5th wheel vs travel trailer
- Thread starter Bardeenm1
- Start date
We decided to go with the 5th wheel. Elkridge Express E30. Should pick it up at the end of next week giving me time to install the 5th wheel brackets. The dealer said they will store it for me for a month after we close on it at no charge so that I have time to order and install the brackets and the 5th wheel hitch.
JanAndBill
Well-known member
Don't have any knowledge of the unit good or bad, but I think you'll be happy you went with a 5th wheel instead of the TT. We bought a 2012 TT and traded it on a 5th wheel less than a year later. Part of it had to do with the space and layout, but mostly it was the towing experience. We had an Excursion to which made it bearable but still there was no comparison to our F350/3260 combination now.
Would have loved to been able to keep my F-350 and look at some of the fifth wheel floorplans with bunks. But, there weren't enough seats in my truck to legally bring all the kiddos along. And the law frowns on leaving the toddlers home alone.
So that's why we picked up an Excursion to be the TV. We spent extra on a ProPride hitch and I'm loving it so far. True test will be in about 3 weeks when we head out for the Smoky Mountains. But on my short trips so far - it has been light years ahead of my old weight-distributing hitch with sway.
Now if I win the lottery and am able to pick this up as my tow vehicle, then my views might change.......
So that's why we picked up an Excursion to be the TV. We spent extra on a ProPride hitch and I'm loving it so far. True test will be in about 3 weeks when we head out for the Smoky Mountains. But on my short trips so far - it has been light years ahead of my old weight-distributing hitch with sway.
Now if I win the lottery and am able to pick this up as my tow vehicle, then my views might change.......
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scottyb
Well-known member
EandJ, Wow! I thought that was your truck before I read your post. I did see a 4 dr Ford like that with the pickup bed a couple weeks ago. It had a Cummins/Allison combo. Pretty nice. Back to your Excursion, we owned a 2002 Unlimited Plus. It was a gorgeous truck and a pleasure to drive. It was my wife's every day driver. Unfortunately, she decided it was too big for her state parking garage. We traded it for a Mercedes diesel SUV (big mistake, beautiful car and incredible MPG, just too expensive to own). I desperately wanted to keep the Excursion, being it was the last year of the 7.3L, but I didn't have space in the garage for it. It didn't even have a door ding after 94K mi. I did the transaction in DFW area, over the phone, and the salesmen were lined up to see it when we arrived at the dealer, no BS.
I'm wishing it was my truck. They are made by a place out of Atlanta. Can't remember the name right now. But to be able to seat 8 plus haul a fifth wheel (or anything).
Ours is actually the last year of the 7.3 - its an early 2003 Eddie Bauer. They 6.0 came out halfway through the year. I had a hard time finding one that 1) looked good 2) was reasonably priced 3) wasn't thrashed. I got one that had a bit higher mileage than I wanted, and needed some suspension work - but the price was right and I figured all the other ones with 25,000-50,000 less miles were just going to need the suspension work done in a year or so anyway. So by the time it all added up - I came out alright - wish I known about yours though - 94,000 miles is nothing on these engines.
Ours is actually the last year of the 7.3 - its an early 2003 Eddie Bauer. They 6.0 came out halfway through the year. I had a hard time finding one that 1) looked good 2) was reasonably priced 3) wasn't thrashed. I got one that had a bit higher mileage than I wanted, and needed some suspension work - but the price was right and I figured all the other ones with 25,000-50,000 less miles were just going to need the suspension work done in a year or so anyway. So by the time it all added up - I came out alright - wish I known about yours though - 94,000 miles is nothing on these engines.
dwhitmer23
Member
Would go with a 5th wheel, like the towing of a 5th wheel vs trailer
JWalker
Northeast Region Director-Retired
Our 5er pulls great, like everyone else here has stated. But I never had any towing issues with our last 5 travel trailers. No sway, no white knuckle driving. Thousands of miles of uneventful towing. I can not say anything bad about our T.T.s. we have always had plenty of tow vehicle and proper hitch set up, maybe that helped. Enjoy and be Safe!!
Silverado23
Iowa Chapter Leaders
I towed my, travel trailer, NT the other day in 30+ MPH winds. hardly knew the wind was blowing. I use an equal-I-zer hitch. After I was unhitched, I could certainly tell it was windy though. The winds were mostly a cross wind that was very gusty.
danemayer
Well-known member
Hi campfire7,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum. There's lots of useful information here along with a great bunch of friendly and helpful people.
Thanks for contributing to the discussion.
Milton_and_PeggySue
Active Member
I have towed T/T and 5th wheel, you will be happier with the 5th, like someone mentioned it backs up better and it handles better on the highway but that's my opinion. And the 1600Lbs, with the 5th you can tow 20 o/o more than a T-Trailer.our big country 38 feet long and weights 12,137 empty. I also travel from Florida to Long Island and other states.
Our experience has been great with both types.
TT pros for us were:
Great floorplan
Rear sleep suite that I could stand up in
Two entry doors (one right into the bedroom)
Easy towing (28 footer behind a 3\4 ton supercab)
Cons (Hitch mostly) :
Hooking up
Spring-bars on older type EazLift
(To qualify a WD hitch isn't horrible with tons of practice)
Backing in (I used to remove the spring bars on really tight crabs)
5iver Pros:
Hitch and hooking (easy as pie)
Much roomier
Towing (2000# more than our TT) smooth and stable
Cons:
Trailer steps were higher because of flipped axles
Overall height of the rig 14" higher than our TT
Long bed 3\4 ton truck is probably best for the job
Hitch rails permanently installed in truckbed (no issue if one wants to spend some extra $$)
Bottom line I wouldn't worry about the 1600# unless that would be pushing the limits of the TV.
PeternLiane
Well-known member
I have never had an issue towing our TT. The TT's also can give you just as much room as a 5th for a cheaper price. I like how we can tow our TT to and back into any spot we want. You do have to have the correct connections for either the TT or the 5th. If you choose the wrong connections to tow with you'll bite it no matter what.
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