It is not a must for you to sacrifice your comfort to experience the great outdoors and taking a long drive. In particular, you need a truck with great towing capacity and a powerful engine to pull your fifth wheel RV effortlessly.
Fortunately, unlike travel trailers, the fifth wheel RVs do not sway easily. Moreover, a fifth wheel can be a great RV option because they provide more amenities and space and are easier to pull than traditional travel trailers.
Apart from their innovative pulling capabilities, increased underneath storage spaces make it appropriate to use the RVs for long trips.
Renting truck to tow 5th Wheel
You can rent a truck to pull a fifth wheel RV at most truck or car rental dealerships like U-Haul, Penske Truck Rental, Budget Truck rental, and flex fleet rental.
One of the best places you can find a truck is at the enterprise trucks company that provides an arrangement for a fifth wheel truck if you plan for a long-term rental of more than six months.
For instance, Enterprise Truck Rental company charges depend on the location, However, in most cases, the truck rental rates range between $89 to $475 per day while the price-per-mile ranges between $0.20 to $0.69.
Other companies that provide rental truck services for pulling fifth wheel RVs include U-Haul, Penske Truck Rental, Budget Truck rental, and flex fleet rental.
Rental prices for a truck that can pull your fifth wheel RV varies. However, the prices depend on the distance you are driving, the rental company, how long you keep it, and whether you take additional insurance policies.
In most cases, it is a good idea to have a budget of around $100 to $150 per day for a rental truck most rental outlets, excluding gas expenses.
Pulling a loaded fifth wheel RV can reduce the fuel efficiency of the truck. If the fifth wheel RV is wider than the pulling truck, you will legally be required to have one with extended side-view mirrors. These mirrors cost between $4 to $50 per pair or $150 to $450 for permanently installed mirrors.
Although it might be true that you can see rental trucks advertised that they offer affordable rates, you might.
However, most of the advertisements do not include additional insurance policies, while some exclude additional towing and mileage fees. Therefore, if you overestimate the prices, you can have a cushion if you end up getting lower actual costs.
Regardless of the situation, after you have found the appropriate rental provider, ensure you check with the rental company to get a complete price quotation before you plan your RV vacation.
In other words, you can rearrange your activities or destinations but one of the least negotiable aspects of your trip encompasses the cost of renting a truck to pull your fifth wheel RV.
If you wish to find out the truck that can best pull your fifth wheel RV, you should consider the trailer’s weight and height.
For instance, if you have a fifth wheel RV that weighs about 1000 pounds when loaded fully and is less than 30 feet, a truck of half-ton would be appropriate for towing it. However, if you have a fifth wheel RV that weighs about 16000 pounds when loaded and 39 feet in length, a truck of a third-ton would pull it without struggling.
Further, if you have a fifth-wheel RV that weighs more than 16000 pounds when loaded and length of at least 40 feet, a full-ton truck would pull it without facing any challenges.
In short, you may wish the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of the truck to exceed the weight of the trailer tongue and truck when combined by more than 10 percent. In most cases, Japanese pickup trucks such as Ford Ranger, Toyota Hilux, and Nissan Navara are the famous choices for pulling lighter fifth-wheel RVs.
For heavier fifth wheels, trucks such as Ford F150 and Dodge Ram are appropriate. For instance, Ram 3500 truck can tow up to 30,000 lbs meaning that it can pully the largest fifth wheel RV that you can find in the market.
Setup for Pulling the Fifth Wheel RV
The payload of the truck should be suitable to handle the tongue weight placed on the bed. In this case, you need to match the payload capacity of the truck size of the RV.
When it comes to pulling a fifth wheel RV, the last aspect you might wish would see your RV overpowering the truck. As you look at the setup, you should also consider the truck’s configuration, mainly the bed length.
Arguably, an eight-foot bed, which is the longest you can get in a truck is the best for you when pulling a fifth wheel RV because you will require some space in front of the hitch. Space will ensure that the RV overhangs clear the back window of the truck.
It is advisable to get your hitch from the manufacturer to avoid stress because frame rails come with holes. In particular, strong anchor points play a critical role in ensuring that you have a solid fifth wheel that cannot sway on the road.
Arguably, having a long bed implies that you do not require a hitch that costs more and needs getting out of the truck to slide the hitch back manually to tighten the maneuvers.
Moreover, it implies that you will require a sidewinder replacement pin box that is costly.
Truck rental provides tremendous towing packages designed to cater for your fifth wheel RV pulling needs.
However, before you rent a truck, there are numerous aspects that you should consider. For instance, the weight of the truck beds’ length and the truck’s weight are directly correlated with your pulling needs.
Therefore, these factors should be your major drivers of the decision that you make. Moreover, the kind of engine of the pickup truck can also influence the costs of renting a truck.
Conclusion
In short, numerous companies provide truck rental services, but the best way to determine if a truck can meet your pulling needs is by checking the vehicle’s weight specifications.
