Community Forums

nessie1020 · 06-30-2007, 05:33 AM

Hi everyone,
We currently have a '94 Jayco 26 ft TT with a soft spot on the floor. TV is 2002 GMC ext cab short bed 5.3L, 8300# tow rating, Prodigy Brk controller and Equalizer hitch. We are considering getting a fifth wheel but can't upgrade the truck and also get the 5'ver.
I know that we need to keep the wt very low here, have done some searching and found Roadrunner and Xtreme 7.5 wide FW's by SunValley. Does anyone have any experience with these? We would like a slide unit. Of course the closest dealers are 4 hours away, and have little inventory.
My question is really about the GCWR. Roadrunner F230SL is Axle wt 3802, cargo capacity 2580/ 6382 gcwr total, think I'm doing this right. This would be ok for our truck. They also have 8ft Roadrunner XL's, signifigantly heavier, 528RLSS is 5915 axle wt, 3145 cargo capacity/ 9060 gcwr, over our limit.
The dry wt of our Jayco is right about 4000# according to NADA, w/o air cond, mw, etc so we figured maybe 5000# is it's actual wt. We needed a new truck when we bought our Jayco in 2002 so we have to be very careful now!!
Can anyone suggest an axle (is that DRY?) weight that we should not exceed so as not to be overwt? I know the max GCWR of the truck is 8300# but what is about normal for cargo wt? We are short trippers only and food shop when we get there so I would say we are light packers. Maybe someone with a similar truck can LMK what their FW wt is?? If we are towing a FW as opposed to a TT is it ok to be in the higher limits? I have seen posts about other 1500 trucks pulling 6000# TT's with no problems but we don't want to be stupid.
Many thanks to all here who post for the help of others. This forum is invaluable!!
Rosemary & Larry

nessie1020 · 06-30-2007, 05:33 AM

Hi everyone,
We currently have a '94 Jayco 26 ft TT with a soft spot on the floor. TV is 2002 GMC ext cab short bed 5.3L, 8300# tow rating, Prodigy Brk controller and Equalizer hitch. We are considering getting a fifth wheel but can't upgrade the truck and also get the 5'ver.
I know that we need to keep the wt very low here, have done some searching and found Roadrunner and Xtreme 7.5 wide FW's by SunValley. Does anyone have any experience with these? We would like a slide unit. Of course the closest dealers are 4 hours away, and have little inventory.
My question is really about the GCWR. Roadrunner F230SL is Axle wt 3802, cargo capacity 2580/ 6382 gcwr total, think I'm doing this right. This would be ok for our truck. They also have 8ft Roadrunner XL's, signifigantly heavier, 528RLSS is 5915 axle wt, 3145 cargo capacity/ 9060 gcwr, over our limit.
The dry wt of our Jayco is right about 4000# according to NADA, w/o air cond, mw, etc so we figured maybe 5000# is it's actual wt. We needed a new truck when we bought our Jayco in 2002 so we have to be very careful now!!
Can anyone suggest an axle (is that DRY?) weight that we should not exceed so as not to be overwt? I know the max GCWR of the truck is 8300# but what is about normal for cargo wt? We are short trippers only and food shop when we get there so I would say we are light packers. Maybe someone with a similar truck can LMK what their FW wt is?? If we are towing a FW as opposed to a TT is it ok to be in the higher limits? I have seen posts about other 1500 trucks pulling 6000# TT's with no problems but we don't want to be stupid.
Many thanks to all here who post for the help of others. This forum is invaluable!!
Rosemary & Larry

TXiceman · 06-30-2007, 06:17 AM

By going to a 5er, you have two weights to meet. GCWR is just pat of the equation. You also have to not exceed the trucks GVWR or rear axle GAWR. With a 5er you carry a much larger percentage of th trailer weight on the truck. A typical travel trailer runs about 12% of the loaded trailer weight on the hitch. With a 5er you will be closer to 20% of the loaded trailer weight.

As an estimate, use 20% of the trailers GVWR for a pin weight. next thing you need to do is fuel up the truck, take Mom, the kids, the dogs, cargo, you normally carry in the truck and get the truck weighed and add 200# for the 5er hitch. This is your LVW (laden vehicle weight).

On the door sticker you will find a GVWR for the truck and a GAWR. Look in the owners manual and you should find the GVWR for your truck and you should find a GCWR for the truck based on the engine, cab and axle you have.

GCWR - LVW = max loaded trailer weight.
GVWR - LVW = max loaded trailer pin weight.

Typical of most 1/2 ton trucks you will run out of GVWR before you reach the GCWR, which means you will reach your pin weight limit before well before you reach your towing limit.

Practically a 1/2 ton truck will be pretty well loaded with a 24' 5er trailer provided you have the towing axle and towing package.

You CAN NOT go by dry weights. They are meaningless and should not even be printed in my opinion. Newer trailer have a weight sticker in side a cabinet which list the weight as it left the factory

Ken

Ray,IN · 06-30-2007, 07:22 PM

Try this handy fifth wheel weight calculator for determining what your truck can tow safely. As you see, this is more involved than first impressions. Notice nowhere do they even mention "dry weight".
Since it is not practical to actually weigh a prospective 5er fully loaded, as your family would go camping. You may calculate the loaded pin weight by first finding the "dry pin weight" percentage of the "advertised 5er dry weight. Now multiply that percentage times the GVW of the 5er. This will give a close loaded pin weight, assuming the 5er is loaded evenly.

Erich · 07-01-2007, 08:02 AM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by nessie1020:
Hi everyone,
We currently have a '94 Jayco 26 ft TT with a soft spot on the floor. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What does the soft spot on the floor have to do with it?

Rick A · 07-02-2007, 02:48 AM

Before upgrading the truck, we were towing a 2001 Rockwood 2710 7 1/2 ft ultralite 5th wheel with a '99 Dodge Ram 1500 with the 5.9. This setup towed great. Trailer weight loaded was about 7,500 lbs. What you will find towing a 5th wheel with a 1/2 ton truck is you will exceed your GVWR before you ever get close to the GCWR. Watch you pin weights closely. Get the truck weighed and then use the weight calculater refered to earlier to determine where you stand. I know it can be done, but you have to watch your weights closely. If you have a Rockwood dealer nearby, I would take a look at them as well. Very well built for a light weight trailer and I have received exceptional customer service from Forest River.