Long Bed or Short for Jayco Super lite 5th wheel.

seewll · 03-18-2013, 05:16 PM

Wondering how short bed does with a 5th wheel. Im in market for another Jayco and Truck. How will a short bed 2500 do with a 5th wheel, should i stay with a long bed and DW or will single axle SB work? I had a DW LB and Jayco Eagle Superlite, had to relocate and sell, but back in market, Def. got to be a Jayco again, Prob go back with Superlight but not sure about long bed or short bed, but I have to have 4 door for kids comfort. Thanks for opinions.

AZ Campers · 03-19-2013, 07:57 AM

We have an F250 superduty 6.7L powerstroke diesel with a 6ft 9 in bed. We pull the jayco superlite 30.5 RLS with it using a super 5th hitch & sidewinder pin box & it is great - doesn't even come close to hitting the cab. We love it. Good luck in your search.

taviking22 · 03-19-2013, 08:47 AM

I had a 2008 Eagle SuperLite 28.5 with a Chevy 6.5' bed. Used a Reese 16K pivot head hitch- no slider. I found that with the new indented front caps on there was no need for a slider hitch. I have to back up about a 15º sloped driveway while making an estimated 80º turn while backing up and still had a safe margin between the corner of the TV and the front cap of the 5W. The pin of the 5W is placed about 1" ahead of the rear axle. Jayco uses the extended pin box in their newer 5Ws which really helps!

I am using the same TV and same hitch with my new Pinnacle and have the same good results when backing up into my driveway.

Diesel Donnie · 03-19-2013, 10:36 AM

Do you need the extra storage in the box? We would be hard pressed to give up the extra storage in the 8' box- JMHO- DD

Quote:

Originally Posted by seewll

Wondering how short bed does with a 5th wheel. Im in market for another Jayco and Truck. How will a short bed 2500 do with a 5th wheel, should i stay with a long bed and DW or will single axle SB work? I had a DW LB and Jayco Eagle Superlite, had to relocate and sell, but back in market, Def. got to be a Jayco again, Prob go back with Superlight but not sure about long bed or short bed, but I have to have 4 door for kids comfort. Thanks for opinions.

tinlizzie23 · 03-19-2013, 01:45 PM

We pull our 11,000# Designer 5er with an F350 V-10 gasser SRW Crew Cab Long Bed with absolutely no problems. Personally, I like the 8 foot bed for extra storage, like cornhole boards, for example. But if that is not a concern, then the SB should work just fine for you.

Boatman · 03-19-2013, 05:43 PM

We pull our new (had it about 2 weeks) 30.5 RLS with a 2011 F250 crew cab short bed with a superglide hitch. Absolutely no problems. We love our set up.

seewll · 03-20-2013, 03:56 PM

Thank you. Good Input. I appreciate it.

Chrisb-24 · 03-22-2013, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seewll

Wondering how short bed does with a 5th wheel. Im in market for another Jayco and Truck. How will a short bed 2500 do with a 5th wheel, should i stay with a long bed and DW or will single axle SB work? I had a DW LB and Jayco Eagle Superlite, had to relocate and sell, but back in market, Def. got to be a Jayco again, Prob go back with Superlight but not sure about long bed or short bed, but I have to have 4 door for kids comfort. Thanks for opinions.

Hello,
My wife and I just bought a 2012 Jayco 23.5 Eagle HT. We have a 2012 Chevy Crewcab 1500 4x4 with the 5'8" bed, 5.3 engine, and 3:42 rear end. I have a Pullrite Superglide #3100 Hitch and love it. Absolutely NO problems pulling the camper or turning.

rbrumfield · 03-22-2013, 05:42 PM

Many responses here with short beds but slider hitches/sidewinders. I have the long bed and a standard hitch. Not sure how you can determine if you need a slider with a short bed though. You might want to talk with your local Jayco dealer.

Denise · 03-22-2013, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rbrumfield

You might want to talk with your local Jayco dealer.

Never trust an rv 'dealer' for tv advice (Jayco or any brand dealer for that matter). You can't be certain that the person you speak with has your best safety/interest in mind.

Besides JOF of course, Rv.net is another resource for finding many active rv'ers who have experience towing a 5'er with shortbed and long beds (keep in mind and be prepared, the die-hard rv'ers will go into flaming wars over using a 1/2 - 3/4- or one ton tv even though you are asking about the bed size! LOL). Try posting there also. If you google something like "should i use a short bed or long bed to tow my fifth wheel" you will find different tv/rv forums out there with posts from folks that have experienced both.

Good luck, happy shopping, and let us know what you wind up doing

jal0710 · 03-22-2013, 10:53 PM

We towed our first FW with both long beds and short beds and found no big difference. When we did get the short bed, we got a slider hitch because the turn to get backed into our parking place was a little tight, unless I drove a long ways up the neighbor's driveway. Bought a new FW last year, Jayco Eagle SuperLite HT 26.5 RLS and towed it both with a long bed Dodge and a short bed GMC and noticed no difference. Still have the old slider hitch, but with the way they are making the fronts now, no real need for the slider, yet. My last three trucks, GMC, Dodge and GMC have all been crew-cabs and would not go back to an extended cab for anything. You should have no problem towing your new FW if you get a short bed truck.

rbrumfield · 03-23-2013, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by healthi

Never trust an rv 'dealer' for tv advice (Jayco or any brand dealer for that matter). You can't be certain that the person you speak with has your best safety/interest in mind.

Besides JOF of course, Rv.net is another resource for finding many active rv'ers who have experience towing a 5'er with shortbed and long beds (keep in mind and be prepared, the die-hard rv'ers will go into flaming wars over using a 1/2 - 3/4- or one ton tv even though you are asking about the bed size! LOL). Try posting there also. If you google something like "should i use a short bed or long bed to tow my fifth wheel" you will find different tv/rv forums out there with posts from folks that have experienced both.

Good luck, happy shopping, and let us know what you wind up doing

I would agree with your comment about trusting a dealer in some cases and disagree in other cases. I know two dealers that I trust for good advice and I know many that I would not trust for directions to the restroom in their own building. It all depends on your dealer. Trust is something that takes a while to develop. The one dealer that I trust totally doesn't even sell new RVs any more. They only do consignment sales and do RV repairs. I bought a pop up in 1989 and a travel trailer in 2001 from them and they stopped selling new units in 2004. I still take my RVs to him after the warranty period for all of my work. YMMV.

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