New Search: 5W vs. Travel Trailer

After giving my search a break for the summer, I'm back at it. Not super serious right now, but if I find the right RV, I'll probably buy it. I have a family of 4 with myself, SWMBO, a 14 year old, an 11 year old, and a german shepherd and beagle that I'd like to take on the occasional trip.  I have a 2016 Ram 2500 CTD short bread for pulling duties, and most trips will be 3-4 days long within a 5-8 hour drive of central NC.

I know that I'm limited in the size of 5W I can pull because of my truck, so I'm considering a bigger travel trailer. My budget is $35K for a 5w and $25K for a travel trailer, as it seems that is about the difference in price between like equipped RVs. Is this even a reasonable budget for a 1-7 year old RV? I decided to buy used for my first RV in the long, partially because it is my first RV, and partially because I will be upgrading my truck in 3-4 years, so I will want to upgrade to bigger RV. Is this a wise plan? Sorry if I'm all over the place, I'm basically starting my search all over again.

My son went from a 27' TT to a 35' FW bunk 10,000 loaded pulling with 2012 CC CTD  3/4. He said it pulls better than the TT. When you go to a FW with the newer trucks be aware that you may be looking at an axle flip because of the truck height.  I extreme cases they sometimes need a sub frame. You can adjust the hitch height but you still want at least 6 in of rail clearance.  Sometimes after doing the axle flip the stabilizers will barely reach the ground or be maxed out and the first step may be very tall. My son and I both bought new stabilizers and I replaced my three step with a torquelift 4 step aluminum ($450).

When you look at rigs make note of the pin box to ground distance and how much up down distance the pin box can be adjusted. Then measure your bed height and consider some squat. My sons truck squatted about 2.5 in. It seems most people are pulling FW with a 3/4 ton. Some are light and some are surely good deal over the numbers.  People told me to buy used the first time and I'm glad I did.  I have put a couple learning wounds on it and now that I see how poorly they are built I'm glad I didn't spend $50,000 on this junk.  Be extremely careful about looking for water damage. Dealers and private sellers will lie lie lie. Absolutely learn about finding water damage. It can show up as pimple looking spots on the wall board or be black slimy mold behind the walls and not see it.  Pay attention to how they present the rig, some will have air fresheners or fans going etc to mask musty odors. Peek at every corner, move the couch and dinette cushions and look closely at the slide floor. Look under all of the slide and knock on it to find soft spots.  When you think you have looked at it for ever, look at it some more or leave and come back and look it over again. Leave ALL emotion out of it.

My son and I looked at about 20 TT last winter and couldn't find a dry one. He found a 2013 Open Range that they loved but it had mold in the walls and it wasn't easy to spot but one piece of trim was loose in the bedroom cabinet. I pulled on it and it was wet and black behind it. It could easily have been missed.
A TT is obviously much easier to rig but people often like the way a FW pulls . You could still have a tail dragging  issue and need a flip but  you will know how high it sits just by seeing it leveled up.  Be very careful on the water damage issue. Good shopping to you.

You may not like the answer, but...

First find the yellow placard on the driver door latch post which will have a statement like ... the maximum weight of all passengers and cargo shall not exceed XXXX pounds.  This is exactly what it says.  It is also known as the Payload, specific to THAT truck as it left the factory.  That number should be around 2500#, depending on how it is equipped.

The following is my estimated numbers.  Replace these with your REAL numbers for YOUR  truck and family.

Add together the weight of your four passengers and two dogs  (estimate 700#???) and 200 # for a FW hitch and 200 # misc tools and cargo in the truck.  This is  1100 # in my example.  That leaves 1400 # maximum FW pin wt.  FW pin wt is about 20% of the gross FW weight, so the heaviest FW you can handle is 7,000 # fully loaded and ready to camp - NOT DRY WT!

Now, using the same numbers for a TT, we have 700# passengers and pets, 80# WD hitch and 200# cargo = 980#.  This leaves 1500# for a max hitch wt. (rounded).  Using 10% hitch wt, you can handle a very nice 15,000#  GVWR TT.

it is unlikely you will be happy in a 7,000# FW, but you can be quite comfortable in a 15,000# TT.  I suggest to concentrate on TT only at this time.

Your choice to look for a gently used camper is very smart!

Keep on researching and find your ideal camper!

I doubt if the numbers will be quite as bad as grashley's example, but you get the picture, right? Get the real numbers for your truck and cargo before you do any shopping. Then compare that to the GVWR of any trailer you look at. Figure 20% of GVWR for a 5W and 10% for a TT, as grashley showed in his example.

At a guess, your 2500 CTD will probably be able to handle a 5R of about 11,000 lb gvwr. That's probably a 27-30 footer.

As for your budget, that sounds fine to me. I'd be focusing on 3-7 years old.  The older you go, the more upscale & higher quality model you can afford.

I have not owned both a TT and 5W so I cannot comment on the difference... but I'll say that our 32' bunkhouse TT tows fine with my 3/4 ton Suburban.  We have a similar family setup (3 boys + 1 dog) to bring along with my wife and I. 

Don't overpay just because you might have the money available... most dealership RV's are substantially overpriced, and many privately owned rigs are too because owners are not aware of their actual value.  Once you have some year/make/model possibilities, use NADAguides.com as a price guide comparison.  (Do not add in "Options" when pricing used RV's.)  NADA values may not be gospel, but it's a good reference point.  When I bought our 2008 trailer in 2015, it had a NADA price of $12k+, seller was asking $11k, and after it sat unsold awhile and I negotiated a bit more, I bought it for $8500.  Similar trailers at dealerships were priced at $14k-15k. 

The deals are out there, but it takes a lot of patience and research to find the right one & know exactly what you are getting.

Another big consideration is what part of the country you are in. We just got back from Sturgis South Dakota and saw all kinds of bumper pulls being blown all over the road from the crosswinds. Don't get me wrong, even with my dually and pulling a fiver I had my hands full at times also. So beyond all the "B" pillar stuff, you need to consider where you are going to be pulling geographically. A bumper pull in your area with your truck would probably be A-OK, assuming your tow weights are within range, but out west the variables change a lot.

Thanks for the input everyone.  I'm going to check out a few shows this fall with the family, and see if I can find a floor plan I like before I do anything.  There is a show in Raleigh, NC this weekend, that's probably a good place to start.

I have a 26 foot TT and am considering a 35 foot fiver toy hauler at some point.  It has come time for me to get a new truck, so I am highly considering a 4500 CTD Dodge Ram.  Difference in price is just over $4000 between the 3500 cab/chassis and the 4500 cab chassis, equally equipped (Cummins, 6 speed manual trans, 4x4 4 door Tradesman).  Several friends whom I have spoken to say go for the 4500 because the tires last much longer and the carrying weight of the 4500 is (of course) better.  Fifth wheel toy hauler I am considering is the Grand Design 350M.

askibum02 said:

Thanks for the input everyone.  I'm going to check out a few shows this fall with the family, and see if I can find a floor plan I like before I do anything.  There is a show in Raleigh, NC this weekend, that's probably a good place to start.

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Larger dealership websites and some other places online will have floorplan diagrams you can check out too.  PPLmotorhomes.com is a good one.  Once you see some rigs in person, then you can get an idea of how those diagrams translate to "real feel". 

gravesdiesel said:

I have a 26 foot TT and am considering a 35 foot fiver toy hauler at some point.  It has come time for me to get a new truck, so I am highly considering a 4500 CTD Dodge Ram.  Difference in price is just over $4000 between the 3500 cab/chassis and the 4500 cab chassis, equally equipped (Cummins, 6 speed manual trans, 4x4 4 door Tradesman).  Several friends whom I have spoken to say go for the 4500 because the tires last much longer and the carrying weight of the 4500 is (of course) better.  Fifth wheel toy hauler I am considering is the Grand Design 350M.

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I cant comment on the Ram but a F450 has a lower cargo capacity by 500lbs  - 1200 lbs than a F350 and a lover gear 4.30 instead of 4.10 or 3.73 so you have more torque but crappy mileage, i bought a F350 last week and they got a F450 in the same day same colour options etc etc and i could have had the 450 cheaper but the 350 is much better unless your a contruction company pulling backhoes etc

steveblonde said:

I cant comment on the Ram but a F450 has a lower cargo capacity by 500lbs  - 1200 lbs than a F350 and a lover gear 4.30 instead of 4.10 or 3.73 so you have more torque but crappy mileage, i bought a F350 last week and they got a F450 in the same day same colour options etc etc and i could have had the 450 cheaper but the 350 is much better unless your a contruction company pulling backhoes etc

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This one has the 4.10 gears, same as my old 1996.  The real added benefit is the 19.5 inch wheels/tires and additional springs.  I haul bulk feed, electric pallet jacks and forklift batteries on the flatbed and it does sometimes come close to maxing out my current 3500.  I am still considering the tradeoff between the two but this one does seem like a good deal.