Pick-up and 5th wheel info.

[Rarebird]

Hi all. I am sure this has been covered before, but just putting it out there. My husband and I are thinking of a smaller Bigfoot 5th wheel. We know nothing about pick-up trucks. We want a crew cab, but the smallest pick-up that will work well, for general use as well as a tow vehicle. What is a good choice?
We don’t own the Bigfoot yet (not many for sale here on the east coast), but thinking ahead.
Thanks!

[starbrightsteve]

If you have your heart set on a Bigfoot, you will find that the Pin weight is about 1000 pounds. The sticker on the door jamb of my F-150 lists the capacity of all cargo carried in the truck is 1990 pounds. This means if I hitched up a Bigfoot, I would have about 990 pounds of capacity left. But I have a hitch, a toolbox full of stuff like tools, chains, and lots of other stuff, all of which has weight and subtracts from the 990 pounds. The crew cab you want makes the truck longer or the bed shorter. Our F-150 has a super cab which has an abbreviated back seat that can carry passengers but maybe not as comfortably as a crew cab. We also have a 6 1/2’ bed. You need to check with Bigfoot owners as to how much bed is needed to hitch a fifth wheel. We pull an Escape and have room for a toolbox in front of the hitch. Our pin weight is about 700 pounds.

Start looking at trucks and pay attention to the sticker on the drivers side door jamb. Think more about whether you really need a crew cab and do some research on bed length.

[thrifty bill]

FWIW, my 2010 F150 Lariat Supercab (6 1/2 ft bed) has a payload of just 1470 pounds. Doing the math above, I run out of payload with a fifth wheel really quick.

Tow rating is 9,900 pounds.

The higher up the product line and the more deluxe the truck, the lower the payload.


Lots to consider on truck towing capability. Often, payload capacity is used up first.

[Rarebird]

Thank you for your reply, it contains much of the information I was looking for. We are just starting to think about whether or not we would like something larger than our Trillium, and are exploring all options. I appreciate your info.