Shortest and lightest TV for a Bighorn 3755 or 3855

We are planning to buy a used Bighorn 3755FL or 3855FL.

So we also need a new TV for this FW. But it would be also our dailydriver. And our Garage is not the biggest one.
So buying a Ram 3500 Cummins Crewcab Longbox Dually would fit the Bighorn great, but not our garage and life.

What we need is the smallest, shortest and lightest possible towing vehicle for this rig, with a 2+2 seating.
Is a sliding hitch really necessary on a short box?

I hope you can help us.

Greetz

Filou

Hello Filou and welcome to the forum. A great place for information.
For a TV, you might want to look for a short bed single rear wheel 3500 or 350 truck.
As far as the hitch goes, some people have a slider just in case, others like myself do not have a slider. I have a short bed.
Since you are in MN you might want to think about attending the MN Heartland Owners Chapter Rally in Two Harbors in September. Show off that new rig.
Also consider joining the Heartland Owners Club.

Peace
Dave

Peace
Dave

Hello Filou,

A sliding hitch is not "required" as such, but as a comfort I opted for an auto sliding hitch. I did not like the need to always be thinking if the turn I'm about to make is over 88 deg resulting in very costly damage to both the TV and the trailer. For me it was more of an insurance policy than a requirement. I would not waste my money on a manual sliding hitch because from the feedback I have seen people tend not to bother with them after a while, and if you are going to have to think about whether or not to activate the slide, you might as well just think about the 88 deg and not bother. just my 2 cents for what it is worth...

It is my opinion that you can never have too much tow vehicle. You said that buying a huge pick up would not fit your garage or life, and I say pulling a coach that size with the bare minimum vehicle may not be wise to support your life period. For your safety as well as others maybe a coach that size is not a wise purchase?? Maybe finding a TV that does fit your life and garage first would be the better approach and then find a coach you can pull with it. Just my two cents.

Those 2 coachs have at least a 15500# GVWR. Might even be 16200#. So you need at least a late model (2011) or newer truck. You can get a 2013-14 Ford 350 S/B C/C SRW. I dont know if you can get the same combo in 3500 GM or Dodge. As far as a daily driver, I use my 3500 GMC C/C L/B DRW every day without any problems. It will not fit in my garage however....well maybe with a running start. Also, these new trucks are tall, so ya better make it will clear the top of the garage door. 2X2 seating for comfort would be a C/C not an extended cab.

The coaches you are considering, as I stated are heavy and long (41'-42'). I personally would not pull a coach this size with anything less than a 350-3500 DRW.

Do not opt for a gas motor on anything you chose. If you do opt for a Ford....make sure it has 3:73 rear end gears. Good luck on your choice.

Filou said:

We are planning to buy a used Bighorn 3755FL or 3855FL.

So we also need a new TV for this FW. But it would be also our dailydriver. And our Garage is not the biggest one.
So buying a Ram 3500 Cummins Crewcab Longbox Dually would fit the Bighorn great, but not our garage and life.

What we need is the smallest, shortest and lightest possible towing vehicle for this rig, with a 2+2 seating.
Is a sliding hitch really necessary on a short box?

I hope you can help us.

Greetz

Filou

Click to expand...

Before buying the TV, check the specs for both 5th wheel towing capacity and payload to make sure you can safely tow the Bighorn. Most 1 ton diesels can probably pull the trailers (5th wheel towing capacity), but some will be seriously overloaded on the rear axle (payload). Given the GVWR of these trailers, you should plan on pin weight of 3,100-3,200 lbs (20% of GVWR). To that add the weight of passengers, pets, tools, hitch, bed cover, bed liner and anything else riding in the truck. It's pretty easy to have a payload of 3,500 or more.

Fifth Wheel Safe Towing has detailed information and "before you buy" tools to help you with the purchase decision.

We both want a FW with a front livingroom. And not many FW have a matching floorplan.
Normally Reg Cab would fit us also. But maybe we have 2 friends with us, so we would need 2 additional seats. Or for her handbag.


But for the normal life a smaller car is better. For a really short time, when we arrive in the USA, we had a rented Silverado with CC and Long Box. Even for the USA this truck was sometimes too big.

So i'm searching for the smallest and lightest possible truck.

And we will change the brakes in the FW to EoH Discbrakes and probably in the Truck to the biggest brakes we can find. Brakepower is really the prime function in any vehicle.

Looking for the lightest possible truck may not be the best route to take.
Both of those rigs have a pretty high dry pin weight. 3755=2,795, and the 3855=2,425. Again, those are dry weights.
By the time you add some options and all of your gear you will be well over 3,000.
A one ton truck will be your minimum.

Peace
Dave

If you follow proper capacity, manufacturers, and safety ratings, and actually want the correct truck, you'll go with the 3500 series dually. Or, you can do what many others do and get the SRW. You can talk yourself into any truck, rationale or hearsay, but ratings and numbers/loads spell the facts.

Filou, there are NOT any light weight trucks to pull the BH you like. If a 1500 (1/2tn) Chevy was too big and scary...I dont now what to tell you. Any 350/3500 S/B C/C SRW truck you buy will be at least 18' long and weigh it at 7-8K. Your pin weight will be at least 3K or more. Your over all length will be at least 56' and have a GCVW of around 23-24,000K or more depending on how much you load in the truck and in the 5er. Your fuel mileage will average about 10 MPG, so you have figure that in to overall costs. You are now driving a big rig..not small pickup truck with 10' trailer behind it. Adding disc brakes to the 5er is a good idea. There is no need to up grade the brakes on the TV. Installing good "G" rated tires is also a good idea.

So....are you sure that what you are entering into is what you want to do? There have been people before you that have done what you are proposing to do and never left their yard again after their 1st trip and sold the whole mess at a big lose. A nervous or scared driver of a large rig is the worst thing on the road. My burning questions to you are.....have you ever towed a large trailer before?? Have you had to back one in to a site or make a hard right turn on a very narrow street. If the answers are no. Find someone you know that has a rig this size. Ask them to take you out to a large field or parking lot and let you do some of the above mentioned things before you spend $100K on a TV and BH. I am not trying to be demeaning in anyway....but step back, take a deep breath and think about my thoughts to you on this.

Bob

PS I drove big rigs, so one of these is nothing to me.

My Company have rented a "What car we would ever give you" Package at the rental station. And they gave me the choice between a really small car, a Chevy Matiz i believe, or the 3500HD Silverado CC Long Box. We take the Silverado because i don't fit into a Matiz. On some Parking Lots and some really small streets it was not to big to drive, but not really handy.

In good old Europe i had a commercial trucklicense, that allowed me to drive 54ft long and 40tons heavy lorries. Okay, its years ago. But i think its like swimming.

I ask for the possible small vehicle because it should be most possible handy in dailydriving.
On the row figures F350 SuperCab ShortBox with SRW should match. 16100lbs 5er rating. 4000lbs left on the rear axle and ~4000lbs payload.
But isn't there a matching Truck shorter and lighter?

The FW will get Discbrakes, EoH Brakeacting, 17.5" Rims and commercial 17.5" Tires. Nothing would make me more nervous than a bursting tire and not good working brakes.

If you really want to tow with a smaller truck like a 2500 or 250, your only option is to purchase the Automated Safety Hitch System providing you get the right truck. You can read my review at Fifthwheelst. com.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

"I ask for the possible small vehicle because it should be most possible handy in dailydriving.
On the row figures F350 SuperCab ShortBox with SRW should match. 16100lbs 5er rating. 4000lbs left on the rear axle and ~4000lbs payload.
But isn't there a matching Truck shorter and lighter?"

The simple answer is NO!! If you really want a smaller truck, then you need to look at smaller trailers....JMHO...

Filou , with all due respect. A daily inconvenience (big truck) would sure beat a one time catastrophe should you buy too small a TV. In this case size can matter.

I see more and more people pulling much larger trailers these days with too small of a tow vehicle.

Some of them I wonder how they even got a big enough trailer hitch on their small SUV to hitch up such a large trailer to such a small tow vehicle.

As an example, a couple of years ago when we were coming down US285 back into Denver from the mountains with our old 24-foot Coachman in tow, I saw a Jeep Liberty (I kid you not) pulling a much larger trailer (looked to me like a 30-footer at least) than our old one going up the mountain!

And the whole family was in the Jeep Liberty!

Cathy and I looked at each other (in astonishment, I must add) and both of us said at the same time "What an idiot!"

I think, i don't ask right.

I don't want to tow it with a not matching truck. I know it must be a 3500er with a Diesel engine. No other trucks have the payload and the tow rating. I don't pay money for brake converson on the FW and than I buy a too small TV and overload it and risk my life.
I'm searching for the shortest and lighest curb weight 3500er Truck with a Diesel engine.
After my search its the F350 SC Short Box. But i don't know the hole market. I know only the big three. Maybe you know a manufacture that build one with a shorter nose or a cab forward.

Go to Fifthwheelst.com and read the side by side truck charts. That may help narrow it down.

All the SB trucks are about the same length.

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

If you go with the shortest truck you can find I would strongly advise you to go with a Superglide automatic sliding hitch. When you make a sharp turn or get in a position that the angle is greater than 88 degrees it will be one less thing to worry about. Maybe if you know someone who has a rig you could go out for a test drive to see how you like it. These rigs are very heavy. Good luck.

Filou said:

I think, i don't ask right.

I don't want to tow it with a not matching truck. I know it must be a 3500er with a Diesel engine. No other trucks have the payload and the tow rating. I don't pay money for brake converson on the FW and than I buy a too small TV and overload it and risk my life.
I'm searching for the shortest and lighest curb weight 3500er Truck with a Diesel engine.
After my search its the F350 SC Short Box. But i don't know the hole market. I know only the big three. Maybe you know a manufacture that build one with a shorter nose or a cab forward.

Click to expand...

Okay, GVWR around 11500lbs. The F350 has the highest Payload so it must have the lowest curbweight. And the F350 is the only 3500er with a extended cab, so it must be the shortest.
And it leaves ~700lbs payload with FW. Enough for 2 Persons and some bags. Okay, 400lbs with me inside
The rearaxle is also good enough.

So, a F350 Powerstroke Lariat SC Short Box should match the Bighorn, right?

The mainproblem is. We want a FW with a front living room. And the few FW's with this floorplans are all this big and heavy or even bigger. All 16000lbs GVWR and ~40ft long.

Filou said:

My Company have rented a "What car we would ever give you" Package at the rental station. And they gave me the choice between a really small car, a Chevy Matiz i believe, or the 3500HD Silverado CC Long Box. We take the Silverado because i don't fit into a Matiz. On some Parking Lots and some really small streets it was not to big to drive, but not really handy.

In good old Europe i had a commercial trucklicense, that allowed me to drive 54ft long and 40tons heavy lorries. Okay, its years ago. But i think its like swimming.

I ask for the possible small vehicle because it should be most possible handy in dailydriving.
On the row figures F350 SuperCab ShortBox with SRW should match. 16100lbs 5er rating. 4000lbs left on the rear axle and ~4000lbs payload.
But isn't there a matching Truck shorter and lighter?

The FW will get Discbrakes, EoH Brakeacting, 17.5" Rims and commercial 17.5" Tires. Nothing would make me more nervous than a bursting tire and not good working brakes.

Click to expand...

"In good old Europe." I lived over there for a bit over 3 years. Drove a HEMTT the army asked me to sign for all over Europe. With that being said I know if you drove lorries over there driving an extended cab long box pick up here should not be any kind of an issue. You seem to be putting more weight on the convenience of your tow vehicle than you are the safety of your family and everyone sharing the road with you. That pretty much scares me. Like I said before and a couple of others have mentioned, if you are not going to get the proper tow vehicle to match what you need to tow, rethink things please!! Get the vehicle you want that is "convenient" for you, and THEN get a trailer you can safely tow. If you do not all I can say past that is that I am glad you do not live close to me and feel bad for those who do. Just because you can does not mean you should...