Pairing truck and 5th wheel feedback needed

[hans-barak]

Yep this is all great stuff guys. I appreciate everyone’s feedback however I have been told as long as 5ver’s GVWR and truck’s GVWR don’t exceed GCVWR of 25,300 for my denali, I should be in good shape. I am reading the same from owners manual so I am still figuring out what’s best approach. Also, I know of someone who has same exact truck as my down to very same color and he has a 5ver 13,995 GVWR and has taken it from NY to FL. Said he never had issues and has upgraded into GMC diesel from GMC gas. Said what a difference in handling etc. He did say that he has a 16k hitch and placed timberns on rear to support the weight. Any perspective on this?

[Jshopes81]

Originally Posted by hans-barak

Yep this is all great stuff guys. I appreciate everyone’s feedback however I have been told as long as 5ver’s GVWR and truck’s GVWR don’t exceed GCVWR of 25,300 for my denali, I should be in good shape. I am reading the same from owners manual so I am still figuring out what’s best approach. Also, I know of someone who has same exact truck as my down to very same color and he has a 5ver 13,995 GVWR and has taken it from NY to FL. Said he never had issues and has upgraded into GMC diesel from GMC gas. Said what a difference in handling etc. He did say that he has a 16k hitch and placed timberns on rear to support the weight. Any perspective on this?

If you know someone, ask them to either borrow their trailer and hit the scales or ask if theyve ever hit the scales and what their weights are. That gross combined rating doesnt mean squat. A good driver can and does adjust for their weight while driving. If you go over your axle ratings you open yourself up to fines, plain and simple. Is that other person volunteering to pay potential fines? You REALLY need to hit a cat scale and find out what your available axle capacity is. I, as well as several other members here, are class a cdl drivers. I have a designated dot compliance dipstick that i have the benefit of bouncing stuff off of when i need information.

[kdauto]

Originally Posted by hans-barak

Yep this is all great stuff guys. I appreciate everyone’s feedback however I have been told as long as 5ver’s GVWR and truck’s GVWR don’t exceed GCVWR of 25,300 for my denali, I should be in good shape. I am reading the same from owners manual so I am still figuring out what’s best approach. Also, I know of someone who has same exact truck as my down to very same color and he has a 5ver 13,995 GVWR and has taken it from NY to FL. Said he never had issues and has upgraded into GMC diesel from GMC gas. Said what a difference in handling etc. He did say that he has a 16k hitch and placed timberns on rear to support the weight. Any perspective on this?

Seems like your mind is made up.

GCVWR is not worth much in my opinion neither legally nor for actual trailering. All that rating is AFAIK is for adequate pulling power,braking and especially engine cooling and such.

Axle weight rating (RAWR) is something that has legal value in many places. Tires will be the ultimate limiter in many SRW trucks. Only so much you can load on E range tires.

Using a scale is cheap insurance. If folks need to add Timbrens it is usually a sign of overloading. It does not help tire ratings nor axle ratings.

[Gsykora]

We have a 40ft Cedar Creek 36CK2 5'ver with a washer/dryer option and fully loaded for travel, here is our actual weights:

Trailer: 13,920lbs
Pin: 2880lbs

We pull it with a 2015 F350 dually that has a 5100lb cargo capacity, so no problems with payload.

[hans-barak]

Good stuff. I am here to solicit feedback so I can make informed decision on upgrading. I also heard 2500HDs have same axels as 3500HDs like 3/4 and 1 ton. For me this is all part of learning and making best decision including staying safe.

[Jshopes81]

Originally Posted by hans-barak

Good stuff. I am here to solicit feedback so I can make informed decision on upgrading. I also heard 2500HDs have same axels as 3500HDs like 3/4 and 1 ton. For me this is all part of learning and making best decision including staying safe.

Depends on the year but srw 1 tons still usually have a higher axle rating than their 3/4 ton counterparts because their sprung heavier. The latest gen of gm trucks definately do not have the same axles. Heres something to think about. Most overweight fines are on an incremental scale. Eg: every so many lbs over is so many dollars additional. Think about if you get caught one time at say 1000lbs over look up some fine schedules and see if its worth the money to you. Add on top of that whatever its going to cost to have someone come get your camper when they tell you you cant tow it on their roads. Beyond this, ive contributed everything i can. You need weights to know exactly what you can carry, if you dont want to do that, its on you.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by hans-barak

I have been told as long as 5ver’s GVWR and truck’s GVWR don’t exceed GCVWR of 25,300 for my denali, I should be in good shape.

That's a generalization that's not exactly true. The GVWR of the tow vehicle is a hard limit, regardless of how much the trailer weighs.

Stop with trying to skip the CAT scale. The CAT scale will give you the info you need. And it's not that expensive. On September 30, I weighed my rig twice. The first weight cost $12.00. The reweigh cost $2.00

... He did say that he has … placed timberns on rear to support the weight. Any perspective on this?

As kdauto stated, if senone needs to add enhanced rear suspension components such as Timbrens or air bags, they're probably overloaded. Don't try to "get by" with an overloaded tow vehicle.

[Gsykora]

Dude, just go to a CAT scale and get your truck weighed. It's not hard or expensive and there are scales at almost every big truck stop. Stop all the guessing and screwing around...

[laj]

hey man, you dont want to weigh it, don’t. just load it up and motor merrily down the road, lots of people do. i see very few p/u’s sitting along side the road with blown tires, broken frames, or any other kind of failures.
however it does no one any good, including yourself to keep on asking what you can haul or do until you absolutely know:
what your frt axle empty weight is
your rear axle weight is
your total empty weight is
your axles total maximum carrying weights are
the exact tire maximum weight capacities are.
different than some i use max tire weight and axle weights as my limits.
jmho

[Jshopes81]

Originally Posted by laj

what your frt axle empty weight is
your rear axle weight is
your total empty weight is
your axles total maximum carrying weights are
the exact tire maximum weight capacities are.
different than some i use max tire weight and axle weights as my limits.
jmho

Ive kind of been thinking, we need a thread on here with a breakdown of the states and whats what as far as weight with links or documentation from the state. I think that would be a great sticky on here. I know 100% for sure factory gvwr doesnt mean anything in pennsylvania.

[laj]

that could be really useful as long as the information was accurate to where people could really rely on it as the gospel truth.

[Jshopes81]

Originally Posted by laj

that could be really useful as long as the information was accurate to where people could really rely on it as the gospel truth.

Ya i know it. Thats why i said about having references.

[tuffr2]

Agree that information would be great but would need to be updated with changes when they happened. But sooner or later the information will be obsolete as new laws and new trucks come along.

Even research on the internet is tricking to find valid information a lot of the time.

The op has a very nice 2500 series truck and wants a 5th wheel. I am looking at travel trailers but like 5th wheels better and I have a little F-250. So I might end up in the same boat

[laj]

there are 5th wheels that can be towed with even little toyotas. they aren’t the big heavy high end ones, but i have seen some in the mid 20ft range