Bill and Kelly,

As a general rule, most around here recommend that one should at least "choose" the fifth wheel first so that one has an idea of the weight that trailer weighs and then choose a truck that is capable of that weight.  There have been cases of folks buying a truck because "it was a great deal" only to find that it was too small to tow the size of trailer that they wanted.  In such a case, a person would have to either trade for a larger truck or settle for a smaller, lighter trailer.

What you want to look at on a trailer is its Gross Vehicular Weight Rating (GVWR).  That will be the allowed weight for the trailer to include the trailer, all options, some limited water on board, and all of one's other "stuff."  Many times, a trailer will show a "empty" weight and a "cargo carrying capacity," and one would have to add those two numbers together to get the GVWR.  Keep in mind that any extra appliances or optional "systems" on the trailer will diminish the amount of personal stuff one can have.

In most cases, the F350 would be a plenty big enough truck for all but the heaviest trailers.  When looking, go by the truck's GCVW (Gross Combined Vehicular Weight) rating, which is the combined gross weights of the truck and the trailer.  Do not go by the manufacturer's "tow rating" as it is usually heavier than what one can tow without going over the GCVW or the Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR).

Now, if you find the trailer that you want but haven't gotten a truck yet, a lot of times you could work with the dealer to have it delivered for you.  However, before you could move it again, you'd have to have your own truck or be willing to hire someone to move it for you.

Terry

You actually do need to have the truck to pick up the RV…you're right. However, Terry's statement about choosing the RV first is spot-on. You need to finish that process and know how much your RV will weigh then pick out a truck that will handle it. Alternatively; you can sort of pick out the truck and then make sure you're looking at weights and such on the RV to make sure you stay within it's limits. Not sure how big a rig you're looking for but if it's a Montana in the 39-40 foot range then I would carefully check before I selected the F350…Howard and Linda's Cambridge is pretty comparable to a Montana in weight for the length and I don't think the 350 was enough for them. We've got a New Horizons 39 footer and an F450…which we find is fine but in actuality we're fairly close to the limits; particularly on rear axle load.