Quote:
Originally Posted by TimT
Anyone tow with a HDT? Going to buy our truck today and have been looking at the newer F450's. Will the F450 require bags to tow a mobile suite?
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You shouldn't need air bags or any other suspension mods if you don't exceed the 14,000 pounds GVWR (5,320 pounds payload capacity) of the new F-450 pickup.
2017 F-450 pickup has
GVWR of 14,000 pounds, payload of 5320 pounds.
GCWR of 41,800 pounds, tow rating of 32,500
The biggest, heaviest Mobile Suites 5er is 44' long and had GVWR of 24,000 pounds. Pin weight will be about 4,800 pounds when loaded to the gills for a full-timer's move with all their stuff, leaving only about 500 pounds for weight in the pickup. That means not much weight in the truck except two people and a little bit of stuff when changing RV parks with a maxed-out trailer.
The more common 38' Mobile Suites has GVWR of 21,000 with a wet and fully-loaded pin weight of about 4,200, which leaves about 1,100 pounds for people and stuff in the cab and bed of the truck. That's a more reasonable load for a full-timer move that should not require any mods to the suspension of the F-150.
So to answer your question, the new F-450 pickup will be all you need with a 38' Mobile Suites 5er, but you'll have to pay attention to the weight in the pickup with a 44' Mobile Suites if you don't want to be overloaded, and thus need air bags or other suspension mods.
But the next step up is not an HDT. If the 38-footer is not big enough for your druthers, then the F-550 chassis cab with a tow body should be all you need for even the heaviest Mobile Suites 44-footer. Or almost any MDT would work too. Both Peterbilt and Kenworth make cute little single-rear-axle MDTs that with a tow body are perfect for dragging the biggest Mobile Suites (or any other DRV RV).