Community Forums

dreese2005 · 11-17-2007, 03:22 PM

Hello all. I am glad I happened upon this site.

I may have put the cart before the horse but I got a great deal on the TT and now I need to find a truck to pull it.
This may sound comical but I drive an 18 wheeler for a living and have never pulled a 5th wheel TT before. I just bought a 1995 Chateau single slide. it is a 28'5LP the tag says GVWR is 8400# Can this be pulled with a 1/2 ton truck? If it matters I will only be driving on flat ground. ie. from DFW to the southern coast. Please help. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, D.Reese

dreese2005 · 11-17-2007, 03:22 PM

Hello all. I am glad I happened upon this site.

I may have put the cart before the horse but I got a great deal on the TT and now I need to find a truck to pull it.
This may sound comical but I drive an 18 wheeler for a living and have never pulled a 5th wheel TT before. I just bought a 1995 Chateau single slide. it is a 28'5LP the tag says GVWR is 8400# Can this be pulled with a 1/2 ton truck? If it matters I will only be driving on flat ground. ie. from DFW to the southern coast. Please help. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, D.Reese

"007" · 11-17-2007, 03:30 PM

Welcome dreese2005 to irv2.

Why not use the tractor off your 18 wheeler alot of 5th wheelers do.

Your in the right spot for your info will add to new member forum for some more exposure.Enjoy the forums and do post often.

The Big Kid · 11-17-2007, 04:54 PM

Dreese,

second the welcome to irv2.

There are a lot of variables to say whether or not you are Ok.

As a driver, you know GVWR, and scales. So, check out the numbers your truck can do, then take a trip through the scales. it never hurts.

Rough guess - you should/might be OK. It will depend on what kind of 1/2 ton you have. I have a buddy with a 97 Ram 1500 and his max trailer is 8500 lbs.

so, check your numbers, and roll with the flow. But, if you want to use the work rig, the hitch is totally compatible(pin on trailer is same diameter as the highway rig). Check out the HDT forum for more discussion.

dreese2005 · 11-17-2007, 05:15 PM

Thanks for the advice. The problem is that I do not yet have the truck to pull the old chatteau with. I am looking to buy one this week. I can't really use my work rig as it is a company owned truck and I slip seat loaclly with another driver. (I promise I already considered that and tried to make it happen lol)
Any suggestions on what type of half ton truck would be best?

dreese2005 · 11-17-2007, 05:18 PM

One more question. Is the rule the same on this TT? is the pin weight 20% of the GVWR?

RustyJC · 11-17-2007, 05:54 PM

Let me add my welcome to iRV2.com as well. We're glad to have you join us.

A 5th wheel will typically carry ~20% of its weight as pin weight. A "bumper pull" TT will be around 10% to 12% of its total weight as pin weight.

Rusty

CD · 11-17-2007, 05:56 PM

dreese2005
To try to put it in perspective I will ask you a question. Would you tow your work trailer with a 1 1/2 or 2Ton truck? They probably would do it.

xc-mark · 11-18-2007, 06:35 AM

at a min you should have a 3/4 ton truck , I would find a diesel , often times you like camping so much that the wife wants to upgrade larger and this requires a truck upgrade. Your right at the limit of a gas small motor 3/4 ton for pulling hills you will want something over 300hp and 400+ ftlbs of TQ . weight wise any 3/4 ton can handle it. also send a few extra dollars and get a good brake controler . A 1/2 ton cooling system will not handle a hot summer day even if its flat , driving into a head wind will cause it to run hot on a 80*day .

cwsoules · 11-18-2007, 11:14 AM

I would get a 3/4 ton diesel pickup.

The Big Kid · 11-18-2007, 02:27 PM

Reese,

are you thinking of a new truck or an older one?

Here is a link to the Trailer Life annual towing guide.

the other consideration is how long you intend to have the truck and/or trailer. If you are thinking of upgrading a few years from now, the consideration would be to get a truck that you would use to tow your next trailer with. A diesel would be a long term, lots of towing power decision, but if you aren't going to do many trips, short trips only, then a gas 3/4ton might be best.

Not having your tow vehicle gives you more flexibility. I have a buddy that bought his SUV, then a trailer, but once loaded, the truck trailer combo was 80% of his GCVWR.

don't hesitate to ask more specific questions if you have something in mind.

TXiceman · 11-18-2007, 02:57 PM

As already noted, a 5er will typically put about 20%of the trailer weight on the pin or in your case 1680#. This will be over what a 1/2 ton truck is rated to carry. You really need to be into a 3/4 ton chassis and preferably a diesel engine.

Glad to have you here.

Ken

John66 · 12-22-2007, 08:16 PM

Generally a 1/2 truck is not a good choice for towing much over 5000 pounds. Some of the newer 1/2 tons might tow 8000 pounds of travel trailer or even more, but even such a truck might have trouble with fifth wheels. This is because the fifth wheel puts a lot of weight right over the rear axel which can exceed the usually puny rear axel weight of 1/2 ton trucks.

A gas 3/4 HD (wimpy 1 ton) should be fine for that trailer or even a little bigger, on flat terrain at least), and a diesel engine in the same 3/4 HD would be excellent and may handle up to even 1/2 again more trailer (12K pounds).

Rick A · 12-23-2007, 05:22 AM

Welcome, you have come to the right place for great advice. You are actually in a great position being able to match the truck to the trailer. You can make sure you get what you need to make it work correctly.

I have some experiance towing a similar size trailer with a Dodge 1500. Loaded the trailer was right around 7,500 lbs. It was an ultra lite 5th wheel about 28' long. The combination worked great but was pushing the GVWR, sometimes slightly over, even though I was withthin the GCWR. Your trailer is heavier and I would strongly recomend a 3/4 ton truck. While the gas motors will handle the load fine in a 3/4 ton truck, consider the diesel if you think you may upgrade the trailer in the future. I am now towing with a F-250 V-10 and love it. I like it as much as I liked the diesel I traded in. And with gas being 60-70 cents cheaper than diesel I am really enjoying it.