TV SRW or DRW and 5th wheel hitch

Rick-REDW

Rick-REDW

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2012
Posts
185
Location
Green Bay, Wisc
I know this may seem pretty basic to most of you but this will be my first 5th wheel experience. And since we plan to full time starting next fall I want to make all the right decisions. With the trailer ordered I am focused on the tow vehicle. I am pretty well focused on the Ford F350 diesel. The question I have is: single rear wheel or dually? Does it make a difference? When you detach and need to run into town is the dually a nuisance or something you just get used to.

Also, what about the 5th wheel hitch. What do you suggest. I ordered the air ride pin on the 36 RL. Should I also consider an air ride hitch or is that over kill.

I really appreciate the opportunity to learn on this site before making regrettable decisions. Thanks for your help.

Rick
 
I am exactly in the same position as you Rick, although Iplan on ordering my truck this week and going with a DRW based on someinfo collected from this site. Given the weights involved and the extra stability it seems to make sense to me.
I am interested in responses on the hitch though as that is the next step. I am leaning towards the Reese 25K Elite for two reasons; I believe the hitch should match the truck'sweight abilityand the fact that the hitch canbe completely removed from the bed. Any other input would be appreciated.
 
I would recommend the DRW truck. We recently had a double blow out on our 36FL, and we firmly believe our DRW Dodge 3500 provided the stability to preclude an accident. We were able to pull over into the soft shoulder of the road without the trailer swaying or worse. As for the hitch, we have a short bed mega cab Dodge so we have an automatic sliding hitch, 18K limit. Works very well for us. We are going to upgrade to the TrailAir Air pin Box in the near future but do not plan on upgrading to the air hitch. Hope this helps. Welcome to our Redwood Family!!
 
Rick said:
I know this may seem pretty basic to most of you but this will be my first 5th wheel experience. And since we plan to full time starting next fall I want to make all the right decisions. With the trailer ordered I am focused on the tow vehicle. I am pretty well focused on the Ford F350 diesel. The question I have is: single rear wheel or dually? Does it make a difference? When you detach and need to run into town is the dually a nuisance or something you just get used to.

Also, what about the 5th wheel hitch. What do you suggest. I ordered the air ride pin on the 36 RL. Should I also consider an air ride hitch or is that over kill.

I really appreciate the opportunity to learn on this site before making regrettable decisions. Thanks for your help.

Rick
Click to expand...

Rick,

this is a question we all go through when it comes to towing. I have been on both sides of the fence. I had a 2011 F350 4x4 Lariat SRW that I dearly loved. I ordered my Redwood RL only looking at the numbers on the brochure from both manufactures. The numbers worked so everything should have been fine.

What I didn't take into account was the extra fuel tank in the Ford that I put in the bed and all the extra accessories I put in the Redwood like the generator,washer/dryer and dual pane windows. Also the fresh water tank on the Redwood in in the nose which put's most of the weight on the pin.

With my fresh water tank 1/3 full both of the 40# LP full, full of fuel (in both tanks) and my wife and I in the truck, we had the rear axle scaled at 7200 lbs. The tires were rated at 7500 lbs, which I thought was too close for comfort. If you don't use an extra fuel tank, this could save about 400lbs.

I ended up buying my dually in a small town just North of Omaha NE and that dealer I strongly recommend (Wood House Ford). They had 180 F350's sitting on their lot and I saved over $2000.00 for the 7 hour drive.

The difference in towing with a dually compared to a srw is unbelievable. The same truck but with training wheels, but the stability and ride is far superior. Also for comparison purposes, my srw truck had 20 inch tires whereas my dually has 17 inch tires, so I can replace all 6 of the 17 inch tires for about the same price as the 4 of the 20 inch tires.

If you haven't bought the truck yet go with a dually in my opinion BUT if you already have a SRW truck, it could work for you if your careful.

As for the hitch , I ordered the B/W companion and I'm happy with it. It's the only one I've had so I can't compare it to others truthfully.

For driving into town, the only place I have problems and won't fit is in parking decks. I use my truck as a sales car for my business and I'm going into big cities like St. Louis. I simply back into all the spaces with the back up camera. Anyplace the mirrors fit the hips will too.

good luck
smiley2.gif





Edited by: Dave&Ginny
 
Rick,

Another factor to consider is the MPG difference of the trucks. The 2011 SRW 4x4 had 355 diff. and it would average around 18 mpg solo and around 10.5 -11 towing the Redwood at 70mph with the winds right.

The 2012 F350 4x4 dually with 370 diff. gets 16.5 solo and 9.5-10 towing 70mph. Last week I put a Spartan tuner and new exhaust on the truck which also deleted the exhaust fluid. This so far has increased my mileage about 2 mpg but I'm still getting used to the settings. A friend of mine has his tuned and getting 4 mpg better so I still have a few things to learn.

I hope this helps

dave
 
Rick
Dave is right, you can increase milage with a tuner, but if your truck is under warranty, and you have a problem that you can't reverse the tunr to stock, you have no warranty. I had a problem in Aug with my GM. Missed the rendevous. But had about 5,000 dollars worth of work done. If it had been tuned, no warranty. You choose. Oh by the way I do have a banks tuner, but will not use it until the truck is off warranty. Gas millage or warranty claim. You decide
 
Another vote for a Dually. It's not the SRW's ability to pull the weight, but to carry the Pin weight, passengers, and any other cargo you put in the bed. Plus you're talking about Full Timeing, so you'll be traveling heavy, don't have much choice when everything you own is with you. We're Long Timers at present but still take almost everything with us so we're heavy. Pin weight on our RL around 3900 to 4000 Lbs depending on how long we'll be gone.
As for the hitch, I wouldn't go for anything less than a 20K, brand I guess you'll have to research. We have a Reese and it works for us. As to and Air Ride Hitch, I'm pretty sure I've read where you either go with an Air Ride Pin such as the optional TrailAir Tri-Glide or stay with a conventional Pin and an Air Ride Hitch. Think it has to do with the fact that putting two air rides together results in to much bouncing with them working against each other. Good luck and congrats on your choice of 5er.
 
I am a dually fan
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you will enjoy/need the stability and I also have theReese 25K Elite and the fact that you end up with a very clean bed when its removed is awesome, Ibelieveyou will not bedisappointedwith this set up</span>
</span>
Dan</span>
 
Hi Rick,

I did my research based on all the great folks on this forum as well as the details in the RW and Ford literature... a SRW diesel would just do it for our unit with marginal safety allowance.

We bought the 38 BR and a 2012 Ford F350 Dually diesel with factory installed heavy duty springs, camper kit, wiring in bed, spray in bed liner, and Reese 25k hitch.... all under Ford warranty for when I retire and full time in less than 2 yrs. Only downside is the truck was just over weight and should be classed as a commercial vehicle requiring log book and trip to the scales in Ontario. Local boys told me they will look the other way for the 60 lbs I'm over.

Like Dave I drive everyday and get 12.3 to 13.1 mpg around town and 10.9 or so pulling our rig at 60 mph. Parking takes getting used to but I used to have a 1976 Grand Marquis with 8 ft of hood and my wife could park that anywhere!

We have the Air Glide hitch on the BR which takes almost all the jerk out of railway crossings and bridge transitions. The stability with a dually is amazing... on smooth road I need to check the mirrors to be sure it's still there. Spent 3 weeks of white knuckles in a 24ft C Class rental summer of 2011 whenever the wind blew or a semi passed... a stop at a dealer in Halifax for repairs is where we feel in love with Redwoods.

Welcome to the family...
 
I currently have a 2011 Ram 3500HD Single Rear Wheel and after a few trips this summer, I have for the first time in towing trailers for more than 15 years, decided that I need to step up and get a dually. The Ram does the job with my Redwood, but I am really taxing the rear axle and tires on the Ram. Stability is not an issue with the current truck, it simply comes down to I am pushing the limits of the current truck with my 36RL. I am working a deal right now on a 2013 Silverado 35000 HD as well as a 2012 Ram 3500HD both with dual rear wheel. I'm leaning more towards the Silverado as I can get the 3.73 rear end and end up with better towing capacity and fuel economy than the Ram with a 4.10 rear end. I like my current Ram, but I've always been a Chevy guy - and that Allison tranny is hard to beat in my opinion. At the end of the day, you need to buy what best suits your needs. Research the weights and the options, then buy the truck you are most comfortable with.
 
Dave I don't know much about the features of the Ram, but I can tell you the changes GM did to the 2011 and newer trucks are awsome. We can travel from Western NY to Florida and about the only time you have to use the brakes is when you come to a Stop lite or Stop sign. Just set the cruise and sit back and enjoy.
 
I went out today and purchased a newly built 2013 Chevy Silverado 3500 diesel dually today. I have arranged to have the truck available for April 1, ready for the spring. Check that off the list.
Next, shop around for a hitch, then the 36FL.
Thank you all for providing great feedback...
 
I got 3:83 gears on my 2012 Ram 3500 I had 3:53 on my 2008 and I think I like those better the arson tranny in the Ram looks like a clone of the Allison
 
We have a 36FL and love it. We installed a under counter coffee maker, a magnetic knife holder and towel holders in the bathroom. We love our 36FL
 
Makes sense to me. It's hard to make tea when you're in the bathroom.
Plus, who wants to leave theirkniveslaying all around the bathroomsink and toilet seat?
I keep mine in the medicine cabinet (next to the bandaids...)Edited by: 5th_Time
 
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