Hi
We are newbies to the RV world although we are hardcore vetern bicycle camping touring Canadians.
We have a 2007 Silverado with a 5.7 Vortex and 3.73 gears. We can haul 7500 minus 20 percent would allow us to tow 6000lbs.
Does anyone have any small 5th wheel sugestions.
We would like to get a 5th wheel in the 4000 to 4800 range. Has anyone out there hauled a 5th wheel with a half ton?
Thanks Gary

Before you decide on an ultalite, check out this web site to figure out what you can tow.

http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-fw.shtml

I found that the Rockwoods by Forest River have the smallest GVWR of most 5th wheels on the internet. I too am looking for a light weight. What I discovered was that a 3/4 ton truck is a must. Punch in the numbers as many as you can get, and let the calculator do the rest. It is surprising to see the results.
Good Luck

Welcome, Gimmieshelter.

From previous experience, most 5th wheels require at least a 3/4 ton truck. However,Glendale RV used to advertise it's Titanium model had a length that could be safely towed by a 1/2 ton truck. Don't know if that is still true or not, but it might be worth checking in to.

Good luck with your search. Let us know what you find.

L-

From the Chevy web site your CGWR is 13,000 lbs
The GVWR ranges from 6,400 to 7,300 lbs depending on the cab/bed configuration and 2/4WD
The payloads range from 1500 to 1900lbs again depending on cab/bed and 2/4WD.

What does all of this mean? First, the CGWR - 13000lbs is the most that your truck and trailer should weigh. This needs to include fresh water in the trailer, LPG, Batteries, and camping gear + in the truck - driver, passengers, fuel and any gear hauled there. GM allows 150lbs for a driver in all of the figures. Now for the truck. The GVWR is the maximium the truck can weigh. Payload is the amount of extra weight that can be added to the curb weight of the truck before exceeding the GVWR.

The problem with 5th wheels is that they have between 20 and 25% of their weight on the pin - this often causes the truck to be over its GVWR before you reach the CGWR. Tow ratings are simply based on the subtraction of the GVWR from the CGWR. I have always found it best when figuring weights to use the GVWR on the brochure and then take 25% for the pin. The other approach is to take the dry pin wt and try to estimate the weight of batteries, LPG, and gear stored near the pin.

You also need to figure in the weight of the hitch itself.
I also tend to derate the GCWR by 20 - 25% - I have towed combinations that were right at the limit and it is no fun.

When all is said and done, you will probably have to do quite a bit of looking to find something that will work. Most of the brands I looked at (Northwood,Komfort,Fleetwood) all have DRY Pin Wts of between 1100 and 1500lbs - which is pushing the payload limits of the truck

We had tried a 3/4 ton Suburban, 5.7L and 4.10 gears on our litte 28', 5000# trailer. It is well within the tow rating of the Burb and it would pull it. We had to run in 3rd gear and loast speed on the smallest of hills and at 60 mph, it got 7.2 MPG.

We went back to the diesel that we were using to pull out 13,000# 36.5' 5er. It would get 11 mpg, 70 mph in OD and not loose speed on the hills.

The 5.7 will tote the trailer, but it will be a gas hog and not fast.

With a 5er and a 1/2 ton truck, you need to really watch the GVWR on the truck and your pin weight.

Ken

There are a lot of people towing a fifth wheel with a "1/2 ton" truck. It can be done, but generally speaking a "1/2 ton" truck does not have enough carrying capacity to safely handle the high pin weights of even a light weight fiver. Remember a fifth wheels pin weight will be right at 20% of the trailers GVWR. So even with a 7000 GVWR fiver you will have in the bed of the truck 1400 pounds. Personally I would suggest that you look for a regular Travel trailer for your camping needs. You can find a lot of really nice TT's in the 25 foot range that you will easily handle with your truck.

The Scamp fifth wheel has a dry weight, before options, of 2,000#. Unfortunately, their website doesn't give the GVWR, but it should be within a 1/2-ton's towing capacity.

A few years back I towed a Rockwood 2710 ultralite 5th wheel with a 1/2 ton Dodge. It handled the trailer just fine. I don't think Rockwood builds the 7 1/2 ft wide trailers anymore, but they do have smaller ultralite's in the 5-6K lb range with pin weights as low as 1,200 lbs. As long as you follow the advice about weight ratings and stay within them for the tow vehicle, it can be done. I will say we were very happy with the Rockwood and when we upgraded to a bigger truck and trailer, we stayed with the Forest River products.

TXiceman - I tried to tow my 5600lb AF with a Tahoe that had a 5.7 and 3.73 gears and like you always ran in 3rd and ended grades at 30MPH in second. When I weighed the combo it was just at 12,000 lbs - the GCWR of the rig. My MPG was a bit better than yours - but not much. The new 2500HD is a bit of an overkill - but it is nice to be able to tow in 6th and climb hills in 4th and not loose too much in MPG - the TT only drops the MPG into the 10 - 11 area I normally get 12 around town and 14 on the hy so all in all towing does not hurt me that much.

I guess I need to do more camping

I thought the 5.7L was dropped long before '07? My last 1/2 ton was a 2000 Silverado with the 5.3L motor and 3.73 axle ratio. The lite fiver I pulled was a 2001 27ft Trail-lite, 5000 lbs dry with a pin wt of 950 lbs. This combo did great, towing MPG was just over 11 MPG and it also did fine at altitudes up to 9000 ft. The combo was at it's limits and there was very little reserve power left for steep grades or high headwinds, but that was the price for decent towing MPG.

There are some lite fivers around, but it takes a lot of searching to find them. Good luck.