5th wheel and 2011 f250 gaser weights.

[Bear25314]

So, if my trucks 5th wheel capacity says 12000lbs. What would the highest weight be for "dry weight" of a fifth wheel? Oh. And 3.7. It seems a lot of 5ers are about 11000lbs dry. So basically it seems I can't pull many 5ers or am I missing something ?

[wingnut60]

Lot of missing info to offer advice...
But if gross weight is 12000, then 'dry' weight could be anywhere from 8-10000--every mfg is different on this.
Joe

[Bear25314]

I guess I'm wondering if everyone is pretty much up to there max towing weight? What other info should I put on here to he with answers?

[Bear25314]

[QUOTE="Bear25314"]I guess I'm wondering if everyone is pretty much up to there max towing weight? It seems that most 5ers are around 11000lbs dry. If my limit on my 2011 f250 crew cab 3.75 is 12000, then I'm guessing a 5er with about 10000 is my limit?]

[go6car]

Here is a thread that I started recently where there was a lot of great advice on weights and how to figure them out. (I was asking in this particular case for a single rear wheel F350, but you can use the same logic to apply to your situation as well). There is more than just the dry weight to figure in (also have pin/hitch weight, truck payload, etc.).

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f44/estim...er-107090.html

Hope this helps!

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by Bear25314

So, if my trucks 5th wheel capacity says 12000lbs. What would the highest weight be for "dry weight" of a fifth wheel? ... It seems a lot of 5ers are about 11000lbs dry. So basically it seems I can't pull many 5ers or am I missing something ?

You're missing a lot.

Dry weights are meaningless.

To match trailer weight to tow vehicle (TV), you need the GCWR and GVWR of the TV, plus the GVWR of the trailer. Plus you need the actual wet and loaded weight of the TV, including people, pets, tools, fifth wheel hitch, and anything else that will be in the TV when towing.

If my limit on my 2011 f250 crew cab 3.75 is 12000, then I'm guessing a 5er with about 10000 is my limit?

I'll use estimated numbers to see if you're on the right track, but only the actual weight of the wet and loaded TV should be used to fine-tune those numbers.

Your GCWR is 19,000 pounds. If your wet and loaded TV weighs only 7,000 pounds, then you tow rating is 12,000 pounds as Ford published. But your wet and loaded TV weighs a lot more than 7,000 pounds, so your actual tow rating is a lot less than 12,000. Your wet and loaded F-250 CrewCab 4x4 gasser probably weighs about 8,000 pounds. So if GCWR is your limiter, then 19,000 minus 8,000 = 11,000. So you're on track so far.

But on an F-250, GVWR is often the limiter. Your GVWR is 10,000 pounds. If your wet and loaded TV weighs 8,000, then your max hitch weight is 2,000. 2,000 divided by 18 percent = 11,111 pounds max trailer GVWR. So you're still on tract with your 10,000 estimate. (Ford diesel pickups have the same GVWR as the gassers, but weigh several hundred pounds more, so F-250 diesels have to pay more attention to GVWR.)

So using guesses and estimates of the wet and loaded weight of your TV and hitch weight percentage of the trailer, it looks like you can consider any fifth wheel RV trailer with a GVWR of less than 11,000 pounds. The next step is for you to load up the TV and weigh it. Use the actual weight in the above calculations, and you'll probably wind up on the road without being overloaded.

[Bear25314]

Thanks so much for the advice. I once hade a travel trailer and TV that were "maxed out" and it was not enjoyable at all to travel with. I don't want to do that again. 5ers are new to me. Never had one (only TT) and are now concise ring them. The weights are a bit confusing to me though. Thanks again. At least I have an idea now.

[RustyJC]

SmokeyWren gave you some excellent advice. I'd also suggest drilling into the sticky thread at the top of this Towing and Tow Vehicles forum which provides several good discussions and tools that address this 5th wheel weight issue and will walk you through the calculations by just filling in the blanks - I especially like Ken Lenger's Excel spreadsheet and the discussion preceding it that's available in that thread. Also, browse around in this forum - there are a LOT of weight threads you can peruse.

Rusty

[Cat320]

The weak link with a 3/4 ton gasser is the GCWR. They have a higher payload than the diesel (no heavy engine) but can't pull much, thus the lower GCWR.

Tow rating = GCWR minus the weight of the truck when ready to tow.