purchasing a 2001 Excel

[Galen L S]

Looking at and dealing on a 2001 mod#SK035Triple slide.Am currently towing O/B 30' 5er.I was wondering if my 96 Silverado 3500 Dually can handle it safely.It looks like you guys are very knowledgeable and have an idea whats what Thanx a lot for any info you can give me Galen L S

[Galen L S]

Looking at and dealing on a 2001 mod#SK035Triple slide.Am currently towing O/B 30' 5er.I was wondering if my 96 Silverado 3500 Dually can handle it safely.It looks like you guys are very knowledgeable and have an idea whats what Thanx a lot for any info you can give me Galen L S

[rockintom]

You didn't give us enough info on your TV. What engine and rear axle ratio do you have?

Just FYI, On that older model Excel two major things to watch for is vertical slide wood wall rotting out where the metal slide ram plate connects to it (both living room slides) , and smooth bedroom slide operation (not dragging). More than likely, if the unit was well cared for, these items were updated a while back. Tom

[LindaH]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Galen L S:
Looking at and dealing on a 2001 mod#SK035Triple slide.Am currently towing O/B 30' 5er.I was wondering if my 96 Silverado 3500 Dually can handle it safely.It looks like you guys are very knowledgeable and have an idea whats what Thanx a lot for any info you can give me Galen L S </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Galen, since you already have the truck, you can determine the maximum weights it can handle quite easily.

Load up your truck like it would be for any trip with a full tank of fuel, you and all passengers who will normally be riding with you, and all the gear that is normally loaded into the truck. Now take it down to the local scales and weigh it.

Once you have the real life weight of your fully loaded truck, subtract that weight from it's GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating). That answer will give you the MAXIMUM loaded weight of any fifth wheel you should be pulling.

Now subtract your truck's weight from it's GVWR...that will give you the MAXIMUM pin weight your truck should be handling.

Now look at the fifth wheel's GVWR, assuming a minimum of 20% of that amount as a pin weight. How do those numbers stack up with the math you did above?

One thing you might want to do, too, before buying the fifth wheel is to weight it to see what it's real dry weight is and how much is left over for your "stuff" before you reach it's GVWR.