Hi all, we are just getting started with what is to be our new lifesytle, we have ordered a new 5th wheeler & we need some advice on the vehicle we are thinking of useing. We are thinking of the Iveco Daily single cab LWB tray top as we need to be able to have a dog transporter box built behind the cab & I thought that this vehicle would be able to accomodate this & still allow for the swing angle needed. Is there anyone that is using this type of vehicle for towing a 5th wheeler that can tell us how it performs etc., & if there are any inherint problems with the same. We had also thought of the duel cab version but do not think that we could fit the dog transporter on it.

Any advise on this or any other vehicle (that can still be driven on a car licence)  you may know of would be greatfully recieved.

Thank's in advance

Jeff & Jill

Welcome Jeff and Jill, hope you enjoy the forum.

I don't know anything about the Iveco, but will say I have a rellie with a (large) small truck fleet and his are all Iveco and he reckons you can't go past them for a good reliable vehicle if that's any help.

At the moment working with some fellows from Texas USA and they say AKKKKA and do not understand a lot of our Oz slany .Like sky rocket for pocket ,when i mentioned the other day about putting some thing in my skyrocket they all looked up into the air ...looking for a skyrocket.

Hi Jeff and Jill,

With the bigger 5 wheelers, most seem to use an Iveco or the big Ford, GMCs etc, The smaller ones seem to have the Japanese Utes from what I've seen. I had a drive of a twin cab long wheelbase Daily and it drove nicely and easily. I've heard good and bad. Very computerised I believe.

Gday Jeff & Jill,

A few comments that I hope might be helpful regarding the Iveco as a tug for your new 5th wheeler. We started a full time RV lifestyle in September 2006. Our rig is a 33ft Cardinal towed by an Iveco Daily 65C17, dual cab, MWB.

I think that your choice of the a LWB model is excellent, particularly if you are intending to make it a full time lifestyle. Last week I saw a Daily 70 LWB set up as a tug and was surprised by the length of tray from behind the double cab to the hitch.

Behind our double cab we have a box running the full width of the tray and 1000mm wide by 650mm high. During turns the nose of our fifth wheeler passes easily over the top of the box without contact. However that does not mean that any fifth wheeler would be ok on our Iveco.

There are many factors that need to be considered to ensure sufficient clearance between fifth wheeler and Iveco, including:

* Wheel size Daily 50s have 15inch wheels, Daily 65 & 70 have 16 inch.

* Height of fifth wheel hitch above ground. It is very important that when coupled the fifth wheeler rides correctly to ensure even distribution of weight on both axels of the fifth wheeler.

* Type of hitch.

* Type of pin box on the fifth wheeler.

* Distance from fifth wheel plate on pin box to fifth wheeler body above pin box. Hope this makes sense.

* The arc prescribed by the nose cone of the fifth wheeler pivoting around the pin.

* The arc prescribed by the back of the tray on the Iveco when rotating around the pin.

The above are a few things to think about for starters.

The major truck supplier, who I will not name on an open forum, we purchased our Iveco from assured us that they knew what to do regarding design/fitment of a tray etc for towing a fifth wheeler. I mistakenly put my trust in them and was very disappointed with the result. After an additional $6,000  or so I have had their poor work rectified.

With regard to performance. Our rig is 9.8 tonnes when travelling. The Iveco pulls this well on most roads to keep up with traffic at 110km where permitted. Although mostly I do tend to drive between 80-90km, being more economical. Appropriate use of the gears when in hilly regions is important, although Australia is quite a flat county compared to Europe and North America.

I have recorded all distances driven and fuel usage since we took delivery of the Iveco, this shows that we have towed 53% of the total distance. The overall fuel figures are: 13.26 lt/100km or 7.54 km/lt or 21.43 MPG. The best refuel interval produced 8.4 lt/100km whilst the worst interval produced 21.91 lt/100km.

Inherent problems.

I am not aware of any as such. The Iveco Daily, in its different models and face lifts, has been in production since 1978 with the present model being released on 2006. I have heard of different problems other people have experienced but these appear to have been isolated rather than systemic to the vehicle range. Probably not dissimilar to most vehicles these days. The failures I have heard of include turbo failure, clutch failure and failure of an Agile gearbox.

In the almost 7 years we have owned our Iveco we have replaced: 1 set of tyres, 2 batteries (poor maintenance on my part), 1 set of windscreen wiper blades, front top left steering ball joint (the boot split and is not sold separately), air pipe from turbo cooler to induction manifold (it just split). I have an intermittent electrical problem with the fresh air fan which sometimes switches to fast speed when going over a bump at speed.

My personal view is that the Iveco Daily is a very suitable vehicle for towing a fifth wheeler. If you do not NEED 4wd then it is a clear winner over the big Fords and GMCs. The 50 model and below can be driven on a car licence. The steering is light, it is quiet inside with very good visibility form the driver seat. It handles like a car. The ride is quite firm, especially when not towing, due to it being designed as a load carrying vehicle. Here I would suggest you consider purchasing the factory fitted airbag option. I have driven one with this option and it definitely gives a softer ride when not towing.

Other considerations:

The length of the vehicle, mine is 6.5 metres. A LWB will be probably close 7.5 to 8 metres. Parking in car parks can sometimes be a challenge.

Fuel tank size. I had the standard tank (70 litres) replaced with one of 165 litres. This gives us a comfortable 900km range whilst towing.

The dual cab actually does give you a lot of additional space in your rig, e.g. ideal for putting the bags of shopping when returning from a trip to the supermarket. With a single cab where will you put them? You can also carry four additional people if need be. We met one owner who had removed the rear seat and installed a front load washing machine and additional water tanks. Why not remove the seat, fit a cage and carry your dog in the back with you?

I could go on but think that is enough for now. I hope it has given you some useful info and if you would like to know more then please feel free to send me a PM.

Its a great life, cheers.

Mike