Looked at a 5er today. - Diesel Forum

97Strokerman · 08-09-2005, 07:37 PM

Me and wife just got back from looking at a 2002 Dutchman Classic 35SRV. It's 35 ft toy hauler, with a 10 ft cargo area. It has a living area slide, and a bedroom slide, and overall trailer is in very good condition. Hooked my f350 up to it, and I was very surprised that my truck didn't sit too high for it, as a matter of fact it was almost perfect. The truck squatted some, but still didn't quite get to the overloads. Had about 7" clearance between the top of bed and the trailer. We went for a short drive and truck seemed to handle it well, although we didn't do any mountains. Has anyone had any experience with this make of trailer, or any comments or suggestions. The trailer is made by Thor. We have owned travel trailers on & off for many years, but this would be our first 5th wheel. Dealers initial asking price was 23000, but then he dropped to 19000, and I think he will go a little more. Any info or comments, good or bad will be appreciated..................Dave

CyberVet65 · 08-09-2005, 07:52 PM

You might want to wander over to http://www.IRV2.com It is a free site and has specific forums for "toyhaulers".
Chet

busbreath · 08-09-2005, 08:07 PM

We have a Thor Wanderer about the same size (32' overall). It is not a toy hauler, but loaded up with all my wifes stuff, it is probably about as heavy. Make sure you have a Pre-Turbo EGT, and use it when you climb. Heat has been a problem for me when climbing, but my exhaust should help. Price seems about right. By the way, 12mpg when towing on the flat was a pleasant suprise! Enjoy! [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]

FloridaEd · 08-09-2005, 08:15 PM

Before you buy, get thee to a scale, young man.

Weigh the whole rig first, with the steering wheels on one of the scale pads, the drive wheels on another scale pad, and ALL the trailer wheels on a third scale pad.

This will cost about $7

Then, park the trailer and weigh your truck, with front wheels on one scale pad and drive wheels on a second pad.

The 're-weigh' will $2-3.

I think you are going to be big-time surprised at how much heavier this rig is than you think.

My '00 PSD squatted too, when my 5'ver was on it. I added Helwig Helper springs, which I would not do again. I would put air bags on the rig instead, with a fitting that lets you fill the airbags from an air source, not from a compressor hung on the engine.

As to the price: The easiest sale any salesman ever makes is when the customer says "I'll give you this much money." It's just yes or no for him. If it's no for him, he'll come back with another number. Then it's up to you for yes or no. If it's no for you, be prepared to walk away. You'll find out real quick how the salesman feels.

Good luck.

Florida ED

97Strokerman · 08-09-2005, 08:25 PM

I heard all that. I know my truck weighs 8600 lbs, and the trailer is SUPPOSED to weigh 10,100 empty, which only leaves about 1300lb for cargo, water, toys, and all that. Looks like I will be over on the gross by 2K if I decide to go with this unit............Dave

rmathews · 08-09-2005, 09:47 PM

I have the 36' Tahoe Transport 5'er with the 12' garage for toys. I tow it with the 2005 F350 6.0L Diesel CC long box. The truck weighs 8000lbs, and the trailer un-loaded weight is 11,000lbs, and a loaded weight of 14,100lbs. My combined weight loaded is 21,000lbs, which is just under the GCWR of the truck. I just ended a 6 week trip hauling through Utah, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon. I managed the right foot by the EGT - never let it get above 1200 degrees. As mentioned , a pre-turbo EGT gauge is required. Hauling this amount of weight is no problem, as long as you understand that the main limitation is the stopping of all this weight in an emergency - drive with plenty of space behind the vehicle in front, and let the tow -haul mode do it's job on the down hills.

96STROKE · 08-10-2005, 07:25 PM

darth_intel,

Pre 6.0L don't have a tow/haul mode. That is something only on the torqu shift trans, that late model trucks have.

As for a dutchmen trailer, its a good entry level trailer! Thor make an ok trailer, I have a wanderer myself, it came out of the thor california plant. Sure there are a few things they skimp on, but you get what you pay for.

My trailer weights in a 11,000 and I choose to tow my toys behind the 5th. I also did this with our old '96 PSD F350 CC. The truck handled wonderfully. If you like the trailer get it and enjoy!

Happy camping.

97Strokerman · 08-10-2005, 08:44 PM

Ya, I realize the trailer isn't the "top of the line", but with a son starting college this fall, and my daughter going next year, can't really afford a top model, or a brand new one at this time. The trailer has about everything we want, and the price seems fair, so we are thinking hard on it...............Dave

Acetcruiser · 08-10-2005, 09:19 PM

Try rvwholesalers for a price of a new one......i've found new ones from them cheaper then used ones from a local dealer by a couple thousand $$$

william_04_X · 08-10-2005, 09:23 PM

1300lbs. left for cargo will get eaten up very quickly...you won't believe the garbage you will tote around...

huskyhauler · 08-11-2005, 08:38 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I heard all that. I know my truck weighs 8600 lbs, and the trailer is SUPPOSED to weigh 10,100 empty, which only leaves about 1300lb for cargo, water, toys, and all that. Looks like I will be over on the gross by 2K if I decide to go with this unit............Dave

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yeap, and if you get into an accident, and it wasnt your fault, guess who liable?? YOU!! AZ DOT (DPS) is strickly inforcing this, and have been now for about three years. seems these snow birders like to get a bit heavy on the loading. last year there was 3 fatal accidents on I-17 south of Cottonwood AZ on the Verde grade. all were concerning RV's (not stated motorhome,trailer, etc) driven by out of state'rs assumed to be snow birders. all three were overloaded, all three recieved citations. there are alot of states banging on the doors of 250 and 350 trucks. hitting them on the portable scales and writing violations. i got stopped this spring towing my 26' fiver. thank goodness i drained the poop tanks, and forgot to fill up with fuel before leaving camp. i only had about 600 lbs to spare. they do give a 5% error, but it was to dang close for me. when i got home, i removed 500 lbs of crap my wife had jammed in there (extra towels, off season blankets, canned goods, etc.) next truck WILL be a 450 or larger. keep it at or below the law. if the insurance company finds out they will drop your coverage like a bad habit on sunday morning, or worse. think of the guy in california whos insurance refused to pay the claim because he was overloaded. as i recall three people were killed in that accident. sure it wsnt the rv drivers fault, but because his 250 was overloaded, they cited him for it, and he is now looking at criminal charges to top it off...

heinzboy · 08-11-2005, 11:18 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I heard all that. I know my truck weighs 8600 lbs, and the trailer is SUPPOSED to weigh 10,100 empty, which only leaves about 1300lb for cargo, water, toys, and all that. Looks like I will be over on the gross by 2K if I decide to go with this unit............Dave

[/ QUOTE ]

yeap, and if you get into an accident, and it wasnt your fault, guess who liable?? YOU!! AZ DOT (DPS) is strickly inforcing this, and have been now for about three years. seems these snow birders like to get a bit heavy on the loading. last year there was 3 fatal accidents on I-17 south of Cottonwood AZ on the Verde grade. all were concerning RV's (not stated motorhome,trailer, etc) driven by out of state'rs assumed to be snow birders. all three were overloaded, all three recieved citations. there are alot of states banging on the doors of 250 and 350 trucks. hitting them on the portable scales and writing violations. i got stopped this spring towing my 26' fiver. thank goodness i drained the poop tanks, and forgot to fill up with fuel before leaving camp. i only had about 600 lbs to spare. they do give a 5% error, but it was to dang close for me. when i got home, i removed 500 lbs of crap my wife had jammed in there (extra towels, off season blankets, canned goods, etc.) next truck WILL be a 450 or larger. keep it at or below the law. if the insurance company finds out they will drop your coverage like a bad habit on sunday morning, or worse. think of the guy in california whos insurance refused to pay the claim because he was overloaded. as i recall three people were killed in that accident. sure it wsnt the rv drivers fault, but because his 250 was overloaded, they cited him for it, and he is now looking at criminal charges to top it off...

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Even if they were not overloaded, they can still be sued, criminal charges filed, insurance dropped and whatever else the D/A or the lawyer want to come up with.

Kennard04 · 08-12-2005, 11:40 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I heard all that. I know my truck weighs 8600 lbs, and the trailer is SUPPOSED to weigh 10,100 empty, which only leaves about 1300lb for cargo, water, toys, and all that. Looks like I will be over on the gross by 2K if I decide to go with this unit............Dave

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'supposed to' weight is before options according to the manufacturers. No a/c, no awning, no frig upgrade, no TV's, stereo, etc. I'll guarantee you're overweight before you put one box of Cheerios in. And you'll still have to add water, fill the toyhaulers fuel tanks, luggage, food which will seriously overload you truck. Passengers/fuel/baggage/bikes/barbq's/etc all reduce your trucks GCWR too. Be careful, don't listen to the salespeople, it's just a sale to them, but it's your life and safety, good luck, Ken

PS, you have a beautiful truck, really very, very nice. I love that body style, to me it's the best body Ford ever made for a pick-em-up.

97Strokerman · 08-12-2005, 12:17 PM

[ QUOTE ]

PS, you have a beautiful truck, really very, very nice. I love that body style, to me it's the best body Ford ever made for a pick-em-up.

[/ QUOTE ] Thank you very much, I appreciate the nice words. Just a big toy [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]...............Dave

Tail_Gunner · 08-12-2005, 02:51 PM

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Me and wife just got back from looking at a 2002 Dutchman Classic 35SRV. --- Any info or comments, good or bad will be appreciated

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One thing a person gets to do while camping, is talk to other campers and compare notes about everybody's trailers/5er's.

To make a long story short (and without any "enhancements" of the facts), every Dutchman owner I've talked to has had some sort of problem. The problems usually seem to be in the area of the frame, suspension, and axle alignment. One family was in the campsite next to me, over 500 miles from home with a leaf spring mount that broke loose from the frame. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img]

One to two years ago when doing my pre-purchase research, I asked a RV service center, what brand they saw most frequently. Again Dutchman came up, not for the previous mentioned problems, but for ceiling and wall water leaks & the resulting damage. I found it interesting that while this particular RV service center was a non-Dutchman dealer, they were doing a lot of repairs on the Dutchman trailers even though there was a Dutchman dealer just a bit over a hour's drive away. It seems that folks a lot of folks didn't care for the quality of work at the Dutchman dealer. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img]

I know every brand has their bunch of loyal followers. And I'm sure Dutchman does also, but I'm just passing along what other owners and service technicians have told me.