??? About Fifth Wheeling

chevyman16 · December 30, 2002

Will a short box on a truck work when fifth wheeling or do you need a long box? My uncle is possilbly planning to purchase a regualar or extended cab 2500HD. He already has a fifth wheel and has a '92 Silverdo 2500 reg cab long box but I was curious if a short box would also work. Also, Duramax or 6.0, with the manual transmission? Im trying to talk him into getting the Allison but he likes his manuals. Any information would be of great appreciation. Thanks.

Jay P · December 30, 2002

I pull a 28ft fifth wheel with a short box. You either need an extened pin box on the trailer or a slider hitch. You don't need anything for normal driving, just when backing mostly.

Shaners · December 30, 2002

Jay is correct the way he describes the trailer/hitch options for the shortbed.

Why not talk him into an 8.1L with the manual tranny? You'll get alot more motor than the 6.0L and won't have to pay the premium for the Dmax or the Allison tranny. Just a small premium (in comparison to the Dmax or Ally) for the 8.1L.

FSUDMAX · December 30, 2002

There is a lot more to it than whether or not the hitch will fit the fifth wheel and still clear the cab. The long bed has a longer wheelbase and that makes it buck less and also makes it harder for the trailer to push the truck around if you start losing it. The bigger the fifth wheel the more you need a log bed. That makes it safer for the p/u occupants and for anyone around if you crash. Personally, I wouldn't pull a big one (10-11K+) with anything less than a LB Dually.

fireshots4 · December 30, 2002

we pull a 28' 5th wheel with a HD2500 crew cab 6.0L short bed. we have an extened pin box on the camper and I can completly jack knife the trailer if I want and it will not touch the cab. What I do wish we got was the Dmax it has much more torque and a lot better gas mileage 13 compared to 20 from what I have been reading. I'm pretty happy with the way it pull on flat ground but this summer we will be taking it up into the smokies. we'll see how it does up there. If he is going to pull a 5th wheel I would deffinetly go with a 2500HD though.

awdvkd · December 30, 2002

Anybody who says they are getting 20mpg pulling a decent size trailer is fibbing, I'd like to see the odm/gas receipts. Very few are seeing 20 mpg alone.

Professor · December 30, 2002

awdvkd,

I think fireshots is talking unloaded. I doubt he is getting 13 pulling a 28' fifth.

Chevyman,

If he can afford the DMax up-front cost, you can't go wrong.

Check out this link

TINY · December 30, 2002

chevyman16,

A long box is the way to go when pulling a 5th wheel for the security of knowing the trailer will not hit the cab in a tight turning situation; however, there are those that prefer a short box extended cab and for those Pullrite has a hitch specifically for that appication it is the SUPERGLIDE for shortbeds. What it does is automatically adjusts the spacing between the cab and the trailer when turning using a system of cams. It works according to various reviews I have read in trailer life, etc. It is not cheap at around $3000.00 list.

As far as engines go I would go for the 8.1 or the DMAX. I had a 6.0 and it pulled a 8500lb trailer ok but I just got an 03 with the 8.1 and Allison Trans to make it an easier tow.

Good Luck and HAPPY CAMPING to your uncle.

chevyman16 · December 31, 2002

Thanks for all of the info. I'll tell my uncle about the stuff you guys mentioned. Thanks again.

DHuts · January 8, 2003

Nobody gets 20 mpg towing anything but an empty utility trailer. I pull a 28 ft Prowler 5th wheel with my 2500HD short box with 6.0 , auto and 4:10 gears. The trailer weighs 9500 lbs loaded. It will take extended (4-5 mile long)6% grades at 50 mph in in 2nd. Overall mileage with this setup is 9-11 mpg depending on the hills I go over.

fireshots4 · January 9, 2003

Yes I did not mean pulling a trailer and getting that kind of mileage. I wish that I could 13 mpg while pulling but I thought people would figure that out.

Colorado Kid · January 9, 2003

Chevyman16,

If you go to irv2.com and read in the 5th wheel forums you will find lots of information.

I tow a 25' 5th wheel with a shortbed crew cab truck. I have a Reese 16K slider hitch that cost me $105 more than a fixed hitch...of course it doesn't slide by itself like the SUPERGLIDE.

Any turn that the pickup can make going forward, the cab and trailer do not hit. Also the shortbed can turn in less space than a longbed with the same cab. I only slide mine back to the manuvering position when I'm backing up...moving the pin behind the axel lightens the load on the front axel, which is nice when making tight turns at low speeds...increases the load on the rear axel which can be handy since my truck is 2WD...also makes the trailer respond faster to steering inputs from the truck...more like a conventional (bumper pull) trailer...I don't believe having the slider has ever made a difference as to whether or not I could have gotten into or out of any particular situation, but it's comforting to have it. I slide it back because if I didn't, and I did hit the cab I'd feel pretty stupid for having the equipment but not using it....kinda like why I buckle my seatbelt.

Fireshots is right...I get a little better than 20 MPG not towing, and around 14 MPG towing the 5th Wheel.

The 6.0L 5 speeed combination was the first runner up when I bought my truck...I think it would be a very nice truck and it would do everything I use my truck for well. It would burn more fuel, but that's really not why I didn't buy it...I just wanted a diesel.

If my garage was longer I would have bought an extended cab long bed...there is no hope of parking a long bed crew cab where I work. Once I figured out that a crew cab shortbed would fit I decided to get it despite the fact that I thought it wouldn't do as well as a 5th wheel puller. Well a long bed might be better, but a hot-fudge sundae without whipped cream is still a good thing, and I'm not complaining.

4x4man · January 10, 2003

I also tow with a short bed. My previous truck was an EC shortbed and our trailer has an extended pin box. We do not have a slider hitch and have 46" of clearance from the front of the trailer to the back of the cab. Reese recommends 48" cab to trailer clearance so there aren't any real pressing problems with our setup. I didn't feel it was worth the extra money for a slider to get the last 2 inches. We have had only one nasty situation to get out of and had to back out of a small loop in a campground and did not do any damage to the truck with the wild turn we had to make to get out. I am a bad guesser at angles, but would guess we were around 70 degrees with the trailer going uphill to the main loop and the truck was on the lower part of the loop. We didn't even think we could get the trailer back out of there, but we did....thank god for 2 way radios!!!

Anyway last month I traded my 01 EC for an 03 CC shortbed with no regrets. Do your measurements before hand so you will know exactly where everything will sit and what kind of clearance you will have between the trailer and the cab of the truck and that will tell you if you need a slider or not. After all it's only money, right!!

Bob