Just learning so appreciate the patience. I'm exploring moving up from a 30 ft bumper pull to a 33 to 35 range fifth wheel. Tow vehicle is a 2007 2500 HD with Duramax Diesel. I've read the various numbers on weights and gone back and forth so many times one minute I think I'd be ok, the next I think not. As I've read post on Pin Weight and that has added more questions. For this truck what is your opinion on max weight in terms of trailer and pin weight? Floor plans we like at this point show dry trailer weight in ballpark just under 10,000 and pin weight of 1620. I would think that might be ok with the truck but second guessing on some things I've read. I appreciate any feedback.
Can my truck handle what size fifth wheel?
- Thread starter Bfollis
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Please, PLEASE forget the terms "dry" or "shipping" weigh/ You will never see that number ever in your lifetime. Instead lacking a true ready to camp weight use the trailers GVWR for your calculations. Also you can make an educated guess of pin weight by using 20% of the fivers GVWR as the pin weight.
So, to be precise, you have a 2500HD of unlisted cab configuration and unknown whether it is a 4X4 or 4X2, so, based on personal experience that truck in ready to camp condition could scale right at 7500 pounds. With a 9200 GVWR that leaves you a scant 1700 pounds for pin weight. Based on that and other considerations I would suggest that you start your search for a fiver with a GVWR of under 10,000 pounds. Yes it has a powerful drive train, The problem is that the rest of the truck can exceed the manufacturers GVWR/GCWR numbers long before it runs out of pulling power.
So, to be precise, you have a 2500HD of unlisted cab configuration and unknown whether it is a 4X4 or 4X2, so, based on personal experience that truck in ready to camp condition could scale right at 7500 pounds. With a 9200 GVWR that leaves you a scant 1700 pounds for pin weight. Based on that and other considerations I would suggest that you start your search for a fiver with a GVWR of under 10,000 pounds. Yes it has a powerful drive train, The problem is that the rest of the truck can exceed the manufacturers GVWR/GCWR numbers long before it runs out of pulling power.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
We need to know more details about your truck to be truly accurate (cab style, 2WD/4WD, rear axle ratio, bed length), but it is rated for at least 12,000 lb for towing. Check the specifics here: http://www.trailerlife.com/output.cfm?id=42175
That means a trailer with a GVWR of somewhat under 12,000 lbs. I say "under" because the 12,000 lb max is for a truck carrying only a 154 lb driver and fuel. Not even a 5W hitch, which adds 150 lbs or so. Nobody travels that light and every additional lb has to be subtracted from the max tow rating.
Pin weight is harder to estimate, but most 5W run 20% or so of the actual trailer weight. Your truck needs to have enough payload Capacity to carry that, as well as everything else you put in the truck. A 2500 can typically carry more than 2000 lbs, but you need to find out your trucks payload carrying capacity. The truck GVWR minus its actual weight is the real number, so getting a weight for the truck is the best approach. GVWR minus curb weight give you an upper limit, but you have to subtract some more for driver & passenger weight, hitch, gear, etc. You also need to be concerned about the rear axle capacity, since the bulk of the trailer pin weight falls on the rear axle.
You should be ok with a trailer GVWR of 10,000. Maybe 11,000 too. Probably not much more.
That means a trailer with a GVWR of somewhat under 12,000 lbs. I say "under" because the 12,000 lb max is for a truck carrying only a 154 lb driver and fuel. Not even a 5W hitch, which adds 150 lbs or so. Nobody travels that light and every additional lb has to be subtracted from the max tow rating.
Pin weight is harder to estimate, but most 5W run 20% or so of the actual trailer weight. Your truck needs to have enough payload Capacity to carry that, as well as everything else you put in the truck. A 2500 can typically carry more than 2000 lbs, but you need to find out your trucks payload carrying capacity. The truck GVWR minus its actual weight is the real number, so getting a weight for the truck is the best approach. GVWR minus curb weight give you an upper limit, but you have to subtract some more for driver & passenger weight, hitch, gear, etc. You also need to be concerned about the rear axle capacity, since the bulk of the trailer pin weight falls on the rear axle.
You should be ok with a trailer GVWR of 10,000. Maybe 11,000 too. Probably not much more.
Thank you guys, I should have clarified further. It is a 4wheel drive, short box crew cab. 373 rear end, and my manual shows 13,000 towing and I believe total of 22,000 for combo of truck and trailer. I apologize if not using the right acronyms yet. So when you reference the GVWR of a trailer, this number indicates how much total the trailer plus contents should be correct? So from you all experience, how much do you budget for water etc?
mostly been looking at models on line to get an idea of what we like, but weights are not always shown. For example, here is info on a floor plan we might like, with info on specs. Specification Description Which if I'm following correctly this likely exceeds what I should have on my truck? I know it can pull it the weight it's the other factors. Not sure if this helps but rear axle weight on truck tag shows to be over 6000 But If I'm hearing you guys right the below specs would either exceed or push the limits, or I need to lose weight and make the family walk. Thanks for the help and I apologize if I'm going in circles on this, but it puzzles me as when I look at a 1 ton truck, there is not a large increase in the capacities to my truck yet they are running up and down the road with bigger trailers. Am I missing something additional to be done to the truck?
Length 34'3"
Hitch Weight 1,872 lbs
Dry Weight 9,572 lbs
Gross Weight 12,032 lbs
Cargo Weight 1,976 lbs
mostly been looking at models on line to get an idea of what we like, but weights are not always shown. For example, here is info on a floor plan we might like, with info on specs. Specification Description Which if I'm following correctly this likely exceeds what I should have on my truck? I know it can pull it the weight it's the other factors. Not sure if this helps but rear axle weight on truck tag shows to be over 6000 But If I'm hearing you guys right the below specs would either exceed or push the limits, or I need to lose weight and make the family walk. Thanks for the help and I apologize if I'm going in circles on this, but it puzzles me as when I look at a 1 ton truck, there is not a large increase in the capacities to my truck yet they are running up and down the road with bigger trailers. Am I missing something additional to be done to the truck?
Length 34'3"
Hitch Weight 1,872 lbs
Dry Weight 9,572 lbs
Gross Weight 12,032 lbs
Cargo Weight 1,976 lbs
jje1960
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2007
- Posts
- 1,556
Bfollis said:
That is one strong truck you have there, the short bed may hurt a bit, need an expensive slider type hitch. I've seen your truck pulling all of what we have that's for sure. If you are not going to go and pull a toy hauler with an extra 1k Ibs in the rear, you should have a huge amount of options on you 5th wheel purchase. The numbers you have stated should be able to be matched one way or the other with your trucks specs.
glen54737
Well-known member
I looked at the towing guide 13600 or 15600 it was hard to figure i'd be disappointed if it was 13600 my Ford is 15600.
Most fifth wheels in the size you are looking at run about 12-14000 lbs GVWR that is the weight to compare for towing.
Most fifth wheels in the size you are looking at run about 12-14000 lbs GVWR that is the weight to compare for towing.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
GVWR is the max allowed weight, so you don't have to budget anything for water or whatever. You only have t worry about water and gear if you try to estimate actual weight. If you can't weigh the rig ahead of time, assume it weighs the max, i.e. the factory stated GVWR. Once you get it, you can load it for actual use and get it weighed. The actual number is probably less than the gvwr, but that gives you some extra safety margin.
