We are trying to judge the towing limits of our TV and are finding some really heavy numbers in our wish-list of 5th Wheels. We will be full-timing and want as big a Fiver that we can safely tow with our new 3500 diesel dually. We are finding that BIG means HEAVY. We like the Sunnybrooks, Excel Limiteds, Nu-Wa Champanges, Portofino Villas, Holiday Presidential Suites, Mobile Suites, Travel Supremes, Heartland Bighorn and Landmark to mention a few. The trouble is that a lot of these nice units are very heavy and may give us problems down the road.
We now have less than two months to make the choice!
Our question is: Can anyone recommend some brands or models that are lighter-weight, yet retain strength and quality? Thanks for your advice. Can't wait to get out there again.
As soon an alternative is suggested, you can count on the emergence of people who will tell you that it is a piece of garbage because of some experience they had or heard about. We purchased a 2005.5 Montana 3400RL and have been very pleased with it. It is not a lightweight RV but is lighter than units like Mobile Suites and can be towed safely with your 3500 dually. Though many people full-time in Montanas, they are not specifically designed or recommended for that purpose ... which explains the lighter weight. I would recommend that you check out the Keystone website (for specs on the various models) and also the Montana Owners Club Forum for opinions (good and bad) on the Montana line of fifth wheels. I especially encourage you to check out the opinions of one specific poster on the MOC Forum. His id is "richfaa". Rich has done more research on RVs in general and Montanas in particular than anyone else I know. His opinions are worth considering strongly. Hope this is helpful.
Bill
Bill & Ann
2007 Tiffin Phaeton 40QDH
2007 Jeep Liberty
Our Cat Rescue Gang, "The Traveling Wilburys": Sadie, Aimee, Cody, and Wylie
Look into Carriage eather cameo or carrilite were fulltimers and have a 36KIQ these units are made for full time we pull with a 05 Dodge duely pulls great no problems
2005 Dodge one ton duely quad cab navagation system don't want to get lost before were ready to
2005 Carriage carri lite 36 KIQ four slides {HOME}
As has been mentioned interminably on this, and the Tow Vehicles, forum, weigh your truck with everything and everybody aboard then subtract that weight from your trucks's GCWR to get its actual "Tow Limit".
Subtract the actual weight of your truck from its GVWR to find its maximum pin weight, then multiply that by 4 and compare that result to the "Tow Limit" calculated above.
Using the LOWER of these two numbers, start searching for a trailer whose GVWR does not exceed it.
That, BTW, is why we bought a Montana rather than a MountainAire.
______________________________
2003 Dodge 3500 QC - HO CTD, 48RE Automatic, 4WD, DRW, Jacobs EB, Jordan 2020, EasyRider/Reese 20K FW Hitch
2003 Montana 3655FL - Our Retirement Home On Wheels
Sounds like you've discovered one of the hidden facts of RVs.
This one is
Quality weighs more
The others are
Quality costs more
What matters most is how well your rig is made, not what it is made of
No RV made, is made to be left in the weather 24/7/365, unoccupied. Find a way to park your unoccupied rig out of the weather
My best advice is to find the best rig you can tow, not the biggest. Comprise on size, not quality.
1999 F250SD V10 pulling a 1999 Nash 24-5N When someone tells you to buy the same rig they own, listen, they might be right. When they tell you to buy a different rig then they own, really pay attention, they probably know something you don't.
According to the RV Rating guide, the Hitchhiker Discover America series is rated as a full time fifth wheel. NuWa has a great reputation as you can see from the posts on this forum. We have a HH DA 34RLTG arriving in early June and NuWa emailed us the actual weights with our options when it came off the assembly line. I can give you those figures if you want to personal e-mail me.
We were concerned with weight and felt all those bigger RVs really need a hauler - the bigger than pickup type. Dodge is building new units called 4500 and 5500, I think. Anyway they are specifically for hauling those bigger units. They will have a new engine. Check out the Dodge sites if you want to go that big. We didn't. Also, note that the max towing capacity for a Dodge 350 dually is actually less than for a single rear axel due to the added weight of the dually. We were surprised by this.
Garry & Dianne
19 years with Tioga Class C-family vacations
8 years with Prowler TT - full time since 2004
2006 Dodge RAM 3500 Quad Cab 4x4 short box
2006 Hitchhiker 34RLTG as of June 14, 2006
Thanks for those helpful and informed posts, OntMontana and fulltimer5er. We will consider those units.
To RAM^3: Nice clear explanation of the Tow Limit formula..thanks. I made a copy of that and will use it in our selections.
n7bsn: Thanks for the heads-up on choosing quality over quantity, but that is something we had already decided upon...just looking for brands/models with the 'lightest' quality.
Tensor and cat320: What makes sense for YOU does not necessarily make sense for US. We have our own criteria to meet. Somehow, I think we will manage to get the job done in our own way. Remember, it takes all kinds to make a horse race! But thanks for that suggestion anyway.
fiddlnrver: Wow...did not know that info on the dually v.s. single. That is indeed a revalation to me. I will check further. Indeed, if not using duallys, then it makes no apparent sense to go with a 3500 rather than a 2500..except for the heavier springs, right? Thanks.
* This post was
edited 05/27/06 01:06pm by pompano *
I asked the Montana dealer about the weights listed in the brochure. He gave me a factory spec sheet with all the "actual" weights as weighed in the factory. There was a 'shipping weight', and an 'interior label weight.' The latter was a bit higher than the former. Can't speak for any other Keystone products, but these weights were very close, with the brochure weight usually falling between the two weights noted above.
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