We travel with a large dog and wanted room to relax at night when not outside (recliner, etc.). Wife is more of an RVer than a camper, but hey we already live on acreage in the woods. To get a similar tt floorplan we would have had to go 34-36', which was longer than I wanted for state parks and smaller camping areas. So we started looking at 5th wheels which have much better floorplans for couples (and a dog or two), though this year I have seen more tt rear-living floorplans. We liked the rear living plan and shopped around that and the length (<32'). Not a lot of options (Cougar, Laredo, Eagle, etc.) and after looking we narrowed it down to an Eagle and the Cougar (Laredo has essentially the same plan but skimps on storage but adds corian counters, weird. We liked the cherry interior of the cougar better anyway). The Eagle's weights were a bit heavier overall and quite a bit more on the pin, and the tanks were a bit smaller. So we opted for the Cougar.
We have about 6000 miles on it so far and have not found anything appreciable we would want to change at this point. Great storage (haven't filled it up yet), plenty of room, comfortable, not too many compromises, looks good and tows great. If I had my ideal floorplan I would make it much like this one lengthened to 32' with a king bed side cable-slide (I can dream). Bedroom is fine for sleeping but can be a bit cramped. We looked for other floorplans at a couple of shows this year and can find no reason to upgrade, so we're staying with this setup for a while.
As a note we did upgrade the recliners to euro style leather, now much more comfortable. I can't understand why mfg don't offer seating choices as a dealer installed option, such that one can delete or change out the seating for comfort/preference. This would seem to be a good money maker for dealers, though I couldn't convince any at a recent show...
daglenn1960 wrote: I keep an eye/ear open to pulling a 5th wheel with a 07' gas 2500hd 6.0, as we do it. We went from a 20' Funfinder (~4500 lbs) to a 28.5' Cougar (~9000 lbs).
Opinions have ran from "too much trailer" to "we pull a much heavier 5th with ours". The numbers reality is, that for our combo, we are under all limits (not too much margin on some) and we feel comfortable with that. The Cougar pulls great compared to the trailer, though you do realize it is behind the truck (which was much less an issue with the lighter trailer). Our mpg dropped from ~10 to 8.5-9.5 depending on wind/hills. Your gas engine will make power with more rpm, so it -will- shift on hills and run at overall higher rpms. You might be sensitive to that, but after 35 years of motoring with gas engines, it doesn't concern me.
For our combo we run out of gcwr before we run out of payload capacity, your combo may be different. Just remember to account for all limits when you decide.
I would say that sums it up. Great post.
In my life I've spent my money on women, booze, Harleys, guitars and traveling, the rest I just wasted...
2007 Ford F-350 diesel/dually & Sunnybrook Titan KSRV 39-1 Toy hauler 5th wheel hauling my custom Harley
We looked at a bunch of FWs when selecting our new one and settled on the Jayco Eagle SuperLite HT 26.5 RLS with the rear living room and the bedroom slide being for the four-door wardrobe. According to the sticker on the FW, it weighs 7,272 pounds delivered so has a pin weight of around 1,400 pounds and will accept about 2,6788 pounds of cargo before hitting its GVW of 9,950 pounds. We have towed it from our home to Zion National Park and back, around 1,300 miles, and it towed like a dream and we got around 10.9 MPG for the whole trip. Our truck is a 2011 Ram Diesel with a six-speed manual and a 3.42 rear end but we had no problem towing this package. We decided on this package due to our happiness, for 18 years, with our old Jayco Eagle 215SD. The new FW feels very spacious, has a bunch of storage outside and in, and tows great. Compared to our old Eagle, this is a great step up in space and quality. We also had a dealer 150 miles away that made us a great deal, factoring in cost to go and pick it up and tow it back, about the same price as the FWs in Middlebury, Indiana where they build the Jaycos, RV Direct and RV Connection I think are the two in Middlebury. Good luck with your search, sorry I can give you a comparison with the pulling characteristics of the two RVs, we have only towed the fifth-wheels in our life with RVing.
Looked at a 2008 Glendale Titanium 25E30 5th wheel that seems to fit my needs as far as weights and size. It is new in that it has never been used or titled but has been sitting around for the last three years. The inside looks absolutely new but the out side has weathered but should clean up very nicely. In looking at the NADA values for this RV with its options the average retail is over $28,000 with the low retail being over $23,000. What are your opinions regarding this unit and what do you think I should offer. Thanks..
The specs for your truck will tell you how much weight you can tow for a TT and for a 5er, they are different. If you dont have the specs get them from the dealer or manufacturer. Dont listen to opinions about how much weight you can tow, get the facts from the specs. You are legally responsible for having an adequate to tow the weight of the trailer.
Capvin, I went from towing a 28 foot trailer to a 40 foot 5er. Besides the weight and height the best difference while towing is the 5er dosent sway anywhere near as much as my trailer. Trucks pass me doing over 70 and my 5er stays nice and straight. The other difference is backing up. The trailer is much more responsive compared to the 5er. The difference is the overhang in the truck the pivot point is so different. Really if your used to towing youll get used to it real quick. So glad we switched to the 5er!
2008 F350 Lariat DRW 6.4 PSD Super Duty 4.10 Rear
2011 Komfort 3530 FBH
Q5 Curt 20K Slider
2008 F250 Lariat Super Duty Firestone Air Ride Bags {sold}
WE went with a 5th wheel that has a similar weight to the 2008 Glendale 25E30, an Open Range 280RLS. Although Pin wieght is a good 500+ pounds less than the Glendale at 1350. Overall very happy with the purchase.
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