My wife and I have been thinking of purchasing a 5th wheel. But I'm not sure what I need or even if my truck could handle a 5th wheel. I have a 01 F150 5.4L, tow package, offraod package w/ 17" tires, and I beleive 3.55 gears NLS. Besides the brake controls and hitch, what else do I need or should I get? Thanks

 

One of the biggest problems with fifth wheels and 1/2 ton trucks is that you'll run out of GVWR before you run out of GCWR. The pin weight of a fifth wheel will be your biggest problem, not the weight of the fifth wheel itself relative to your tow rating.

Get your truck weighed - don't go by the published curb weight. Don't foget to figure in the weight of your passengers, the fifth wheel hitch itself, firewood, bikes, fishing poles, etc that you might want to bring along.
Then subtract that from the GVWR and you'll find out how much pin weight you can realistically handle.

Not trying to discourage, just trying to share from my own experiences.

Hope this helps,
Mike

2000 F150 7700 4x4
2003 Dutchmen 28B-SSL

 

Thanks for the advice. By the way, how much does a typical hitch weigh?

 

How much does the 5th wheel hitch weigh? I don't really know, I dont' have a 5th wheel. I would advise you to call your local hitch shop and ask, but I'd guestimate around 100 lbs maybe?

The pin weight of the 5th wheel should be around 18% of the total weight of the trailer. Keep in mind almost all of this weight will be on your rear axle only.

Good luck,
Mike

 

Hi,

I have basically same truck as yours but a 00. You should check out www.irv2.com Tons of information, I have been RVing for a long time (20+ years) but I'm still learning from this excellent site and personal experiences.

Sorry I tried hyperlink but it would not work for me!!

sly

 

See I'm still learning: hyperlink only became active once I posted my reply. Don't get me wrong F150 online is a more than excellent site it's just the other one is geared towards rving.

Later,

sly

 

NM, sigh. Not worth it,,,,98

 

I also have an 01 F150 with the 5.4, tow pkg. and 3.55 gears and tow a 21' Prowler Lynx 5th wheel. The Lynx has a GVWR of 5000# and weighs 3400# empty with a pin weight of 600# empty and probably 800# loaded. I put about 5000 miles on it each summer travelling and have been very satisfied. The truck-trailer combination is rock solid with no sway and you can travel all day long at highway speeds. Of course you will feel it on the hills and depending on the length you may lose speed also but I've never held anybody up yet. Last year in Quebec we encountered grades of 17% which is steep and we went up slowly but the cars weren't going any faster because the road was so twisty. Your fuel mileage will drop to about 10 american and I pull with the OD off. I towed the first year using OD but the torque convertor was always unlocking which builds up heat in the tranny. However in my opinion this is as big a trailer as I would pull regularly with your truck. I've pulled up to a 26' on occasion but I was probably over my GVWR and GCWR plus the fact I'd like my truck to last a few years and the bigger trailers make it work too hard. Good luck.