DannyA
Tennessee
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Joined: 01/07/2008
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I have looked and gotten it down to between two:
2006 26' 5th wheel in good shape (not great) but everything works and I talked to the owner and they had no problems with it.
Or, a 2007 26' travel trailer in excellant shape, only really been used twice (looks new). I talked to the owner of the TT and the only reason he let it go back was divorce. The brands are the same and the floor plan is the same. The travel trailer is $1000 less.
I'm going to pick up one Friday, just can't decide which one!
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wayne_tw
South Dakota/Georgia
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Joined: 07/21/2007
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I am a travel trailer guy. I like having the bed of my truck available to haul stuff.
Having said that, I think your tow vehicle may well decide which trailer to buy. Others may chime in here, but if you have a short bed truck, towing a 5th wheel may not work well.
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lockdoc
Mn
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Good luck with your decision! A lot of folks on here have gone from TT to 5er but then again there are a lot of happy TT folks on here too!
If you have a truck to handle either.....IMO the 5er is a better pull.
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camping man
Central Fla.
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Yeah, what lockdoc said.
05 Dodge 2500 Quadcab CTD NV5600/3.73rears
97 27ft.Sprinter 5er
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kaydeejay
SE Michigan, USA
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First of all - what do you have to pull with? Please remember you need MORE truck to pull a fiver than a TT due to the weight the trailer will load onto the truck.
A 10000# fiver will have between 1500 and 2500# as a pin weight while a 10000# TT will have a 1000 to 1500# tongue weight. It's very easy to overload even a 3/4 ton truck with a moderate fiver.
For a given size, a fiver tends to be heavier than a TT due to the frame construction required at the front end.
That being said, most people will agree a fiver is easier to hook up and in general is more stable while towing.
Downside is the need for an in-bed hitch and that you lose most of the pick-up box for cargo.
Good luck with your decision.
Keith J, Retired from GM Engineering
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RRUGG
Newaygo, MI,USA
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The TT is newer and lower priced. The extra money saved over the 5er could go in the gas tank. Another consideration is that the truck bed is more useable with the TT and you could cover the bed for more security. We've had two 5ers, liked them, but have gone back to TTs (two of them) for covered bed space plus I never could learn to adequately back up the 5ers. Piece of cake with the TTs. No stairs in a TT if that's any kind of issue. Also, TTs tend to be lower priced, all other things being equal, than 5ers. Do what YOU want, not what we "experts" on here think you should do.
RRUGG
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beemerphile1
NE Ohio
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Other points of comparison;
A 26' 5er makes for an overall shorter rig than a 26' TT.
A TT has less steps to negotiate.
Tim
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Road Ruler
Canada
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My bh usually doesn't notice towing issues but we came up behind another RV on our trip last week and she commented on how it was swaying and basically getting slapped around.
We passed the slower moving rig and was surprised to see it was about a 24'/25', 5er towed by a pick up. Normally on a good day the 5er's are very stable in straight line towing but this one was struggling at 90K/h with the gust and wind issues. Ironically, we easily passed this rig with our "car and trailer" towing at our usual 100kph without any sway issues or handling concerns.
Airstreams.... the best towing trailers on the planet!
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DannyA
Tennessee
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Thanks for your replys, its just good to get others ideas.
We are towing with a F150 5.4 engine and are aware of the weight issue. Both campers are a little over 6000 lbs. dry weight. Towing capacity for my truck is 8500 lbs so I don't think either would be a problem.
All things being equal I would go with the 5th wheel no doubt but its hard not to notice the "newness" of the TT. It was sitting beside a new one and you could not tell the difference.
The dealer has agreed to get both ready and sit them out together for us to make a decision Friday. Any other ideas are helpful.
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mpfireman
Cook County Il
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I would vote for the fiver, BUT the fivers hitch will cost more $$ than the TT hook up. So it depends upon what is included with each unit.
1998.5 Dodge Ram Quad Cab Cummins
1998 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver
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