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The Fifth Wheel Trailer Is Living Big
"The Fifth Wheel Trailer is One Classy Towable"
By Alan Wiener
Editor of Everything About RVing
The 5th Wheel Trailer (also known as the Fiver) has the most available living space of any RV. They are also the most popular of the towable trailers category. If you want to experience the great outdoors and the great indoors at the same time, this is the RV for you.
The Fiver is not designed to be towed with a regular passenger car. In order to pull it you need a pickup truck and then you need to install a 5th wheel hitch on the truck. The hitch is identical to the ones that truckers use to attach and pull their trailers.
Because of the design of the trailer, up to 25% of the total trailer's weight is carried by the rear suspension of your truck.
The length of these trailers range between 20 and 40 feet. The bigger the trailer, the bigger the truck you will need to pull it (hopefully your eyes haven't glazed over yet from all this information).
Because of their unique configuration the 5th Wheel Trailer has a bi-level design that puts a master bedroom or living room above the truck bed. Now add 1 to 5 room slide-outs and you have one spacious trailer.
These fully self-contained trailers do; or can have every amenity that you now have in your house. That is why Fivers are popular with Full-Timers (a person or persons, who chooses to travel and live in their RVs permanently).
The 5th Wheel Trailer has one sub-type
The Toy Hauler
If your motto is "have toys will travel" then this trailer is for you. A Toy Hauler is a 5th Wheel or Travel Trailer that has been designed to carry your toys such as quads, dirt bikes, dune buggies, your favorite Harley or even a small car.
They have a big back door that doubles as a ramp. Your toys are stored in a mini-garage behind the main living area of the trailer. Once you are at your campsite and you have removed all of your valuable cargo, these mini-garages can be converted to usable living space such as a bedroom, etc. (this depends on the model you have). In some cases the back door ramp can be converted to a patio, which increases the living and playing area of the trailer.
These special trailers can have up to 3 axles dependent on the weight they are designed to carry. As with any RV there are Pros and Cons to owning one.
5th Wheel Trailer PROS and CONS
PROS of a 5th Wheel Trailer
- Most livable space of any RV
- Most storage space of all the trailer types
- Most optional amenities available (more money you can spend)
- The safest of all towing systems (your using the system that the truckers use)
- Easiest to backup of all trailers due to the fifth wheel design (less arguing with significant other upon backing)
- Tow vehicle can be used for running errands and local sightseeing
- Ideal for Fulltimers
- Toy Hauler option available (gotta have that quad)
CONS of a 5th Wheel Trailer
- Requires a truck with a 5th wheel hitch assembly installed
- The larger the trailer the larger the truck needed to tow it
- Due to the higher profile, low branches and low bridges are a concern
- Can be hard to maneuver in tight spaces.
- Dependent on the length of your Fifth Wheel Trailer, you will find that some campgrounds and RV Parks will not accept an RV over 35 feet in length (as time goes on this limitation is fading away)
- Requires a large storage area when not camping
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Hopefully, the above information will be helpful in steering you in the right direction. If you have decided that a Fifth Wheel Trailer is the right type of RV for you, you should now head over to the Buying a RV section of this web site to get some more helpful hints.
If you are still not sure, continue browsing the other Types of RVs that are available. One thing is for sure you will never regret becoming an RVer regardless of the type of RV you choose.
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