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Towing Question

dieseldust

dieseldust

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Cloverdale BC Canada
Well i am starting to look at Fifth wheel trailers, maybe head some where warm and sunny, does anyone know what weights you can haul safely with my truck, i think i got about 1800 lbs for a hitch weight i cant believe these trucks only got 8600 GVWR but so be it, the truck also has air bags installed on it and 410 gears, i would like to get maybe a 34 footer and the GVWR i think is about 12000 lbs on the trailer, what do you all think,

James
 
Looking at the pin weights on fifth wheels I stayed in the 1500# with nothing over about 1700#. This way I can safely tow with other things in the bed of the truck. I like to carry my genset and other things in the bed and out of the trailer. I looked for something in the 32 foot and under. There is some good size grades around here so I stayed with under the 30 foot range and found a nice 28 foot Holiday Rambler Alumalite that has an dry weight of 4000# that way when it's all loaded up, I'm still under the pin weight and have room in the bed for other things the kids might need. If I had the bags installed in this pick up I would have looked harder at the 30 to 32 foot range of trailers. But the pin weight with a loaded pick up was the desideing factor for us. I would be staying on the safe side of it, if I was to do it again.

Just my 2 cents worth.

John Hornsby
 
Best I would think would be to load up the truck itself with a load typical of what you would have on your trip (wife .kids. fuel etc} & get to a weigh scale & see what everything weighs . Then subtract that wt from the gvww rating of the truck to get your possible hitch wt. ( 15-20% of the total loaded wt of the trailer. )You may well have already done this, but I only mention it as it can be surprising how your available hitch wt can be gobbled up with the load already in the truck.

Also, a 34 foot 5th wheel is likely to be High Profile & wind /air resistance from high frontal area can be a problem heat & power wise.

May be ok on the flat ground but long steep hills with that load could test the cooling system & definitly the power.

May be best to hook onto one at the dealers & see how it does from a standing start on a really long good sized hill.
 
I believe the gvwr on my 94 1 ton is 14 klbs with 2200 lbs in bed.. any truck can pull more than rating, buddy of mine found out doing that made axle seals leak, then no brakey until car in font of him helped him to stop. Love my 5ver, went light(5700 lbs) to have plenty of power to spare.
 
Yep, take one for a test drive... then turn off the trailer assist braking go for another run and see how confident you feel about pushing your limits.
 
dieseldust said:
Well i am starting to look at Fifth wheel trailers, maybe head some where warm and sunny, does anyone know what weights you can haul safely with my truck, i think i got about 1800 lbs for a hitch weight i cant believe these trucks only got 8600 GVWR but so be it, the truck also has air bags installed on it and 410 gears, i would like to get maybe a 34 footer and the GVWR i think is about 12000 lbs on the trailer, what do you all think,

James
Click to expand...

Towing a fifth wheel is very easy. Stopping it is another thing. Make sure the brakes on both vehicles are in the best operating conditions. Don't have the fifth wheel hitch installed directly over the top of the rear axle have it about 6inches farther forward of the rear axle. Doing this will add a little weight to the front axle and keep the rear axle from squating down. It will ride a lot better also. A 12,000 pound trailer should be an easy pull for your pickup. Keep the front overhang away from your rear window when backing and turning at the same time. Cab/rear window damage is expensive. I'm not sure of the operating laws in your area, you may want to check on that.
 
My experiece is Campers are much harder on a truck towing I would say largely due to wind resistance maybe ? Anyway I think a 34 ft Camper is too much. I could tow more weight on my euipment trailer than I could with a camper.
Just my experiences.
 
I've towed many things of all size, weight, rolling and non rolling......Ofcourse GVWR and equipment limits come into play, but also driving style and load rigging, play a big part in the equation.....As mentioned, where you position the load and stopping distance along with full attention play a major factor.

2 Cents
 
Repeating myself but have to concur with Ace . Frontal area on a High Profile 5ver can make for tough towing for a 6.5 where wind & hills are involved .
 
is it because the way these 6.5,s are built, just not enough torque, i used to pull a 30 footer that was a penthouse model with my 1987 2500 350 gas engine truck, slow on the hills but otherwise it worked fine, i am new to these beasts 6.5,s so its all up hill from here.

James
 
James, I pull an older 30 foot (1985) 5th wheel and I wouldn't go any larger. Mind you my camper is pretty heavy because of it's age, but a newer one may be alot easier.

One word of caution when pulling anything with these 6.5's is ALWAYS keep an eye on the temp. Don't worry about your speed...drive according to what your guages are telling you.
 
I would not get a 5th wheel. Have you looked into a bumper pull trailer. reason being a 5th wheel takes up so much room in the box of the truck. Where ya gonna put all the firewood or stuff you don't want in the trailer. My trailer weighs 4800 lbs dry and is a toy hauler. I have a canopy on my truck and can load lotsa stuff in there. the boat also aids in aerodynamic tuning. and the lighter the trailer means you can load more into it, which of course depends on the manufacturer. Ed
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Nice set up there ED,

Gerald how hot does your truck get pulling a fifth wheel do you find its tuff because of the large wind drag and have ya ever been west of Calgary with it, :)

Thanks for all the advise , but i really like fifth wheel,s maybe just have to get a smaller one maybe 30 footer.

Cheer
James
 
Been in Calgary James, but not with the camper. That far I'd rather not pull it lol.

As for the temp, it all depends on the wind. My camper has a stand up bedroom in the front so it's pretty high. It will sure hold up the wind. I will see 210 all day long with the fan kicking on and off while cruising along the prairies. As for hills, as long as I slow down and use my head it's not a big deal.
My camper weighs like 10k or so.

One thing is for sure, I would not go any bigger!

Hope this helps.
 
James
Just noticed that you are in B.C . Dont you have to have some kind of A modified drivers license for rv trailers over 10000lbs in your province ? Probaly not a big deal but thought maybe should mention it.
 
Well Diesel-T i do have my class 1 with air and have ohhhhhhhhhh 2.000.000 miles give or take , ya i got it covered but i am not sure to be honest with you if they have done that here i do think it is a great idea thou.

Well Gerald i think 30 ft would be enough i looked at a 29 with a slide and it weighs in at 12400 GVW but about 9100 emty,

James
 
James Knew if I mentioned it ,you would have a quad zillion miles of tractor trailering under your belt.
Dont mean to keep harping on legalities etc , but here in Ontario the Ministry is reportedly paying more attn to loading & staying within gvw ratings . Just something you might want to check out before buying , so that your 5th wheel hitch wt doesnt put your truck over its gvw rating (if it is a concern in B.C?)
I,ve found it awfully easily to go over.
 
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