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

5th Wheels Throw on Weight Like Fast Food Addicts

We recently reviewed some of the current pickup truck offerings on the market. A Motor Trend story touted the heavy duty aspects of the 2007 Chevrolet Silvarado three-quarter and one-ton pickups. Of these trucks, Trend had this to say: "Made for work, the HDs can carry between 2294 and 5307 pounds, with a max trailering capacity of 16,000 pounds (for a fifth wheel). Heavy-Duty, indeed."

This got the juices running. After pumping over $40,000 into a tow vehicle, then spending a "fur piece more," for a good, heavy duty fifth wheel hitch, you ought to be able to hitch up and go, right? Not if the RV manufacturers keep up this fast-food-chain trend of "super sizing" their fifth wheels. Witness if you will, Newmar's baptism last year into the "toy hauler" fifth-wheel market. Rolling out their 2008 X-Aire SURV (sport utility recreational vehicle) the company got plenty of fanfare.

"What distinguishes the X-Aire is that it’s not just a trailer with a garage and temporary living quarters," said John Sammut, vice president of sales and marketing. "It provides space with a dual duty in that the living area is suitable for full-time use." We might add, what also distinguishes the X-Aire is its monstrous scale weight. The XAFW 38CKTH model lists a gross vehicle weight rating of a whopping 19,000 pounds--a full ton and a half more than Chevy allows for towing.

So maybe you could just not load it up fully and hope to "skate by"? With a dry weight of over 14,000 pounds, there ain't much room left on the scale for bringing along that Quad or a few motorcycles in the back before you're over the limit. Fellow RVers, how many toy haulers have your seen shooting down the interstate at supersonic speeds, obviously way overloading their tow vehicle? Would you want one of those zooming up behind you in a traffic jam? If the reaction time doesn't kill you, maybe the over-the-limit weight on the brake system will.

The industry will tell you, "Always use the appropriately rated tow vehicle for any towing application." The reality is, there are plenty of those who will ignore the need for a mid-sized truck and continue to think they can pull their bloated loads behind pickups with impunity. The trouble is, somewhere soon, the ones who will pay for that mentality will be innocent motorists.

Photo credits: Chevrolet: Motor Trend Magazine; X-Aire: Newmar Corporation