How many of us are towing 5th wheel with 1/2 ton truck?

[Boubou]

there 's a lot of talk on forums about towing 5th wheel With half-ton trucks but it's all over the place. I'm sure I'm Not the only one looking for answers so I thought I'd Start a thread so that we could compare our experiences with such combos.
How many of us towing 5W with 1/2 Ton?
Which TT and TT?
Positive or negative experience with combo unit?
Future plans?
No need to Re-ash the talk about 3/4 and 1 ton requirement.... Looking for the other side of the coin.

[SmokeyWren]

Depends on whether you want to be certan you never exceed any of the tow vehicle's (TV) weight limits.

On a half-ton pickup, the most likely weight limit you'll exceed with even a small 5er is the GVWR of the truck.

Load your truck with everything that will be in it when towing, including the 5er hitch, Mama and the kiddos, Rover and the puddy tat, toolbox, other stuff, full tank of gas. Weigh the wet and loaded tow vehicle on a CAT scale. Subtract the gross weight of the wet and loaded TV from the GVWR of the TV. The answer is your max hitcch weight without being overloaded.

Divide that max hitch by 0.18 to get the maximum GVWR of the 5er. Don't kid yourself. Use the GVWR of the 5er. If the GVWR of the 5er is more than your calculated max GVWR you can tow, then don't buy that trailer.

Do the math and you won't find very many 5ers with a GVWR low enough that you can tow them without being overloaded.

Example: I had an F-250 diesel TV and a 25' 5er with one slide and 7,900 pounds GVWR. That small 5er usually overloaded that F-250. So it would have overloaded an F-150 even more.

Caveat: If you special-order your half-ton, you can order a heavy-duty payload pkg that may let you tow a small 5er without exceeding the GVWR of the TV. For example. 2012 Ford F-150 with EcoBoost engine, 3.73 limited slip axle ratio includes the HD payload and max tow pkgs, and has a GVWR of 8,200 pounds. You should be able to tow a trailer that weighs up to around 10,000 pounds without being overloaded.

But that's a very special F-150. Mine is more typical. My 5,000-pound TT puts me just over the GVWR of my TV when wet and loaded on the road.

[Groovy]

We had a 27' 7,000 lb travel trailer (not a fifth wheel) and pulled it with an '04 Toyota Tundra with a 4.7 liter engine (I think it was 4.7 -- not the new 5.7 they have these days). It was okay on the flats, but going over Tioga Pass on the back side of Yosemite my hubby Mark had the pedal to the floor and we were doing a whopping 28 mph the whole way.

That's when we decided to upgrade to a diesel truck!

Personally, it's not worth the aggravation of feeling the truck struggle and strain and seeing Mark's knuckles turn white to put a too-big trailer on a too-small truck... Rather than being marginal with the specs, I'd recommend making sure the truck can easily handle the trailer and is well within the specs...

The mountains are too beautiful to ruin the views with a scary tow!!!

[Larry201]

I see this thread is from 2012! Fast forward to=========the year 2020.
Is anyone pulling the 1/2 ton series 5th wheels with the 1500 series pick-ups?

[runamuck]

I have looked t a lot of em because people say they tow much better that bumper pull but have not found one that I can tow with my 1/2 ton ram. I only have 1324# cargo cap so even the lightest pin wt. I could find..1000#+ would max me out after adding just fuel and me and the wife..if you have a low end basic trim level 1/2 ton with a higher cargo capacity you could do it if you shop around and find one with 1000#-1200# pin wt. maybe

[RvRyan]

Originally Posted by runamuck

I have looked t a lot of em because people say they tow much better that bumper pull but have not found one that I can tow with my 1/2 ton ram. I only have 1324# cargo cap so even the lightest pin wt. I could find..1000#+ would max me out after adding just fuel and me and the wife..if you have a low end basic trim level 1/2 ton with a higher cargo capacity you could do it if you shop around and find one with 1000#-1200# pin wt. maybe

This is exactly why I traded up for a 3/4 ton. We had plenty of tow capacity but payload, like yours, was just a little over 1300# leaving us taking 2 vehicles. With my RAM 2500 I have 3,198# payload. [emoji111]

[runamuck]

I really like my '19 ram laramie 4x4 ccsb but we want to get more serious about our rv traveling so may just get a 2500 now that they have the 8 speed tranny. I feel that it would give us the confidence to make longer trips because of more stable towing platform.

[tuffr2]

Like discussed in other threads there are muscular half ton trucks that can tow the small 5th wheels. A few trucks that come to mind are the F-150 with the HDPP package, the Titan XD, The 2019 GM work trucks.

These trucks will have a payload of around 2,000 - 2,500lbs. That is what you need to tow the small 5th wheels.

You do not see many people towing a 5th wheel with a half ton truck but there are a few.

But typically to tow mid sized 5th wheels you need the increased payload of 250/2500 trucks or better yet 350/3500 trucks.

[Larry201]

So far I've yet to read any post from someone who actually does pull the 5'er with the 1/2 ton truck.
I'm guessing they would have more negative comment's than positive ones!

[xrated]

It's really pretty simple....it's all about the payload capacity of the truck and how much pin weight the loaded trailer will put on the truck. In addition to the trailer's pin weight (when the trailer is loaded, and not empty pin weight that is usually advertised for the trailer), take into account the 5ver hitch weight, and anything and everything that goes in/on the truck...passengers, firewood, whatever. If that total weight exceeds the payload of the truck, you are overloaded.

[Stableduck]

I did tow a 5er with a 2012 ram 1500. It was a 1984 24’ Alpenlite.
The truck had 1387 ccc, 5.7 hemi, 392 gears, if I remember right.
The trailer was about 6000 GVW with 600 pin weight. I weighed it a couple times and it never over loaded the truck. I was always concerned there wasn’t enough pin weight at 10%. But it towed great!
Later upgraded the truck to F350 4x4, I couldn’t get the trailer to tow level. So I sold it and now have a small TT. I actually miss the alpenlite.
So yes you can tow a 5th wheel with a 1/2 ton.

[09 harley]

I don’t know anyone who tows a 5th wheel with a 1/2 ton. Why would you when you can get a 3/4 for very little more and the jump to a 1 ton is only another 1200 or so. If you buy a 1/2 ton to tow a 5th wheel you won’t be able to upgrade because it won’t handle it. Not worth even thinking about.

[TXiceman]

Be very cautious of any "1/2 ton towable" 5th wheel trailer. To achieve the rating, the manufacture use a base weigh of a truck and a dry weight on the trailer. First thin you will overload is the payload or rear axle GVWR of the truck.

Ken

[Skip426]

I towed my first three 5ers with a 93, Dodge Dakota , extended cab 4X4, 5.2l V-8.
The truck had an optional 1850# payload package .
The last and heaviest of the fivers , had a GVWR that was at the limit of the trucks tow rating . The trailer didn't overload the truck axles, and handled well , but pushed the engine & cooling system to the limit; and on a 104 degree day out of Calgary, had to be driven with the air conditioner OFF to avoid overheating .
After a 7 hour drive in 100+ degree heat with no A/C the DW had , had enough.
Two days later she SLAMMED the local paper down in front of me , with an add circled for a Dodge 3/4 ton 4X4 8l , V-10, 5er hitch and tailgate, and said ," Will this tow the trailer without overheating ? " When I said yes , she said " Buy it !"
The 3/4 ton had a trailer tow rating of 14,100# and took my last 5er 10,000 lbs GVWR across the continent without any kind of issues.
Well , except for me putting in 40% ethanol , in Ohio by mistake .
The 3/4 ton got better fuel mileage towing a 10,000lb 5er than the Dakota did pulling a 7,000lb. trailer ; so a win, win.

Moral of the story ; Always have more truck than what you need , you won't regret it!