trailers that are within those specs. Essentially, on larger fifth wheels, plan to add between 500 and 1500 lbs to the empty pin weight depending on how you load. And, remember, you still need to keep a certain percentage of trailer weight on the pin just as in travel trailers to get a good tow. That is usually about 15 - 20% from all the info I've seen. That means you can't just put all the heavy stuff in the back of the trailer and make a heavy pin weight go away....
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2011, 11:44 AM   #12
jq1031
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Venice, FL
Posts: 484
Quote:
Originally Posted by SteveC7010 View Post
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.
Thanks for your help, my truck is rated to pull 15,600 lbs with a cargo payload of 2,959lbs. From a numbers perspective, my TV could easily handle your Cougar. What's your opinion?
__________________
Joe & Carolyn, Venice, FL.
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.
jq1031 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2011, 12:37 PM   #13
msp2jxr
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Crossville
Posts: 305
I am fairly new to the 5er business. I have been towing since 1989 and have always towed TTs. In 2009 I bought my first 5er because that is all the wife would talk about. I don't plan on going back to a TT again. The hook up and unhook is easier. As far as backing it is a toss up. I got very good at backing with TT's. I am still struggling a bit with the 5er. It seems to turn in slower but goes quicker as the back continues. I don't think you will regret going to a 5h wheel. Jay
__________________
Jay and Lori
2016 Impact 311
2015 Cougar 337 FLS (retired)
2012 Cougar 326MKS (retired)
Mor-Ryde Pin Box
2015 Super Duty F350 6.7 4x4 King Ranch
2008 Super Duty F250 6.4 Diesel 4x4 Lariat (retired)
2005 Goldwing
msp2jxr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2011, 03:36 PM   #14
SteveC7010
Senior Member
 
SteveC7010's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Northville NY in the Adirondacks
Posts: 2,128
Quote:
Originally Posted by jq1031 View Post
Thanks for your help, my truck is rated to pull 15,600 lbs with a cargo payload of 2,959lbs. From a numbers perspective, my TV could easily handle your Cougar. What's your opinion?
I think you'd pull our Cougar pretty well. Interestingly, my '02 3500 duallie is only rated to pull 13,000#, but has a payload rating of 4,700#. Detroit has done a great job of upping the tow ratings in the last 5 years or so, but really hasn't increased the truck payloads. Payload ratings on new trucks today are virtually identical to the 2002 ratings.

I really like the added payload and stability of the duallie when towing the Cougar, but as a daily driver, it's a bit much. So I clearly understand why folks look at the 2500's.
__________________

'11 Cougar 326MKS loaded with mods
'12 Ford F250 SuperCab 6.7 PowerStroke Diesel
Amateur Radio: KD2IAT (146.520) GMRS: WQPG808 (462.675 TPL 141.3)
SteveC7010 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-28-2011, 03:55 PM   #15
jq1031
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Venice, FL
Posts: 484
Smile

Thanx everyone for all the information. I've learned alot about towing a 5th wheel, the kingpin & etc. I really like my Laredo TT, it tows well, has been pretty much trouble free and at this stage of my life it's a pretty good fit. This is kind of a "grass is greener across the street situation". The big Florida RV show in Tampa comes this January, if I can stay away from it, I'll keep the Laredo, if I go to the show, well, who knows!......................Joe
__________________
Joe & Carolyn, Venice, FL.
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.
jq1031 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 06:02 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.