Finalizing the build sheet on our 5.0.

[LYStephen]

My name is Larry, my wife Rebecca and I just put down our deposit last week and are now finalizing our build sheet for an October 16 delivery date. We would like to give a shout out to UncleTim from the group for showing us around his 5.0 and explaining all the options and features. Tim was a wonderful host and guide, it is because of his time spent with us that we are now ready to fill out the final build sheet with confidence. Having owned trailers before, I am awed by the thought and quality that goes into the Escape. We look forward to meeting other Escape owners on the road.

[Bobbie54]

My 15A has the microwave ready cabinet. It isn't really ready- you have to do something to keep a microwave from sliding around- but it has the outlet. It does make decent storage though.

[UncleTim]

Larry, it was a pleasure to have you and Rebecca over and show you why we love our 5.0TA so much. We will look for you two on the road.


Please keep in touch.

[almuzyka]

We just put our deposit down on a 5.0 with a delivery date of Oct 26, would you mind sharing some insight that you learned. We were able to see a 21, there wasn’t a 5.0 in our area. What were the important options you are going for?

[tim@peaksolardesigns.com]

We put down our deposit for a 5.0 as well with a delivery date of Oct 22. Have you decided on a 5th wheel hitch or the Anderson hitch? I see advantages to both.

[davidmurphy02]

The overwhelming majority of 5.0TA owners use the Andersen hitch and love it. One of the big advantages to it is its very light weight, which can be a factor if you are close to payload capacity. The Andersen is also much easier to take in and out if you remove it when you're not towing because it is so lightweight.

I am in the minority who use a conventional hitch - primarily because I was very comfortable with that type of hitch from 15 years of experience towing a small fifth wheel with one. Most conventional hitches are very heavy - around 200 pounds - and are a big chore to take in and out of the truck if you do that often. They also tend to take up more space in the bed. I found a sort of hybrid conventional hitch, the Demco Recon - rather than the big bulky A-frame base that holds the head, it has a pyramid base with a single post supporting the head so it is both lighter (94 pounds) and takes up less space than most conventional hitches. I leave my hitch in the truck all the time so the ease of removing it was not a factor for me.

All that being said, for most people I'd say the Andersen hitch is probably the way to go. You will find people with both types who are very happy with them, both types of hitches will work well and the 5.0TA is way below the rated capacity of any fifth wheel hitch because it is so light, so there's no wrong answer to the hitch question, it comes down to personal preference.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by davidmurphy02

The overwhelming majority of 5.0TA owners use the Andersen hitch and love it. One of the big advantages to it is its very light weight, which can be a factor if you are close to payload capacity. The Andersen is also much easier to take in and out if you remove it when you're not towing because it is so lightweight.

I am in the minority who use a conventional hitch -....

I'm not sure I'd agree with 'overwhelming majority' more like the majority of 5.0 owners on this forum and perhaps the Facebook group, which may be the smaller of actual users.

I too went with a conventional hitch. Works as described, easy to hookup. Don't care to remove the hitch from the box, ever. If I need the pickup box to haul stuff, I'll either pack around it or rent a utility trailer. So far hasn't been an issue in 6 years.

Towing a bumper pull for 12 years and knowing to hookup I needed to be almost right over the ball, I looked at the Anderson and thought... not for me. The conventional hitch is more forgiving for hooking up.

[Jgntch]

If you buy a used 5.0, I assume it comes with the part attached to the trailer, but what about the part in the truck? If we get an Andersen and someone sells one with a conventional hitch, we won't be able to tow it home, will we? Do sellers of 5.0TAs generally include the part for the truck bed or not? We want to be ready when??if?? a 5.0 comes up for sale that we can get to.

Thanks!
Jackie

[padlin]

You need to get the part for the truck bed mounted to the truck bed, that's something you'd need done ahead of pickup whether or not said parts are included with the trailer. If I were to sell, I would offer the bed rails and hitch, but a buyer depending on the truck, would still need to have the bed rails mounted by a pro, or themselves.

[Chotch]

Originally Posted by Jgntch

If you buy a used 5.0, I assume it comes with the part attached to the trailer, but what about the part in the truck? If we get an Andersen and someone sells one with a conventional hitch, we won't be able to tow it home, will we? Do sellers of 5.0TAs generally include the part for the truck bed or not? We want to be ready when??if?? a 5.0 comes up for sale that we can get to.

Thanks!
Jackie

The trailer is not modified if you use Anderson, an adapter is simply bolted to the standard king pin, 5 minute job, that’s just as easily removed. I use the Anderson rail mounted version. I could easily remove the Anderson hitch from truck, less than 5 minutes, and install any standard fifth wheel hitch in the truck. They are all designed to fit a standard rail set up. Don’t ever see me doing that as I really like the Anderson set up and don’t think you can beat it for saving weight.

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by Jgntch

If you buy a used 5.0, I assume it comes with the part attached to the trailer, but what about the part in the truck? If we get an Andersen and someone sells one with a conventional hitch, we won't be able to tow it home, will we? Do sellers of 5.0TAs generally include the part for the truck bed or not? We want to be ready when??if?? a 5.0 comes up for sale that we can get to.

Thanks!
Jackie

I bought mine used. I installed the hitch rails in the truck and drove to pick up the camper. We installed the anderson hitch that came with the camper, drove around the previous owner's neighborhood slowly checking all clearances and when we decided all was ok then headed home!

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by LYStephen

My name is Larry, my wife Rebecca and I just put down our deposit last week and are now finalizing our build sheet for an October 16 delivery date. We would like to give a shout out to UncleTim from the group for showing us around his 5.0 and explaining all the options and features. Tim was a wonderful host and guide, it is because of his time spent with us that we are now ready to fill out the final build sheet with confidence. Having owned trailers before, I am awed by the thought and quality that goes into the Escape. We look forward to meeting other Escape owners on the road.

Hi: LYStephen... Conga rats on your choice!!! IMHO if you have a dedicated tug then a standard 5th hitch will do. If you need to remove the hitch regularly then an Andersen will be better. I just don't like having a hitch that has to have bumper pull safety chains used on it. Defeats the purpose IMHO. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[Jgntch]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: LYStephen... Conga rats on your choice!!! IMHO if you have a dedicated tug then a standard 5th hitch will do. If you need to remove the hitch regularly then an Andersen will be better. I just don't like having a hitch that has to have bumper pull safety chains used on it. Defeats the purpose IMHO. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

So Andersen's require safety chains? I also see an Ultimate Hitch and a Gooseneck Hitch from them....I assume it's the Ultimate one that everyone talks about here? Correct?

I'm not sure if we'd use the bed of the truck enough to take the hitch out. While we are still working, maybe. When we retire, probably not...

Great things to consider!!

[LYStephen]

We are going to go with the Anderson Ultimate as I want to be able to remove the hitch quickly and easily to utilize the pickup bed for hauling rock, dirt, etc.

[almuzyka]

We use the fifth wheel hitch because my husband pulls farm trailers too. He likes it much better than the Anderson.

[Fox hunt]

I have an Anderson which attaches to a ball hitch in the bed (no rails) I use chains but they are attached reversed from what is normally done mine are attached not unhooked at the bed of the truck so i clip them to the side of the bed when not hauling and can easily hook them to the hitch when hitching up - so i do not need to climb into to bed to hook up a deal breaker for me!