Need double tow 5th wheel options?

What about a toyhauler, put the boat in the garage you don't have to worry about length and your wife has a home.
Just another idea.

Hanr3 said:

Do you happen to remember the models of those 5ers you saw at the RV show?

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no sorry wasn't paying attention - but if you go to a show or dealership im sure  they will help you

I skipped over a bunch of comments so hope this isn't a duplication. We often double tow. Don't forget you get about 4 feet back with the overlap of the fifth wheel and truck bed. We have a Komfort 25' and a full size one ton dodge. California requires a CDL for double towing and most states allow provided you have a fifth wheel first. Two tongue pulls won't due. Make sure your trailer has some weight to it. If you boat is heavier than the trailer, it can get real squirrelly. Also, you need to ensure the hitch on the trailer for the boat and support system for the trailer are compatible. Not just any hitch setup will do. There are many trailer manufacturers that produce the 25' trailer; Jayco, Keystone, cougar....just depends on your needs. Hope this helps.

I have a 2002 Timberlodge that is 25' and use a 1 ton ext. cab long bed.  Truck is 20' long.  The camper is about 4' or so over the bed.

I double tow with a 2006 25.5' Terry BHS extreme edition model.  I pull several trailers behind it, including an 18' heavy welded aluminum boat, weighing about 2800-3000 lbs., depending on how it's loaded.  My fifth wheel grosses at 9700 pounds.  I pull twisty mountain roads and passes in the west and do so without incident or problem.  The fiver has a heavy welded hitch frame and the Terry seems to hold up well.  Tow vehicle is a 2006 Chevy 2500, duramax crew cab short box.  The truck is chipped, 4" exhaust, cold air intake.  I get 13 mpg towing the fiver, drops to about 12 mpg with a double of any size on it. 

I know this thread is a little old. I have been doing a ton of research and been to several RV shows. For clarification. I need a 5th wheel that is 25' tip to tail, not 25' deck. Most RV manufactures classify their rigs length of main deck, a 23' 5th wheel is actually closer to 27' tip to tail. This is too long.
I have both good news and bad news. The bad news first.
Seems that in the early 2000's and older most 5th wheels were shorter and could be towed by a modern 1/2 ton. However those rigs are at least 18 years old now. I'm not really looking for a rebuild project, at this time. Finding one in great condition is a pipe dream.

The good news, there are a several manufactures making shorter 5th wheels today.
Scamp Campers- https://www.scamptrailers.com/
Allen Campers- http://www.allencampermfg.com/default.html
KZ Campers- https://www.kz-rv.com/
StarCraft Campers- https://starcraftrv.com/fifth-wheels/autumn-ridge-outfitter/

Right now I am looking at the Starcraft Autum Ridge 245RKS - total length is 25'9", CVWR 8,500 which is a tad more than I want. However it is doable.
My prefered option is the KZ Sportsmen 231RK
https://www.kz-rv.com/products/sportsmen-travel-trailers-and-fifth-wheels/fifth-wheel-231RK.html
Total length 25'5", GVWR 7,000 with a heated under belly for my cold weather camping. Not winter camping! Unloaded Vehicle Weight is 5,925 lbs. They call both of them couples campers. And both are sportsmens campers. Which is exactly what we plan to do with it.

I pulled the trigger on the tow vehicle and was looking for a 3/4 ton. However I discovered a F150 locally with the trailering package, 3.5 EcoBoost twin torbo, rated to tow 11,000 on the bumper and a combined GVWR of 16,500 (5th wheel rating). This truck is basically one step below the Max trailering package. Comes with 3.55 gears (2 wdr) and electronically controlled locking rear axle. I saved a few hundred pounds by getting 2wdr over the 4wdr.
I bought the Super Cab (extended cab) and 6.5' bed. 145" wheel base. Oddly enough the regular cab with 8' bed has a shorter wheel base and lower towing capacity. Most of the Crew Cabs locally had 5.5' beds and I think that is too short to towing a 5th wheel. Leaves the Extended cab, SuperCab is what Ford calls them.

My next delima is 5th wheel hitch. I would prefer a turn over ball in the bed and the Companion slider hitch. However I don't like the weight of that combination. I don't want rails mounted in the bed permantetly, however to save a few hundred pounds I may have to get used to them. Currently leaning towards bed mounted rails and the Curt slider hitch. But, I haven't put them to paper yet to compare final numbers.
https://www.curtmfg.com/part/16621

You have a 1/2 ton.  Go as small/light of a fifth wheel as possible, even then you will likely exceed the payload.  A 1-ton truck would have been a better choice.

Use an Andersen hitch.  It will save a few pounds and leave your bed flat when not towing.

Agree with Senator (OH NO! Political statement?!?)

I have the Andersen hitch, which attaches to the gooseneck ball, for my FW.  The aluminum version only weighs 37 pounds!  Really!  The initial setup takes 10 or 15 minutes, but routine install / removal is about 5 minutes.  Tows like a dream!

I also agree that you got too light of a truck.  Watch your weights VERY carefully!

Two of my favorites things to do are to see every double tow thread turn into a legalities information session and also seeing people reply to posts that are over two years old.

I say pay the piper

For clarification. I need a 5th wheel that is 25' tip to tail, not 25' deck. Most RV manufactures classify their rigs length of main deck, a 23' 5th wheel is actually closer to 27' tip to tail. This is too long.

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For towing doubles with a 5th wheel trailer the length your needing is from the center of the pin to the center of a ball in a receiver hitch on the back of the 5th wheel trailer . If the 5th wheel trailer doesn't have a receiver hitch you will need to do some R&R  as to where the ball will be located.

Of course the trucks length will be from the front bumper to the center of the trucks rear axle.

My double tow rig was with a long bed chevy....26' 7800 gvw 5th wheel trailer....a 19' bass boat/trailer at a bit over 25' from the center of the hitch ball to the 175hp outboard motor's skeg .

Just ramblin' here....... Ford markets the F150 with 19 different GVWRs from 6000 on up to 8200 lbs
  and 5 different RAWR from 3300 up to 4800 lbs.
  Depending on which F150 gvwr/rawr package your truck has it may or may not have enough rawr to carry the trailer pin weight plus a hitch and other gear in the bed.
Payloads ??
This gets lots of rv newbs in trouble especially with a new gen high gvwr truck . Example one poster says his F150 had a 1780 lb payload and a 3800 rawr. His trucks rear axle weighed 2380 lbs which left his truck with approx 1420 lbs in the bed payload.

longhaul said:

For towing doubles with a 5th wheel trailer the length your needing is from the center of the pin to the center of a ball in a receiver hitch on the back of the 5th wheel trailer . If the 5th wheel trailer doesn't have a receiver hitch you will need to do some R&R  as to where the ball will be located.

Of course the trucks length will be from the front bumper to the center of the trucks rear axle.

My double tow rig was with a long bed chevy....26' 7800 gvw 5th wheel trailer....a 19' bass boat/trailer at a bit over 25' from the center of the hitch ball to the 175hp outboard motor's skeg .

Just ramblin' here....... Ford markets the F150 with 19 different GVWRs from 6000 on up to 8200 lbs
  and 5 different RAWR from 3300 up to 4800 lbs.
  Depending on which F150 gvwr/rawr package your truck has it may or may not have enough rawr to carry the trailer pin weight plus a hitch and other gear in the bed.
Payloads ??
This gets lots of rv newbs in trouble especially with a new gen high gvwr truck . Example one poster says his F150 had a 1780 lb payload and a 3800 rawr. His trucks rear axle weighed 2380 lbs which left his truck with approx 1420 lbs in the bed payload.

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Longhaul,

Appreciate the reply. Yea, I choose this truck over other options because of its capacities. 
The F150 I bought is rated to tow 16,000 pounds GCVWR (truck, and trailers).
The truck has a GVWR of 6,900 pounds, 2,100 payload capacity. 
Truck, me, full tank of gas and both dogs weighs 4,800 pounds. Leaves 2,100 pounds for the wife, hitch and pin.
The KZ 231RK Sportsmen 5th wheel GVWR is 7,000 lbs. @ 20% a pin weight of 1,400 pounds loaded. Leaves 700 pounds for the misses and hitch. The unloaded weight is 6,000 pounds and 860 on the pin. Pretty small and light 5th wheel. Which is perfect for camping and matches my trucks capacities.
Boat weighs 2,300 full loaded, including a full tank of gas.
Total weight of camper and boat is 9,300 pounds, both fully loaded. I'm pulling 10,000 pounds total. Heck, the truck is rated to tow 11,000 pounds at the receiver. I'm pulling it with a 5th wheel. I'm not worried about it at all.

I bought a 2016 F150 XLT Supercab 145" wheelbase, 3.5L twin turbo, 2wdr with electronic locking rear axle, 3.55 gears, towing package (not heavy duty package so its missing the brake controller, however I can add that and have the puter switch flipped on at the dealer). I will need to add towing mirrors and am debating replacing the original with factory towing mirrors, but those aren't cheap. 2wdr saved me several hundred pounds and increased my load capacity. I looked at a regular cab and 8' box, however that had a shorter wheel base, also looked at the crew cab, however that only comes with a 5.5' bed. Supercab with 6.6' box was the best option there.

I looked a V8, however the EcoBoost twin turbo has better towing numbers and better performance numbers all around. Turbos also give me engine braking. Not like I plan to triple tow through the mountains. I plan on mostly sticking to local weekends trips and a week long trip or two a year for the next decade until retirement. We will see where it goes from there. Altough I grew up in the mountains, so driving and towing through them doesn't bother me a bit. I lived in Summit county Colorado, and back in the day you had to drive over Loveland pass. Now most go through the Eisenhower tunnel. I was there when the tunnel opened back in the early '70's. Seen many a rigs scattered all over the highway and valley below. 

lone_star_dsl said:

Two of my favorites things to do are to see every double tow thread turn into a legalities information session and also seeing people reply to posts that are over two years old.

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Agree, however, in this case the OP revived his own thread so he' still on the hunt!

I also agree with all that voiced some concern of weights and towing doubles with a 1/2 ton....However

Hanr3 said:

Not like I plan to triple tow through the mountains. I plan on mostly sticking to local weekends trips and a week long trip or two a year for the next decade until retirement. We will see where it goes from there. Although I grew up in the mountains, so driving and towing through them doesn't bother me a bit.

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Local trips on flat lands with an experienced towing driver puts me more at ease. Less than ideal, but he doing his homework and will likely be OK.

Unlike the never ending stories of folks that have never towed anything before; buying a medium duty SUV; planning to full time all over the county (mountains and wind) towing their new 32' TT with all the fixens loaded in it....LOL  :-\

Derby6 said:

Unlike the never ending stories of folks that have never towed anything before; buying a medium duty SUV; planning to full time all over the county (mountains and wind) towing their new 32' TT with all the fixens loaded in it....LOL  :-\

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Yep, seen them fixens scattered all over the highway, especially in the mountains.

To be honest, the only thing that makes me nervous is people that have never towed and don't realize the stopping distance needed. They have no problem jumping in that big gap you left for safety reasons and putting everyone in danger. They just don't get it!