I have found a 1996 newmar 30' fiver for sale at a decent price. it's only been towed about 10 times in its life time and has been garaged. does anybody have anything good/bad to say about this brand. will be my first fiver so fire away with comments. i plan on towing with a '94 CTD 4x4. will all the clearances be ok you think? thanks

 

Welcome to the site DustOff,<br> If I'm not mistaken, Newmar is one of the higher-end rigs. Suppose to be very good quality and workmanship. I met two couples that had identical rigs other than one was a triple axle and the other had two tandem axles under it. These rigs were just about top of the line models. One fella pulled his with a MDT Freightliner Sport chassis that was really nicely set up. 4 door and loaded with everything you could imagine. The other fella was converting a cab-over White to pull his. These were +40' (I think). They both were very happy with their rigs and had done quite a bit of research before buying ones that they considered were going to last them a long time. IRV2.com has a section devoted to just the Newmar owners. You can find it HERE .<br> The only issue you may have will be the height of your 4x4 Ram. There are several solutions for the truck or camper if you find that the truck sits too high. Topics on lowering the truck or raising the 5er can be found in our towing forum.<br> Maybe someone else will chime in with a few more opinions. <br><br><br>Dennis

 

Dust Off,
Newmar makes good stuff. They are quite heavy, but well built. They have excellent slide out mechanisms. The newer ones are welded aluminum stud construction on the side walls with good insulating features, heated storage. You did not indicate which model, but it should be a good unit. Take a good look at the roof, probably EPDM (rubber). You get about 10 years out of them if taken care of.

Be sure you repack wheel bearings, new seals, check brakes before hitting the road with it. You will probably have to do something about clearance, bed sides to trailer. A 30 footer should not exceed the capabilities and ratings of your truck - - just a guess, but I think you are safe.

 

thanks for the replies. i have found out the trailer weighs about 10,000 lbs. dry. hopefully i can find a good hitch that<br>will allow for some adjustment on the trailer clearances too. thanks again

 

DustOff,<br>You just confirmed my statement - - 10,000 dry is heavy for a 30'er. That should place about 2500 to 3000 pounds on your king pin. Run the numbers on the GVWR of your truck and see how close you will be. You will be very close if not over - - I don't have the specs on that year truck. Use that in figuring what you need to do to set up to pull safely. Use caution in how much you put in the trailer and keep it dry when towing - - just enough water to take care of you between pit stops. 8) Highly recommend a Jordan brake controller to bring all that weight to a smooth stop.

 

Newmar builds quality 5ers. They are on the heavy side compared to other competitive lines. I agree that weight may be a problem for your 94 Cummins. Stock it has 175 hp and 420 lb-ft of torque.<br>I would feel much better if you had the 4.10 rear axle. With that 3.54 axle it was rated for towing a 10K# trailer. It had a GCWR of 14K#. If you subtract the weight of truck gear passengers and fuel that leaves you with less than 8K# for your trailer.

 

Mees be thinkin pick up the 5er, THEN tell the s/o* that the truck ain't heavy enuff to cart it around. In the interest of HER safety you MUST buy a new truck that is rated for the 5er weight... <br>an '03 dually 6spd HO comes to mind......... ;D<br><br>*s/o is significant other

 

Spots,<br><br>You are sooooooo naughty. <br><br>By the way, you have a very nice wife - - we had a little chat about you. <br><br>TattleTailBob

 

Previously I had a 1996 2500 Ram Diesel Automatic 3.54 rear axle pulling my Dry 8,422, loaded 9,800 Sunnybrook. It would not stay in overdrive on most hills. I was just in limits for GVWR and slightly over for GCWR. I did not feel good stopping it. My new truck (see below) does the job with room to share and takes those same hills like nothing is behind me. That's my experience. Good luck in your decision.

 

Spots,

That plan actually worked for me !!! I was whining for a CTD for a year or so and kept getting the east-west head movement from wifey.
When we towed the 29 ft trailer over the Rockies at 10 mph with my old Dodge half ton ... she changed her tune.

&quot;Retreat my a** ... I'm just attacking from the other direction !!&quot;

PISTOL

 

Well I figure it'll get ya either a new truck or a new house (read-divorce)<br>I once bought a toy without my wife even knowing I was looking for one...She was quite upset, went the next week and SHE bought a new car (don't laugh it was a pontiac fiero)<br>Was the biggest piece of junk we/she ever had owned. Now she tells me when she wants a new car.... <br>Every now and again I gotta bring up the fiero....burns her up!!<br>Oh yeah Dirtyolmanbob, my wife said 7 o'clock for dinner Friday would be fine...

 

Dustoff,<br> I've got that trailer, the 30 rear living room. I also found mine used but I'm now convinced that Newmar quality is top shelf. I would find it very hard to back up to another brand. Called the factory this winter as I had over 4 foot of snow on the roof and wondered about the snow load. I spoke to one of their engineers who said don't worry it will handle more than that.<br> Yes it's a bit of a load on a 3/4 ton. I run about 400 over on the truck weight and a bit over on gross. It pulls heavy but OK and stops good. Would I feel more comfortable with a one ton, yes, but trying to find a used truck up here is next to impossible.<br> <br>Bill<br>