1/2 ton towable 5th wheel...Ha!

keiferbassGoingWest wrote:
Hello. I'm a newbie here

I'm getting educated for a future purchase of a TT or 5er.
Much of what I've read here is dissuading me from considering a "1/2 Ton towable 5er" though I believe 5ers are generally more stable (less likely to be swayed by winds or those 18-wheeler flybies). But I've been dissuaded from TTs because I've read some horror stories of TTs that were well under the TVs numbers get out of control with cross winds.

Many recommend applying an 80 rule so I've been looking at TTs that are that, 7100 lb GVWR or under (80 of 8900 lb, my RAM Ecodiesel). I haven't found a 5er that meets that criteria but if I do I'd be included to go with it assuming I could get enough payload weight headroom.

I haven't found any discussions about a trailer's "weight to length" or "weight to side surface area" affecting sway. Any thoughts or observations? Again, I believe that a 5er will not be swayed so easily.

Oh...
2016 RAM Ecodiesel
GVWR 6950 lb
Payload 1600 lb
GCWR 13,750 lb,
Max. trailer weight 8900 lb.

Here's an interesting video on the Ecodiesel's towing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpcJJxhvPWU&t=2s

Payload is your issue, especially with the ecodiesel or any 1/2 ton for that matter. Your 1600lbs (which sounds high to me) will get eaten up quickly with the weight of a fiver hitch in the bed and any passengers. You'll likely have less than 1k of payload left which pretty much even the smallest fiver will exceed once loaded.

Just curious where you got the payload number from? Brochure or actual door jamb sticker? I haven't seen an actual Ram 1500 that high, most being less than 1100lbs to as low as 850lbs! As a newbie, don't get fooled by unrealistic brochure weights. Get the actual weights from the actual vehicle and trailer stickers or go to a scale.