How much truck do I need?

[Bobcanfixit]

I just ordered a Solitude 310 GK 5th wheel. I need to order a truck to pull it. I am looking at ordering a Ram 3500, 8 foot crew cab 4X4 with the Cummins 6.7 liter diesel, ASIN 6 speed heavy duty transmission. I don't want a dual rear wheels. It comes with 3.42 axle ratio. The trailer GVWR is 15,000 lbs with a hitch weight of 2,350 lbs. any opinions on if this truck is sufficient? Truck salesman says I am on the edge of needing dual rear wheels and 4.10 axle ratio.

[Old-Biscuit]

3500 SRW will have a 7000# RAWR


A 15,000 GVWR 5th wheel WET pin weight will be roughly 3200#


3500 SRW is MORE then adequate to 'carry' that pin weight w/o issues


Current SRWs are 'rated' for 17K

[Clomok]

With the Asian you’ll be ok, it has a lower 1st 2nd and 3rd gear the the other auto, if possible, I’d look for a 3.73. That should be plenty of truck. My rig has a 45-5k pin weight, and scales at roughly 30k gross, my ram pulls it just fine Through the Oregon mountains

[cfowler55]

So I have the same RV and the RAM w Aisin / 3.73 gears. I think 4.10 will be overkill for your combo. The only time I've dropped to 4th was on I70 eastbound toward the Eisenhower Tunnel. I locked out 5th and maintained my speed to the top. 9.85 mpg average on the 3000 mile trip.
Now, the 310 is heavy. Loaded I drop 3-4" in the rear. Really like the stability duals provide. I'm listed at 5615lbs CCC.

[5001craig]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

3500 SRW will have a 7000# RAWR


A 15,000 GVWR 5th wheel WET pin weight will be roughly 3200#


3500 SRW is MORE then adequate to 'carry' that pin weight w/o issues


Current SRWs are 'rated' for 17K

I was thinking a 3500 SRW was rated at 16K + but at any rate the OP should be good at 15K. Otherwise, I agree with Old-Biscuit.



My trailer has a 13.5K GVW and my '18 SRW Long Bed with Aisin pulls it great. With 3.42's. Would 3.73's work better with this setup? I don't know as they aren't offered and I'm not putting $2K minimum into trying them.

[WheelingOn]

I've seen the same Solitude out here in WA State coastal parks being pulled by 1-Ton SRW trucks and talked to a couple of those folks. They seemed very happy with the setup and everyone out hear probably heads over the passes from time to time.

Congrats on the new fiver and good luck landing your truck.

[chunker]

Originally Posted by Bobcanfixit

I just ordered a Solitude 310 GK 5th wheel. I need to order a truck to pull it. I am looking at ordering a Ram 3500, 8 foot crew cab 4X4 with the Cummins 6.7 liter diesel, ASIN 6 speed heavy duty transmission. I don't want a dual rear wheels. It comes with 3.42 axle ratio. The trailer GVWR is 15,000 lbs with a hitch weight of 2,350 lbs. any opinions on if this truck is sufficient? Truck salesman says I am on the edge of needing dual rear wheels and 4.10 axle ratio.

I WAS going to get a 310 but don't like the interior choices so decided against it. That said the truck I was going to use is a 2017 Ram 3500 crew cab, SRW LB Laramie that has a cargo capacity of 4200. More than enough even with my 51 gallon aux fuel tank full. The Ford and GM versions were close to 1K less CC. Lots of postings about truck here.

[wildcatter]

I have a 2014 RAM 3500 CCLB CTD/Aisin. I have a 4306 CCC and 17.5K towing capaicty, I believe my truck has the 3.42 gears but I will need to verify that. I tow an wildcat 295 RSX at almot 12K weight, tows great. I would love to have a dually just because but the sweet ol'e DW said nooooooo, to big. I think that is the first time I ever listened.

[CWSWine]

I owned a 310GK with a 2016 GMC and 2016 Ford 1 ton diesel SRW with payload between 3700 and 3800 on the yellow sticker. Below is real scale rates, not stubby pencil and I guess weights about XXXX. The first weighting was loaded really light and was just a shakedown trip. Later on, I added a storage tray in the basement (90 pounds), new mattress (50 pounds more) and weight in just over 14,500 pounds (24.1% pin precentage) and I was over my GVWR by 600 pounds and within 200 pounds of my axles ratings loaded for a 30-day trip. Still wanted to get washer and dryer and Onan generator which push close to 15,000 pounds and way over GVWR, Axle Ratings and Tire ratings. I was faced with 8-month-old truck and 310GK-R and needing to upgrade to a DRW. We traded for Motorhome with 5700-pound payload capacity and never looked back

Those that say be just fine I will say it depends on the layout of the RV and how you like to travel. I think everyone should go CAT scale at least once to know for sure what the real weights are and if you comfortable towing your RV.

Here the first weighting broke down and this lightest every weight. These weights are from two different CAT scales since I could believe I was heavy.



Specs of a 310GK-R weighted at a CAT scale on 30 Oct 2016
Status from Grand Design Website.
UVW 12,100
Dry Pin Weight 2350
From Grand Design Weight Sheet that came with my 5er and has my VIN listed on the top of the sheet.
GVWR 15,000
GAWR (Per Axle) 7,000
UVW 12226 (Matches Sticker on 5er)
Hitch Weight 2392
Left (Street Side) 5326
Right (Curb Side) 4508
Cargo Carrying Capacity 2714
Truck Specs
Ford F350 Diesel SuperCab 143” Wheel Base 6.5 foot bed.
B&W Campion Hitch non slider
Web Spec 4080 Payload
Yellow Door Sticker 3744
GVWR 11,500
Rear Axle Ratings 7,000
Front Axle Ratings 5,200
GCWR 22,500
Tow Rating 15,900
Truck ONLY Weight Cat Scales
Front Axle Weight - 4740
Rear Axle Weight - 3480
Total Weight 8220
Cat Scale With 5er Hooked up
Steering Axle - 5000lbs
Drive Axle 6320
Trailer Axle 10,520
Gross Combined Weight 21,840
Bottom Line
Truck Weight (Truck Only) 8220
Truck Weight (Hitched) 11,320
Camper Weight 13,620
Pin Weight 3,100
Pin Weight Percentage 22.8%
2392 Factory Pin Weight 3100 scale weight increase of 708 pounds
12,226 Factory UVW 13,600 Cat Scale Weight increase of 1374 lbs
Over 50% of the 1374 pounds loaded went to pin weight
Just goes to show how much weight is loaded forward of the axle
Factory Scale weighs of 2392 pin and 12,226 UVW = 19.6 percent pin weight
Cat Scale Weights 13600 GVW and 3100 pin = 22.8 percent pin percentage or increase of 3.2 Percent over Dry percentage
I’m within 180 pounds of my GVWR of my trucks 11,500 GVWR. We were loaded for a week long trip and we are not full-timers.
It sets about 1 high in the front but only has 5 inches of clearance between the 5er and the bed of the truck rails.

[WheelingOn]

Originally Posted by CWSWine

Those that say be just fine I will say it depends on the layout of the RV and how you like to travel. I think everyone should go CAT scale at least once to know for sure what the real weights are and if you comfortable towing your RV.

Yep, scales don’t generally lie. A few of my truck’s numbers are up from the 2016s you reference and the RAM may be as well. What was the fuel cap of the Ford and was it full when scaled?

[Geodude]

So from the above posts you now know what the pin weight will likely be, driving down the road. Compare that to the cargo carrying capacity of the Ram and you'll have your answer. From six months of truck studying and shopping I think you'll find the Ram SRW has the cargo carrying capacity you need.

In my case a Ram 3500 would have worked for our trailer (3100 lb pin weight when loaded) but we wanted a fully loaded truck and the seat height, while fine on the base model, is higher on the trucks with electric seats, taking way the headroom I need. So we ended up with a GMC Sierra 3500HD Denali dually and haven't looked back. There's no question that we have lots of cargo carrying capacity. The training wheels are remarkably better when towing. I never thought I'd say that. And for city driving and parking, it's doable. We live in a city of over 1M people and I end up downtown in rush hour now and again. Sure, driving one of our sub-compacts would be better but the truck works just fine.

[CWSWine]

The Ford was a SuperCAB with the half back door and had a 28 gallon tank and short bed. It was full as fueled up and then pulled on the scales at a truck stop.

Originally Posted by WheelingOn

Yep, scales don’t generally lie. A few of my truck’s numbers are up from the 2016s you reference and the RAM may be as well. What was the fuel cap of the Ford and was it full when scaled?

[2Yung2 Quit]

I have a 310gk that I "was" towing with a Silverado 3500hd SRW. I did a great job. But then my DW started reading RV forums and became convinced that we would be "safer" with a DRW, so I succumbed to her wishes. We now have a 2018 Ram 3500 MegaCab DRW with air suspension, 4:10, and cargo camera. Happy wife, happy life. [emoji4]

[CWSWine]

That's funny since I had 310GK and we packed to 14,500 and was over GVWR and after adding the Onan Generator and washer and dryer we would have been over our axle ratings. My wife refused to drive DRW truck while on vacation or around town. We bought a 40-foot diesel pusher and you have to pry her out the driver's seat and loves to drive it on the open road and have a Jeep Wrangler for driving around town.

Originally Posted by 2Yung2 Quit

I have a 310gk that I "was" towing with a Silverado 3500hd SRW. I did a great job. But then my DW started reading RV forums and became convinced that we would be "safer" with a DRW, so I succumbed to her wishes. We now have a 2018 Ram 3500 MegaCab DRW with air suspension, 4:10, and cargo camera. Happy wife, happy life. [emoji4]