Thinking of buying Fifth Wheeler??? (1 Viewer)

[purdo4]

Hi, thinking of buying a Fifth Wheeler, love the idea of the size and i was wondering if any one out there can give me information on it.Dont like the idea of towing a normal caravan,but those Fifth Wheelers look something else. Cant afford a brand new one, but would like as much information as possible.There are just my hubby and i and our 2 dogs,so can any-one help me??? are they easy to tow????

Maureen and Keith

 

[dazzer]

What pickup do you have??

 

[purdo4]

Fifth Wheeler

will need to sell our car and get a pick up to tug it with,seen some Nissans,would that be best pick up to get?

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[dazzer]

Opinions on pickups vary A LOT!!!!!

Personally I wouldnt consider trying to use a European pickup on a 5er unless it was the smallest and lightest available, they all require upgrades to the engine management system and rear suspension to handle the weight and give pretty poor mpg when towing the 5er.

If your looking at a largish 5er your only choice will be a USA pickup and if its going to be a huge 5er then youll need a huge twin wheel (the Yanks call then Dullys as in Duel wheels) pickup.

I had a Nissan Nivara before i got my F150 and it struggled (a lot!!!) pulling a trailer around with an access platform on it. I dread to think what it would have been like towing anything heavier.

Having said that there are lots of folks on here using Nissans or Mitsubishi/Isuzu pickups who are happy with their lot but for me pushing any vehicle to 100% of its capacity isnt a good idea.

You need to decide on the size and weight of the 5er you want before deciding on a tow vehicle. The range in the UK is very very restricted if you want to have a good choice pop over to USA and look there, the exchange rate at the moment is rubbish so it might not be the best time to buy but it does give you a really good idea of whats available :thumb:

 

[delbert]

Hi, thinking of buying a Fifth Wheeler, love the idea of the size and i was wondering if any one out there can give me information on it.Dont like the idea of towing a normal caravan,but those Fifth Wheelers look something else. Cant afford a brand new one, but would like as much information as possible.There are just my hubby and i and our 2 dogs,so can any-one help me??? are they easy to tow????

Maureen and Keith

Try these people met them at the weekend looks like a nice 5th wheel

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[Sundowners]

Hi Maureen & Keith

We own a fifth wheel and have done for 3 1/2 years. We tow it with a Dodge Ram 3500 Dually - 5.9 Cummins Diesel.

We purchased it second hand and love it so much we have just ordered a new one from the States - CountryCountryUk have arranged the shipping and conversion to UK spec. we were expecting it to have arrived in the UK by now, but have just been told it is being shipped on the 26th and will take a couple of weeks to get here. We have been promised it by the end of April so that we can take it to the Peterborough meet with MH Fun.

We are putting ours up for sale on ebay at the beginning of April. We are based in Suffolk but we are at present in Yorkshire going over the final details with the people who just bought our business. We'll be back in Suffolk for Easter, when we'll be taking some pics to put on ebay. If you are interested we could send you some pictures as well. Pm us if you would like us to send more information.

You will need an american pickup to pull it - as Dazzer says you can get fifth wheels that can be towed with a European pickups but they are working to their max doing so, especially up those hills. You don't even know you are pulling ours, we have to keep looking in the mirror to see if it is still there - doesn't even cough at the hills.

Maybe you could get to the Carmarthan meet with MHFun to see some 5vers there, as it's a lot closer to you than the meets at Newark and Peterborough.

We will be more than happy to help with any other questions you might have.

Nigel and Pamala

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[Ralph-n-Bev]

I wanted a 5th wheeler. Ralph won though
There are a couple in a rally group which we are members of. I was very surprised at the price. I thought they would be much more money. One couple we know got theres new , from Scotland somewhere. It has a leather and fabric fantastic interior.
Flat screen TV , fixed to the wall , flame effect fire ,
(sounds tacky but looks nice ) brushed steel handles and pale wood solid cabinets. Instead of the usual orange wood and brass. Lovely modern curtains , bedding throw and carpets etc. They only paid £10 k more than the caravan , that we had at the time.
I think you get the best of both worlds with them. So much more space than a MH , more modern that lots of RV's and you can leave them and go off in your car , like a caravan.
I'd have one.
Though i don't know about taking turns in driving it.
I drive a Nissan Terrano , the same car we tugged with. But I never towed the caravan. Although i drive the MH.
The problem we had was fitting the kids and dogs into a pick up to tow a 5th wheeler.
Bev

 

[chatter]

Not all uk pickups need to be upgraded, but then again i havent got a nissan, and i get on average 21mpg towing the 5ver.

If you are interested in the uk spec 5th wheel units check out Calder Leisure and Niche-Marketing, both do uk spec units that are of a reasonable weight for the uk pickup.

http://www.niche-marketing.net/
http://www.5thwheels.co.uk/
Both of those links are for niche-marketing

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There is also the fith wheel company over in wales but their units although lovely are very heavy and a couple of folk i know with those units have ended up with a yank pickup as they felt they were being pushed around by their 5th wheel.

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Towing - well i think they tow great, none of that swaying when a lorry or coach overtake, but you do need to be aware of its length and be able to reverse it and that means practice, there is no we will have to push it in there by hand or remote mover, it has to be done by the truck.

If you havent towed and are thinking of one, If it was me i would buy a 2nd hand unit first for 2 reasons - 1. if you dont like it you wont loose as much money when you get rid of it, 2. most of the uk spec ones are used as holiday type vans so they have not had a lot of use and are like new

 

[lebesset]

when motorhoming in the USA I saw quite a lot of 5th wheel outfits being towed by cut down trucks ; but I have never seen this in europe
is there any reason why something like a twin cab iveco with twin rears or even a similar tranny rear drive wouldn't do the job ?personally I couldn't fancy towing a triple axle with single rears

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[chatter]

when motorhoming in the USA I saw quite a lot of 5th wheel outfits being towed by cut down trucks ; but I have never seen this in europe
is there any reason why something like a twin cab iveco with twin rears or even a similar tranny rear drive wouldn't do the job ?personally I couldn't fancy towing a triple axle with single rears

They can and there are a couple about, but campsites seem to have a rule that if you have a commercial unit pulling either a 5ver or caravan you are not allowed onto the site, they dont class our pickups as a commercial so dont look twice, try doing it with a merc sprinter or vw crafter type and they spot it straight away
I loved my vw carravelle and would have one no probs but i dont want the hassle of being told- sorry you cant come on here especially as i take my grandsons on holiday in it so once a year i go on one of those all in entertainment places where they deffinately are not allowed

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Try these people met them at the weekend looks like a nice 5th wheel

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I would second that, their stand was next to ours and very nice people and good value.

Peter

 

[tink]

when motorhoming in the USA I saw quite a lot of 5th wheel outfits being towed by cut down trucks ; but I have never seen this in europe
is there any reason why something like a twin cab iveco with twin rears or even a similar tranny rear drive wouldn't do the job ?personally I couldn't fancy towing a triple axle with single rears

Do you mean like ours a proper dbl cab 6 seats, loads of space average 25 mpg Engine/drive-train designed to run fully loaded day in day out,the utility companies use them to carry gear & tow a mini-digger.We have a smallholding & it earns it's keep during the working week & would be lost with out it. But if your going triple axle or bigger than a U.K spec 26' you will need a Yank dually:thumb:never had a problem being allowed on sites,I always say when booking sites that I have a 5th wheel & it is pulled by a Transit,they do sometimes reply that as long as it's not sign written that's O.K. Ours was bought from Niche & would definitely go back
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[John The Foot]

And my opinion is be care full. Build quality etc. Just sold my Nissan to-nite, rigged for towing fifth wheeler, gonna take off braking system and fifth wheel as not needed by new owner. Bought the 5ver new last summer,worst decision of my life,did'nt really look underneath until I got it home started to fit mud guard to the under side of slide out to stop water ingress all over the carpet area in adverse rain conditions. Did'nt really get chance to see if that worked as the first away week with the wife it only rained at night and I woke up in the morning to go to the loo and I stood in soaking wet carpet. Needless to say I was'nt very happy.
We were probably just unlucky with ours but being an engineer/fabricator I was not at all impressed with the way it was built, we've now got our money back and bought ourselves a big Hymer,and as I said first of all the Nav is going tomorrow, but still got fifth wheel unit and electronic brake control unit to sell on

 

[algill]

We've had our 5ver for 3 years and still love it as much as the day we bought it.

It's American (somebody else imported it), 27 ft long and light for an American - 2.8 ton.

We pull it with a Mitsubishi L200 4work with no problems and no adaptations to the truck.
Better half says it's easier to tow than a caravan - no sway and easier to reverse.

Gill

 

[lebesset]

gill , at a guess you haven't had a double axle caravan , they also tow rock steady , or at least the german ones do

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[algill]

gill , at a guess you haven't had a double axle caravan , they also tow rock steady , or at least the german ones do

You're right - only experience is of single axle caravan. oh:

Gill

 

[wanderer]

5th Wheeler

Hello Maureen and Keith,

Just read your post and think you may be interested in my 5'er.

It is currently at Camping Cabo de Gata, Almeria in Southern Spain where we are 'relocated' for the winter. We return home to Bridgnorth, Shropshire on the 15th May and are not too far from you for you to come round for a cup of tea and a look!

The 5'er is a Calder Leisure KountryLite 26RK and is two years old and has lots of extras over the base unit. The tow vehicle is a 2006 Nissan Navara Automatic with hitch, electrics and suspension airbags as fitted by Calder.

We love it, but have now bought an Alucasa mobile home on the same site here in Cabo.
If you are interested in a look then message me and we can email you with all the details.

Hope to hear from you,

Wanderer

 

[FifthWheel21]

Go for it!

We have a Fifth Wheel from the Fifth Wheel Company and they are an absolute pleasure to drive around in.

Not only are they spacious inside - we often take our black Lab with us whereever we go - but they are like a home from home.

We have a Dreamseeker model as there is just the two of us and there are ample comforts to travel the country in. We usually spend the summer visiting our daughter in France.

Our fifth wheel hooks up to a specially converted 4X4 pick up and is easy to attach and is stable when driving. I even drive it when my husband wants a rest!

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[chatter]

Hi and Welcome Fithwheel21

nice to know that we have another lady that drives their 5ver,


maggie