Quote:
Originally Posted by thebrat
Hi. I'm thebrat. I'm going to buy a 5th wheel down the line. A big one with pop-outs. My problem right now is I don't know the size truck or engine to buy. I really want a 4x4 because I have a passion for four wheeling. I'm looking at possibly a Toyota Tundra. Would this pull a 36' or 38' 5th wheel?
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Hi, TheBrat, and
By now you should know the answer. No, not a chance if you want to be safe and within the weight limits of the tow vehicle.
4x4 is no problem. You can have a 4x4 to tow a heavy trailer. But not a dinky little half-ton 4x4.
In matching 5er to tow vehicle, the first thing you must do is determine the GVWR of the trailer. Then estimate the hitch weight of that trailer, and get a tow vehicle with enough payload capacity to haul that hitch weight along with your passengers and tools and other stuff without overloading the tow vehicle.
You want "A big one with pop-outs...a 36' or 38' 5th wheel?" That is a good description of the most popular large fifth wheel RV in the country - The Keystone Montana in model # 3400RL. 4 slide-outs (pop-outs?), 38' long, and a GVWR of 15,860 pounds.
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Montana Specs
Large 5ers like the Montana 3400RL have hitch weight (a.k.a. pin weight) of about 20% of gross trailer weight. And your gross trailer weight will be close to the GVWR of the trailer by the middle of the third camping trip. So estimate hitch weight as 20% of the GVWR of the trailer. 20% of 15,860 = 3,172 pounds.
So you need a tow vehicle that can handle 3,172 pounds of hitch weight in addition to your passengers and tools and hitch and whatever else might be in the tow vehicle when towing. And the power train in the tow vehicle must have enough grunt to tow a 16,000 pound trailer without overheating and burning up something in the drivetrain when towing up mountain passes.
Now that you know the hitch weight, let's consider tow vehicles. Don't even think about half-ton pickups such as the Tundra. They would be probably overloaded with 1,000 pounds hitch weight. My F-150 is overloaded with hitch weight of only 650 pounds.
You want a 4x4 for four-wheeling, so that probably means only two rear tires. Even the heaviest three-quarter ton (250/2500) is too light in the britches for that job. I'll use Ford as an example, but GM and Dodge probably have similar trucks with similar weight capacities. So let's look at the heaviest-duty Ford F-350 with single rear wheels (SRW) and a diesel engine along with an 8' bed so an ordinary 5er hitch will work. Yes, you need the diesel engine to tow that much weight without burning up all the available gasoline in the state.
CrewCab body? Nope, too heavy so not enough remaining payload capacity to haul that 5er without being overloaded.
SuperCab body? Nope, the body is still too heavy. Maximum cargo weight for an F-350 SRW SuperCab with 8' bed is 3,079. Not quite enough payload capacity to tow that monster-size trailer without being overloaded.
Regular cab? Now we're talking! F-350 SRW regular cab 4x4 with 18" tires has a maximum cargo weight of 3,969 pounds and a factory tow rating of 15,900 pounds. Plenty of payload capacity but barely enough tow rating. So that means that if you want to stick with an SRW tow vehicle that would be okay for four-wheeling, you'll be maxed out if not overloaded when climbing a mountain with the 5er tied on.
You don't like that regular-cab idea? Then as others have stated, you really need a dually. With a dually, you can have any cab you want, any trim level you want to pay for, and tow that monster-size trailer with no danger of being overloaded. You can get a 4x4, but a dually is not the best vehicle available for four-wheeling. But life is one big compromise, and so is determining the specs for a tow vehicle.