5er dilemma

[si sketch and sheryle]

We have just purchased a Terry Quantum 295 rlts 30'er with three slide outs
but we havent decided what TV to buy. The gross weight is 1200kg. We are looking at importing a Ford F250/350 or a Ram 2500/3500 and we intend to convert to LPG so it will be gasoline. The problem with the bigger trucks is that we dont want the weight of the unit to go over 7.5 tons as we haven't got HGV licences. Give us some feed back please. We get widely varying towing capacities from dealers. No-one seems to know what can pull what. So its Rammers v Ford boys, the gloves are off. Let us know your thoughts
Sxx

 

[algill]

The gross weight is 1200kg.

Are you sure this is right? 1200 kg sounds more like the pin weight.

Our fifth wheel is a 27.5 ft Jayco with 1 slide out and it's 2900 kg. We pull it with a Mitsubishi L200 but this truck would not pull anything much heavier.

From our experience in Canada the Ram is the superior vehicle and makes light work of the huge outfits over there. Our friends there have a 44 ft toyhauler and pull it easily with the ram2500.

Al & Gill

 

[dazzer]

Full specs for the vehicles you are looking at can be found here

Link Removed

Ive put in the F250 model but you can change it to whatever vehicle you want

Cheers :thumb:

 

[si sketch and sheryle]

oops

The gross weight is 1200kg.

Are you sure this is right? 1200 kg sounds more like the pin weight.

Our fifth wheel is a 27.5 ft Jayco with 1 slide out and it's 2900 kg. We pull it with a Mitsubishi L200 but this truck would not pull anything much heavier.

From our experience in Canada the Ram is the superior vehicle and makes light work of the huge outfits over there. Our friends there have a 44 ft toyhauler and pull it easily with the ram2500.

Al & Gill

oops I keep getting this wrong it is 12,000lbs:Blush:

 

[si sketch and sheryle]

I thought I was doing so well

I always get the weight wrongoh: . Our outfit is 12,000lbs gvw (unladen 9,000lbs). Not as previously stated. Rest of details are right. We do intend to go full time in a couple of years. SO
What we really want to know is - Is the Ram 2500 man enough, should we go for the bigger 3500 just to be on the safe side or are the Fords better. Taking into account;
Towing capacilty,
Build Quality, reliability.ect
We are erring towards the Fords cos I think they are prettier:Cool:

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[MammaLL]

I reckon the Ram is the better unit. It seems more powerful and having seen both in the flesh I think the Ram is the better looking and better built unit.

You WILL need to get a C and E licence, there are some courses which you can find online that do both sections, with training, vehicle hire included for the test and a couple of retries. Best I found was around £1400 as a package which seems a pretty good investment to me.
Otherwise you will be driving your rig illegally and overweight for your licence! Of course you may not get stopped but i have not seen very many 5th wheel/ pickup rigs on the open road so chances are the cops will want to have a look around it if you cruise by, if only to drool

 

[essarx]

F-150 everytime!

When I upgraded my Isuzu Denver Max (3.0L Diesel chipped) I looked at both the Ram1500 and the F150, there's really nothing to choose between them other than personal choice, both have similar engines and ratings.
I chose the F150 purely on price and imported an F-150 Lariat CrewCab Shortbed Triton 5.4L FFV (Flexible Fuel Vehicle-runs on Unleaded & Ethanol E85), I also added an LPG conversion (cost £2050 from Dorset LPG), so it now has 3 fuel choices. I also chose the Tow Package, this gives extra cooling for the engine when towing, a rear hitch & all the electrics you need for towing, uprated battery, etc.
When it was imported I had the load weight uprated to 1000 kilos (from half ton), this was purely to make it legal for pulling the Celtic Rambler, which has a quoted pin weight of 1000 kilos, although, on the weighbridge I have never got it past 850 kilos fully loaded for continental touring. The weight uprating is a simple paper exercise, there is nothing physical done to the truck - the truck can actually carry 2.5tons safely (but not legally!). The truck is classified on the logbook as "Private/Light Goods". This vehicle (and the Ram1500) can easily pull the Celtic Rambler - total maximum gross weight of 3500 kilos - so you are safe with your pre-1997 license.
The left hand drive is useful when touring Europe (you can have them converted to RHD but it is expensive).

I was stopped by the Police/VOSA when we arrived back in Poole earlier this year and had to drive to a test centre, where we were admiringly gone over for "luxury", "bathroom facilities" & "kitchen facilties", not one check of documents or a sign of a weighing machine - only one legal question "Does it have an electric brake?" - answer "no" - response "right answer" - it has pneumatic brakes! Eight uniforms drooling for 20-minutes before we were politely "set free".

Another point worth mentioning - American pickups have higher bed sides than "European" pickups so you will need to fit a longer pinbox so that the 5ver clears the truck by at lease 6", some come length adjustable, others just have different lengths for the trucks to be used.

Yet another point - my favorite for a longtime before settling on the F150 was the Ram3500 - its too big and will take you over weight limits, its also too big for our roads, the engine size is way over spec for 5vers in the UK. The Triton 5.4L petrol engine pulls the Celtic Rambler without a problem, take-offs are not "foot to the floor" and cruising at 65 is not a problem (I get 16mpg when towing), overtaking when you might exceed 70 is not a problem, a 5ver is extremely stable, but you have to watch it - I use the cruise control all the time when on French/Spanish motorways, set it at 65 and sit back and enjoy the trip - the bigger fuel tanks make for longer periods without stops. These vehicles are designed for tough towing that have 5vers in mind, you don't need a 4x4, mines a 4x2 it reduces the weight and lowers the back end by 2".

Hope this helps.

 

[dazzer]

I always get the weight wrongoh: . Our outfit is 12,000lbs gvw (unladen 9,000lbs). Not as previously stated. Rest of details are right. We do intend to go full time in a couple of years. SO
What we really want to know is - Is the Ram 2500 man enough, should we go for the bigger 3500 just to be on the safe side or are the Fords better. Taking into account;
Towing capacilty,
Build Quality, reliability.ect
We are erring towards the Fords cos I think they are prettier:Cool:

Mine is very pretty!! :thumb:

 

[huskieracer]

Met a guy who has a Fleetwood Terry 295tsrl at a site and he was towing it with a Ford F250. Guess its the same 5er, he said it towed it really well, it had the diesel engine. Looked a nice unit.