Community Forums

CD · 04-12-2009, 11:29 PM

TEX-CTD
I recomend you read the thread I posted a couple years ago about a 3/4T pulling a big 5er. http://www.irv2.com/forums/f45/5th-w...-i5-34306.html

TEX-CTD · 04-13-2009, 01:50 PM

thanks for the link and i understand what u r saying but........ where have i said that i am going to overload my truck and try an pull a huge 5er?

these ppl that think they can pull a tri axle with 3K+ hitch wt with a 3/4 ton are crazy. i have worked many wrecks were something like this was the case, or a bumper pull that was to heavy for the tow vehicle.

i am on this site to learn from the BTDT crowd and i have learned a lot so far.
seems what i need is a 5er w about a 1750ish EMPTY hitch wt and a GVW of 13K or so.

TEX-CTD · 04-13-2009, 02:03 PM

I get the 20% for a GENERAL number. i thank yall for your input and value it, but honestly feel attacked a bit.

I agree if u take all the 34-38' 5ers on the market 90%(or more) will have a hitch wt that is to much for me. again im not saying i ahve to have a 38'er it jsut happens to be the floorplan my wife and i liked the best so far...

my point is that there are a FEW that have this floorplan happen to be 38' have a GVWR under 14K and a hitch wt that is under 1800 lbs.

take my previous exp. and well use those numbers
GVW 13780......20%= 2756 for hitch wt.
now the empty hitch wt is 1780.......thats a diff of 976 lbs..........

again this may be my not knowing and newbie talking but i cant see adding a thousand lbs to the hitch wt alone. that would be 33% of the wt you can add to the whole trailer when u load it.

again if I am wrong i have no prob saying so.....i am here to learn and if i am wrong then thats fine and I have just learned something else....

RustyJC · 04-13-2009, 02:23 PM

Empty hitch weights often don't include propane, batteries, options (like that 2nd A/C over the bedroom), etc. It's not all what you load into it that brings your actual pin weight up to the ~20% level.

If you take the 2756 lb hitch weight from your calculations and subtract it from the assumed 9200 lb GVWR of your truck, that means that the most your truck could weigh with full fuel tanks, passengers, cargo, 5th wheel hitch, accessories (e.g., tool box, auxiliary fuel tank, etc.) just like you're going to head down the road is 6444 lbs. My truck weighs 7680 lbs loaded with myself, my wife, 2 Shelties, full fuel tank, hitch, loaded toolbox, etc. I'm struggling to believe that your truck is over 1200 lbs lighter than mine. That's why we're expressing concern with your use of empty hitch weights for sizing what your truck can handle.

Rusty

TEX-CTD · 04-13-2009, 04:22 PM

and i cant haul a trailer with a 2750 hitch wt and i know that.

i am learning as i go and not trying to cause a fuss please dont thank that.

again i just learned something esle.....full propane tanks, 2nd ac and such. this is all great info and stuff that someone like me who hasnt owned one before dosent think about. thanks for bring that up.

CD · 04-13-2009, 05:56 PM

TEX-CTD
The one point that I hoped you would get from the link is that a big 5er without duals on the tow may lack the control you need. I personally believe that the 5er in the link lost control for that reason. I think that the driver saw that he couldn't slow down fast enough and made a quick lane change and the truck wasn't able to redirect it down the road again and jack knifed. You get that much weight moving sideways you need rubber on the road. I have only towed a 5er RV once. It was as 32' with a 3/4T Ford. I never felt fully in control. It's not because I hadn't ever driven something that big. I had driven Semi as big as 42' trailer. I have a friend that had a 28' Artic Fox & 3/4T Ford. He finally sold it and got a TT. He said it was just too heavy to feel comfortable. I have seen a big difference in handling our 28' TT when we got the Dulley. It just doesn't get pushed around any more by big trucks or wind etc that I experienced with the 3/4T. A long traier will give you more trouble with side control than a shorter one.
We aren't trying to beat up on you but don't want to see you wish you had more when it's too late to get it.

tnance · 04-14-2009, 05:55 AM

Estimating the actual pin weight of a trailer by using 20% of the trailer’s GVWR is fairly accurate.
If you have things in the front of the trailer like a front AC, generator, or washer & dyer like we do the pin weight runs much higher. The measured pin weight of our trailer is 26 % of the trailers weight.

Jeff_in_The_Dalles · 04-20-2009, 05:49 AM

Getting away from the weight issue for a minute...

If this is going to be your first RV, I'd suggest going to a big RV show so you can look at lots of floor plans and quality levels at once. Take digital photos of the models you might be interested in, starting with a photo showing what it is (they will run together). By pulling some drawers you can see where the huge spread of prices comes from (some are pressboard, some are particle board, and some are plywood).

Then, unless money is no object, I'd use that info to cruise the internet for used examples of models you like. Everybody I have known who got their first RV learned from that one what they really want. Even when hardly used, RV's drop huge in value over the first couple years- so you could really loose your shirt if you bought new and decided to trade up.

Some things I think people miss when shopping are the shower- especially headroom if you are 6'+. The floor of many shower stalls are several inches above the floor, and I wouldn't want to be showering with my head sticking up in one of those little skylights. Another thing is how the intertainment center is located, relative to the couch and other seating areas.

Anyway, weight wise, I had a 30' toyhauler that listed a pin weight of 1900, which I towed with a 3500 Ram with single rear wheel. Actual hitch weight was probably around 2200 or so, plus the weight of the hitch and other stuff in the bed put me close to my rear axle rating. The truck handled it fine.

When I wanted to step up to something bigger, I snagged a used (didn't want the 6.7) Laramie 3500 dually. Absolutely required for the 40' job I've got now, but before I bought the big 5th wheel I did use the dually with the 30' 5th wheel.

Although I felt the SRW truck handled it fine, after towing the same trailer with the dually I knew right away I'd never own another single rear wheel truck as long as I have a 5th wheel of any kind. Narrow uneven twisty mountain roads are now a much more relaxing drive.

The dually is actually easier to live with on a daily basis than you would think (it's my daily driver/commuter in the winter). I can pretty much get it in any drive through or anyplace else, though I do have to pay attention...

TEX-CTD · 04-22-2009, 08:16 PM

thanks for all the input and im really getting some great info. im takin in all in and going from there.

TEX-CTD · 04-24-2009, 06:07 PM

well after tons of reading it comes down to either a really light 5er or a dually, and thats pretty much it.

so my thoughts r this.........

i can get a nice 1 owner low mile mega cab dually and lower my payment by $100/mo and only add 6-8 mo to my loan term. so do i grab a good truck while i can and drive a dually around, which they say isnt near as bad as u think, or wait? realisticly it will be 2 yrs before i get a 5er but by then the dodge 5.9 trucks witll be 3+ owners and over 100K miles.

the thing is we love the outdoors and camping, the lake, beach and what not. so i know we will be out alot with the 5er other wise i wouldnt worry so much if it were jsut a few short trips a yr.
just kinda thinkin outloud here.

Jeff_in_The_Dalles · 04-25-2009, 02:50 AM

The cab on the mega is nice, but personally I prefer a long bed for use with a 5th wheel.

With a short box, you will likely need a sliding hitch to be able to turn reasonably sharp without crunching the back of the cab. If you do go that route, if it were me I'd get an auto slider. Otherwise sometime in heavy traffic, or just not paying attention I know one day I'd knock the window out of the truck.

2010 should see a crew cab/long box, assuming Chrysler is still around.

In regard to being a couple years out for purchasing a 5th wheel, I'd say look around at used ones. You might find one you could afford to buy now and enjoy for those two years, plus if you are careful you could get most of your money out if you decide to buy new in a couple years. That would also give you a better idea of the size and type that might best serve your needs.

TEX-CTD · 04-25-2009, 06:20 AM

jeff pretty much what i was thinkin.........maybe we could bet a less expensive smaller one now and learn what we dont like then move up latter.

on the short bed thing....long bed would be ideal but i would rather have the x-tra cab than bed right now. plus with the new front caps(even on ones a few yrs old) made for short beds plus a sidewinder type pin box it will be ok. yes longbed would be better but.........
the new dodge crew cab long bed im sure will be great but to $$$ for me. ill stick with the 5.9 and look at 06 or 07 megas

Jeff_in_The_Dalles · 04-25-2009, 04:52 PM

If the mega cab is a big advantage for your family situation, then I'd say go for it. I'd just snag a superglide hitch.

bob russell · 07-15-2009, 02:18 AM

figure all that other up then make sure your truck will handle 20% more camper than you actually buy. the main thing i've learned is that if you want to be able to go where ever you want comfortably, don't strain the truck. i'm pulling a 30' 5th wheel (2 slides, 1150# pin weight and 12,000# gross dry?) with a 08 mega cab cummins and have no problems. don't let a sales man tell you what you can pull, been there & done that, had the back bumper dragging the ground and about 5mpg.

you want to enjoy yourself when you camping, not having to worry about it helps.