Pulling with a semi

rogerlouden

Member
Greetings from North Dakota! I'm an old time camper but new to Heartland and this forum. I've found this forum very helpful in solving several issues I've had with my new Heartland. I have a 2009 3950 cyclone that I pull with a semi. Put on a gooseneck adapter rated at 30,000 lbs. Just wandering how many have done this. Pulls great and gets around 8 miles per gallon, not great but better than my pickup. I'll post a pic as soon as I'm allowed.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
Welcome to the forum. Pulling your cyclone with a semi tractor should be without challenge. As a new owner be sure and check out the Heartland Owners Club (HOC) and its benefits. Again, welcome to Heartland.
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi Roger,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the Family. I'm sure you will find lots of good information and meet lots of great people here.
Jim M
 

htneighbors

Unbelievably Blessed!
Alright...another 3950! :) I don't have a semi or a gooseneck, but you should have no problems with that set-up. I LOVE MY CYCLONE!! :D Welcome to Heartland!
 

CrazyScotsman

Well-known member
Welcome Roger...
What type of tractor are you running ?
You can't complain at 8mpg, I may get that much on a good day towing my BH 3580.
I used to have semi trucks of my own, and the Volvo 770 I had would get between 7 and 8 mpg pulling 80,000 lb It was set up with a 500 hp Detroit with 13 over tranny and 3:70 rear ends. I had KW 900L's set up exactly the same way, and was lucky to get 5 mpg. Amazing what a bit of aerodynamics will do for fuel mileage.
Anyhoo I hope you enjoy your Cyclone as much as we are our Bi Horn, now all you have to do is sign up for the rally in Goshen.
Safe travels and keep the rubber side down.
Cheers Ken
 

Niles

Well-known member
We have a friend that pulls his SOB with a Freightliner. It has a 350 cat in it and he gets about 9 to 9 1/2 mpg. He keeps telling me I need a bigger truck, I tell him I have drove one for 30 plus years, when I go in the BH I don't want to drive one.:cool:
 

rogerlouden

Member
Thanks for all the kind words. I have a 1998 International 9200 semi truck with the pro sleeper hooked on the camper. As soon as the weather straightens out up here ( been fighting a flood for 2 months ), we are going to throw the Harley in the back and hit the road.
 

Cyncwby

Active Member
I don't have my BH yet but my truck is set up with a Cody gooseneck hitch, which make of adapter did you use? I'm new here also but welcome.....Dave
 

TXBobcat

Fulltime
Welcome to the forum. There are a great number of good people on this forum. I see a lot of 5th wheels being pulled by Simi Tractor. Do you plan to pull a toad or load one behind the cab? Saw a Simi that had a hydraulic ramp that they loaded a Smart Car behind the cab..

I have one question. Have you contacted Heartland about using a gooseneck hitch. I was staying next door to a Heartland 5er at Elkhart Campground that had a problem with the front end and they were using a Gooseneck welded to the pinbox. When he came back to the campground with a 5th wheel hitch and mentioned that the Heartland 5ers were not made to be pulled with a gooseneck. Part of the frame had seperated and he had it rewelded. He was told it will void the warranty. It might be something you would look into..

BC
 

rogerlouden

Member
The Heartland dealer where I bought my camper installed the gooseneck adapter. So they must not have a problem with them. The brand of adapter is CE, Colibert Enterprises. There are no welds involved with this hitch.
 

Cyncwby

Active Member
A few weeks ago their was a question about using a gooseneck hitch and of course their were several opinions. At that time I spoke to a Heartland sales rep who basically told me that he has seen numerous 5th wheels using them w/o failure BUT Heartland DOES NOT RECOMMEND them.

So to try and clear up this question I just now called Lippert Components (1 866-524-7821) and spoke with "Gary" in the warranty division. He said "any modifications to any part of the frame will void the warranty" and he means ANYTHING from using a g/n hitch to bolting a bicycle rack on the rear.

He also said pertaining to the g/n hitch that the Heartland frame was not designed to use a g/n hitch. He said that they just got a 5th wheel in for repairs around the king pin box that was purchased in March and had a g/n hitch installed at that time.

So Roger, I'm a fan of the g/n hitch and the Colibert unit is a quality piece. Hopefully you will never have an issue with your rig.......but if you do have a frame malfunction, according to Lippert you will not be covered under warranty.

I think you should go back to your dealer that installed the g/n hitch and advise them of this, they can call Lippert to verify this info. It may also save other customers some grief. Good luck whichever you choose to do.........Dave
 

rogerlouden

Member
Hi Dave, thanks for checking this out for me. This is the third big toy hauler I've pulled many miles using the gooseneck set up and ( knock on wood ) no problem at all. I hope my luck holds. Thanks again, Roger
 
I pull my 3950 with a 387 Peterbilt 72" sleeper 450 cummins. I pull off the fifth wheel with no adapter, get around 9 mpg. All air ride, had a mobile suite, presidental suite and pulled same way, I don't like the adapters, because of the angle force they could put on neck more extention more force. Thats my thought, I raced offroad race cars for over 25 years and leverage can go against you. I'm in construction and trucking business for 36 years, and built the off road cars from ground up including frames, be careful rulling with all that power with adapter....... Tate
 

crazybanshee

Well-known member
hey roger great choice of TV. I would highly recomend a quality air ride hitch. Your 5th wheel will likely not tolerate the rough ride. Lippert might have a issue also. Check out escappees forum. The HDT section. Lots of info there.
Doug
 

seamo

Bob and Christina Seaman
We have been on the road for 2 years (May 20th) with a 660 Volvo. We love it plus we love the safety of the Big Rig. We will be at the Rally--see you there.
 

rogerlouden

Member
I will change from the gooseneck to the air ride hitch. The semi's I use do double duty pulling grain trailers ( their primary job as I'm a farmer ). I'm going to retire at end of this season so will be able to remove the large hitch that is on them with the smaller camper hitch. Our trips are more like short jaunts right now until we have more time. Thanks for all the info and it's great to find a place that people care and help each other. We will be on the road next summer and hope to meet as many of you as possible.
 

rvn4fun

Well-known member
I to would recommend a air hitch. A heavy puller is awfull hard on the rv. In a pickup the 5th wheel pushes and pulls you around, in a truck the truck does the pushing and pulling. The air hitch keeps the 5th wheel riding on the air bags. We have a airsafe and love it.
 

Wharton

Well-known member
You might want to go over to the Escapees website(www.escapees.com) and go to the discussion group. There are 2 groups out there: the MDT and the HDT, lots of members. They will be able to answer all your questions and give you info.
 
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