Truck size

[00 DEAD ON]

I have a 42’ 5th wheel and am currently pulling it with a 3500 dually. My question is will a 3500 1 ton single wheel pull it good. I travel to fla in the winter from va.
How many pull a 5th wheel with a single wheel 3500 with no problems
Or do I need to stick with a 3500 dually?????
Thx in advance
Brian

[Orygunut]

I’m very interested in this as well.
It is RV season here in NW Oregon and I’ve noticed approximately 49 out of 50, 35’ to 40+’ 5’ers are being pulled by SRW, F350 / 3500 size Pickups.

[MattE]

(moved my answer from other thread)

Your question is a bit too broad. It depends on the GVWR and pin weight of the trailer vs. the payload capacity of the truck in question. Some single wheel 1 tons have a LOT more payload capacity than others, depending on year of truck, brand, regular cab vs crew cab, 2WD vs 4WD, gas vs diesel, etc. etc. Anything that adds to the weight of the truck (eg. diesel engine) takes away from the payload capacity. To really know for sure you'd need to weigh your trailer at a CAT scale to determine your true pin weight, then add to that the weight of your fiver hitch, all passengers and other cargo, then see if you can find a SRW 1 ton that has sufficient cargo capacity to handle it. Don't go by dealer brochures or 'towing' charts online, you need to look at the actual payload capacity sticker (usually inside drivers door) of a truck with the configuration, trim level and options you want.

What year, brand and model is your fiver?

[Clomok]

Personally having pulled my 36’ TH with a SRW and a DRW, the DRW is a lot more stable of a truck. Gross I’m around 24-26k.

It all boils down to your pin weight and what’s in the bed. You can overload a SRW fairly easy with these large rigs

[consolenut]

The increased stability of the dual wheels is unmatched. To many SRW pickups want to roll around on the side wall of the tire in many instances towing.

[Peto]

DRW is always better with a trailer that size.

[uncledon]

Op, I'm curious why you would prefer the SRW over the dually?

[Freqz]

DRW is unquestionably better for towing. SRW may be adequate but we’re short information to know.

I don’t have any problems parking my DRW that would be solved by an otherwise identical SRW (docking would be a more apt description of what happens...) the camera system in my Ford really helps in this area. If only it had a nvr for those cameras it’d be really cool [emoji4]

42’ is pretty long and gusty crosswinds have a lot of area to push things around...I’d prefer a DRW in that case even if if a SRW was adequate for weights.

[Gordon Dewald]

We towed our 43' 5er with a 450 dually. The GCWR on the truck was 33,000 and the rig was right at 28,000 loaded.

[00 DEAD ON]

Originally Posted by uncledon

Op, I'm curious why you would prefer the SRW over the dually?

I only use my truck to pull the 5th wheel a few times a year. It is my Dailey driver

[xrated]

Best advice so far from MattE. Go through his suggestions of what to do and you will find your answer.

[00 DEAD ON]

Originally Posted by uncledon

Op, I'm curious why you would prefer the SRW over the dually?

I only use my truck to pull the 5th wheel a few times a year. It is my Dailey driver

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by Brian M

I only use my truck to pull the 5th wheel a few times a year. It is my Dailey driver

Perhaps a used class 7 or 8 truck. Some are pretty cheap and then a daily driver that you like.

[JamesS]

We use a F250 4x4 4DR to pull a 43' 5er with a B&W slider. I put bags on it to level it out and I can easily 1 hand it on the freeway. We just come up from FL to MD and there wasn't any stability issues at all. In west TX on a trip in April we had a significant crosswind (40-50mph) and I just slowed to 60 and had plenty of control. I think I would have slowed if I had a DRW truck also.

I've found that if you listen to all the advise you get from others - you'll end up with a Freightliner to pull your RV.