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Anyone gone from a Fifth Wheel camper to a Travel Trailer (bumper pull)


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Was wondering if anyone has gone from a 5th. wheel to a bumper pull travel trailer. With the kids we need a bunkhouse and there are much more affordable new units that are hitch pull rather than going with the 5th. wheel format. I am getting sick of buying used. Now I love hooking up, towing and parking my 5th. wheel in comparison with bumper pulls. But honestly the last bumper pull I had was 10 years ago and I am much more experienced hauling a trailer than I was then. But I also see that they have some very cool looking hitch systems now that make them handle more like a 5th. wheel. Any thoughts? Welcome any and all discussions.

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The 5th wheel is so superior in handling. You'll really regret go'n back to b'pull.

LG

a big +1 if I had a choice I would never pull a bumper pull trailer again

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Fifth wheel tows better and are more "liveable", but I went bumper pull with my last one simply so I could put racks & rollers on my truck & topper to carry a couple of touring kayaks easier.

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I have towed my 25' bumper pull up and down California, to Winter Range 5 times, back to the Bayou Blast in Louisiana and assorted times into the Sierra Nevada. My experience with 5th wheel was a 4 horse and tack room horse trailer, not the same thing as a 36' Montana. My BP trailer is set up with an anti sway bar and the weight distribution bars. I really feel no differences towing, backing up the horse trailer however was easier. And with the BP I can put my 3 wheel electric cart in the back of the pickup.

Only thing I would do different is look for a trailer with slide outs and/or get one easier to get to the sides of the bed.

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I recently bought a newer bumper pull. It's 28 ' and the jury is still out. It does not maneuver as easily as my 20 footer did. I've pulled goose neck stock trailers and that's what I was after in the camper but price was an object so went with the bumper hitch.

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I have towed my 25' bumper pull up and down California, to Winter Range 5 times, back to the Bayou Blast in Louisiana and assorted times into the Sierra Nevada. My experience with 5th wheel was a 4 horse and tack room horse trailer, not the same thing as a 36' Montana. My BP trailer is set up with an anti sway bar and the weight distribution bars. I really feel no differences towing, backing up the horse trailer however was easier. And with the BP I can put my 3 wheel electric cart in the back of the pickup.

Only thing I would do different is look for a trailer with slide outs and/or get one easier to get to the sides of the bed.

Mad Dog is spot on. I have a 2011 28' Denali that I love. One thing to remember that no one has really discussed is your tow vehicle. I tow with a F350 extra cab, short bed, 4x4, diesel. With the equalizing hitch and anti sway bars, it is really easy to tow....very stable. I do have slide outs which are wonderful compared to my old bumper pull which did not.

 

I've been towing big bumper pull trailers for years and the improvements in "hook up & towing" technology are great. I've towed a 28', 13,000# boat all over the US and Baja and there is no comparison to what I now tow. Sure less weight makes it easier, but everything else is easier too.

 

Good luck and choose wisely as there are lots of differences in quality of trailers out there.

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Weight is the big question.

 

The 33' bumper pull we have is heavy, and needs a sway bar. Loaded up for a week, it's an easy 10-11k.

 

There are plenty of lighter models out there that'd be easier to tow I'm sure, but all that said... We took ours from middle TN to Disney World and back, one day each direction.

 

Goosenecks and fifth wheels will spoil you, but bumper pulls aren't so bad you can't be comfortable towing.

 

Edit: Ours has a large slide out. Sleeper sofa and fold down table turn in to small double beds. The bunks in the back are full size top and bottom. Bedroom with a real door in the front with another full size bed. It's comfortable with 4 adults. More than enough for the wife and I with our boy.

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proper hitch is the key. dont just hang it on a bumper and go. proper erqualizing hitch with sway bars makes a huge difference. I remember back in the 70s a guy pulled a travel trailer cross country with an Eldorado Cadillac using an equalizer hitch, with the rear wheels removed from the car!

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The longer the tow vehicle the better.

 

That's a fact.

 

Short bed 4 door pickups are pretty popular these days. They're better than a regular cab long bed, but not as nice as the old land yachts.

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We got a new bumper pull about 4 years ago.

 

With the proper equalizers and sway bars. It's not bad except in heavy wind.

But the equalizers and sway bar is a must have.

 

We got one with a rear bathroom. Having that gives you MUCH more room in there as it

goes all the way across.

 

Having at least two slide outs give you plenty of room. But the bed is small.

No they do not pull as good as a 5th. But if hooked up right. They are not bad.

 

We have a shell on the back of the truck also. That way if you have to camp off from the range.

You can easily keep all your shooting gear back there out of the weather AND out of sight from

crooks.

 

And if you vend any. A good place to haul your bullets to matches. Frees up that space in the back of the truck

to haul and pull up closer to the vending area to get to them.

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The tow vehicle IS important. I killed the trany in a Ford 150 that had towing enhancements and had towed the horse trailer with ease, pulling my 25' trailer. Went to a 4 door GMC 2500 diesel and have not had any issues since. The trany in the 150 died on a trip to Arizona, was rebuilt, and died again in the Mojave desert on the way home.

Duece, I don't know about up your way but there are some pretty good deals on lightly used 5th wheels out here. I know the desire to buy new, how old is your current trailer?

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Hey Deuce, In '07 we went to the 5th wheel RV and will never go back to a bumper pull, the 5th wheel is so easy to hook/set up and pulls like a dream.

 

With time and a lot of looking maybe you can find what will fit your family's needs and get a good " like new " used 5th wheel. Personally I do not think

 

you will be satisfied going back to the bumper pull. Pulling the bumper pull, we always new we had a monster behind us BUT with the 5th wheel, at times,

 

we "almost" forget it is even behind us. Good luck

 

...crosscut

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Thanks for the great responses from you ALL. My tow vehicle is a 3/4 Dodge Mega Cab and we currently tow a 2093 30' Keystone Cougar. Great rig just not set up for kids. It 's appealing to buy new but the bumper pulls in our pricr range though nice and roomy seem cheap in construction. We have our current 5th. for sale. I'm going to keep on the lookout for a little higher grade used. 5th and stick thst. We bought a ultra light 30' 5th with bunks a couple weeks ago but have decided that downsizing the slide out and lack of storage is not for us so that will being up for sale after our state shoot this weekend. But pulling that 3 hours yesterday was such a stress free experience thst I guess I'd rather stick with the 5th format.

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They are expensive, but our 29ft. Airstream with an Equalizer brand hitch on our 3/4 Ton Chevy diesel pulls so easily that I forget it is back there. We have been happily towing down the road when the police have closed the road to 5th. wheels due to heavy wind. IF I were ever to consider a 5th. wheel it would be a Titanium brand out of Canada. (I assume they are still in business) Out here on the really crooked mountain dirt roads some turns are so tight that a 5th wheel drops a tire over the side while a bumper pull tracks on the road. The flip side of that is though that a 5th turns tighter and may be easier to manuver. Just depends on what you want/need.

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"Out here on the really crooked mountain dirt roads some turns are so tight that a 5th wheel drops a tire over the side while a bumper pull tracks on the road"

 

Then that 5th wheel driver, doesn't know how to drive---

LG

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"Out here on the really crooked mountain dirt roads some turns are so tight that a 5th wheel drops a tire over the side while a bumper pull tracks on the road"

 

Then that 5th wheel driver, doesn't know how to drive---

LG

+1

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