Thinking of going down 5th wheel road (1 Viewer)

bandit

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Oct 2, 2011
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Morning all,Im thinking of changing over to 5th wheel,My wife and I where looking at them at the Motor home show at Tabley a couple of weeks ago.Ave been doin my homework and found they vary in size and weight and different layouts.Suit me down to ground been a hgv driver.My wife likes them because she doesn't like making the bed up every time.Im thinking of getting a mini artic to pull it.Any feedback would be appreciated.:thumb:..Thanks ....:Blush:..THE BANDIT...
 

Landy lover

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Jul 11, 2009
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Camping Caravaning now 5'ering 49 years
As you have all the right licences you need to look at what size vehicle you want to tow with - if you are happy having a American tug then you can basically tow any of the 5ers out there. But beware - many of the American pickups do not have a train weight so legally you cannot tow with them - having said that I do know many who do tow regardless - the choice is yours. Now this is just our opinion - the larger the rig you have the more you are restricted to which sites you can use - we tow a 27ft 5'er with a crew cab Landy - the maximum imposed weight on the trailer wheels is 3.45 tonnes - the width is 7ft 6 inches - we can get onto 99% of the sites we want to. Certainly before you buy I would suggest you visit Calder Leisure , Niche Marketing and Cross Country that way you will see a far better selection and get an idea of the many different layouts. Which layout is very much a personal choice.
 

old-mo

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PM....... vwalan... member on here..

He`ll put you wise as to what is best on the tug front..

He swears by Mini Artics and drags his unit all over the place with a (I think) a mini artic Mitsubishi type truck/Artic..

I expect he will pick up on this thread...

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chatter

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Aug 3, 2009
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Be warned, if you want to use a mini truck like VW Alans a lot of sites will not entertain you. A lot of sites have a no commercial vehicle rule. We looked at using something other than a conventional pickup when we were looking round but researching sites etc found that we would be turned away with anything other than a conventional pickup in the uk
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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hi, well i believe some campsites dont like them . as it is i dont use them anyway . .have used an odd one here and there with no trouble .
i use a 6.3 ton mitsubishi artic .
was a tipper .but cut a couple of foot off the chassis back end . lost the tipper .made a new top chassis .fitted a gast electric air compressor .and a hydraulic to air actuator in the front and rear brake lines .to control the air to the trailer.
the trailer is a 5ton lynton down plated to 3,500kg .
this then doesnt need motting as a living van at that weight, as the unit is only used for pulling a living van also is exempt .
unit seats 7 persons . trailer also could sleep6 persons .
keep your eyes on ebay they do come up. all aluminium chassis floor walls ,fibre roof .onlt steel is the bogie for the wheels .
been using it 12 yrs now .and normally get away in winter for 6months . no troubles over there.
its a 20ft trailer 3m high and 7ft 6ins wide . total only 10 metres .
if you want more info pm. me .
several types of trucks out there make real good units . but as a trucker mini artic is the way.
cause we could say that every pick up is commercial . might be a good idea and cause a big fuss at campsites . even coach builts are based on commercial chassis cabs . perhaps we can arrange to ban all m,homes from campsites .hee hee.
 
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Kasey

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Nov 10, 2011
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since 2009
As Landy lover says, I would certainly check out Calder Leisure and if you have wads of cash then the 5th wheel company.
I run a Kountrylite 22 from Calder Leisure which is only 23ft long. They do two versions, one with a rear door and one with a side door. Depends on where you will use it the majority of the time and your personal preference.
I would advise only using a 3.0litre engined pickup if you are going for a european (Japaneze) one, and suggest you check the spec of the NEW Ford Ranger. It's very good.

I also know that Calder use Isuzu mini artics to tow their trailers to shows.

My personal view is that if you are 'fulltiming' then a 26ft is probably the minimum length, and look to maximize space with the number of slide-outs.
Have fun looking, and let us know how you get on.

Ken

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camper

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Oct 5, 2011
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where can you take them

Yesterday on tv- don't know which channel- they did 5 or 6 progs consecutivly about caravanning.It was really good because they had a good look at vehicles of every description, including 5th wheelers.
I've seen one once on a camping and caravanning site but nowhwere else.
How hard is it to find campsites?
 

vwalan

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Sep 23, 2008
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here,s the start of a good one for someone
Link Removed
yes needs some work .but put a nice mini artic under the front could be nice . is two foot shorter than mine so i reckon it will go almost anywhere. i think some are too long . good planning and you could have an ideal trailer here.
 

Kasey

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Nov 10, 2011
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Hertfordshire
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5th wheelers.
I've seen one once on a camping and caravanning site but nowhwere else.
How hard is it to find campsites?

Mine is 23' long. Have only ever been refused access to a site once, and then nobody could tell me why. Remember, a lot of caravan / car combinations are much longer than a 5th wheeler trailer and pick-up.

I know of owners of the 27' Kountrylite that travel all over the UK and europe and don't have trouble accessing sites.

You're right - you dont see many on english campsites. Don't know why, other than they are all over in Europe. If you are really interested, get yourself to the Motorhome show at Lincoln. I think its the 23rd to 25th September. Will be many options there.

Others on ebay - item number 280905101369.

Good hunting

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