Considering 5th wheel - weight check please.

[Dougie123]

Greetings All.

We are considering upgrading to a FW from our current 23' Hybrid TT (wife is tired of dealing with the tent bunk ends). Anyway, because of a litany of mechanical issues with my older 2011 2500 Ram gasser, we recently traded it in for a newer 2017 Ram 2500 diesel, CC 6.5' bed.

We are considering a 34' FW with 11,000 GVWR and a DRY hitch weight of 1500 lbs.

Truck is spec'd at 17,200 lbs towing, and 2160 lbs payload.

Accounting for 3 passengers, (@150lbs each), that only leaves me with 200lbs remaining on my payload. Ugh.

We live in the Northeast, so mostly flat towing landscape, so I'm asking for humble opinions if you think I'm going to be "pushing it" when it comes to payload numbers? Will I need airbags to level the truck? Will the ride be bouncy, etc? Dry pin weight vs "loaded" pin weight. Do I assume 15% from the trailer to the pin, or 20%...I get different answers.

Upgrading to a 3500 is really out of the question as we just got the newer 2500.

Many thanks in advance for your advice & wisdom.

Best,
Doug

[ReneeG]

Barney, You're right! Thanks for that information.

[BarneyS]

Renee,
I suspect you are pasting the url into the image posting icon page instead of directly into the post. That is the only way I can think of that the extra command could get in there.
Barney

[ReneeG]

BarneyS wrote:
You had an extra img statement on both ends of the pictures url's.
When you use the forum picture posting app, do not add or subtract ANYTHING from the url given in the app. Just paste the url exactly as given to you from the app directly into your post.
Barney

Barney, the image app causes problems sometimes for me when I just cut and paste the url. That's why I always run a test first. Then I notice that it's inserted additional 'img' on each end. I remove, retest, and no problem.

[BarneyS]

You had an extra img statement on both ends of the pictures url's.
When you use the forum picture posting app, do not add or subtract ANYTHING from the url given in the app. Just paste the url exactly as given to you from the app directly into your post.
Barney

[ReneeG]

rvnutts wrote:
Thanks ReneeG for the picture! I have spent all afternoon trying to figure picture posting out and i think I have finally got it!

No problem. I too mess up sometimes, but I find that out when I do my pre-posting test (clicking on the document with magnifying glass icon), do then I make my adjustments.

[rvnutts]

Thanks ReneeG for the picture! I have spent all afternoon trying to figure picture posting out and i think I have finally got it!

[ReneeG]

Here's your photo rvnutts - nice rig!

[rvnutts]

Guess i am a little late with my pic since you have already decided on a tt. We are so excited with our new tv and fw and can't wait to take them out Our biggest concern with the new tv was the short bed. Hooked up and went to a large vacant lot to practice tight turns. Didn't come close! So happy! If I can remember how to post pictures, here we are!

[Dougie123]

Thanks All.

After much deliberation, we have decided to go with a larger TT, and pass on the 5'er for now. Our ancillary gear (2 kayaks, 4+ bikes, etc..) would require a major refit of the truck, and we would always be near/at/above the specs of the truck payload.

If we are going to spend big $ on a 5'er, we want to do it right (bigger truck, etc...), so for now we will continue to enjoy camping in a hopefully new to us larger TT.

Here are some photos of the new truck and hybrid at a rest stop in NY. You can see the kayaks, paddleboard, bikes, etc.... and losing my truck bed was just too big of a sacrifice to get into a 5er.






Thanks again for all the input and advice. Very much appreciated!

Doug

Moderator edit to re-size pictures to forum recommended limit of 640px maximum width.

[rjstractor]

Dougie123 wrote:
Thanks all. Appreciate the honest feedback. One question that might put this entire thing to bed, is regarding rear hitch on the 5er.

With the lite 5’ers, do they come with a welded on hitch? I need a hitch on the rear to mount up 4 bikes, and some forums are saying that most DONT because of weight savings.

If this is the case, 5’er option is out.

Thank all for your help.

Regarding the weight on the rear hitch of the 5er, consider that anything you load behind the trailer's axles will REDUCE pin weight. Pin weight is your main issue, not total trailer weight. So loading behind the trailer axles helps that issue. The flip side is that too light a pin weight can cause handling and ride issues.


I'm soon getting a much older F250 with an even lower GVWR of 8800 (but with a higher RGAWR, figure that one out) and I would not hesitate to tow an 11K GVWR fifth wheel. In fact, I hope to get one eventually and I think it will be a great match for my truck.

[mtofell1]

GVWR on a 2500 is artificially low to remain in a certain classification. Axle ratings and tire ratings are MUCH more important. In almost all cases a 2500 is the SAME truck as a 3500 except for some rear suspension that can easily be made up for. Research what all the numbers mean and make your decision based on what you are comfortable with.

[IdaD]

Dougie123 wrote:

JIMNLIN wrote:
Newer gen Ram 2500 can have a 6000...6200....6500 RAWR and is good for around 3000-3400 lb payload in the bed depending on which RAWR package.

The truck won't have any issues towing that size 5th wheel trailer.

We have another member (IB516) that had a newer gen 2500 RAM 6.4 gasser and pulled a 13k ? gvwr 5th wheel trailer just fine. He may be along to give you his opinion.

I have a older '03 2500 Dodge/Cummins and have pulled a 11200 lb 5er since the truck was new with no problems. Its not close to being maxed at anything other than 310k miles on the odo. The 3/4 ton Dodge/Rams have no upper over load spring pack like the older 2500 truck did. I later added Supersprings mainly because anything over 1500 lbs in the bed and the rear suspension sags.
I also pull a 16k triaxle GN stock trailer and other assorted GN/bumper pull trailers.

I wouldn't add anything to the trucks suspension till you get it loaded ....then is the time for that decision.

Thanks! Rear Axle WR is 6000 on my truck.

Are you basing that on the Ram towing pdf you found online or your actual door sticker? I've never seen that year diesel Ram 2500 with anything but a 6500 lb RAWR.

[2012Coleman]

You may want to look into Grand Design 150 Series 5th wheels. And yes, they all have a 2" hitch receiver standard.

[C_Schomer]

I'd watch the axle and tire limits. Airbags are great to keep the headlights on the ground. My 1997 2500 CTD had a tow rating of 10500 and I didn't like the boat like ride when I got to that weight but the new trucks probably handle it better. Craig