5th Wheel Qustions

[wtilley51]

We are considering upgrading from a 30' TT to a new FW and hitting the road for a couple of years. We are looking at a Grand Design Solitude 377MBS and a Keystone Montana 3950BR. I plan on towing with a GM 3500 SRW with Duramax. Would like to hear some opinions about my plan.

[BarneyS]

FeatherFam wrote:

What does HDT stand for?

it stands for Heavy Duty Truck like the semi-trucks you see rolling down the interstates. "Singled" means that one of the rear axles has been removed to make it a single axle truck instead of double.

There are also MDT (Medium Duty)trucks that are quite popular with RVers which are not quite so big and heavy and rough on the trailer as some HDT can be. Escapees Medium Duty Truck forum.
Barney

[FeatherFam]

ol Bombero-JC wrote:

Lantley wrote:


This post reflects the thinking of many of us. A DRW would be better but the OP decided to go with a SRW do to non towing factors.
For optimum towing performance I strongly recommend a DRW for the 5'ers you are looking at.
A dually will give you ample payload, better braking and more stability.

TOWING factors - DRW.

For heavy trailers (up to 80K, LOL!)

*If* I decided a dually was necessary for better braking, stability, and UN-limited payload.....it would be a "singled" HDT.

Do everything an LGT (little girly truck) will - with LOTS more whistles and bells! A used HDT will cost less than a new pickup and tow *ANY* 5th you can put behind it with ease. In many states, it can be registered as a Motor Home, and require (only) a Class C DL.

For the "non-towing factors' - a smart car on the deck will handle 'em real well!
(For non-believers, visit the Escapees HDT forum)

:C

Roll on!

What does HDT stand for?

[Toolguy5]

wtilley51 wrote:
We are considering upgrading from a 30' TT to a new FW and hitting the road for a couple of years. We are looking at a Grand Design Solitude 377MBS and a Keystone Montana 3950BR. I plan on towing with a GM 3500 SRW with Duramax. Would like to hear some opinions about my plan.

We are close to same set up weight wise. No issues, we are within limits of are tow vehicle.

You see a lot of RVers on the road with similar set ups.

[Ralph_Cramden]

bpounds wrote:


But what I think you are saying, is you are okay with loading your truck a little over the GVWR. I tend to agree with this. Others will throw a hissy fit when they see someone 50# over.

That is the under statement of the day! :S

[ol_Bombero-JC]

Lantley wrote:


This post reflects the thinking of many of us. A DRW would be better but the OP decided to go with a SRW do to non towing factors.
For optimum towing performance I strongly recommend a DRW for the 5'ers you are looking at.
A dually will give you ample payload, better braking and more stability.

TOWING factors - DRW.

For heavy trailers (up to 80K, LOL!)

*If* I decided a dually was necessary for better braking, stability, and UN-limited payload.....it would be a "singled" HDT.

Do everything an LGT (little girly truck) will - with LOTS more whistles and bells! A used HDT will cost less than a new pickup and tow *ANY* 5th you can put behind it with ease. In many states, it can be registered as a Motor Home, and require (only) a Class C DL.

For the "non-towing factors' - a smart car on the deck will handle 'em real well!
(For non-believers, visit the Escapees HDT forum)

:C

Roll on!

[Lantley]

Itching2go wrote:
I tow a 40 foot Grand Design Solitude with a dry pin weight of 12,300 lbs with a Chevy 3500 SRW Duramax. Fully loaded, I'm a hundred lbs or so over my rated maximum payload. You will a bit heavier than that. I've put several thousand miles on this combination with no problems. Would I be better off with a dually? Well, setting aside the hysterics of the 'weight police' who tell me I'm gonna die and take others with me, I'd likely be better off with a dually in strong wind conditions. But I just don't want to make a dually my daily driver when we get to where we're going. So, if stability in strong cross winds is that big a deal, I figure I'd find a place to hole up for a day until the winds calm down. Being retired, we can easily do that. As for the rated capacity versus actual capacity, I do believe that there is some 'fudge factor' in play given our experience. I'm not here to suggest that the rig you are talking about is within this envelope, although I do expect that you will need air bags to offset the squat that you'll have on your rear end. I installed a couple of Air Lift bags on my truck, and was amazed at the improvement in the ride as before, the rear axle was riding on the bump stops. So, do what makes sense to you. I agree with Campinfan's comment above that TV rated capacities are not an actual limit where "...things will bread right off...", if you're a couple of pounds over. If you're too overloaded, you'll know in pretty short order. Good luck...

This post reflects the thinking of many of us. A DRW would be better but the OP decided to go with a SRW do to non towing factors.
For optimum towing performance I strongly recommend a DRW for the 5'ers you are looking at.
A dually will give you ample payload, better braking and more stability.

[wtilley51]

Lwiddis wrote:
What is your 5er's expected pin weight? And the TV's payload capacity?

The Solitude's unloaded weight is 13,200 and pin weight is 2750.
The Montana's unloaded weight is 13,420 and pin weight is 2885.

The TV payload is 3927 and max tow weight is 17,200.

[jdb7566]

Lwiddis wrote:
What is your 5er's expected pin weight? And the TV's payload capacity?

Google it.

[wtilley51]

Itching2go wrote:

WTP-GC wrote:

Itching2go wrote:
I tow a 40 foot Grand Design Solitude with a dry pin weight of 12,300 lbs with a Chevy 3500 SRW Duramax.

Man that chevy is a beast! I didn't know GD was putting out those kind of pin weights these days 😉

Well, not that much of a beast. And I can't even blame autocorrect for that one. :S

So what is your pin weight?

[rbp111]

We looked at the Grand Design and the Montana 5th wheels. We settled on the Bighorn, made by Heartland. Look at those.

[4x4ord]

wtilley51 wrote:

philh wrote:

wtilley51 wrote:
Thanks for your reply. The TV specs state 17,200 as max FW trailer weight and 3927 cargo weight. FW is close but I believe TV manufacturer uses the 80% rule when publishing specs.

80% rule???

OEM's test their vehicles to the rated capacity.

It is probably not a "rule" rather a practice. If I were building truck, I would test it to 100% of capacity but for safety reasons would publish a capacity somewhat less the 100%, say 80% to 90%. That leaves a built-in margin of safety.

What is 100% capacity? In the 70's farmers loaded 18000 lbs of wheat in the box of their 3 ton Chevy with a 6 cylinder gasoline engine and 4 speed transmision. You'd be down to 15 mph on the uphill and stopping in any kind of hurry on a downhill was not much of an option.

[Itching2go]

WTP-GC wrote:

Itching2go wrote:
I tow a 40 foot Grand Design Solitude with a dry pin weight of 12,300 lbs with a Chevy 3500 SRW Duramax.

Man that chevy is a beast! I didn't know GD was putting out those kind of pin weights these days 😉

Well, not that much of a beast. And I can't even blame autocorrect for that one. :S

[WTP-GC]

Itching2go wrote:
I tow a 40 foot Grand Design Solitude with a dry pin weight of 12,300 lbs with a Chevy 3500 SRW Duramax.

Man that chevy is a beast! I didn't know GD was putting out those kind of pin weights these days 😉

[Itching2go]

I tow a 40 foot Grand Design Solitude with a dry pin weight of 12,300 lbs with a Chevy 3500 SRW Duramax. Fully loaded, I'm a hundred lbs or so over my rated maximum payload. You will a bit heavier than that. I've put several thousand miles on this combination with no problems. Would I be better off with a dually? Well, setting aside the hysterics of the 'weight police' who tell me I'm gonna die and take others with me, I'd likely be better off with a dually in strong wind conditions. But I just don't want to make a dually my daily driver when we get to where we're going. So, if stability in strong cross winds is that big a deal, I figure I'd find a place to hole up for a day until the winds calm down. Being retired, we can easily do that. As for the rated capacity versus actual capacity, I do believe that there is some 'fudge factor' in play given our experience. I'm not here to suggest that the rig you are talking about is within this envelope, although I do expect that you will need air bags to offset the squat that you'll have on your rear end. I installed a couple of Air Lift bags on my truck, and was amazed at the improvement in the ride as before, the rear axle was riding on the bump stops. So, do what makes sense to you. I agree with Campinfan's comment above that TV rated capacities are not an actual limit where "...things will bread right off...", if you're a couple of pounds over. If you're too overloaded, you'll know in pretty short order. Good luck...