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niksalvo's avatar
niksalvo
Explorer
Apr 21, 2014

5th Wheel with 1 ton truck weight advice needed

I'm looking for a 5th wheel toy hauler to full time (work has me traveling a lot) and i'm looking for advice from people who have a truck about my size. Buying a pre-owned trailer.

I have a 03' F350 dually diesel 6.0 the towing guide from Ford says that i'd be good with a 5th wheel up to 12,800 lbs or a GCWR of 20,000 (truck weighs about 8000lbs) truck runs great, I keep up with maintenance.

This seems a little conservative to me but I don't want to get stuck with a setup that's not right.

I see a lot of people on the highway pulling huge triple axle 5th wheels with F350's and I keep thinking they have to be over weight but the setup looks good, no sag and their speed seems good.

Of course when ever I talk to a sales guy they say, "oh your truck is fine" etc, etc, etc...

So since i'm pretty much living out of my trailer I want to get the biggest I can handle but I want to make sure I'm safe. Any advice or experience from anyone with a similar truck who's already been pulling a trailer? Thanks!

(btw, i did look over the "Real Deal" section, looking for some advice conversation, thx!)

25 Replies

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  • mdamerell's avatar
    mdamerell
    Explorer
    Apr 21, 2014
    Ford Tow Guides

    Prior to 2005 the GCVWR on the trucks just stopped at 20,000#. You could add the diesel, no change. Add the 4.10 rear, no change. Half way through the options and upgrades it just stopped at 20,000#.

    I'm at my 20,000# combined limit and the truck in tow haul, cruise set at 60 mph just drops a gear and runs up the hill.

    My pin weight is 2,600# on a 12,000# trailer and my GVWR is 11,500# I weight right at 8000# with us and fuel so that leave me 3,500# cargo minus the pin and I have 900# to spare.

    Good luck and do your own research
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    Apr 21, 2014
    The '03 and '04 F350 6.0s are rated fairly low at 12,800. They took a significant jump in '05 to well over 15,000 for the SRW and over 16,000 for the DRW I believe due to suspension changes.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Apr 21, 2014
    With fifth wheel towing it is not how much you can tow but how much pin weight you can put in the bed of your truck before overloading components. Truck weighs 8000 according to you or scales? GVWR is what? 9900? 10,200? If 9900, then you have a scant 1900 pounds of load carrying capacity before exceeding the mfg GVWR.
  • Round_Topper's avatar
    Round_Topper
    Explorer
    Apr 21, 2014
    If your truck has the 4:10 rear-end, then we have identical trucks. My fifth weighs 14,600 loaded and we have over 10,000 miles experience pulling it around the country. We converted to disk brakes on the trailer because I was not happy with the way it stopped. Now it stops with confidence. The truck does an excellent job pulling the trailer, but I am planning on getting a larger trailer in the future and a converted semi tractor to pull it.
    RTer
  • B_Sjulestad's avatar
    B_Sjulestad
    Explorer II
    Apr 21, 2014
    clicky

    You can look at some of these, what you will find is the dry weight will be under your 12,500 but GVR will be over. Very few TH (even lite models) will have a GVR 12,500 or less. If you watch what you put into it and don't load the house into your TH you will have several to choose from. Good luck in your search.

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