The wife and I have a 3 year plan to be full time RVing. We went to an RV show last weekend and fell in love with the BH 3970RD. Went back this weekend to be sure. It will be a big leap from our current Rockwood Roo. Our Roo was great for camping when our son was younger. He is grown and gone now and we are ready for the big time. Anyone own this model? We will be brand new to full timing so any advice is welcome.
Thinking about making the leap
- Thread starter eric0669
- Start date
travelin2
Pennsylvania Chapter Leaders-retired
Wow. That is a leap. The 3970 is a big one!! We have the Little Bighorn a 3010 and have really enjoyed it. It's been across country a couple of times and up to Alaska last summer. No issues other than what one should expect with 30K miles under it. Hey it's a Bighorn and will fit most everyone's fulltiming needs.
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TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
Make sure you have a fairly new one ton dually to tow it. Great floorplan, we have its sister, the Big Country 4010RD. We bought it to full-time and love it!
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How important do you feel a dually is? I was thinking more toward a standard 1 ton.
danemayer
Well-known member
Hi eric0669,
DRW vs SWR typically comes down to payload capacity. The 3970RD has a GVWR of 16,000, so you should plan on a pin weight of around 3,200 lbs. Add to that the weight of the hitch, bed liner, bed cover, tools, firewood, pets, passengers and anything else in the truck and you could easily be carrying over 4,000 lbs on the truck. That will be at or above the payload spec of most single rear wheel trucks.
In addition to that, most people feel that duallies are much more stable while towing heavy fifth wheels, especially in crosswinds or in heavy traffic.
Whatever you decide, before actually buying, check the 5th wheel towing capacity AND the payload capacity on the exact truck you're considering. The marketing literature makes claims based on best possible configurations that are rarely seen.
TravelTiger
Founding Texas-West Chapter Leaders-Retired
The best bet is to educate yourself well in the study of towing safety and what all the numbers and acronyms mean. www.fifthwheelst.com is a great, unlbiased safe towing informational site developed by one of our members.
MTPockets
Well-known member
It comes down to payload capacity. That rig will require a DRW truck. We made the mistake with our first truck being a SRW for the wrong reasons. It's what we "wanted", we saw "other" SRW trucks towing big fifth wheels. The Ford web site showed max payload higher than the actual truck with options. In short, after getting the truck with the actual max payload sticker of 3,460 lbs, and then our pin weight after loading for full time use plus hitch weight, passenger, tools, auxiliary fuel tank, we were way over.. We then traded our one year old SRW for our current DRW - lesson learned and wishing we had done the right thing to start... Get the DRW.
Aandaar
Well-known member
We currently own the 3970 and I pull it with an SRW. My current pin weight is about 2900. With me, wife, and dog I sit at around 3300. My hitch weight is not really an issue as it is only 35 pounds. I set the truck up to be able to tow 22K and I can go as high as about 4200 in the truck. My personal goal in never get above 3700 in the truck.
As far as winds are concerned if I feel they are becoming an issue then it is off the roads, open the slides and wait it out. Not worth the extra stress.
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Chuck, Victoria, and Miss Callie
As far as winds are concerned if I feel they are becoming an issue then it is off the roads, open the slides and wait it out. Not worth the extra stress.
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Chuck, Victoria, and Miss Callie
