Our Rig

Our recreational vehicle, “RV”, consists of a tow vehicle (heavy duty pickup truck) and what is commonly known as a fifth-wheel style trailer.  Other types of RV's include motor homes and travel trailers. Our choice of a truck/fifth-wheel trailer combination was arrived at by months of comparative study.  We finally decided that a tow vehicle and trailer of the size and type that we currently own was the best choice for us.

Our tow vehicle consists of a 2005 Dodge 3500 quad-cab “dually” powered by a turbocharged and inter-cooled Cummins diesel engine producing 335 brake horsepower and 610 pounds-foot of torque.  After years of owning manual transmission trucks, we went with an automatic this time around. At first we weren’t sure that we did the right thing buying an automatic, but it’s proven to be a nice vehicle for city driving sans trailer. No rowing through the gears especially in stop-and-go traffic.

We’ve found the standard 3:73 rear axle ratio gives a decent compromise of pulling power and fuel economy. The fifth wheel hitch is a removable Reese 16K.  Commands to the trailer braking system are relayed via a Prodigy brake controller.  Be it Ford, Chevy/GMC or Dodge pickup, this is a common tow setup for many RV'ers.

Our trailer (our home!) is a 2005 Keystone Challenger 32 TKB fifth-wheel.  34 feet 10 inches in length, it contains all of the amenities of a small apartment.  It has a spacious bedroom, a bathroom with full size shower, a galley located mid-ships, and a wonderful living room with lots of windows.  There is also storage galore.  Knowing that we’d be spending considerable time in the trailer and being major movie buffs, we also equipped it with a 16:9 wide screen TV and a Dolby 5.1 surround sound system.

Total certified weight of the trailer is just a few pounds shy of 13,000 pounds loaded with 2,250 pounds of it sitting on the kingpin. This truck/trailer combination has proven to be perfect for us.