Need 5er towing advice

[Mattm77318]

All,

Apologies if this has been previously asked. I looked and did not see a similar discussion.

I have a 2020gmc short bed 2500 diesel. From what I have calculated, a fifth wheel with a 15k GVWR is too much for my truck…or at the max towing capacity.

I want to stay at 80% or less of towing capacity if possible. Just because.

All the nicer 5ers I am looking at have a 15k or 16500k GVWR. I want the best built RV I can find. Am I just too limited in the choices of 5ers with a 3/4 ton truck? Should I stick to a TT? Getting frustrated trying to find a well built Rig that I can safely tow.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

[MtCamper]

I agree with the concept of not exceeding 80% but not with a diesel. Any of the big three will easily handle their full GVWR. What you may find problematic is payload capacity for your pin weight. You might not be able to haul along that 100 gallon aux fuel tank. Best 5er is very subjective. We've been very satisfied with our Arctic Fox 27-5L. I'd also look at the 29T. I've seen a number of both towed ay diesel 2500s with no problems.

[Old-Biscuit]

GVWR 10150
GCWR 24000
RAWR 6390


Short bed....slider hitch
5vr Wet Pin........3100# (weight added to Rear Axle)
***That equates to 22% pin ratio on a 14,000 GVWR 5vr

[TXiceman]

Your limiting factor is the rear axle GAWR as stamped on the driver's door sticker. For estimating the loaded trailer weight pin weight, use 20% of the trailers GVWR, not the dry weight. Your rear axle will be carrying the pin weight plus the hitch, plus and cargo and passengers. For starters, load up the truck as you would normally travel with passengers, cargo and full fuel and get the axle weights.

Sticker GAWR minus scale weight equals the maximum trailer pin weight. A 3/4 ton truck will always reach the rear axle GAWR before you reach the rated towing capacity.

You can find 5ers within your ratings, but they may not be as big as you would like. They make little trailers for little truck and for bigger trailers, bigger trucks.

[CecilD]

Welcome to the forum. You will get many differing opinions here. 80% is your preference, some go to the max right up to the pound. Many here disregard all numbers except rear tire and axle ratings.

I will say your GMC is a little unique due to the 2020 redesign. Your bed is three inches longer on a longer wheelbase truck. Plus, your pucks are set 2" behind the axle centerline so you could get by with a hitch that is lighter than a slider. Neighbor tows 102" wide 5er with a Companion hitch behind his 2020 3500 with no issues. I also recall the payload of your 2500 is only about 400 pounds less than the SRW 3500. I think you can find a nice fifth wheel that will tow really well with your truck.

Generally, you aren't going to do a major step up in quality with a TT unless you go with an Airstream or a smaller fiberglass trailer like a Bigfoot. If you are looking at 15k# 5ers, you won't like the TT's interior space and storage.

[4x4ord]

If you want to safely tow a 16k fiver with a GMC SRW short box you got two options …. You could throw air bags on your 2500 and ignore the door sticker numbers or take advantage of the crazy truck market by selling your 2020 and ordering a 2022 GMC 3500. The second option is not any safer but might make you feel better.

[xrated]

Originally Posted by Mattm77318

All,

Apologies if this has been previously asked. I looked and did not see a similar discussion.

I have a 2020gmc short bed 2500 diesel. From what I have calculated, a fifth wheel with a 15k GVWR is too much for my truck…or at the max towing capacity.

I want to stay at 80% or less of towing capacity if possible. Just because.

All the nicer 5ers I am looking at have a 15k or 16500k GVWR. I want the best built RV I can find. Am I just too limited in the choices of 5ers with a 3/4 ton truck? Should I stick to a TT? Getting frustrated trying to find a well built Rig that I can safely tow.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Something to remember here.....Towing Capacity is pretty much a useless number when it comes to towing/hauling a 5th Wheel Camping type trailer. You will run out of payload capacity long before you run out of towing capacity. The reason is that almost all 5ver Camping trailers will have at least 20% of the trailer weight being put down on the truck as pin weight. Many times it will be even higher than the 20% "guesstimate".....sometimes reaching 22, 23, maybe even as high as 25% on occasion.

[keymastr]

You will be about 1000 pounds over payload with a 15,000 pound 5er and a diesel 3/4 ton truck. A gas 3/4 ton will have a bit more payload but not enough. You need to look for 5ers weighing less than 12,000 and even then you may be over on rear axle weight rating.

[Dieselguy4]

Originally Posted by Mattm77318

All,

Apologies if this has been previously asked. I looked and did not see a similar discussion.

I have a 2020gmc short bed 2500 diesel. From what I have calculated, a fifth wheel with a 15k GVWR is too much for my truck…or at the max towing capacity.

I want to stay at 80% or less of towing capacity if possible. Just because.

All the nicer 5ers I am looking at have a 15k or 16500k GVWR. I want the best built RV I can find. Am I just too limited in the choices of 5ers with a 3/4 ton truck? Should I stick to a TT? Getting frustrated trying to find a well built Rig that I can safely tow.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

I follow the 80% rule. I just gives me peace of mind. You need to go weight your truck with everything in it ready to go camping. You will need rear gawr so you can figure your load capacity. You want to be under gvwr but rear gawr is critical. Your load capacity is restricted by your tire load capacity. Air bags do nothing to increase load capacity. Pin weight limits the size fifth wheel you can buy. Driving a overloaded truck is dangerous.

[tuffr2]

Dude - why did you buy a diesel 2020 2500 short bed when you want to tow a nice big 5th wheel?.

What is the payload on your truck?

I agree that GM did improve the truck a lot with redesign but a diesel 2500 will not have enough capacity to tow a 15,000lb GVWR 5th wheel.

You need to look at smaller 5th wheels or get a bigger truck with more capacity.

[Old-Biscuit]

RAWR 6390

Weigh truck 'camp ready'
Subtract actual Rear Axle weight from RAWR
that is the weight available for WET Pin of 5vr
22%/GVWR=Wet Pin

14K GVWR 5vr.........go camping

[4x4ord]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

Dude - why did you buy a diesel 2020 2500 short bed when you want to tow a nice big 5th wheel?.

What is the payload on your truck?

I agree that GM did improve the truck a lot with redesign but a diesel 2500 will not have enough capacity to tow a 15,000lb GVWR 5th wheel.

You need to look at smaller 5th wheels or get a bigger truck with more capacity.

In my opinion many people who buy diesel 2500s don't really know what they are doing. After purchasing it's impossible to change the payload sticker so they are left with trading for a one ton or adding air bags and ignoring the door sticker. My question is why do the manufacturers not come together and agree to put an end to this foolishness and stop building these neutered diesels. It would be a better world if all SRW HD or Super Duty were badged 2500, with the owner being able to specify a reduced GVWR if he wants for licensing purposes. Trucks badged 3500 should be dualies.

[tuffr2]

Thinking back when I was looking for a truck a long time ago now I was given a Ram 2500 diesel to test drive over night. This was a very nice truck and the salesman said it could tow any 5th wheel. I wanted to believe him and almost did. Lucky I had a knowledgeable friend who took time to explain 'payload' and rear axle capacity. Payload on this truck was a misley 2,100lbs. About 1,400lbs short of what I needed.

I agree with manufacturers building a 2500 truck that looks exactly like a 3500 SRW truck.

When I think of 250/2500 series trucks I think travel trailer.

When I think of 350/3500 series trucks I think 5th wheel.

[corn18]

Originally Posted by Mattm77318

All,

Apologies if this has been previously asked. I looked and did not see a similar discussion.

I have a 2020gmc short bed 2500 diesel. From what I have calculated, a fifth wheel with a 15k GVWR is too much for my truck…or at the max towing capacity.

I want to stay at 80% or less of towing capacity if possible. Just because.

All the nicer 5ers I am looking at have a 15k or 16500k GVWR. I want the best built RV I can find. Am I just too limited in the choices of 5ers with a 3/4 ton truck? Should I stick to a TT? Getting frustrated trying to find a well built Rig that I can safely tow.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

My truck has 2,900 lbs available on the rear axle. My Salem Hemisphere 290RL pin weight is right @ 2,120 lbs and my trailer weighs 10,540 lbs fully loaded with no water. A great combo. I would think your truck would be a great tow vehicle for this trailer. If the floorpan suits your needs.

I would prefer a bigger bedroom but I already had the truck, so I wanted to stay below 12,000 lbs GVWR.