I'm looking to get a 2008 F150 with the short - 5.5' - bed to pul a 7000 lb fifth wheel. I'm being told that the bed is too short and the wall is too high. Does anyone know of a hitch that will work. BTW, the Pullrite person told me that they did not recommend their superglide hitch in this case.

 

You should be able to get a slider that fits your truck. Try looking for Huskie hitches and Reese sliders. I have an 04 FX4 SCAB with a 6.5ft bed and can get a way with not using a slider in mine. As far as the bed rails being to high there as some ways around this. In my search for a fifth wheel I have found that you can move the pin on the trailer to make it work and I think that you can buy different pin set ups that have different drops to make it work with your truck. I would also call a couple of local RV dealers as they will be able to help you set up your truck. Hope this helps

 

Is it time for the monthly 5th wheel 1/2 ton question already? Don't do it. You'll be over GVWR of your truck by 500-1000 pounds.

People do it with the 5.5' bed and slider hitches. The bed length is not the problem, but the pin weight for almost every 5th wheel RV is too much for the ~1600 pound payload F-150's have.

 

If you are buying a new truck to 5th wheel with, think Super Duty.

 

Thanks guys for the input. I finally decided that the F150 short bed was just too short, especially since the axle is toward the front of the bed. I'm headed for the Tundra.

 

Good luck with that. Tundra has issues within Toyot'a's ratings, let alone exceeding it like you plan to do.

Listen, 5th wheel RV's have beetween 15 and 25% pin weight, with most that i've researched in the 20-25% range. That's 1400 pounds in your bed if the unloaded weight is 7k. Oh, don't forget the 250 pound hitch. Then there is you, your passengers, and cargo in ther cab and bed. If you prove to me that you can stay under GVWR, (max weight the trucks' suspension can handle including the vehicle and all people/cargo), then I'll recommend a 1/2 ton. I have yet to be proven otherwise.

You are about to plunk down $60k on a rowing rig and RV. I recommend educating yourself on both before signing any purchase agreements. i'm not trying to be rude, but purposly blunt. Don't make a $35k mistake. It could cost lives.

 

What do you mean Tundra's can not pull fifth wheels? This picture is from Trailer Life Magazine. If they say it is O.K. it must be.
They fail to mention the GVW of the truck with the fifth wheel hooked up. They only mention it is 2,000 lb's less than the GCWR with trailer, which doesn't mean anything if the truck is overloaded.



I pull a fifth wheel with my SCAB 6.5' box. I would consider my fifth wheel mini at 23' pin to bumper. GVWR of trailer at 5800 lbs. So fully loaded trailer I am putting about 1100 lbs in to the bed plus 100 lb hitch, no slider. I may be a little over. Bed height is fine with adjusting the extended pin box and hitch head height. As others have said skip the F150/half tons and go to the Superduty if you plan on pulling a 7,000 lb fifth wheel. I wish I had with only the little trailer I have. But it is what I have, it is paid for and I feel comfortable pulling the trailer with the F150.

 

By the time you option up a 1/2 ton of ANY make to do the job, you can buy a F-250 that will do a better job. The book has towing-specific options that will make it a lot easier - such as an integrated brake controller, 5 speed auto with tow mode, etc. You can get the standard 5.4, or option it with a V10 or diesel if you want real grunt. You can even get a 6 speed manual if you prefer to row it yourself.

I've made several cross country trips recently, and the vast majority of 5th wheels I see on the highway are being pulled with 3/4 and 1 ton trucks - and most of them are diesels too.

 

*Can* you pull a 7000 lb 5er with a 1/2 ton? In theory, yes, you can. You can open a can of beans with a hammer, but a can opener is a much better tool for the job.

A 1/2 ton pickup, Toyota, Ford, or otherwise, is simply not up to the task. At 7000 lbs dry, that camper will be up around 8000-8500 loaded for a weekend, with gear, water, propane, kids bikes, canned goods, brown pops, etc, etc, etc. There isn't a 1/2 ton I know of that can comfortably pull that around all the time. *Some* might be able to when properly optioned and VERY carefully loaded, but the vast majority cannot. We won't even talk about towing performance on hills with it...

That trailer is super-duty territory. A SD with a PSD will drag that thing all over the place all day long without breaking a sweat. It's got the rear axle weight capacity, torque, and power out the ying-yang to haul that toy all over timbuck-too. It's the apropriate can-opener for the job. Anyone that tells you any different is just blowing smoke up your rear. Anything over 5000 lbs gets to be a chore for a 1/2 ton.

-Joe

 

To add to that, if you must have a gas engine the V-10 will probably get better towing mileage than the 5.4, it doesn't have to work as hard. Expect single digits with any V8, be it 1/2, 3/4, or 1 ton. There's also the transmission durability issue.

Sure, you can DO it with a 1/2, but if you hit the mountains you will be over on the shoulder with the bicycles with your foot flat on the floor. I had a diesel towing blow by me uphill in the mountains driving my EMPTY truck with my foot flat on the floor. It was a Dodge 2500 crew cab towing a 2 axle car trailer with an Escape on the back, I was running 70 and he had to be doing 80 - this was at 9000 feet on a long straight upgrade.

 

Hello,

I am a recent member of the forums.

I have a 2003 SuperCrew 4x4 with a 5.4l engine. With the OEM tow package.

Would I be safe towing a 4000-4500lb 23' Fifth Wheel? If so, what hitch would be recommended for the 5.5' box? Must it be the slider type?

Thanks,

JTCNB

 

Well....After not receiving a response here, I decided to take it upon myself to see if there was a 5th wheel hitch available for a 5.5' box.

There is only one that I was able to confirm by the supplier that it will work with the 5.5 box and that is the Pullrite SuperSlide (in my case the 12k), and that is because it moves up to 22-¾" while turning .

The others like Reese and Husky move only 9-10".

Only issue is the cost of the Pullrite, for my truck after taxes and before installation I would be looking at approx $3000.00 !!

Oh well....looks like I will start looking for a Tag Along Trailer.....or maybe a Tent Trailer !

JTCNB

 

No 5th wheels and 1/2 tons. Is that 23' 20 years old because anything newer weighs more. Sueprglide is 250-300 pounds extra in your bed that you already are limiting.

Add to that the extra aero drag of a 5th wheel and you really want more power than what the F-150 offers.

 

After reading through some of these replies im rather dissapointed in some of the responses here. Everyone seems to be beating around the bush and not looking at what is really the question here.

Ive got quite a bit of towing experience under my belt so I can say all this from experience, not assumtions. To everyone saying "Go out and buy a Super Duty". Why on God's green earth would he want to do that? Sure, the Superduty is a MUCH more capable vehicle for the task at hand, but why would anyone in their right mind go out and spend $45,000+ on a F-250 or 350 Diesel just to pull a 5'er once or twice a year to a campsite? You say, "well then, he could just get a gas f-250 then, so the truck wont be as expensive" Thats even more ridiculous. The amount of fuel he would spend on those two camping trips he made that year and he coulda bought the diesel. ON the other side of the coin, if he has $$$ falling out of his behind and can afford to own a 3/4 or 1 ton diesel as a daily driver just because he pulls a 5'er a few times a year, then by all means, GO FOR IT MAN!!

The fact of the matter here is, as long as he stays within the GVWR, he will be fine. Now, if he is the weekend warrior type who wants to drag the 5'ev half way across the country EVERY weekend, then yes, a Superduty is more his speed.

In short:
Is a superduty a better tool for the job? Yes! Will the F-150 get the job done? Yes! It boils down to what you are buying the truck for. If you are buying the truck for the SOLE reason of pulling a 5'er, then the F-150 is not your answer. If your buying the truck as a daily driver but would like to pull a small 5'er a few times a year, then I feel a Superduty is overkill.

 

That makes no sense.

For anyone who already has a truck, the delta between selling that truck and getting an equivalent year/equipment 3/4 ton V10 would be under $3k. Likewise, if considering a new truck, the cost delta is again less than $5k, depending on discounts for given month.

Gas mileage between a diesel and V10 while towing isn't much. Around 10mpg for the V10 and maybe 12mpg for a diesel. The ultra low sulfter diesel is much lower than gas/trucks from 10 years ago that got 20+mpg empy. Also, the difference between the V10 and F-150 5.4L isn't that much, say 20% max. Heck, I'd probalby improve mine going to a V10 from the 12mpg average I get.

Keeping any 1/2 ton truck under GVWR with a 5th wheel RV that is less than 10 years old is almost impossible once you include the hitch in the bed, equipment/cargo/food/water/fuel in the RV/truck bed and passengers in the truck. There are no more small 5th wheel RV's. Even a 23' KZ Sportsman has 1000 pounds of hitch weight dry, which is probably even more ready to camp.