My wife (Julie), grandson (Ethan), and I just graduated from a Fleetwood pop-up to a Starcraft AR-One MAX 26BHS TT.  We enjoyed the Pop-up for over 12 years but as we grew older the hassle of set up and take down became too much of a chore.  In about five years we plan to sell the TT and purchase a fifth-wheel and retire as full timers.  That’s the current plan anyway.

We are currently pulling the TT in our 2004 Tundra.  The Tundra has served us well pulling the pop-up but we quickly realized it is not really suitable for the TT.  Plus, it’s 13 years old.  This weekend we are going to the RV show in Austin, Texas to get information on GVWR and pin weights on RVs we may want to retire in.  Our thinking is if we are replacing the Tundra, we may as well go over capacity and be prepared for the next bigger RV. 

I have already gained much information from this forum and will very likely have many questions as we prepare for retirement.

Steve

Okay, my wife and I went to the RV show and were amazed at the variety of 5^th wheel RVs; length, quality, price, floor plans, weight.  It makes for a tough choice.  Fortunately, we had pre-limited our selection to around a 35’ length.  We found some floor plans we liked that were in the 15.5K lbs GVWR range.  There are several reasons for us limiting the length.  One of them being just ease of travel, maneuvering and fitting into tight spaces.  The more prominent reason is wanting to limit the size of the TV.  I do take seriously those of you who advocate going over capacity on the TV but I also don’t want to have to do my local traveling in a huge DRW vehicle.  My wife and I have been going back and forth on retiring in a 5^th wheel or class A.  After seeing both at RV parks we starting leaning more to the 5^th wheel because of the additional storage and living areas.  But our quandary is if we reduce the size of the 5^th wheel to the point that a SRW vehicle will safely pull it, maybe it will be too small and we should just go class A with a toad.  Of course, the flip side of that is we don’t plan to be on the road constantly.  There are times we could be at one location for weeks or months at a time. That’s likely not good for a class A engine and drive train.  

Okay, I’m going to stop rambling and finally ask a question.  My wife and I will likely be living most of the time on our own but our grandson, who will 18 when we retire, may also be spending some time with us.  Based on your experiences, and understanding that everyone has different comfort levels, is a 35’ or smaller 5^th wheel going to be too small?   Are there any other considerations I’m missing?

Luckily, we still have about four years before retirement, but I need to purchase a new TV soon and want to right size it for the future.

Thanks for tolerating my rambling thoughts,

Steve

First off, welcome aboard. 

There are many people making it work with 3 or more souls on board be they humans or included pets in 35' or less. So it can certainly be done. Whether you will be comfortable... well, that is up to you.

You are right to consider the TV question in pros and cons terms, and if you absolutely must get the TV in advance of the actual need for the 5er, get the biggest that you can safely haul your biggest foreseeable rig that is also within your comfort zone vis a vis driving and budget-wise. All of the current offerings from Ford, RAM and GM are very capable trucks these days. Understand that if your get a TV ahead of deciding on a 5er, then you are locked into that truck's limitations which is why the sage advice is to figure out as best you can the size, layout etc of your future rig, then get the TV that will do the job safely. Getting a feel of rig size etc will give you a feel for trailer weights and thus guide your TV buying activities. There are many TV "calculators" out there to assist you in determining what any particular truck can tow by just inputting some numbers supplied by the truck manufacturer, the trailer mfr. and by yourself as they relate to your personal travelling habits. 

As for the size of a DRW, yes they are wider and perhaps a bit taller but once you get behind the wheel, you should be able to make the necessary driving adjustments to safely navigate with it. Don't let fear rule your decision making process. DRW will give you more stability while towing not mention greater towing capability but may not be necesary depending on your trailer selection. 

As to SRW vs DRW, you can get away with SRW... to a point. When we first started figuring out our needs in this area, and we are not even on the road yet, we quickly determined that a DRW was best suited for our future needs. We are looking mostly at 5ers in the 17,000 to 18,000 lb range. I would not dare consider a SRW for that size trailer. You are, at the moment it seems, considering something significantly smaller than us so a SRW may be an option but it's by no means a slam dunk either.

Good luck with your search and research. Knowledge is power.  

Yes, I forgot to mention our non-human souls.  Currently our menagerie includes two dogs (Sheltie and German Shepard), a cat, two birds and an aquarium.  Not real sure how the aquarium will travel. ;)  

I think we'll have to cull that down a bit.

Steve

Brian, I have a 2016 DRW F350 4x4 and it's obviously wider, but nearly two inches LOWER than the 2014 SRW F350 4x4 that it replaced. I actually needed airlift spings to bring my 5er back to level with my new DRW truck. That said, I understand that the 2017 DRW F350 is a couple of inches taller than the 2016. Your point about eventually getting used to the size is true. No one ton truck is going to feel or handle like smaller vehicles. My best advice is head for the far end of the parking lot and enjoy the opportunity for a little extra exercise. Owning a dually's is actually pretty cool if you just embrace it for what it is.

Steve,

First of all, welcome to the RV Dreams forums.  You will find this place to be a good place to ask questions and get answers, as the folks here are RV'ing in all kinds of rigs.

Size is a factor, especially considering that your son will spend some time with you.  Not so much if he doesn't spend that much time enjoying your company.  In our case, we planned on living in our fifth wheel for some time to come, so we actually went with a 38 1/2-foot RV.  We spend longer periods of time in each place we go so that we can get to see more attractions in the areas where we stop.  We've been full-time RV living for almost 6 years now, with 3 years in Oklahoma City prior to retiring, 20 months in Colorado to see sights and spend more time with relatives, and now we are in Oregon and have been here for 10 1/2 months.  We plan to stay here longer than we did in Colorado, but that depends on how life goes.

When we considered the RV'ing full-time, the wife insisted that we have a washer and dryer in our RV as she hates to go to laundromats.  (I'm not crazy about hanging around in such places either.)  That was partially our reason for going with a longer fifth wheel.

As for trucks, I heartily recommend the DRW models.  I suggest spending a bit of time driving the different brands at the dealerships.  In our case, we have a Ford F450 that has an excellent turning radius and I think that the Ford F350 with the "wide track" front end also has good turning.  That can make a lot of difference in the feel of a truck, especially in shopping center parking lots.  I haven't driven either the GM or Dodge models, so I don't know how they are on the turning radius.  Like mentioned before, I don't have a problem with parking further away from the store, and I'm 70 years old.

Good luck with all your research and planning.  You have plenty of time, so spend a good bit of time looking at RV shows and on dealer's lots.  When looking, picture the two (or three) of you living in and doing normal daily tasks.  Step into the showers and see if they are big enough.  Spend a fair bit of time in the kitchen, pretending to prepare meals, and above all, look to the very foundation of the RV's because those are important.  The foundation includes the frame size, suspension, axles, wheels and tires and their capacities for weight.

Terry

Thanks all for the comments. You have validated many of my concerns.

The one issue I have of purchasing the TV before the RV is that no matter how much I think I know about what RV I'm planning to buy, there is aways a chance that an RV deal that is too good to refuse will drop in my lap and I won't have an appropiate TV.  But you make your choices and you have to live with them; life is full of tradeoffs.

Thanks again for taking the time to give thoughtfull responses.

Steve