BAJA MAN

I currently have a 1993 Escaper 5th wheel 29' rear LR and it's a nice unit but I now have 2 small kids and need a different floor pan, something with bunk beds.

I was looking at TT's with rear bunks and they are pretty nice. I like the idea of not having to put a hitch in the bed and having FULL acces to my trucks bed. Makes for great storage.

What will I experience in terms of towing differences between the 5th wheel and TT? I really am leaning towards the TT due to the much nicer family style floor plans in the 30' range.

Thanks

Casey Balvert

My 18,000 pound 36 foot fiver tows better than my lightweight (3500 pounds) 23 foot tag along did. I will never go back to a tag along. But if you can only find your floor plan in a tag then you have no choice. There are some fivers out there with bunkhouses.

2500Ram

I've never towed a 5er but our 26' 6500-7000lb tag with WD and duel sway tows like a dream. I onced towed it 10 miles without the WD and sway's and I will never do that again.

Bill.

Lee S

Not owning a fifth wheel, I can only repeat what my friends tell me and what I've read. I do have a travel trailer. Fivers are said to feel more stable on the road. Travel trailers lend themselves to more types of tow vehicles.

My next rig will undoubtedly be a fifth wheel although I don't have any complaints about the travel trailer.

There are specialized hitches out there that reportedly make travel trailers handle like fivers. Once I camped beside a guy who had a travel trailer and he had built a gooseneck extension from the A-frame that fit a ball in the bed of his truck. He said it improved the handling. It looked wierd but he had been using it for over 25 years and reported no problems.

DPG

When you compare the same length fifth-wheels to conventional travel trailers, you have to remember that a fiver actually has about 3 feet more interior living space because a travel trailer is measured from the tip of the hitch, not the front of the trailer. On the up side, the travel trailer will be lighter for a comparable length because the TT doesn't need such a heavy frame. I've towed both with my dually, and I do like the fiver better, but the TT never gave me any problems. I can understand how you would want the extra storage with the bed of the truck free. The TT will also be less expensive for comparable lengths and features. We had a bunkhouse TT until our kids outgrew the length of the bunks. Now we have a fiver, and our next will be a fiver. Ultimately, get what you think will suit your needs best.

Good luck with your decision!

DeWain

cheff

There are tons of 5vers with bunks in them. My 30' Superlite has a bunk bed. Look at toy haulers they offer excellent floor plans and have much higher water/black/grey tanks. Even if you don’t have toys to haul around, the extra space is very nice, and the extra capacity is excellent if you ever have to boon dock.

bluebull

The only time truck bed space would be compromised is if you haul a large item like an ATV, motorcycle or such other wise most every thing else can be managed around the 5th wheel hitch. You can not even begin to compare the storage on a TT compared to the storage area on a 5th wheel camper. The TT has vertually non while the 5th wheel has every space the TT does plus the whole front and basement. The basement alone on mine must be 10'L x 7.6'W x 2.6'H. On alot of 5th wheels of today design you could even let 4-6 kids camp out in the storage areahey, I like adventure.

Just pointing out some variables, like someone else said, you are the one that ultimatly has to decide what is right for you.

justcampin

I have had a 19 ft. TT a 26 ft FW and now a 28ftFW the 28 FW tows better than the 19 TT ever did, my FW is a Wilcat 28 bunk house and is great

durasmack

Sometimes, you can get the 5ver style with a gooseneck or get one that will permit the safe use of a gooseneck adapter to save you some bedspace....

Flashdancr

We have a 38' TT double slide. Lots of room love the floor plan. We haul it all over the US working. Never have a problem pulling it with the WD hitch and I go faster than I should. Weights less than a comparable 5th wheel and I need my bed space to haul stuff in. We bought it new and the price was way below a fiver with the same options. Only thing we don't have is the underbelly storage. I also like the fact that it has a lower top clearance for tree limbs and such.

thecatsfan

Not necessarily true. My Komfort 25TB TT was considered a 25' model, yet bumper to bumper, it was over 28' long. If you are comparing the model number or advertised length, then mine was actually a hair over the advertised length.

Also, my fiver is longer than advertised. It is sold as a 31' model, but it is 32' 8" long. The advertised length of any current RV trailer should be the actual unit, not including hitches or bumpers, etc.

I had a bunkhouse model on my TT, and I loved it. Towing was no big deal. Never had a sway problem. I had an Equalizer brand WD and Anti-sway hitch and it seemed to make a big difference. And like anything, towing at the proper speed is a must. If you want to do 80mph, you may not like how anything tows.

If my TT had been a slide-out model, we might still have it. We simply outgrew it inside. With no slide, if my wife was cooking, she would have to sit down at the dining room table to let somebody get by and go to the restroom. That got real old. With a slide to increase the space inside, it would have been awesome. I loved having the bed of the truck for gear.

Now we have a fiver with a 12' slide and quad bunks in the back. Space is not an issue, and I am getting used to not having all of the bed, although I can still throw stuff back there with the fiver hooked up. I usually have at least one cooler back there and frequently carry a gas can for the generator in the bed as well. Everything else fits in the fiver because it has way more storage than the TT did.

Whatever you buy, get the best hitch setup you can. Don't skimp or get cheap on your hitch. That's where too many people make a mistake. An Equalizer, or even better, a Hensley Arrow, will make a big difference in how the TT tows. Make sure it is setup properly too. The same is true for a fiver. If the hitch height is wrong and the fiver sits nose high, the towing will not be as smooth as it could be.

Like Flashdancr said, fivers are taller too. They are like towing a giant parachute. My mpg was better with the TT, of course it was lighter too.

RustyJC

I believe the point was that, if a TT is actually 30' long, 3' or more of that is devoted to the hitch framework, etc. up front. If a 5th wheel is 30' long, then that 3' is converted to interior space since the 30' actual measurement will be from front cap (not hitch) to rear bumper.

Rusty

thecatsfan

That's why I said "If you are comparing the model number or advertised length". I was just clarifying the point - not necessarily disagreeing.

Looking back at his statements, you are probably correct as to what he meant, but if that is the case, he didn't mention the fact that a 32' fiver is shorter to tow than a 25' travel trailer, because of the amount of the trailer that is up over the bed, plus the 3' of extra hitch length on the TT. So a fiver has a huge advantage over a TT in overall living space length vs. overall towing length.

Also, not all the length of a fiver is converted to physical living space. My 31' fiver is 32' 8" outside, but it is still only 31' inside. My TT was 25' inside but over 28' outside. So both trailers have some loss of physical length to living space; the fiver just has less.

ASHNBAK

I have a 30' TT toyhauler (34'-4" overall) and if you don't have the hitch set up correctly it can be a nightmare. I use the reese dual cam sway control (12K) hitch. But without a doubt the best on the market is Hensely Arrow. With the Hensley, your TT will tow as well as a 5vr and track better in turns. The hitch articulates slightly and then pulls the TT into a turn. Also, it transfer's the pivot point forward to the chassis, so no sway. Get their CD.

www.hensleymfg.com

RATTLINRAM

And then there is this option for those who want a 5er with even less overall length. Titanium
Papa Smurf and his wife have one of them and they are very nice.