Navara up to the job? (1 Viewer)

[caravaner]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum and wondered if anyone out there could tell me if the Navara
is up to the job of pulling a fifth wheeler.I like the Jayco eagle light 28.5 RLS but have been told it's too heavy.
I also like the Kountrylite range and Calder Leisure recommend the Navara.
Every fifth wheel I've seen up to now has been pulled by an American truck but I don't like the idea of 12 MPG.
Any views on this subject and how one works out the legal towing limits of these rigs would be of great value to me.
If anyone is actually using a UK type pickup I would like to hear of your experience and what you're towing with it.

regards BAZ

 

[zaskar]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum and wondered if anyone out there could tell me if the Navara
is up to the job of pulling a fifth wheeler
regards BAZ

In my LIMITED experience, I would say no! let me qualify that.
When ffiona and I decided to sell our beloved RV earlier this year, we both knew that we didn't want to give up the Fulltiming lifestyle alltogether and a 5ver was an option. To my mind, if you're gonna have a yank 5ver, you might as well have an A class (that's just a personal opinion) so a yank was out for us. The other option was a Celtic Rambler built by the 5th wheel co in Wales and these are USUALLY towed with a Navara.
We went on a factory tour and test drive with 5th wheel co and it is this test drive which I base my opinion on.
Our test drive was in a 07 plate Manual and although it seemed to cope reasonably well, I VERY much had the opinion that the Navara was RIGHT on it's limit. It was stable enough, as the factory owners sun proved with his intentionally violent manouvres on a quiet stretch of the A55 but I felt that both he (and I when we swopped drivers) had to REALLY push the engine and box to make even "stately" progress. Bare in mind that I am NOT a boy racer and cant stand Ferrari's so I wasn't looking for a rocket ship, just sensible progress.
Couple the above with the info (quite a lot of it!!!!!!!) on "touringandtenting.com" regarding Navara's blowing gearboxes for fun -they think possibly due to a design flaw in some sort of new active flywheel which is transferring too much stress into the box- and personally I would think twice, ESPECIALLY if you're thinking of a yank 5ver.

HTH

paul & ffiona + Dougal the mad Persian
Fulltimers, somewhere in Cheshire

 

[Chrisdy]

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum and wondered if anyone out there could tell me if the Navara
is up to the job of pulling a fifth wheeler.I like the Jayco eagle light 28.5 RLS but have been told it's too heavy.
I also like the Kountrylite range and Calder Leisure recommend the Navara.
Every fifth wheel I've seen up to now has been pulled by an American truck but I don't like the idea of 12 MPG.
Any views on this subject and how one works out the legal towing limits of these rigs would be of great value to me.
If anyone is actually using a UK type pickup I would like to hear of your experience and what you're towing with it.

regards BAZ

Do you already have the Navara, or are you looking to purchase both the pick-up and the 5'er? If the latter, have you considered buying an American Pick-up running on LPG? Overall costs are cheaper than a diesel pick-up and gives a lot more power for pulling a 5th wheel trailer. The towing limits are also significantly higher than the UK trucks, which would widen your choice of 5'er. I have been driving a Ford F150 King Ranch (5.4l V6) for over 6 years and its cheaper to run than my previous SAAB 9-5 estate. I suspect it could pull the side off my house...!! Yes, it does approx 10-12 mpg locally and up to 16 mpg on longer journies, but with LPG less than half the price of diesel you can more than double those figures for comparison with a diesel pick-up. I had considered getting a 5'er to go with mine, but couldn't pursuade SWMBO, which is why we have an RV instead.

Purchasing a new F150 and getting an LPG conversion would be a lot more expensive than a new Navara, but a good s/h one which has already been converted would be a lot cheaper.

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[vwalan]

i use a vwlt50 to pull a 5ton lynton trailer ,its only just man enough. last year ibuilt a mitsubishi canter 6.3ton artic from a tipper. works good 17-19mpg. always remember to be an artic 20%of trailer weight must be imposed on tow unit . if you use an over 3.5 ton unit it can be mot excempt used to pull a living van . i can give you all spec for building your own also i am a class 1 driver and try to keep up to date on all regs to do with these vehicles. alot of the 5th wheels on the road are not artic but just have a 5thwheel coupling on a caravan . you can drive up to 8.25ton combind weight on aa early car licence . my truck had a 10.8ton train so i voluntary down gradedto 8.25. its now plating and testing excempt.

 

[caravaner]

many thanks folks. I need to do some thinking about this one.
regards BAZ:

 

[Geo]

Nah!!!!!!!!!!! you dont
Just get a gert big Yank to pull it, you may save 4 MPG with a little un but pull the guts out
Geo

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[tink]

L200 up to job

Hi caravaner just returned yesterday from 2 weeks at Holmsley, New Forest. first trip out with my 98 L200 2.5 diesel & Sun Valley Xtremelight 5ver 27' it pulled down from derbyshire & back no problems at about 20mpg. But I would not want to be going much heavier than the Xtremelight at 2 1/2 ton loaded I have no experience with the Navara so cant help with that. The L200 is used regularly to pull a 3 ton work trailer so I am used to the leisurely pace, but I can see where the lads with the big Yanks are coming from with the LPG conversions plus they are wider & don't need to mess about with towing mirrors to see round the wider trailer.I don't know where you are based but I purchased mine from Nich Marketing, Manby,Lincolnshire. Who I found very helpful if I can be of any more help just shout.

 

[bigfoot]

Fifth wheel company specify the Navarra for their fifth wheeler,which is specifically built fo the UK
Fifth Wheel Company

 

[dazzer]

Ive had a Nevara and can honestly say it was the most gutless pile of crap ive ever driven under load. :Angry:

We used it to pull a trailer with a minidigger and it was hopeless. :Sad: In fact it was so bad that we reurned it within 14 days and got our money back

I now use my F150 Lightning to drag the trailer around and can honestly say the Nevara is not fit for moving anything heavier than 1.5 tonnes. My Lightning has towed our 5 Tonnes Iveco van fully loaded off the motorway for 30 miles when the fanbelt broke and didnt break into a sweat.

Ditch the Jap crap and buy a vehicle capable of doing the job in hand :thumb:

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[kayzee bounder]

Navarra

Hiya,
i have the 36' 5th wheel K-Z trailer and i use a dodge Ram 3500 with the 5.9 diesel auto to pull it. I have to say it that has all the power and a fair bit extra if needed but on fuel its about 13 mpg pulling and the odd 14 mpg on a good day. Unhitched i've had the truck up to 18 mpg just rolling around then again i don't really use the truck for anything else. I can easily understand where a petrol converted to gas could almost double its mileage and because of their wider wheelbase american trucks are very stable, but it all depends what you want to pull, what i'm saying is that american expertise in 5th wheelers is well tested on american trailers and if thats the way you go i'd keep that very much in mind. Smaller European or Japanese trucks are ok but 2.5 or 3.something can have their work cut out at times even with locally manufactured trailers, hope this helps

 

[vwalan]

just make sure you keep to the right weights for the train whgt. some people have told me they have no specified train wght on yank pick ups. if you have a light trailer could be ok , if you go for a big heavy trailer keep within the laws. we all know a yank with big petrol or diesel can pull a house down but if you are stopped by the ministry you need to prove you arent breaking any rules. i am not familiar with american rules may be a specified train wght is not needed in usa. i dont want to put anybody off 5th wheelers as i have been using one for years but i wouldnt like anyone to start the ministry on a purge . if you need answers on weights etc your local traffic examiners are usually most helpfull and tell you how to get more than you thought through the rules. keep trucking .