5th wheel weights and trucks to tow?????

NC Hauler, just for #hits and giggles, I jumped on the GM web site and started building a new 3500HD D'max. I stopped when I was still selecting options and the MSRP was nearly $66,000. For that kind of dough, I can rebuild my '02 D'max into a totally custom truck that would serve me a whole lot better than a Volvo. :-) Drop my '02 2500 body on a '15 3500 SRW frame, smooth and paint it and redo the interior, eliminate the pollution control garbage, register it as an '02 2500 and have my "perfect" truck. :-)

Lyle

NC Hauler wrote:

Dennis M M wrote:
Definitely look into a HDT! Go over to the HDT Forum on Escapees and spend some time reading posts.

For the price, capability and all around safety and comfort the HDT is hard to beat.

As far as day to day travel goes, we carry our smart car on the back of the Volvo. Volvo & smart together cost about half of what you would pay for new diesel dually.

Give it some serious consideration.

Are you absolutely sure on your cost "guesstimate"? Do you know what someone actually paid for their 1 ton crew cab dually? So I'd need a Smart Car, a way to get it on the back of the HDT, then run around in 1/2 a car that, if rear ended could cause major damage and possibly some pretty bad injuries.......??

When a 1 ton crew cab/long bed 4 wheel drive will do all I need and I can park it in my car port and drive it everywhere I need to and it'll tow a quite heavy 5er....believe I'll stay with the pick up, and still have full warranty on the brand new truck...All have their pro's and con's, but climbing up into the cab of a HDT isn't something the wife and I have to do to tow a heavier 5er...

I like how so many know what an individual paid for their truck...if going by MSRP, NOBODY pays that...It may cost a little more brand new but I have a full warranty..,

Do they throw in a Smart car for free, or does one only pay a couple hundred dollars for one of those...Everyone I've ever seen has been a bit over priced in my way of looking at it, but guess we don't figure that in the cost?

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I think you both have valid points. HDT"s are a viable option. HDT's are not as expensive as many think. I priced HDT conversion in the 25K-35K range. You cannot get a new fully equipped dually pick up for that. If you can I'll take 2.
The new dually pick ups are way more capable than prior years. AS NC Hauler point out. His truck has a 37500 GCWR which is huge.
2015 GM Duramax dually has a impressive 7K payload rating.
HDT are way more capable in terms of stability, power and braking than a dually. HDT are not for everyone. While some guys use them,HDT's are a bit large to use as a daily driver.

To the OP. You will need at a minimum a very late model diesel dually pick up to tow a large DRV fiver and remain within all of your towing parameters.

I call them "Not Very" SMART cars. But hey if I have to hit someone on the road I know who will win if it's a Not Very SMART Car.

Our Dually is our Daily driver. Wife even drives it!

Dennis M M wrote:
Definitely look into a HDT! Go over to the HDT Forum on Escapees and spend some time reading posts.

For the price, capability and all around safety and comfort the HDT is hard to beat.

As far as day to day travel goes, we carry our smart car on the back of the Volvo. Volvo & smart together cost about half of what you would pay for new diesel dually.

Give it some serious consideration.

Are you absolutely sure on your cost "guesstimate"? Do you know what someone actually paid for their 1 ton crew cab dually? So I'd need a Smart Car, a way to get it on the back of the HDT, then run around in 1/2 a car that, if rear ended could cause major damage and possibly some pretty bad injuries.......??

When a 1 ton crew cab/long bed 4 wheel drive will do all I need and I can park it in my car port and drive it everywhere I need to and it'll tow a quite heavy 5er....believe I'll stay with the pick up, and still have full warranty on the brand new truck...All have their pro's and con's, but climbing up into the cab of a HDT isn't something the wife and I have to do to tow a heavier 5er...

I like how so many know what an individual paid for their truck...if going by MSRP, NOBODY pays that...It may cost a little more brand new but I have a full warranty..,

Do they throw in a Smart car for free, or does one only pay a couple hundred dollars for one of those...Everyone I've ever seen has been a bit over priced in my way of looking at it, but guess we don't figure that in the cost?

Definitely look into a HDT! Go over to the HDT Forum on Escapees and spend some time reading posts.

For the price, capability and all around safety and comfort the HDT is hard to beat.

As far as day to day travel goes, we carry our smart car on the back of the Volvo. Volvo & smart together cost about half of what you would pay for new diesel dually.

Give it some serious consideration.

Rusty is right Mobile Suites are HEAVY. The only "light" one would be a 32'. Even that one is in Dually territory.

Truck in my sig. is a dually, (which I would recommend for the OP to look for, IF he's correct about the weights)....My 5er has a GVWR of 14,500# with a RAWR of 9750#, (AAM rates it at 11,800#)....My truck with the 4:10 has a SAE rating of 37,500# GCWR...don't need a HDT or a 450 or 4500 for that.....These new/newer 350/3500 trucks are towing much more in the past couple of years than ever before and offer much more payload capabilities...and once you park the 5er, it's no big deal to go to the grocery store, Wally World...wherever....

While I'm not a Ford fan, I have seen F450's that are indistinguishable from a 350 dually but for the badge. I have no clue as to the specs on it, but I would have to say that it's more than a 350. FWIW, I saw a Freightliner Sport Chassis with 4x4 just the other day. First one I've ever seen. Was a bit much, as it was also lifted with huge tires, but it's available. :-)

Lyle

There are pro's and con's to any truck. The HDT's are nice and since I drive one for work it would be an easy fit for me. A empty 53' van trailer weights 14-17,000# so it's a natural fit for a HDT. On the other hand, it's easier to run around town and "climb" into a pickup based truck. I've seen a couple F650's set up as RV haulers that I really like. Seen some sweet MDT's that could be an nice option. Dollar for dollar the HDT RV hauler can be a great value. A lot also depends on the laws/rules of your state. Special license requirements and insurance costs can also be a major concern.

Really need to look at your needs and see what fits.

I'm not sure which Mobile Suites model you're considering, but our 2014.5 38RSSA has a 19,000 lb GVWR. The Elite Suites 38RSSA has a 21,000 lb GVWR. If that scares you, don't look at any of the 41' or 43' models! You'll be looking at new duallies with 30,000 lb GCWR or more to tow an ES 38RSSA if you want to stay within the truck's rated GCWR and you load the 5th wheel up to or approaching its GVWR.

As far as the truck's GVWR/RAWR is concerned, if you loaded a ES 38RSSA up to 21,000 lbs, the pin weight would be at least 5,000 lbs as the total GAWR is 16,000 lbs (2 x 8K rated MorRyde independent suspension "axles").

With the new 5th wheel, we're over our truck's 26,000 lb GCWR (see signature) if we were to load the MS up to its rated GVWR, but that's not a recommendation for anyone else to get into that situation.

Rusty