Big Horn 3260 towing

We have the 3160 whic is a bit heavier. It tows very smoothly behind our F350.

KenMont wrote:
Need some realistic advice. Does anyone successfully pull a Big Horn 3260 5th wheel with a 3/4 ton truck?

I have a 2007 GMC 4-wheel longbed Duramax Diesel that currently pulls a 2013 Evergreen Bay Hill 320RS that has given my wife and me nothing but grief. The Bay Hill has a GVWR of about 14,100. The dry hitch weight is slightly over 2000 pounds. My truck pulls the RV easily.

According to the trailer sticker, the actual dry weight of the Big Horn was 11,600 pounds with a GVWR of 14,000, pretty much the same as the Bay Hill. When loaded,I would think the Big Horn could put a major strain on the hitch.

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Lucy & Ken

Do yourself a favor, forget the "dry weights"...The GVW of 14,100#, IF you loaded to GVW, (which most don't), could give you a pin weight of 2800#.

All that being said, I did tow a Coachmen Somerset with an 03' Chevy 2500 D/A, 4X4 Short bed extended Cab. The Coachmen had a GVW of 14,500#, I loaded to around 13,000# and pin weight was a tad of 2600#....When I weighed, I was over the trucks GCWR, but not by much and I was over the trucks GVWR by around 900#, but was still under it's RAWR....It towed ok, but I worried enough to where I purchased my first dually in 05'.

As Rick stated, if you're going to tow approx. the same weight 5er as you have now, and you have no issues, then go for it....Only thing I noticed with mine, it did push me around a couple of times when having to come to a sudden stop....

Shepherd wrote:
What's your pin/axle weight loaded ?:C

Dry hitch weight = 2077
Loaded up...no more than 1000 lbs, so maybe 3100 approx.

What's your pin/axle weight loaded ?:C

N6761U wrote:
I tow a Big Country, dry 10,250 with my 99 F 250 PSD with no problems, towed my nephews 40' 13,100 lb from Bend Or. to Norcal with no problems. Remember in CA if your 5th wheel is over 10,000 lbs dry you need an RV endorsement on your class C license.

OK...thank you for the licensing information. Good to know.

I looked at a few more Bighorns today in Manteca. I'm feeling more comfortable about towing with my 2007 GMC Duramax diesel with the Allison transmission. Unfortunately, Manteca is about 100 miles from where I live in California.

thanks again...Ken

I tow a Big Country, dry 10,250 with my 99 F 250 PSD with no problems, towed my nephews 40' 13,100 lb from Bend Or. to Norcal with no problems. Remember in CA if your 5th wheel is over 10,000 lbs dry you need an RV endorsement on your class C license.

KenMont wrote:
Need some realistic advice. Does anyone successfully pull a Big Horn 3260 5th wheel with a 3/4 ton truck?

I have a 2007 GMC 4-wheel longbed Duramax Diesel that currently pulls a 2013 Evergreen Bay Hill 320RS that has given my wife and me nothing but grief. The Bay Hill has a GVWR of about 14,100. The dry hitch weight is slightly over 2000 pounds. My truck pulls the RV easily.

According to the trailer sticker, the actual dry weight of the Big Horn was 11,600 pounds with a GVWR of 14,000, pretty much the same as the Bay Hill. When loaded,I would think the Big Horn could put a major strain on the hitch.

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Lucy & Ken

Many tow that kind of weight with 3/4 ton's, and say it tows great, not sure what that means, all aspects handling ,stopping etc, not just the ability to pull it.


I tow similar weights with a 1 ton , and would not want to tow with a lesser truck, many claim the one leaf spring difference between the 1 ton ,and 3/4 ton, but fact remains the 1 ton has a higher payload capacity. I guess add some airbags ,and everything will be great.

Both trailers are basically the same weight. They should pull exactly the same, not sure why you think the Big Horn would put a greater strain on the truck. However, I personally don't recommend pulling a GVWR of 14,000 with a 3/4 ton but if you are currently comfortable and not having any issues towing then you should be good to go. The trailers are going to tow the same.

KenMont wrote:
Need some realistic advice. Does anyone successfully pull a Big Horn 3260 5th wheel with a 3/4 ton truck?

I have a 2007 GMC 4-wheel longbed Duramax Diesel that currently pulls a 2013 Evergreen Bay Hill 320RS that has given my wife and me nothing but grief. The Bay Hill has a GVWR of about 14,100. The dry hitch weight is slightly over 2000 pounds. My truck pulls the RV easily.

According to the trailer sticker, the actual dry weight of the Big Horn was 11,600 pounds with a GVWR of 14,000, pretty much the same as the Bay Hill. When loaded,I would think the Big Horn could put a major strain on the hitch.

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Lucy & Ken

I have a similar size Big Horn 3055RL that has a very similar dry weight( published dry weight was actually 250 pounds heavier than reality)and an identical 14000# GVW...

I weighed the trailer when we took it on it's first trip. Ready to camp for a week, it weighed 12000 pounds with 2100 on the pin...We were pulling it with a 2004 Ford F250 CC SB 4x4. The truck did a great job of pulling the fiver(when the POS ran)with very comfortable handing traits. I would believe your DuraMax will do an even better job...

Buy the Big Horn...your wife will be happy...and so will you after you see how nice your truck pulls it...

Heartland has a great owners group...

Heartland Owners Group

Regards

45Ricochet wrote:
Sounds about the same weights to me :H I would assume the same results.
But to answer your question, I'm positive someone does it just fine and others didn't :W
Was the grief trailer related or towing related?

A little grief you can live with. A lot of grief...nope! Major issues with the Bay Hill include slide-outs--4 repair trips for two out of three slides; the water tank has had to be replaced twice; the Lippert auto leveling system deserted us in the Sonoran Desert; non-labeling of key components; and tweaks to the Girard tankless water system had to be made on a couple occasions.

The trailer tows nicely. The Big Horn we looked at just looked more massive and certainly better built.

A lot of grief, as you might imagine, can also lead to hasty decision making. My wife loved the Big Horn, but I need to be very certain that we're not endangering ourselves, our truck, or the RV by not choosing wisely.