We found when buying our 5th wheel, to find the floor plan you want, then go shopping for the best price. We ended up going out of state and ordered what we wanted and saved several thousand dollars doing that. There are all kinds out there, only problem is they are made by just a few manufactures: Keystone and Forest River are a couple of them. Go to both of their web sites and look at all the different types and floor plans they have to offer, might save alot of miles. Then when you decide ob floor plan and everything you want on it, go shopping......

Cathey's just posted a new one, here

i sent a email to Rick to see if we can pull it ?? hopefully we can somehow. it out does all the other ones.

Glad to see that you are moving up to a 5'er. Just remember that the weight of the trailer is not all that you have to consider, you need to figure the weight of all of your passengers and the weight of the stuff you are going to carry in the truck and trailer.

Just my opinion, the washer & dryer is just not worth it from what I have read, The ones in campers are not big enough to wash much and the dryers don't dry clothes that good. Plus that is extra weight you have to add to the trailer, since it is and option that is not figured into the unit.

Good luck with whatever you purchase.


Coolbreeze1

thats what were hearing.. not too much good about the washer/dryer.. were using this for long periods of time, and thinks it would be good to have so we will have it.. i found out that the truck can pull 13900 - so the Grand Junction would be too much. but a Sierra is ok at 11400LBS .. we like it the best because of the 4 slides, and the overall appearance, and features..

were also buying a lot down in Outdoor Resorts again.. to keep it parked on for the winter, and stuff, and will take it a lot in the good seasons, out of state and stuff, and were hoping to get everything we would need to go even to stay in a walmart park lot, were checking into getting the generator.


coolbreeze -- i think i remember where you just purchased one from TN RV ?? what brand did you get ??


also anyone know of anyone that might be interested in our current Coachmen Fifth wheel, we are going to be selling it as soon as we get the new one.

Willandgilscamper


I bought a Crusier by Crossroads. I got the 30sk floorplan for the open living room area. It has 2 super slides and 1 slide in the master bedroom. TN rv gave me a good deal that I just couldn't pass up. Can't wait to meet alot of the group at some of the campouts this year.



Coolbreeze1

Please check and make sure that your truck is able to pull that 5th wheel! Based on what I can find, the Mountaineer has a "dry" weight of over 11,000 lbs, a "carrying capacity" of 3200 lbs, and a hitch weight of 2300 lbs. The "dry" weight will not include any options, nor will it include any cargo (fluids in the tanks, food, etc.). In a 5th wheel of that size, it would be very easy to add 2000 lbs of cargo and not even notice. In fact, having the fresh water tank full would add 600 lbs (67 gals, water weighs 8.34 lb/gal). Also, make sure that you check all of your truck's limits (GVWR, GAWR, GCWR, and your tire ratings). The published "towing capacity" of your truck is probably based on one passenger and no additional payload. It looks to me that you will be right at, if not over, one or more or your truck's ratings. Remember that it is the salesman's job to sell you a camper, not to make sure that your vehicle will safely tow it!

thanks it looks like you been doing our home work ! thanks for the info, i guess we will be right at it. we are wanting all the features, and size of the big one, and dont want to trade trucks right now. it will be parked a lot, but still want to make sure we can tow it to anywhere we want to go. will check into it more.

they will let us hook up to it and tow it, and see how it does, like i believe it was you said. thanks for letting me know that, we didn't know they did it. we just have not got over there again to tow it.. we have found better deals on the same floorplan just a Forest River.

does anyone know anything good or bad about a Ventless washer and dryer ? heard bad things about them, but thats all that is offered in any of them except one that TN RV is getting.

Just to follow up, I did a quick check on the specs for your truck and came up with the following:

Base curb wt. = 6000 lbs
Max. payload = 3120 lbs
GVWR = 8800 lbs
GCWR = 20000 lbs
Wheelbase = 142 in

(Verify these with what's in your owner's manual; I got these off the internet, which may or may not be correct)

If you take the GVWR of the truck and subtract the curb wt, you get a maximum allowable payload of 2800 lbs. This would include the weight of all passengers, fuel, and the pin (or hitch) weight of the trailer. If you assume you've got 300 lbs of passengers and 200 lbs of fuel, you get a maximum pin weight of 2300 lbs. Assuming that a typical 5th wheel has a pin weight of approximately 20% of its gross weight, you get a maximum trailer weight of 11500 lbs.

If you take the GCWR of the truck and subtract the curb wt, you get a maximum allowable trailer weight of 14000 lbs. This also would include passengers, fuel, etc. Again, assuming you've got 300 lbs of passengers and 200 lbs of fuel, you get a maximum trailer weight of 13500 lbs.

I couldn't find the axle ratings for your truck, and I don't know what tires you've got on it, so I can't check those ratings.

For more information, check out RV Towing Tips.

so basically, what is our maximum tow capacity ?? from what you have seen. thanks !

called the Ford dealership and gave them the VIN, and my capacity she said not to get too much over 13000 lbs.

Like I said in an earlier post, go hook the truck up to it and try it. It may be that you can move stuff around once you get it loaded and take the weight off the truck and put it on the trailer. It maybe that the truck sets on the ground, or you may just decide that you don't want to chance it. you will never know till you hook it up and try. You see people going down the road with 33' plus fifth wheels everyday and they don't seem to mind. Take an hour or two and just try it.

It is kind of interesting to go here

and look at the truck/5th wheel combinations people have. If you see someone who is pulling with what you have ... see what weight 5'er they are pulling. You could even message them and see how happy they are pulling that weight with their truck.

There are several load ratings you must abide by. The "max tow capacity" (or whatever Ford calls it) is a rough guideline; if Ford says that number is 13000 lbs I would make sure to be well below it (say 11000 lbs or so). The ratings that apply are the GVWR, GCWR, the GAWR's for both axles, and the load ratings for your tires. In a situation like yours, where you're looking at a trailer that is near (or possibly over) your truck's capacity, you should check all of them. Again, refer to this website for more info.

As an example, my truck has a GVWR of 6200 lbs, a GCWR of 12000 lbs, a "max payload" of 1400 lbs, and a "max towing capacity" of 7200 lbs. It's listed curb weight is 4600 lbs.

A check of the GVWR gives me a max payload of 1600 lbs (6200-4600). This number would include the weight of everything in the truck, including passengers, fuel, payload in the bed, and the hitch weight of a trailer.

A check of the GCWR gives me a max trailer weight of 7400 lbs (12000-4600). Again, this would include passengers, fuel, and anything loaded in the bed of the truck, so it's obvious that if I hooked up a 7200 lb trailer (the max trailer based on the "max towing capacity" listed in the owner's manual) to the truck with me, the family, and camping supplies for a week, I would exceed the GCWR by a significant margin.

In short, if I were you, I would be looking at trailers with a "dry" weight of less than 10000 lbs. If you exceed that by much, I imagine you will be shopping for a new truck.

we were planning on trading for a 2008 Ford Diesel, here in a little bit. have heard there capacity is like double what ours is. might just use our current one for a while and then trade. just cant find anything big enough under 10k

we found a 2007 model a couple is selling because of illness, and we may work it out, it is 40' 3 slides weighs around 11000