Community Forums

Rogerl · 10-20-2011, 02:42 PM

I am a new 5th wheeler and may have been misled by the salesperson regarding my truck being able to handle the 5th wheels. I weighed my setup and all of my safety margins are positive except 1. Here is what I have:
Truck front axle has a safety margin of 780 pounds, rear axle 1090 pounds, Truck GCWR positive margin of 3,040 pound, Hitch Tow margin of 7120 pounds, Vertical load (kingpin) 2,440 pounds, Trailer GVWR of 2710. I have a 40 pound overload on the Truck GVWR. I don't understand how everything can have a good safety margin except the truck GVWR. What do I do now? Is it simply a matter of moving 40 pounds from the front of the 5th wheel to the back? Can't really reduce any weight from the truck itself. I have a Ram 2500 4x4 crew cab with the 6.7 Cummins diesel. It pulls like a dream and have plenty of power. I would appreciate any suggestions or comments.

targaboat · 10-20-2011, 03:31 PM

If 40 pounds is the worse it gets, go have a beer and forget it. On the other hand what is wrong with moving 40 lbs of stuff to the back of the RV. Or do you need to adjust the water supply. Or when you burn off 7 gallons of gas you will be within the limits. People are entirely way too anal about the weight thing. The posted limits is only a guide line and nothing fails instantly when the scale goes over. Handling is much more important.

Franka548 · 10-20-2011, 04:36 PM

I agree with targaboat, 40# is not worth worrying about. the GAWR are more important. Don't get me wrong, the GVWR is important, but being below, or at the GAWR is more important. Remember that if you add equipment to the bed of the truck, or add passengers, your weight is going to change. Other than that, enjoy and don't loose any sleep, you will be fine.

Frank

Cyclone Dave · 10-25-2011, 11:48 PM

Don't worry about 40#s. During your 10th trip you may consider weighing again.

jbraines · 10-27-2011, 05:07 PM

I have the same situation however my weight is over 760lbs on GVWR (I think that is correct for total weight of truck). Now when weighing my truck alone weighed in about at about 7700lbs with a GVWR of 8800. Should I be concerned here. The truck is a 2000 F250 4x4 7.3 sc lbed.

Cyclone Dave · 10-27-2011, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbraines

I have the same situation however my weight is over 760lbs on GVWR (I think that is correct for total weight of truck). Now when weighing my truck alone weighed in about at about 7700lbs with a GVWR of 8800. Should I be concerned here. The truck is a 2000 F250 4x4 7.3 sc lbed.

jbraines, the article,"Before You Buy - It's not rocket science" would be a good place to start. I think it may help you understand what to look for.

jbraines · 10-28-2011, 06:47 AM

All of that is fine. In fact I took the cheat sheet that webiste has and calculated all of the weights for the rig. However if I am reading it correctly it says my total gross weight allowed for the truck by the door sticker is 8800# but the truck weighs in at 7700# empty, so does that mean I can only carry 1100#? That seems a bit low considering the truck. The confusing part is looking at the maximum individual axle weights on the truck I should have plenty of cushion to tow the trailer.

alageezer · 10-28-2011, 04:18 PM

To the OP, we have the same truck except a 2x4. On our 10k miles west coast trip this year, we were running about 600 lbs over GVWC, but well under axle loads. I made a point to never let the truck see the weight ticket, and it didn't know the difference.

wingnut60 · 10-28-2011, 09:46 PM

Gross axle ratings, when added together, add up to more than the gross vehicle weight--has to do with the total component package on the vehicle. On my 450, FA is 6500, RA is 9500, yet the gross is 14500.

You are correct--if your truck weighs 7700 and has a gross weight rating of 8800, then you are supposed to carry no more than 1100 pounds more in/on the truck. If 'empty' you mean no one in the truck--then you put in 4-200lb guys, you should only put in 300lbs of beer extra.

Most 5th wheels will immediately cause you to be way over the weight ratings--better off with a pull trailer in this case.

Joe

Cyclone Dave · 10-29-2011, 07:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbraines

All of that is fine. In fact I took the cheat sheet that webiste has and calculated all of the weights for the rig. However if I am reading it correctly it says my total gross weight allowed for the truck by the door sticker is 8800# but the truck weighs in at 7700# empty, so does that mean I can only carry 1100#? That seems a bit low considering the truck. The confusing part is looking at the maximum individual axle weights on the truck I should have plenty of cushion to tow the trailer.

I suspect your truck's axle ratio is the primary cause of a low carry weight. Axle ratio is all too often overlooked when purchasing a truck for towing. If you really want to tow a heavier trailer then you have to get a newer truck with higher tow rating.

jbraines · 10-29-2011, 02:10 PM

Thanks for all the input. I feel knowing the heritage of the 7.3 diesels I am going to take your advice and just move the 300lbs of beer to the trailer and hide the weigh sheets. The truck is a beast and with only 83k on it (was a family hand me down) I see no reason to trade up at this time. In fact with the new Michelin tires and Firestone air bags all she needs now is a new steering wheel if anyone knows who to get one from, and I am on my way.

SmokeyWren · 11-02-2011, 09:06 PM

Three-quarter ton diesel-powered pickups are not a good choice for towing medium-sized fifth wheel RV trailers. The available payload is taken up by the heavy diesel engine, heavy CrewCab body, and heavy 4x4 drivetrain. The GVWR os 8,800 pounds but the wet and loaded truck can weigh 8,000 to 8,500 before you tie onto the trailer.

My rig was a 1999.5 F-250 CrewCab diesel 4x2, GVWR 8,800. With wife and dogs and toolbox full of tools and normal other stuff in the truck, my wet and loaded truck weighed 8,000 pounds before I tied onto the trailer. If it were a 4x4, it would have weightd 8,400. So not much payload left for hitch weight.

I drove that truck for 11.5 years, dragging an 8,000-pound 5er most of the 194,000 total miles. GVW was always over 9,000 pounds, and for a couple of long trips it was over 9,700 pounds. No adverse side effects of being overloaded over the GVWR, but I was uncomfortable knowing that a dozen lawyers were just waiting for me to get into an accident while overloaded so they could ruin my financial life.

Dutch Star David · 11-04-2011, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogerl

I am a new 5th wheeler and may have been misled by the salesperson regarding my truck being able to handle the 5th wheels. I weighed my setup and all of my safety margins are positive except 1. Here is what I have:
Truck front axle has a safety margin of 780 pounds, rear axle 1090 pounds, Truck GCWR positive margin of 3,040 pound, Hitch Tow margin of 7120 pounds, Vertical load (kingpin) 2,440 pounds, Trailer GVWR of 2710. I have a 40 pound overload on the Truck GVWR. I don't understand how everything can have a good safety margin except the truck GVWR. What do I do now? Is it simply a matter of moving 40 pounds from the front of the 5th wheel to the back? Can't really reduce any weight from the truck itself. I have a Ram 2500 4x4 crew cab with the 6.7 Cummins diesel. It pulls like a dream and have plenty of power. I would appreciate any suggestions or comments.

I can't believe a salesman would mislead you-lie to you, yes; mislead no