Well the same old story talk to the trailer salesman oh Yes you have a 2000 Ford F350 Dually Diesel you have plenty of truck. Well I have always wondered if my truck was really rated for the 5th wheel that I have been pulling around for 4 years. Well there was no weight sticker on the trailer when I got it because it was bleached out and I looked on line data (Which is way off now that I have had the trailer weighed)Listed weight for GVWR at 12,300lb and Dry weight@ 9,000lb. Well on the way home from Camping this last went by a weight scale at Flying J and boy the numbers are way off. The total rig weight with the family and the dog in it with no water in it is 21,400lb puts the trailer at 13,600lb 1,300lb over brochure weight:M well according a fifth wheel weight calculator I am fine with the following exceptions Truck GVW over by 240lb and Truck GCW over 1,440lb. The truck pulls fine and have not had any problems for the four years we have pulled I did add Air bags on the truck to take the sag out.total weights from Cat ScaleSteer Axle 4,980lb Limits form Ford Sticker on Door Post 5,200lbDrive Axle 6,460lb Limits form Ford Sticker on Door Post 8,250lbTrailer Axle 10,000lbGross weight 21,440lbTruck Weight with passengers is 8,105lb Just to remind you have to weigh your rigs because salesman's and product brochures may be way off.

That's interesting. The axle weight ratings for my '06 Dodge 3500 SRW are 4750 front and 6200 rear.

Sorry to hear that "another one bites the dust". In this day of sometimes less than reputable, excuse me I meant to say knowledgeable sales people, one must remember to do as much research as possible. The sales people go thru training to "sell". What they learn regarding what they are selling is not always in the study plan.

Fire 19 you are light compared to me. I have a 2006 Carriage. I weighed it with a full tank of water which is how I always travel . We were on our way out on a trip. The trailer weighs a little over 14,700lb. Of that the hitch weight is a little over 3,100lbs. So I have 11,600lbs on the tires. I have been pulling it since 2006 with a 2001 F250 diesel. I have it beefed up on the suspension so it is still sitting up just a hare at the back with the trailer on the truck. The truck does a great job pulling the trailer. Also in the bed I have a 25k airsafe hitch, behind the cab is a diamond plate toolbox with a generator and a 12 gallon fuel tank. It is called a Genbox. In front of the tailgate is a 37gallon fuel tank. So you are traveling light compared to me. A friend of mine just bought a new truck, the one he traded in was just a few years old. He told me I should break down and get me a new truck. I told him their is no way I would get rid of my 2001 ford with the 7.3 diesel in it. It does to good of job pulling my 5th wheel. I bought it brand new. This year I just busted 100,000 miles on the truck. So it isn't even broke in good yet.

When does the Onus fall on US to do our homework and know what we can tow, then research what we want to buy.Frankly it is the purchasers fault not the salesmans for this oversight.When you buy a house do you believe the realtor that it is a good house, or do you get your own inspection done??

handsome51 wrote:Fire 19 you are light compared to me. I have a 2006 Carriage. I weighed it with a full tank of water which is how I always travel . We were on our way out on a trip. The trailer weighs a little over 14,700lb. Of that the hitch weight is a little over 3,100lbs. So I have 11,600lbs on the tires. I have been pulling it since 2006 with a 2001 F250 diesel. I have it beefed up on the suspension so it is still sitting up just a hare at the back with the trailer on the truck. The truck does a great job pulling the trailer. Also in the bed I have a 25k airsafe hitch, behind the cab is a diamond plate toolbox with a generator and a 12 gallon fuel tank. It is called a Genbox. In front of the tailgate is a 37gallon fuel tank. So you are traveling light compared to me. A friend of mine just bought a new truck, the one he traded in was just a few years old. He told me I should break down and get me a new truck. I told him their is no way I would get rid of my 2001 ford with the 7.3 diesel in it. It does to good of job pulling my 5th wheel. I bought it brand new. This year I just busted 100,000 miles on the truck. So it isn't even broke in good yet.Your transmission will fail before the engine. I'm surprised it hasn't already.

Another Salesman lied | Good Sam Community

Fire19
Explorer
Jun 24, 2014
Since the GVWR was off by 1,800lb I guess the dry weight should be around 11,800 but this fall I will know the weight of the dry rig when I take it to storage I will drive by the scale again.
handsome51
Explorer
Jun 24, 2014
dbbls ,on the transmission I have one of the first 2001 F250s. It was built in october 2000. So it had the mechanical diode clutch in it . That they got rid of after 6 months of warranty transmission repairs. I had a cabover camper on it till 2006. So I was not worried about the transmission with it. Their was not enough weight. But with the 5th wheel their was. I took the truck to a transmission guy I have known for years. I had him remove the transmission and put the sprag one way clutch back in to replace the diode clutch. I also had a 3 disc heavy duty torque convertor installed.Plus I had a shift kit installed with the instructions that I did not want to have to wear a neck brace when it shifted. I have added a couple of transmission coolers and one has a fan that will turn on if in town running less then 40mph and the transmission oil temperature is wanting to rise. I have my own transmission gauge and 3 sending units. One reads the oil coming out of the torque convertor, one reads the oil from the cooler to back to the transmission. And one reads the oil temperature in the pan. So I have not had a transmission problem due to pulling my 5th wheel.
ol_Bombero-JC
Explorer
Jun 24, 2014
handsome51 wrote:
Fire 19 you are light compared to me. I have a 2006 Carriage. I weighed it with a full tank of water which is how I always travel . We were on our way out on a trip. The trailer weighs a little over 14,700lb. Of that the hitch weight is a little over 3,100lbs. So I have 11,600lbs on the tires. I have been pulling it since 2006 with a 2001 F250 diesel. I have it beefed up on the suspension so it is still sitting up just a hare at the back with the trailer on the truck. The truck does a great job pulling the trailer. Also in the bed I have a 25k airsafe hitch, behind the cab is a diamond plate toolbox with a generator and a 12 gallon fuel tank. It is called a Genbox. In front of the tailgate is a 37gallon fuel tank. So you are traveling light compared to me.
A friend of mine just bought a new truck, the one he traded in was just a few years old. He told me I should break down and get me a new truck. I told him their is no way I would get rid of my 2001 ford with the 7.3 diesel in it. It does to good of job pulling my 5th wheel. I bought it brand new. This year I just busted 100,000 miles on the truck. So it isn't even broke in good yet.

*If your friend (or you) want to do *serious* towing, with *serious* trailer weights.....
he should have explored the Escapees HDT forum.

Way less $$ for a used HDT (even with auto trans) than a new pickup.
The HDT will go a million miles - will the pickup?
If the brakes are at 85% (remaining) - you will never replace them in your lifetime! (Usually 3-stage jake does all the stopping you need).

A singled HDT will do everything (and LOTS more) than a LDT dually pickup will.....with power to spare - and the tractor is intended to tow 80K lbs, so those "heavy" RV 5ths are lightweights!..;)

Can be licensed as a MH in most states - and often the MH registration is less than a dually pickup.

More and more folks are "seeing the light" - by the number of newbies (with HDTs - or searching) on that forum

Why not an *MDT*?
Smaller engines, and MDTs were never intended for OTR comfort - and with the exception of states that allow Non-commercial ("private truck") registration - an MDT can't be registered as a MH.
(Nice MDT forum on Escapees also).

:B

~
timmac
Explorer
Jun 24, 2014
Fire19 wrote:
Well the same old story talk to the trailer salesman oh Yes you have a 2000 Ford F350 Dually Diesel you have plenty of truck.

I don't think the salesman lied here, you have a year 2000 F350 dually 1 ton with a diesel, seems like the best truck for towing a 5th wheel to me, now if you had a 1/2 or 3/4 ton gas than he might have been a liar..
kcmoedoe
Explorer
Jun 24, 2014
How is a salesperson supposed to know the exact towing capacities of a 15 year old truck? I am sure it will vary by options. Same with a fifth wheel that you admit had a weight plate so faded it couldn't be read. And how many threads have been written about how the maximum loaded weight rating of RVs is much less than they actually weigh when you put all your gear in them. The salesman could have been right on.
mich800
Explorer
Jun 24, 2014
Fire19 wrote:
Since the GVWR was off by 1,800lb I guess the dry weight should be around 11,800 but this fall I will know the weight of the dry rig when I take it to storage I will drive by the scale again.

I guess maybe I am a little confused. Is the GVWR higher than you originally thought or have you overloaded the trailer and are exceeding the GVWR?

Never mind. I see your earlier post. The actual GVWR is higher than originally thought.
camp_monkey
Explorer
Jun 24, 2014
Say it isn't so, a sales man who doesn't know what they're talking about? Quick story, I wanted the GVWR of my grandpa's fiver and couldn't get the right numbers out of him. I found the exact same model on a dealer's website. Emailed them and the sales guy told me the GVWR, which he then followed up with he had no idea what GVWR meant.
mark1228
Explorer
Jun 25, 2014
Fire19 wrote:
Well the same old story talk to the trailer salesman oh Yes you have a 2000 Ford F350 Dually Diesel you have plenty of truck. Well I have always wondered if my truck was really rated for the 5th wheel that I have been pulling around for 4 years. Well there was no weight sticker on the trailer when I got it because it was bleached out and I looked on line data (Which is way off now that I have had the trailer weighed)Listed weight for GVWR at 12,300lb and Dry weight@ 9,000lb.

Well on the way home from Camping this last went by a weight scale at Flying J and boy the numbers are way off. The total rig weight with the family and the dog in it with no water in it is 21,400lb puts the trailer at 13,600lb 1,300lb over brochure weight:M well according a fifth wheel weight calculator I am fine with the following exceptions Truck GVW over by 240lb and Truck GCW over 1,440lb. The truck pulls fine and have not had any problems for the four years we have pulled I did add Air bags on the truck to take the sag out.

total weights from Cat Scale

Steer Axle 4,980lb Limits form Ford Sticker on Door Post 5,200lb
Drive Axle 6,460lb Limits form Ford Sticker on Door Post 8,250lb
Trailer Axle 10,000lb
Gross weight 21,440lb
Truck Weight with passengers is 8,105lb

Just to remind you have to weigh your rigs because salesman's and product brochures may be way off.

I'm not following you here. How exactly did the salesman lie to you? You say the sticker was not legible and the brochure weights were not accurate. Where do you expect him to get his information? Is he supposed to take each trailer he sells over a scale? You said thay he told you that you had enough truck and then later in your post you say that your truck has been handling it fine for FOUR YEARS. Why blast the sales guy here?
rtazz17
Explorer
Jun 25, 2014
Stefan wrote:
When does the Onus fall on US to do our homework and know what we can tow, then research what we want to buy.
Frankly it is the purchasers fault not the salesmans for this oversight.
When you buy a house do you believe the realtor that it is a good house, or do you get your own inspection done??

I agree with this statement 100 percent.Whatever you are buying in life especially a major purchase the buyer needs to beware.Salesman is there to sell.He will tell you what you want to hear.Stop blaming the salesman.Owners/buyers responsibility to know what they are buying.A salesman does not know your door sticker either.
jujububbajr
Explorer
Jun 25, 2014
rtazz17 wrote:
Stefan wrote:
When does the Onus fall on US to do our homework and know what we can tow, then research what we want to buy.
Frankly it is the purchasers fault not the salesmans for this oversight.
When you buy a house do you believe the realtor that it is a good house, or do you get your own inspection done??

I agree with this statement 100 percent.Whatever you are buying in life especially a major purchase the buyer needs to beware.Salesman is there to sell.He will tell you what you want to hear.Stop blaming the salesman.Owners/buyers responsibility to know what they are buying.A salesman does not know your door sticker either.

Yes.