Fifth Wheel Reviews

[Sonnie]

So my wife and I are looking for a fifth wheel we can pull with our 2020 Ram 1500 crew cab... 5.8 eTorque, 4x4 with 3.90 gear... supposedly can pull close to 12K.

We have been looking at the Keystone Cougar Half-Ton 25RES and the Jayco Eagle HT 24RE... somewhat similar in floorplan that we like. Have not really looked much elsewhere.

I did not want to post this in one of the brand forums because it might not be fair to one brand over the other.

I was unable to find out much about how the Keystone is built, but Jayco puts a good bit of info on their site about the features of their units. The problem I see are the reviews. Wow... could not believe all the poor reviews I reading of both brands. There does seem to be more poor reviews for Keystone than Jayco.

Curious if anyone has these particular units, or maybe if I can simply hear form owners of these brands and/or models.

Regards,
Sonnie

[Sonnie]

Sorry ... left some points out and can't edit... so I will repost in more detail here:

My wife and I are looking for a fifth wheel we can pull with our 2020 Ram 1500 crew cab... 5.8 eTorque, 4x4 with 3.90 gear... supposedly can pull close to 12K.

We have been looking at the Keystone Cougar Half-Ton 25RES and the Jayco Eagle HT 24RE... somewhat similar in floorplan that we like, and keeping the price under $40K. Have not really looked much elsewhere, but would be open to suggestions.

I did not want to post this in one of the brand forums because it might not be fair to one brand over the other.

I was unable to find out much about how the Keystone is built, but Jayco puts a good bit of info on their site about the features of their units. I like the idea of the Nev-R-Adjust® Brakes that the Jayco has... their Laminated Wall Construction... ClimateShield... and the fully enclosed and heated underbelly. Keystone may have similar features, but apparently not as advertised, with the exception of ClimateGuard.

The reviews are somewhat of a "wow"... could not believe all the poor reviews I am reading of both brands. There does seem to be more poor reviews for Keystone than Jayco, although it seems like each have their share of issues.

Curious if anyone has these particular units, or maybe if I can simply hear from owners of these brands and/or models.

No offense, but not knowing what participation and ownership of these models is like in the various RV forums, you may see this cross posted in another forum.

Regards,
Sonnie

[Notanlines]

Sonnie, I can't help you much with brands, but I can work at bursting your bubble concerning what you can 'tow.' It would help considerably if you would simply post the Maximum Cargo Weight from the yellow sticker on the side of your door jamb.
Nope, don't refer to any GCWR or any such nonsense. Only the Maximum Cargo Weight will determine where you're headed.
I am not trying to make light of your 1500, but among long-time RV'ers you are driving little more than a grocery getter. If you were to buy a 12K 5th wheel your white-knuckle experience on any hills and the interstates would be the subject of horror stories.
1/2 ton towable RV's by these manufacturers is bogus as a football bat. Try to get back to us with that number and we can go from there.

[Sonnie]

Okay... so we were originally looking at travel trailers and my friend got us side-tracked on 5th wheels. IF we got back to considering a travel trailer. I am curious as to what we can safely pull with my truck.

I was mistaken on the payload... transposed the numbers. Sticker in door well shows 1612lbs.

1612lbs to start.
-400 - my wife and I
-100 - tool box with a few tools (I can pick it up easily)
-200 - other stuff in the truck (sub box, running boards, etc)
-150 - ? truck hitch weight
762lbs - is what the trailer hitch weight can be - am I calculating this correctly?

We will have some clothes in the trailer... no water... a couple of lounge chairs, hoses, cables, a few dishes, and some food. We'll add a Dishmate for our Dish satellite.

So if I am safely at about 600-700lbs hitch weight... how do I calculate what the weight of the trailer can be?

It's pretty obvious a 5th wheel is out, as I don't see any 5th wheels with hitch weights under 700lbs... most are 1500lbs or more.

EDIT: lol... my calculator did not subtract correctly... 762 it is.

Regards,
Sonnie

[wingnut60]

Generally, a TT will have about 10-12% of GROSS rating on the tongue, so that is a ballpark number you can work with. 6-700# kind of equates to a max 7000# TT thereabouts. And if you get a long one, even the 'micro' and 'ultra' lites will make towing a white-knuckle experience.
It's a tough world out there for 1/2 ton trucks and RVs...

[Sonnie]

Yep... that is what I am learning.

[TGK]

As far as a tow vehicle goes I can only emphasize what has already been stated about 1/2 fifth wheels, they are a figment of imagination. As for the build quality difference between Jayco and Keystone there really isn't any. Both brands are owned by Thor and corporate economics ( greed) is what really determines the quality of RV's today. I can tell you based on personal experience that the older units were built much better than what's being built today. If you can find a used unit that's been well maintained and cared for you'll have fewer problems.

[Phil]

Sonnie, I have never owned a Jayco, I do have a friend with a 2013 Jayco 39 foot
TT and he is very happy with it. Tows it with a 2011 Ram 2500 4x4 diesel.

I did own a 2010 Keystone Springdale 30 foot TT, we liked it very much, but
it lacked having a closet and clothes storage that my wife wanted.
I towed that one with a 2004 Ford F350 4x4 diesel long bed since it
was my work truck.

From there we moved up to a 2015 Thor Hurricane 34E gas Class A, slept 7,
had a bath and a half. Had plenty of closet space. We live in Colorado and
we get lots of wind and the MH handled like a sheet of plywood in wind to say
it did not handle very well. Sold it in April 2018.

May 2018 I bought my 2012 Ram 3500 4x4 diesel short bed with a slider hitch.
October 2018 we bought a 2019 Keystone Cougar 30RLS 343 foot 5th wheel.
My 5th wheel loaded is at 12000# and my truck has a tow rate of 22000#

Yes I could tow my 5th wheel with a 2500 truck, but I like having a bit more
truck and no white knuckle driving.

[Chaf43]

Sonnie, I have a Venture Sonic Lite, 21ft travel trailer. It has a full bathroom and a slide out. I haul it with my Dodge 2014 Ram 1500 4X4 with a Hemi engine. In Jan of this year I hauled it to Palm Bay Florida, than to Oceanside California, going route 20 most of the way. On the way back took route 40 most of the way. Saw the Grand Canyon And Hover Dam. At one point was above 7500ft above sea level. I was hauling water, fresh, black and grey off and on depending where we stopped for the night. I had food, clothes, tools. I like to be prepared for things I can fix myself. I never had any problems hauling the camper. I averaged around 9 miles to a gallon. Round trip was around 10,000 miles.

[Sonnie]

Thanks for the info guys... we are looking various travel trailers. May end up having to order what we want, which will be under 30ft and with the slide out and full bath. There aren't very many to choose from on the dealer lots close to us, and I'd like to keep it close to home when we need warranty work or repairs.

[Luv2RVCouple]

Be cautious about thinking just because you purchase from a dealer you will get better service. Really, there is no such thing unless you go with an expensive unit at an elite dealership.

Make sure you know what you want. List them out and then rank them. For instance you may want a TT that has the dinette or couch or both on the passenger side so you’re not always looking at the camp next to you. Depending where you camp, of course. Counter space may be key, or outdoor storage.

Once you narrow it and rank each you can start to look at what might work. When we had our F150 we were able to tow a very nice 31 ft TT. We have a fiver now and are looking to move to a larger one in the next year.

Good luck to you.

[terry and jo]

Sadly, I can't help you with reviews of RV's, but I can offer a different option to finding out about a brand, and even finding out about a model.

Look online for a owner's forum for the brand/model that you are interested in. To begin with, one can just read the threads within those forums to get some ideas. However, keep in mind that many forums, particularly owner forums, will attract people who are searching for a solution to a problem, thus, one can get the idea that said brand/model isn't very good.


Now, to eliminate the negativity, one can go ahead and register on those forums so that one can ask their own questions. One question that I have suggested many times was to be this one: "If you were to buy another RV, would you still buy the same brand/model as you currently own." You could be surprised of just how many of the respondents to that question would answer that they would buy the same again.


Terry