I bought my 1st, 24 ft Fleetwood 5th wheel trailer 4300Lbs empty, in 93 and towed it home with a 86 Ford Ranger with a 2.3L 4 Cylinder Engine. I never went under 50MPH on 3rd in the hills, and mostly drove 55 all the way home. I traded the truck on a 88 STX 2.8L Ranger and drove this unit for 3 years. Drove down to Florida 3 times with no problems. Had to shift to 3 rd in the hills so the clutch would not heat up and slip. But I still past the transports in the hills at 55MPH. But I came to an emergency stop and all 8 wheels slid on the pavement until I stopped. After I was looking at my rear tires and noticed rubber on my tire balancing weights, indicating the tires turned on the rims. Its then I realized I was definitely under sized truck. My C1500 Gm Diesel was not as good in the hill but it did the hauling of the same trailer quit well.
One day I was at a campground and one camper asked me to undo the nuts on his back wheels because he could not check the torque. They looked really hard to turn. Well I was able to undo one nut and told him to get a 2500 series truck because his 1500 dodge did not have enough studs on the rear wheels to haul a 5th wheel. All his rear studs had stripped threads, A Dodge 1500 has the same wheel studs as my Ranger had. And they claim these trucks can haul a 9000Lbs 5th wheel. When a 5th wheel corners the weight on the outside wheel could be 2 to 3 times more pressure. Its not the pull that count its the stop and steer. I told him I would not leave the campground with that setup, he told me he bought the truck and camper from a trailer dealer. Well they were wrong and I told him to go see them and get a Dodge 2500 if he wanted to survive the trip across Canada. He was on his first 100 miles of his trip at the point.
My 1500 GM was 1000 lbs less then my 2500, all the weight difference was in the frame and running gear like brakes .
I feel much better on the road with my 5th wheel with 11000 lbs , and a 6800 lbs truck. now I have
8800LBS on the trailer wheels and 9000lbs on the truck.
When my friends tell me they can haul a heavy 5th wheel with their 1/2 tons I just grin, and say been there before. My big trailer is much safer on the road then any 1/2 ton trying to haul any size 5th wheel.
They are now building lighter trailers, a friend of mine told me he tipped his lightweight trailer on the highway in Florida, he survived because he had a GM 2500 and the truck did not tip. I would never own or drive the new light weight because they are to light for the highway condition that exists. They are just like a billboard and the wind just takes then in flight. My heavy 24ft 5th wheel was very stable, and with the right truck it was great. The heavy on the truck the better the setup.
I have lots more but for now its enough.