tow vehicle

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Joined
Sep 30, 2019
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We are looking at a 38' 5th wheel. We have a Chev 2500 dura max diesel 4WD. According to spec it has enough tow capacity for the 5th wheel which weights 12,600. Hubby wants a 3500 dully, he says to prevent sway issues with pulling. Just looking for opinions about towing.
 
As many others on this forum have stated in other posts regarding tow vehicles, although your truck may have the tow capacity, it may not have the payload for the hitch, pin weight of the fifth wheel and all the other load like passengers, generators, and camping gear. We nearly fell into that trap by intending to buy an F250 until we realised it would not have the payload. Look very carefully at the yellow sticker on the driver's door shut for the maximum payload of your particular vehicle. Never never ever trust what any sales person says, they aren't the ones who will be driving the set up.  We are so so glad we took the advice of the experienced people here and went to the F350 SRW.
 
Thanks for replies. I kinda knew he was right because he has driven OTR tractors for a living. I was just thinking maybe this was just an" I want a bigger truck idea". But, I do want to be safe while we travel.
 
That is the empty weight, it will be 14,000 + once loaded with water, propane, food, bedding etc etc. You both will be much happier and safer with a 3500/F-350.
 
As a former owner of an alike truck, there is no way your truck can handle it well.  Go for Qatar 3500, preferably a dually.
 
No way would I want to pull that trailer with your 3/4 ton. I would want at least a 1 ton srw. However, I believe in "overkill" when it comes to safety and piece of mind, so I would want a dually.
 
Overkill is in the eye of thw beholder.  Stupidity is in thr eye of others.
A "38 foot fifth wheel"  really?  14,000 pounds translates to 3,000 pounds on the rear end.  That would likely mean the rear tires could be overloaded by a lot.
 
As others have intimated, you need both tow (pulling) capacity and payload (carrying) capacity. A 5W places at least 20% of its gross weight on the hitch, so your truck needs to be able to carry 2500-3000 lbs as well as pulling 12,600-14,000 lbs.    Note the high end of the ranges - it is very likely the 12,600 you quoted is the empty weight rather than the loaded weight.  Few 38 ft trailer load out under 14,000 and 15,000+ is more likely.

I personally consider a 1-ton dually to be the minimum for that size of trailer.
 
Tow ratings vs "real world"

Mfr tow ratings on most any vehicle are quite "optimistic."
Cut the listed rating in half & I feel much safer on the road for what I am towing with, whether it's a small SUV or
a 3/4 or one ton pickup.

    The larger pickups {(3/4) & 1 ton} also have higher capacity braking systems just in case
you need to stop or slow quickly.
 
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