Is a Fifty Foot Fiver Big Enough?

Back a few months ago we report that the RVIA (Recreation Vehicle Industry Association) had begun to 'send out feelers' for a possible future attempt at raising the bar as to how big a fifth wheel can be. Under current industry and safety standards, RVs are limited to less than eight and a half feet of width, with an interior space of less than 320 square feet "when erected." When you roll out your slides, the interior space--including those slides--must be less than 320 square feet to meet the standard.

Envision this: A fifth wheel, with triple slide outs, fifty feet in length. Ah, you don't need to hand me a calculator to run up the numbers. But we're not talking a "concept" fifth wheel--we're talking about custom built fivers, with a particular bent for those who need to haul a lot of merchandise or trundle around all their "toys." This came to us through an on-line industry newspaper that, in discussing the RVIA's wish list, mentioned that, "Some manufacturers are already preparing for that possibility. Check out the conceptual drawings of the 50-foot fifth wheel . . ."

We called the manufacturer, Starship Custom Vehicles. We asked, "Is that a conceptual trailer, or could we order it?" Far from being conceptual, Starship would be happy to build one for us. What flavor would we like? The rep told us they like to focus on an "all aluminum" trailer, in keeping the weight down to a dull roar. As to price--well, we couldn't quite get a starting value, but I suppose it's one of those, "If you have to ask, you can't" deals.

We'll have more on the issue of RVs that aren't really RVs, at least if your yardstick gets involved in the near future. Meantime, if you've got a hankering to order one of these bad boys, check out the Starship website.

Diagram: Startracks custom 50' fifth wheel with 12' cargo area. Diagram courtesy Starship Custom Vehicles