Rent before you buy fifth wheel and truck

[Jankees]

I am contemplating buying a truck and fifth wheel. Since I own neither at this time, I thought it would be smart to try before I buy. I have been looking into renting a fifth wheel and tow vehicle this coming summer in Florida. However I can't find any company that rents combinations like that. Do you know of any company that does? Price is not so much of an issue. I'll just be renting for one week and that experience would seem invaluable. Thanks in advance for your pointers.

J.K.

 

[COMer]

Never seen advertising for this, or heard of a company that rents truck/trailer combos.  But if anybody would, it might be a dealer who had a used set to sell.  They might be willing to rent it out with the hopes that you would buy it, or something else from them.  I'm sure you would never find a new truck or trailer that you could rent.  Start by checking with some dealer's to see what they say.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I don't know of anybody who is in the business of renting a truck with a trailer, but there are some who rent trailers, including fifth wheels.  Google 'RV Rental' and you will find lots of potential sources, but be forewarned that their ads are often more hype than reality and few actually have much, if any, selection of trailers to rent.

I'm afraid you would have to buy the truck, install a fifth wheel hitch, and then go looking for 5W rentals.

Renting a 5W for a week and just living in it would help, though.  There  are campgrounds that have rental trailers already onsite, though they tend to be travel trailers rather than 5W. Even so, you would gain some experience in RV living.

 

[donn]

Why not simply rent a motor home?  The larger MH's are of sufficient size to give you a good idea of RV camping if that is your goal. There is a reason no one rents trucks and trailers.  Most people who rent do not know how to back up a trailer.  Therefore the MH.  At least they are able to back them like they do a car.

 

[diesel99]

There are lots of places that will rent you a travel trailer.  There are less that will rent you a 5th wheel although the only place I found was in Arizona.  I've never heard of a place renting both.

Anyways, this is the road we went.  We rented a cheap travel trailer.  It was poorly constructed(wires inside the cabinets for example), but everything worked and we had a great time.  So we decided to buy based on our good experience. We got a mid grade 5th wheel thinking that would be better than the TT we rented.

Going from renting to buying has not been smooth.  I'd rather have that cheap travel trailer than the money and time we've spent on this "mid-grade" 5th wheel.

The rental places have a full time staff to handle all the recall issues, leaks, maintenance, etc..  So you get a reliable unit for  that week.  Owning, you have to pay storage, registration fees, maintenance, repairs, deal with mice, etc...

There are some on this forum who claim different manufacturers are more reliable than others.  That may be true, but I've discovered on these forums that our experience is not atypical... 

Another option would be just to rent anytime you need an RV.  Or be VERY patient and wait until you get a recommended unit used or new at a discount.

My 2 cents.

 

[Honest John]

Like the others, I've never seen a place that would rent the combination that you are looking at.  I have seen a few used truck & 5th wheel combinations for sale on some lots but even that is pretty rare.

We had an Aljo 25 ft 5th wheel and a Ford F250 (V10) for a number of years and liked it very much.  We decided we would like to upgrade to a larger 5th wheel and knew that we would exceed the safe towing capacity of our Ford truck; so we upgraded the truck (Chev Duramax diesel + Allison tran) first.  Then went shopping for a trailer after a year. 

When we found the 5th wheel we wanted we used the Aljo as a trade and the dealer kept it as a rental (it was in excellent shape and was a size and weight that was easily towed).

It sounds as though you are interested in how a 5th wheel tows and "feels".  I can tell you that they are more stable and feel more "solid" when towed that most trailers.  But that does not help much, I know.  If you know someone who has a 5th wheel and truck they might allow you to try it with them in a nonthreatening environment.  This would be the least troublesome for them if they were already hooked up getting ready to make an outing.

Another point in favor of this combination is that a 5th wheel is easier to hook up than conventional trailers.  5th wheels do not sway side to side when under tow and generally handle better than travel trailers in windy conditions.  (Yes I know that Travel trailers don't generally sway if properly loaded and hooked up.)

Because of the hitch pivot point over the rear axle of the truck 5th wheels tend to cut corners somewhat tighter than the tow vehicle, but you can (and will) learn to compensate for that.  Also backing a 5th wheel is different than a travel trailer, but again you will get the hang of it.

Sorry we haven't been able to help in your search, but hope that this helps a little.

Regardless of which way you decide to go, best of luck!  Good hunting!  ;D