Carl L
Moderator Emeritus
Tom said:
Anything to be of assistance. ;D
Question about a dual purpose truck
- Thread starter Halo
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Anything to be of assistance. ;D
Bill_Frisbee
Well-known member
For what it is worth, I am towing a 38' 5er with a GVWR of 14,000 lbs. TV is a 2005 Dodge Ram 3500, short bed, single rear wheel, 4X4 with Cummins 610 turbo diesel and heavy duty tow package. It is also my daily driver and I manage to park it with some hassles in most places around town. Fuel milage around town is about 14 mpg, on the highway @ 60 - 65 mph milage is around 21 - 23 mpg, and towing the 5er, about 15 - 17 mpg on highway (again @ 60 - 65 mph). I am just about at the limit of what that truck can handle safely. As others on this forum will tell you, any of the big diesels will pull just about anything with a hitch. The problem is CONTROLLING what you are towing. Personally, I would not even consider a unit larger than the one I have without going to a bigger TV.
As for the necessary driver's license, I would not listen to anyone except the Motor Vehicle Department in the state where you are licensed. Dealers and others will tell you anything that they believe will facilitate moving money from your bank account to theirs. The sales people at the dealership where we bought our RV swore up hill and down that no special license was necessary. Both my wife and I asked several different sales people and the answer never varied. It turned out, of course, that a Class A license (same as those required for commercial tractor-trailer drivers) is required. Indeed, every single model of the brand we purchased exceeds the weight limitation requiring a Class A license. The fact is that the vast, vast majority of people hauling these big 5 ers down the highways around here are doing so illegally. As much as anything, I would be concerned about what happens in the event of an accident and your insurance company discovers that you are driving a truck-trailer combination for which you are not properly licensed?
BTW, I now have my Class A license ... which means I can drive legally and so can my wife so long as I am in the truck with her while she is driving.
Bill
As for the necessary driver's license, I would not listen to anyone except the Motor Vehicle Department in the state where you are licensed. Dealers and others will tell you anything that they believe will facilitate moving money from your bank account to theirs. The sales people at the dealership where we bought our RV swore up hill and down that no special license was necessary. Both my wife and I asked several different sales people and the answer never varied. It turned out, of course, that a Class A license (same as those required for commercial tractor-trailer drivers) is required. Indeed, every single model of the brand we purchased exceeds the weight limitation requiring a Class A license. The fact is that the vast, vast majority of people hauling these big 5 ers down the highways around here are doing so illegally. As much as anything, I would be concerned about what happens in the event of an accident and your insurance company discovers that you are driving a truck-trailer combination for which you are not properly licensed?
BTW, I now have my Class A license ... which means I can drive legally and so can my wife so long as I am in the truck with her while she is driving.
Bill
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
The driving license issue can be difficlut to determine. I researched it here in Florida and every written manual and even the actual text of all the laws I could find said a different class license was needed above 26,000 lb Gross Combined Weight. Dealers said no but could not explain why and the local DMVs seemed to know nothing about it except for CDL requirements, which were not applicable accoriding to the laws I could find online and at the local library. Eventually a DMV rep at headquarters in the state capaitol clarified it for me - my reading of the laws was correct EXCEPT that recreational vehicles driven for personal use were exempt from the 26,000 lb requirement. If I was delivering RVs I had to have a different class license, but if I drove my own I did not. But in Texas, for example, there is no exemption for personal use - the 26,000 lb limit holds and you would need to upgrade your driving license. I think Maryland is the same.
So the bottom line is, check with your local DMV and explain your circumstances carefully to make sure the answer fits your situation. Probably best to get two opinions from different DMV offices.
So the bottom line is, check with your local DMV and explain your circumstances carefully to make sure the answer fits your situation. Probably best to get two opinions from different DMV offices.
Carl L
Moderator Emeritus
Boy howdy!? ? It gets even more complicated because even at a DMV office, you have to be careful who you speak to about the subject.? The answer you get from a bored Counter Clerk I and from a supervisor may be two different answers.? ?Moreover the way you ask the question can prompt different answers.
Here in Southern California, we are fortunate that the local AAA Southern California Auto Club is still an auto club and has not degenerated completely into a travel service and insurance agency.? ?They publish a number of good driver publications.? ?
BTW to confuse matters even further, California does require a Class A ticket for vehicles over 26000 GVWR.? However, they have a Non-commercial Class A ticket for RVers hauling the really big 10,000+ GVWR travel trailers and 15,000+? GVWR fifth wheels.? ?That license involves special testing and driving testing.
A new Ford F350 diesel single rear wheel or dually will do the job. Truck rides OK empty but not great. My wife drives it all the time though. 
I pull a 15000 lb GW 5er with a 2005 F350 SW diesel. Weights (axle, GCWR, MGW) of the truck are OK and do not exceed limits. Anyhow, the trailer usually weighs much less than the 215000 max GW.
I pull a 15000 lb GW 5er with a 2005 F350 SW diesel. Weights (axle, GCWR, MGW) of the truck are OK and do not exceed limits. Anyhow, the trailer usually weighs much less than the 215000 max GW.
BruceinFL said:A new Ford F350 diesel single rear wheel or dually will do the job. Truck rides OK empty but not great. My wife drives it all the time though.
I pull a 15000 lb GW 5er with a 2005 F350 SW diesel. Weights (axle, GCWR, MGW) of the truck are OK and do not exceed limits. Anyhow, the trailer usually weighs much less than the 215000 max GW.
OOps. I meant 15000, not 215000.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
King of the Road makes very elegant trailers - an every heavy ones too! We had a "little" 29 foot KOTR several years ago and it weighed in at 11,000 lbs and that's a pittance compared to today's large models.
Just a quick update on this issue. I was talking to her last nite and shes found what sounds to be a good truck. Its a 2002 Silverado 3500 crew cab 4X4 dualie with the Duramax turbo diesel, Alison trannie, longbed, On Star, a killer stereo system, tan leather everywhere that looks brand new not even a scuff mark and about every other goodie you can think of. It looks like it used to have nerf bars or running boards that have at some time been removed and theres a tiny bit of rust around the mounting holes in the body. 41k miles and it looks like its never been used to tow. She has a friend at a dealer and can get it for 25k.
on edit: fixed typo. Its a 2002 not a 2003.
on edit: fixed typo. Its a 2002 not a 2003.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
That truck sounds like it will do the job nicely - I know someone with a nearly identical trucj towing a 35 foot Carriage. I think he has around 90,000 miles on it now and its going strong.
RV Roamer said:
Well this thread has certainly helped us get in the right direction. Ive done a ton of research following everyones helpful leads and wow, have I got an education! Now we just need some practical experience (Ive also been reading the Library and the goofs other people have done so as to maybe avoid some of them ourselves). Thanks again everyone!!!
