1/2 ton towable 5th wheels

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kparker51

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May 12, 2013
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Any experience here

Keystone, Cougar 1/2 ton series, Heartland, Sundance XLT, Jayco, Eagle HT ....

All 3 make about the same thing, floor plan and weight wise...about 5 choices


Jayco seems to be the most expensive.... by far and Sundance seems to have the neatest finish...

Can anyone sing for any of these? From experience I mean.

Thanks
KP
 
I doubt that you'll hear much in the way of experience.  Towing a 5th with a 1/2 ton is a real stretch.  You might get by if you have one of the TV's with a "Tow Max" package.

The problem is pin weight.  The Jayco HT's for example have DRY pin weights of 1200#-1300#.  Add to that maybe 200# for the hitch weight, 100# for fuel, your weight in excess of 150#, and the additional pin weight owing to your personal cargo in the 5th .... and you're up to at least 1800# in the bed of your truck.  What's the cargo carrying capacity listed on the sticker on your truck?
 
I've towed a 6200 GVWR  5th wheel trailer with a '84 1/2 ton truck.  It did as was expected from a truck of that era.

  I'm not from the 1/2 ton can't tow a 5th wheel trailer crowd. However not all1/2 ton trucks are equal. They range from small 6200 GVWR with 3600 lb RAWR and P tires up to 8600 GVWR and 6000 RAWR E tires and wheels.

Any of the 5ers you have mentioned can be towed with the correct 1/2 ton truck.

I would select the trailer of your choice that matches your particular 1/2 ton trucks load carrying numbers and tow rating and go for it.
 
I bought a 1/2 ton series 5th wheel for a 2003 Silverado. Wasn't happy with the way the truck handled even after installing air lifts to try and level the truck. Wife liked the floor plan so ended up buying a 3/4 ton and have no regrets.
 
I have a very small and lightweight 5th wheel - 18 1/2 feet long and tow with a 1/2 ton F-150 and from experience will tell you I would not want to haul anything bigger....even though weight wise I am not at the max....let me just say that you will be MUCH happier with a 3/4 ton truck.

I am seriously considering going up t a 24 footer - a Cougar and before I do a new truck is in order!!

Good Luck on your purchase those are all nice units....but be wary of the weight and truck limitations.

Jim
 
They have been using Asian sourced Pickups here to tow lightweight 5th wheelers. No problems towing them (cruising 60mph).Probably the most unusual vehicle to tow a 5th Wheeler here is the IVECO Daily again only a 3 litre diesel but tows a 38ft 5ver like the Redwood attached.
 

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Was in Pensacola last week and saw a Nissan Titan towing what appeared to be about a 32' 5th wheel. I didn't talk with the guy, but it's something I wouldn't have done. dont' remember what make/model the trailer was either. Maybe I should start writing this stuff down. :)
 
3/4 Ton Diesel power truck will give you the most options for RV and pull it the best with better MPG number and power. I wouldn't even try to get a RV for a 1/2 ton truck the choices are going to be very limited and floor plan that most likely not going to fit you either. Check my signature link for what I'm towing.
 
I slept in one of the keystones, did not tow it though :D
My friend had a 2011 and it had 900 pound pin weight as equipped empty. It would tow fine with an appropriate half ton truck, as long as proper loading was observed.  You will never be able to fill the seats on a crew cab half ton, for example.
My 1990 alpenlite is 7200 pounds fully loaded with water, with 1200 on the pin. If I left out the water it would have similar pin loading.
 
OK let try this again....
There is a whole NEW series of half ton towables so lets start there....
My 1/2 ton is rated for 10250 lbs. the new Fords are higher than that...
so has anyone any experience with this new genre of 5th wheels?
Huh?

 
A year ago the Northwood Mfg. brochure for the Fox Mountain 235RLS boasted "The 5th Wheel That's Taking the 1/2 ton market by storm".  It had a photo of the 235RLS being pulled by an F-150 and I believe it was the Eco Boost but can't trust my memory that well.

It's 27' in length and the dry weight for the 2014 model is 7235 lbs.  But keep in mind that by the time you fill the fuel tank in the truck, put the people in, a 5th wheel hitch, tools, tool box, etc. you're going to greatly minamize your load capacity.  I think you'd have to tow with an empty truck and an empty trailer to stay within the load limits.

I had my eye on this trailer (all seasons....holding tanks enclosed in heated space, added insulation in the ceiling, walls and floors, under belly enclosed, thermal pane windows, etc.) for awhile and considered the Ford F-150 Eco Boost.  However, at the last minute I decided to step up to an F-250 with the 6.7L diesel.  No regreats!

Even pulling a trailer that's over weight isn't the part that I'd question.....we all know that all trucks will pull more than they're rated for.  It's getting them stopped that counts....especially in an emergency situation.

I believe the 2011 and 2012 model may be a bit lighter.  2013 model year got heavier and the 2014 has dropped back down a bit.

Hope this helps.

JC
 
As someone mentioned already, not all 1/2t tonne trucks are created equal. F150 not only has the max tow package but it also has HD payload package. On these 1/2t trucks, you will hit the payload limitation far before total tow limit. Most of the new 2013 trucks will claim it will tow 10,000+lb but does not have enough payload capacity to tow a 10klb 5th wheels.

If you haven't purchased the truck already, then look for F150 with both max tow and HD payload packages - this is sort of in between 1/2t and 3/4t.
 
kparker51 said:
Any experience here

Keystone, Cougar 1/2 ton series, Heartland, Sundance XLT, Jayco, Eagle HT ....

All 3 make about the same thing, floor plan and weight wise...about 5 choices


Jayco seems to be the most expensive.... by far and Sundance seems to have the neatest finish...

Can anyone sing for any of these? From experience I mean.

Thanks
KP

Can you give us a description and specs on your truck? Also, where do you plan on towing the trailer? If you are in a place like Florida or Kansas than you would be fine as long as your truck can handle the pin weight but if you are planning on towing in any mountain range, east or west, don't do it. Move to a stouter truck. Doesn't have to be a diesel but the chassis, suspension and gearing need to be beefier than any half ton offers. I never recommend 3/4 ton trucks, especially for anyone towing a fifth wheel or gooseneck because all a 3/4 ton is is a de-rated 1 ton srw. Anyway, let us know what your truck is and your destinations so we can help you.
 
Stewie Griffin said:
Can you give us a description and specs on your truck? Also, where do you plan on towing the trailer? If you are in a place like Florida or Kansas than you would be fine as long as your truck can handle the pin weight but if you are planning on towing in any mountain range, east or west, don't do it. Move to a stouter truck. Doesn't have to be a diesel but the chassis, suspension and gearing need to be beefier than any half ton offers. I never recommend 3/4 ton trucks, especially for anyone towing a fifth wheel or gooseneck because all a 3/4 ton is is a de-rated 1 ton srw. Anyway, let us know what your truck is and your destinations so we can help you.

I agree because most 1/2 tons don't like some of grades out West. This one of the few reasons I suggest diesel power vehicles they are design more so for hauling the weight and the power plant is design for hard climbs where most all gasoline power plants will have a much shorter life span because the amount of time high revving climbing mountains.
http://i53.tinypic.com/ne9jq9.jpg

 
Yes, we have experience towing a fifth wheel with a half ton pickup.
Our set up was a RAM half ton with Hemi engine and 3.92 rear axle rated to tow 8900 pounds.  Our fifth wheel was (is), a Flagstaff model which has a dry weight of 6200 lbs.

We towed it from Florida to Maine, Florida to UP of Michigan, Florida to Northern Wisconsin, Florida to Chesapeake, and to Boone NC.

How did it do?  Pretty well with Air Bags to stabilize the bed with 50 lbs of air in each side. Acceleration was slow getting on the on ramps if there was a hill involved.  What is not often considered is the half tons other weaknesses when towing, namely stopping.  Brakes on HD trucks are much heavier, as are the suspensions.  We kept speed to the 55-58 MPH range on the interstates.

This year we wanted to return to the Western part of our great country, so we traded in the half ton for a new RAM 2500 with the Cummins Diesel engine. We are delighted with the improved fuel milage, the ability of the diesel with engine braking (standard) to handle the mountain descents, and the low RPM as she pulls the hills without down shifting and the steep grades with only minor downshifting. 

We made our decision to buy the fifth wheel after seeing a lot of half tons pulling them on a trip to the Canadian Rockies with our 19.5 tag along trailer the year before (2007).  They explained that it could be done if you accept their limitations.

Hope this helps.

Ron and Joyce in Northern CA, on our 2 month western trip
 
I don't know the specifications but Ram is coming out with a 1/2 ton diesel pickup this fall.  It will be interesting to see it's tow rating.  I understand it will have a Fiat diesel.
 
The 2104 Ram diesel is tow rating is not as high as I expected:

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/2014-ram-1500-ecodiesel-will-tow-9200-pounds-63940.html
 
But fuel mileage will be better!

Not only that but the price of diesel is the cheapest of available fuels where we are now on the Northern California coast.  4.07 for diesel and 4.11 for regular unleaded gas.  Don't even ask,about premium!

Ron

 
The 2104 Ram diesel is tow rating is not as high as I expected:
A similar engine in a IVECO Daily in Europe has a very different result.
 

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