Wow...really like this 5th wheel

[solarrv]

The reason length is an issue is because of limited maneuvering: tight twist roads in & out of my neighborhood.  And experience shows for our roads a 5th wheel works better.  You are correct..the best config can vary.  And, hence my other post called "could've..."  Every person's situation is different and there is not one correct issue.  But, people need to be aware so they can think and decide if something pertains to them.  For me,  total tow package length is an issue and therefore I asked the question in this post, but nobody had an answer.  So, I went and found out myself, and got my answer a few days after I asked the question: a longer 5th wheel can be a shorter total tow package than a shorter bumper pull trailer, and the 5th wheel will have more living space than that shorter trailer..for the most part.  Will this be true with all trailers?  Maybe not, BUT...now if a person is curious about that they can read thi sthread, see that perhaps it is tru, and now they kjnow they can go find out for themsleves on the particular triler they in researching.  For me?  My possibile trailers have expanded considerably.  I can now consider a 28' -32' 5th wheel, but can only consider a 24' bumper pull.  There are a lot ore trailers to consider now!  Yeah!

 

[Jim Godward]

I am late to the party but FWIW, my 38' MH turns inside my sons's crewcab pickup.    We have been places he cannot .  We are towing a Jeep GC and he had a 2 horse trailer.  Since you indicated tight access you may want to be sure the TV will do what you need, especially a crew cab one.

A little story, you might be amazed at the places we put these MHs.  We have a friend that put their 40' MH where I could not put my 34' MH and the difference was in the chassis and the front wheel turn angles. 

In other words make sure of the capabilities of the TV you are interested in.

 

[Marc L]

So, I went and found out myself, and got my answer a few days after I asked the question: a longer 5th wheel can be a shorter total tow package than a shorter bumper pull trailer, and the 5th wheel will have more living space than that shorter trailer..for the most part. 

I'd venture to say that most of us knew that because we have all seen how the fifth wheel goes over the back of the truck a bit instead of dragging 3 or 4 feet behind.  I can't speak for the others, but until your last post, I thought you were concerned mainly about the total length of the trailer and not the total combined (truck+trailer) length.

 

[solarrv]

Maybe I did not ask the correct question, or it was not clear enough..it was in my mind...LOL

The original question was "....is a 28' 5th wheel equal to a 24' bumper pull in length.  I would guess a 5th wheel is measured the same as any other trailer so perhaps the "main box" of a 5th wheel is equal to a 24' bumper pull.""  I can see now after all the replies it was not clear but at that time I was thinking somone would be able to tell me that the main box of a 5th wheel is NOT equal in length to a bumper pull, that it is shorter in length, that the 5th wheel's measurement includes the part above the truck, so in fact there is actually less unit on the road behind the truck.  It appears to be common sense to most but to me I did not catch that, as a newbie.

And, yes, turning radius on different tow vehciles is important.  And, I go back to the experiences we have had up here in our neighborhood over the past 10 years, and bumper pulls greater than 24' have had issues.  Multiple truck drivers bringing construction equipment have all said the same thing: get a 5th wheel for this road if you are buying an RV.  So, issues we have seen with our own eyes, and words of advice.....mean totall tow package length is an issue, and if I can get a longer trailer in a 5th wheel and still have the same or shorter length behind the truck than a shorter bumper pull, I am better off because I have a  longer trailer, and hence more living space.  But, all this does is open my eyes and expand my possible selections, where as before I was stuck on that 24'  length for everything!

 

[Marc L]

No worries, we got it all cleared up now. 

With a fifth wheel, another variable on the total towing length is if it has an extended king pin or not.  Especially if you are buying used, it could have been extended after the fact.  But we are not talking several feet here.

 

[tennsmith]

My two cents worth on tow vehicles.  I pulled a 24' fifth wheel for several years with a 3/4 ton GMC truck w/5.7 liter gas engine.  The truck was adequate to pull the trailer, the suspension and brakes were more than adequate.  Power-wise, it was OK, but there were times I wished I had more engine.  That trailer GVWR was about 4550 if I recall correctly.  If you're considering going to 30-32', then I'd only consider a diesel as a TV due to the weight, but that's just me.  The Ford V-10 may be adequate as well.  The problem is always the same, to get torque out of a gas engine, you need some reasonably high RPMs like 4000 or so.  A diesel makes its big torque numbers in the low 2000's.  The diesel will tow it better and with less effort, but then the downside of diesels are that they are a bit higher on maintenance than a gasser and the initial cost is more.  Chassis-wise, the 3/4 vs 1 ton decision should be made based on the pin (hitchpoint) weight of your trailer as compared to the rear axle load carrying capability of your truck.  Most 1 ton pickups are dually's, but they are available as single wheel as well.  You will also find that the 5th wheel tows much much better than a bumper pull or tag trailer.

 

[solarrv]

I have heard that more than once about a 5th wheel towing better than a bumper pull, and the goose neck I used to tow frequently in the mid-1990's towed like a dream.  I am going to review the gas vs. diesel thread on this site now as there was a link in it to a diesel truck forum. Thanks for all your help.