Cyclone 3010

Considering buying a Cyclone 3010. We currently own a Weekend Warrior FSWL 3200 bumper pull with no slides. We are looking to downsize a bit as a triple axle bumper pull 35' hauler is a bit of a handful going down the road. I realize that the full length of this is about the same as my Warrior. Am I going to notice a huge difference going to a 5th wheel from a bumper pull? Is a 5th wheel easier to pull and manuever compared to a bumper pull?

Also, the truck I will be pulling with is a 2004(early) Dodge Ram 2500 CTD crew short 4wd with rear air bags. Dealer said I should be fine, what are your opinions.

Thank you for your input.
Darren

Hi Darren,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. You'll find a lot of useful information here along with a lot of friendly people who are willing to share their knowledge and experience.

I'm sure others will jump in with advice shortly. One thing I'd suggest is visiting this website to get a good idea about how much trailer you can safely tow with your Dodge. Also, here's a link to the weights and measures page from the Heartland Cyclone page.

The wife and I went from a ww fb2200, over all length about 26' to. 3010 cyclone. We find it a lot safer to pull and turning isn't much different. Also there is a few feet of trailer in the bed of the truck which actually shortens the overall length of truck /trailer some. While the hieght is taller we find it handles both wind and passing trucks much better, but we really need to be much more careful in the trees that we didnt need to be before. It's also nice not having to put the couches up, but the storage in the garage is shorter then having the whole trailer for toys.

As for the truck, we used to pull with a f250 but I feel more confortable stopping with the f350 we now have. I'll let you decide on that one. I have another post with my weights of the trailer.

Take care
doug

I figure I will be about 4 feet or so shorter going to the 5th wheel. Eventually I will probably upgrade to a newer 3500 SRW Dodge, but the 2500 will have to do for now until I get my Harley paid off.

Have never towed a 5th wheel before, so not sure what to expect. We generaly stay at campgrounds and belong to 1000 Trails, so the bumper pull can be a PITA to get in and out of places, requires a lot more planning.

The plan was to downsize, but can't find anything smaller that 35' with a garage and slides.

We went from a 33' bumper pull SOB to a 3010. I had never pulled a 5th wheel until we went to pick it up at Great Lakes RV in Muskegon, Mi. It's about an 8 hour drive for us. I didn't have a bit of trouble pulling it. In fact I've found that I can maneuver our 5th wheel into places that I wouldn't have even thought of with our other camper. It is still a bigger camper as far as height. So, you'll still need to watch on your overhead. Other than that, I don't think we would even consider going back to a bumper pull.

The 2 axles will make a difference. The TT to 5th wheel will make a difference. You will not look back once you start towing it and see how much better it tracks, tows, handles etc.
Your truck will work, as a stop gap. I think the new GVW on that 3010 is 15,500.
It is very easy to get to that max weight, or beyond.

I went from a 30' TT to the 3010. The 5th is so much better overall - except for the height. You will be going from about 10' to almost 13' in height.

That's the stuff that kind of interests me. Things like wall studs, wiring thru the walls, ceilings and such, the "behind the scene" stuff. Anything of interest, interests me(g)

I just picked up my 2013 3010 and love it. It tracks and pulls better than my 2008 Raptor 299. The 5th wheel does turn different. Someone can better explain it than me. But be carful with the short bed truck when making sharp turns.