I think you might have to keep in mind that opinions are like a**holes...everyones got one. Don't get me wrong I'm sure one of those long toters would have some difficulty turning round but a short one with a couple of seats and maybe an overhead bunk (i'm assuming you want the 5th wheel to be the living area) would probably get into at least as many places as you could take a rigid truck of the same length as the 5th wheel.
I can't speak for american trucks but I'm led to believe that european CoE trucks ride comfortably enough. Why not find one that you can get a ride in and see if they really are as bad as the stories make out.
Why not do it as the project manager. I'm sure you have some skills which you could use in the construction. Maybe get the guy from the welding shop down the road to do some work on it in his spare time. It wont be done quickly but it'll be done the way you want.
If all else fails go buy the DP. Get one a couple of years old and hope the other guy got some of the bugs worked out. Of course if the chassis was overloaded out of the factory then theres nothing you can do. Add all the roll bars ect you want. If it was designed bad its going to stay bad. Thats what reasearch is for!
Just my 0.02p!
Mike
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