HELP

[missellee]

hello to all of you! I am new to the rv world, and just bought 2015 bighorn w/5slide, I think the specs show 16,000 wt but no hitch wt. Ive been doing a crash coarse on trucks to tow my bighorn. I came up with a2012 Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 L Diesel Laramie Mega Cab 4x4 Dually ? w/65k mi. and one with36kmi. is this a good choice? please I don't want to make a 45k mistake. it says my model was made for a shortbed which I like. but it does say patent pending? I would greatly appreciate any advice for me! loving my bighorn but I want to go somewhere!!....oh are duallys for extra wt? and make a lot or little difference?













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[MSHappyCampers]

Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the bunch here!

Sorry I can't help with your questions. Enjoy the forum!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[JohnRR]

Good luck with a suitable solution.

[Justwinginit]

Originally Posted by missellee

hello to all of you! I am new to the rv world, and just bought 2015 bighorn w/5slide, I think the specs show 16,000 wt but no hitch wt. Ive been doing a crash coarse on trucks to tow my bighorn. I came up with a2012 Dodge Ram 3500 6.7 L Diesel Laramie Mega Cab 4x4 Dually ? w/65k mi. and one with36kmi. is this a good choice? please I don't want to make a 45k mistake. it says my model was made for a shortbed which I like. but it does say patent pending? I would greatly appreciate any advice for me! loving my bighorn but I want to go somewhere!!....oh are duallys for extra wt? and make a lot or little difference?

We have a 2007 Holiday Rambler Toyhauler weighs 16,900 plus we haul a Smart car about 1700 lbs. we have a 2008 Ram 3500 dually quad cab. Works fine for us. But we've only been on flat ground. We live in Fl. So no Mountain climbing yet. Hubby seems to think it will do just fine. We have the 8 foot bed.

[DieselTech39]

Glad you're aboard. Either one sounds like it should do the job. Best of luck on your decision. Enjoy your adventures and be safe.

[wingnut60]

missellee,
On a 16000 gross weight, you can figure on about 3200 for the pin weight. I don't see any problem with either of the trucks. In the megacab, you will probably need a slider hitch (ck Pullrite) as the bed is 5.5', I think. Saw one of these MCabs in Jackson just last month pullng a 38' Lifestyle. They had the PR slider hitch.
Both trucks are plenty of truck, just need to be sure of the clearance when backing sharply.
Joe
It is good that you are doing a crash course on RV setups as it sounds like you are very new to the concept. Best of luck and don't let the shark truck salesmen take you for a ride...

[SDM1]

a dodge 3500 dually will do all you need and more! As for the dually part for extra weight, you can say that yes! Dually trucks give you alot more stability when carrying heavy loads at highways speeds and in bad weather driving conditions! For trailer weight you mentioned, PERSONALLY a dually is the only way i would go! had Ford F-250's and F-350's with 5th wheels in the past. Hands down better handling and stability with the dual rear wheels!

[Grandpere]

Originally Posted by SDM1

a dodge 3500 dually will do all you need and more! As for the dually part for extra weight, you can say that yes! Dually trucks give you alot more stability when carrying heavy loads at highways speeds and in bad weather driving conditions! For trailer weight you mentioned, PERSONALLY a dually is the only way i would go! had Ford F-250's and F-350's with 5th wheels in the past. Hands down better handling and stability with the dual rear wheels!

X2, I wished I had a dually when we were pulling trailers. We have a MH now so we don't have to worry about that anymore.

[Medico]

Welcome and glad to meet you!

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by missellee

it says my model was made for a shortbed which I like. but it does say patent pending? I would greatly appreciate any advice for me! loving my bighorn but I want to go somewhere!!....

Pickup beds come in three different lengths, about 8', 6.5' and 5.5'. The 6.5' bed is usually called a shorty. If your 5er was "made for" a shorty, that probably means you can get by without a slider hitch if your bed is 6.5' long and you pay attention when backing into a jackknife. But if your bed is 5.5' long, then you must have a slider hitch (or a slider pinbox), and be certain you slide the hitch every time before you put the truck into reverse gear.

The PullRite SuperGlide hitch is an automatic slider. You don't have to worry about forgetting to slide the hitch. But it's heavy and expensive.
Traditional Series SuperGlide - For Short Bed Trucks | PullRite Hitches.

Lighter weight and less expensive is a quality manual slider hitch, such as the Reese 16k slider part number RP30051:
Fifth Wheel for Dodge Ram Pickup, 2014 | etrailer.com

What to do? If your bed is at least 6' long, I would install the plain ole non-sliding hitch, then go to an empty parking lot with the trailer tied on. Take a spotter with you. Slowly back the 5er into a near jackknife. Have the spotter scream STOP! before your trailer contacts the back of the cab. Then notice how much angle you have achieved. If you cannot achieve a near 90° jackknife, then I would insist on a slider hitch.

oh are duallys for extra wt? and make a lot or little difference?

Generally, a dually can haul a lot more hitch weight (a.k.a "pin" weight, short for kingpin weight) than a pickup with single rear wheels (SRW). And pin weight is the major limiter on the gross weight of a 5er you can tow with an SRW pickup without being overloaded. The basic spec is the GVWR of the tow vehicle. Duallies have a lot more GVWR than SRW pickups. An SRW pickup with normal load of family, tools and options runs out of GVWR for hitch weight with a 5er that grosses around 12,000 pounds. But most duallies can tow a 5er that grosses 16,000 to 18,000 pounds without being overloaded.

So if your 5er has a GVWR of 16,000 pounds, then you definitely need a dually tow vehicle. You may not load the trailer all the way up to 16,000 pounds, but you will certainly load it to more than 12,000 pounds.

Tow ratings are confusing and misunderstood. The Ram tow ratings for SRW pickups are extremely optimistic because they ignore the GVWR of the pickup. The Ram tow ratings for dually pickups are also optimistic, but not nearly bad as the tow ratings for SRW pickups. So my advice is to ignore the Ram tow ratings and use the GVWR of the Ram as your primary guide as to how heavy a trailer you can tow without being overloaded.

Weight of the wet and loaded Ram subtracted from the GVWR of the Ram will give you the max hitch weight you can have without being overloaded. Divide that max hitch by 0.20 and the answer is the max GVWR of any 5er you want to buy to tow with that Ram.

[Vette Racer]

My only comment is with the short bed you will limit what you can haul in the bed, a long bed will give you maximum room for other things you might want to carry as well as not having to worry about slider hitches. IMO, something to consider.

[Cummins12V98]

2011 RAM Dually LongHorn pulling a MS 36' at near 29K with 51K on the clock and no problems. Pulls 6% passes at 55 even with 3:42 gears! 9.5 hand calc towing West Coast.

[wandering1]

Get a long bed (8ft) so you don't damage the back of the cab when turning.

You don't need a 4x4 for towing a fifth wheel RV.

A dually is for carrying more weight over the rear axle. As far as stability I have had a DRW and SRW and they are the same.

Read the truck towing specs (not the sticker on the door jamb) to find a tow vehicle that will handle your 5th wheel. You are legally responsible for having an adequate tow vehicle.

[Cumminsfan]

A Mega cab 3500 DRW Laramie won't have enough payload capacity for that 5'er. You either need to go to a 2013 or switch brands.
http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/towing_g...wing.Specs.pdf