[sourdo]

Man this thing is like the Taj Mahal!

A 2008 Forest River Sierra 25RL 5th wheel. It's about 28 1/2 feet long. I paid $16.5k for it.

And this thing can haul a load too. CCW is 4700 lbs, AFTER filling the water and propane. The max is 13,000 lbs. The axles are massive with 16 inch tires.

I looked for the last 3 months to find this 5th wheel, and it was right next door about 3 miles away at another RV park. What sold me is the roof, it was very good and taken care of. Many RV rubber roofs are not taken care of, they go to hell parked in this relentless sun down here. It was a long tedious search of looking at a lot of overpriced RV,s with bad roofs. If the roof is shiny, you're golden. If it is dry, chalky with black spots, run like hell away.

So the Cummins didn't think much about the short tow either. It'll suck up the fuel no doubt, cie la vie. I think I did good for $16.5K, it's in good shape.

The lady who sold it to me sure is lucky, when I got it where you see it, the hydraulic pump quit in a poof of smoke with the truck under it. It wasn't her fault, shit happens. Dandy. I took this small electric motor off, and the brushes fell out, they were the thickness of paper, how it went that long I can't say. I found a complete Lippert hydraulic pump replacement skid for over a grand. The electric motor by itself was $1250, WTF?

Anyways, I was able to run the hydraulic pump with a drill motor and I was able to get it set up and push the slide out. So this is it, home sweet home where even a shitty day is nice! I need to do some work on the hitch height for this truck when the pump skid shows up.

I installed a new B&H 18K sliding 5th wheel hitch in the Ram, that took a half day to install the rails. But it was not so simple to do. I also added some Firestone air springs, those are nice even when not towing. I hope I'm done spending money for a while, I've been throwing it around like a drunken sailor.

 

[Bounty Hunter]

Speaking of the roof, how do you suggest taking care of it? I've never touched the roof on my 2017 K-Z, and it's covered during the winter.

 

[sourdo]

Speaking of the roof, how do you suggest taking care of it? I've never touched the roof on my 2017 K-Z, and it's covered during the winter.

I did some research on the subject as our last rv had a metal roof.

It is suggested to clean with soap and water twice a year, and use another product to condition the rubber. Yearly inspections, clean the chalking. check for any chalking to pull up. That orange stuff call Goo Gone works great for cleaning chalking.

Out of site and out of mind I guess. Cruising around the RV parks, I've looked at a lot of rubber roofs, and most of them are looking poor for their age. It costs thousands of dollars to have a new membrane installed.

Read the manual for more info. There is quite a bit to read on the internet about rubber RV roofs.

 

[Olypopper]

Man this thing is like the Taj Mahal!

A 2008 Forest River Sierra 25RL 5th wheel. It's about 28 1/2 feet long. I paid $16.5k for it.

And this thing can haul a load too. CCW is 4700 lbs, AFTER filling the water and propane. The max is 13,000 lbs. The axles are massive with 16 inch tires.

I looked for the last 3 months to find this 5th wheel, and it was right next door about 3 miles away at another RV park. What sold me is the roof, it was very good and taken care of. Many RV rubber roofs are not taken care of, they go to hell parked in this relentless sun down here. It was a long tedious search of looking at a lot of overpriced RV,s with bad roofs. If the roof is shiny, you're golden. If it is dry, chalky with black spots, run like hell away.

So the Cummins didn't think much about the short tow either. It'll suck up the fuel no doubt, cie la vie. I think I did good for $16.5K, it's in good shape.

The lady who sold it to me sure is lucky, when I got it where you see it, the hydraulic pump quit in a poof of smoke with the truck under it. It wasn't her fault, shit happens. Dandy. I took this small electric motor off, and the brushes fell out, they were the thickness of paper, how it went that long I can't say. I found a complete Lippert hydraulic pump replacement skid for over a grand. The electric motor by itself was $1250, WTF?

Anyways, I was able to run the hydraulic pump with a drill motor and I was able to get it set up and push the slide out. So this is it, home sweet home where even a shitty day is nice! I need to do some work on the hitch height for this truck when the pump skid shows up.

I installed a new B&H 18K sliding 5th wheel hitch in the Ram, that took a half day to install the rails. But it was not so simple to do. I also added some Firestone air springs, those are nice even when not towing. I hope I'm done spending money for a while, I've been throwing it around like a drunken sailor.

View attachment 93362

Just which part of Palmer has all the palm trees?????? Is that why they call it "PALMer"? LOLOL

 

[Dieseldragon]

Hi: sourdo... Not quite complete. Needs some last min. leveling!!! After towing a 5th. wheel you'll wonder what took you so long!!!
Dieseldragon North shore of Lake Erie.

 

[Captainmal]

Kind of looks like you could lower the truck to run that trailer more level.

For living in they do add more room. For trailering they remove the room you had in the truck bed to haul stuff. With a cap on the bed, like I use, 5th wheels are not possible. There are toy haulers in 5th wheel configuration. Gotta have toys after you get where you are going.

Hate rubber roofs. My old Forest River Work and Play was the best trailer I ever owned. In large part it was because of the roof. All aluminum roofs rock. Guess thy cost more than those damnable rubber roof things. I hate even trying to get up there on my toy hauler and washing, scrubbing, drying and coating the roof. The older I get the worse that task becomes. My thoughts are the manufacturers like them as their trailers have a short lifespan and they can sell more. Driving around shows lots of junked trailers with hideous roof leaks. At my place in Georgia I built a metal roof over that trailer. So many others have also. Those that do not, fight and curse all the water damage they all seem to be having.

Hope this meets your needs.

 

[sourdo]

Kind of looks like you could lower the truck to run that trailer more level.

For living in they do add more room. For trailering they remove the room you had in the truck bed to haul stuff. With a cap on the bed, like I use, 5th wheels are not possible. There are toy haulers in 5th wheel configuration. Gotta have toys after you get where you are going.

Hate rubber roofs. My old Forest River Work and Play was the best trailer I ever owned. In large part it was because of the roof. All aluminum roofs rock. Guess thy cost more than those damnable rubber roof things. I hate even trying to get up there on my toy hauler and washing, scrubbing, drying and coating the roof. The older I get the worse that task becomes. My thoughts are the manufacturers like them as their trailers have a short lifespan and they can sell more. Driving around shows lots of junked trailers with hideous roof leaks. At my place in Georgia I built a metal roof over that trailer. So many others have also. Those that do not, fight and curse all the water damage they all seem to be having.

Hope this meets your needs.

It is not unknown to me that the trucks built in the last ten years, that the beds get higher and higher. So this 2008 Rv is set up for lower beds of the time by 6-8 inches.

Now that we have some stuff loaded in here I can proper set up the hitch when I install the just received hydraulic pump skid. That picture was an unloaded Rv with a little propane in it. I have to consider adding what the extra 4700 lbs of cargo might have on the those coil springs, I think it might squish down some perhaps?

It is our home for now, I got into this pretty cheap for the condition, which is good, and we'll use it up. We will search for a permanent home this summer, where that may be is unknown, there is much to investigate!

The best part is I don't have this to look at. The weather here is tough to beat. It's nice everyday. Even shitty days are nice, lol.

 

[sourdo]

Just which part of Palmer has all the palm trees?????? Is that why they call it "PALMer"? LOLOL

I should update my bio eh?

 

[sourdo]

Hi: sourdo... Not quite complete. Needs some last min. leveling!!! After towing a 5th. wheel you'll wonder what took you so long!!!
Dieseldragon North shore of Lake Erie.

4700 lbs of cargo will squish those springs down some.

UVW is 7,920 lbs
GVWR is 13050 lbs

That, is a hefty load of cargo.

 

[sourdo]

I lowered the hitch but only 1 inch, that is all I can get for now. It's going to take a torch or a side grinder and cut off wheels to cut off some excess metal from the pin box support flanges.

I got an inch lower for now. With some metal trimmed off of the mount flange, I can get 1 more inch, plus another inch on the hitch, and that is that. I thought about flipping the axels, nope, already flipped.

You can see what I need to do in the picture. 5th wheels are a different beast. And towing slightly nose up is not that unusual.

Please note that this is a slider hitch, and all I need to do is lower the tail gate when in maneuver mode, or slid back. Once slid forward in travel mode there is no interference with the bed rails, just the cab/rv nose interference when doing a tight turn. I'll need to take this thing out for a shake down cruise, find a big parking lot, and go through the motions, very very slowly.

Someday some of you may move into a 5th wheel, I hope this helps, its a bit of a learning curve. I had to do some deep digging and looking, and torching off the excess metal pin box flange is a thing with 5th wheels. No company is going to tell you it's ok to cut metal off a hitch, but it's fairly common as it is just 1/4 inch plate steel, nothing exotic ie a truck frame. I could get a side grinder with cutoff wheels, and notch out the yellow area for now. The only other option is to replace the pin box with one of different geometry. More money$$$$$

I dropped a 15/16th inch deep socket down inside that pin box, I played hell getting it out!

 

[ncskibum]

sounds like you got a great deal. Enjoy!

 

[Captainmal]

What about those low rider, rubber band tires? I see lots of them around here on lower trucks. Think it is a Mexican thing but you are closer than I am.

You could also get 10-12" inch rims and tires. Just don't run over dead things on the road unless you want to grind up some road sausage.

 

[Brokedownbutgood]

Might be able to get a taller tire for the trailer.

 

[Captainmal]

Might be able to get a taller tire for the trailer.

Now that is both a unique idea and a reasonable one. Could even extend to raising the trailer suspension.

Smart. I would stick a gold star on your paper for that idea.

 

[Fediej]

@sourdo Instead of cutting up the trailer neck/pinbox, you could get a fifth wheel tailgate for the truck...

 

[sourdo]

Might be able to get a taller tire for the trailer.

Those are 16 inches diameter, I'm pretty much there.

 

[sourdo]

@sourdo Instead of cutting up the trailer neck/pinbox, you could get a fifth wheel tailgate for the truck...

Now that is why I post this stuff, for ideas, ands yours is a real gem, yes sir!

Thanks.

 

[sourdo]

Now that is both a unique idea and a reasonable one. Could even extend to raising the trailer suspension.

Smart. I would stick a gold star on your paper for that idea.

There is an option for 2 or 3 inch risers for the 5th wheel axles, a good way to level for not too much money.

17 inch tires perhaps. Expensive.

Notching the corner of the flanges is going to be the easiest cheapest route. If done with care, would not be an issue with structural integrity.

And lowering the nose would increase air slippage.

I'm going to ponder and research the subject carefully. I also have many decades of fabricating and welding steel, and have a good experience on what you can get away with. I don't see any concern. I'll cut off the metal, not torch it. No heat, no compromise on the steel.

All of the suggestions are good, but which one is the right fit is the question. This 2500 has such deep bed rails, I'm reading the last couple of days I'm not the only one with this issue with Lippert pin boxes. And trimming off some corner of the mounting flanges is what people are doing. I'll need to do some careful measuring, I'm more worried about the side rails then the tail gate, after all, I can lower the tail gate when I slid the hitch back.

I need to find a good RV shop and ask them what to do and see what they say.

 

[Brokedownbutgood]

Wheel diameter is only part of the equation on tire diameter. If it has 235/80R16 you could go with 235/85R16 which would raise the trailer about half an inch. Tires are wear item anyways and should be changed every 3-5 years anyways. It would at least reduce how much trimming would be needed on the pin box.

 

[rustydusty1717]

I would be careful lowering your hitch as you want to maintain so much bed clearance. I have about 7" of clearance but I also do some extreme camping. I think 5" is a reasonable amount. I also flipped the axles on my 5er to get a better level rig as my trailer also sat like yours originally. It also dragged going into some of the areas we go.