Forum Discussion

dturne69's avatar
dturne69
Explorer
Aug 31, 2016

Can I????

I have a question. I'm looking at purchasing a 12k dry weight 15k loaded weight 5th wheel camper. The guy at camping world says it would be no problem towing it with my 2008 gmc 2500 4x4 4door. It has the duramax and Allison package. I downloaded a calculator that tells me how much my truck can safely haul. Here are the details.
Gvwr 9200
Max combined weight 22k
Curb weight 5850
Max 5th wheel pin weight over 5k
The website calculator says something about a 20 percent pin weight. I know what it is I just don't know how to come up with the figure. If I figure it right and I move the average down to 18 I could pull the coach loaded comfortably. In parentheses it says that use 25 if you don't know the pin weight. I do.
5th wheel
12k dry
15k loaded
Pin weight 2580
I've read countless stories of folks that purchased coaches and when they hooked the coach up it bottomed out on the frame. I don't want that. I want to be able to safely take my family of 5 camping. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

43 Replies

Show More
  • Bowti's avatar
    Bowti
    Explorer
    Aug 31, 2016
    Me Again wrote:
    Veebyes wrote:
    Perfectly safe provided you never exceed say 45mph, never encounter cross winds, never have a semi pas you at high speed, never go into an exit too fast, never expect to have a relaxing drive with the feeling like there is nothing behind you &, most of all, never have an emergency stop. Easy.

    Do all that & the CW guy, who wants to sell the trailer, knows what he is talking about.


    People show up in snowbird parks in the South year after year with even larger/heavier trailers behind GM 2500HDs. They must be a real problem on the freeways at that speed coming and returning each winter for the Northern states and Canada.


    Very true, makes you wonder what kind of safety margin the factory builds into our trucks. I see overloaded pickups on the road all the time and wonder how far they are going to make it before something breaks. Having said that, I seldom see them broke down along side of the road.
    The only thing I see these days are RV trailers on the side of the road with flat tires. I see lots of them.
  • Me_Again's avatar
    Me_Again
    Explorer III
    Aug 31, 2016
    allen8106 wrote:
    That truck is rated at 18,000 fifth wheel.


    Which truck. Takes a dually to handle that kind of weight. I did not see any comment about a dually in this tread. Chris
  • Bird_Freak's avatar
    Bird_Freak
    Explorer II
    Aug 31, 2016
    With all the possible weight problems the thing that still scares me the most is buying from CW.
  • tomkaren13's avatar
    tomkaren13
    Explorer
    Aug 31, 2016
    Salesman wants to sell this to you. Will tell you whatever it takes to do that. That is the truth Not what he says.
  • Coach-man's avatar
    Coach-man
    Explorer
    Aug 31, 2016
    If that is the 5th wheel your set on, then go for it! But I do agree it will be over your limit for your current ride. It is the "end of year" season, and perhaps you can get a good deal on a new 3500? As for the speculation on the weights, total and pin, unfortunately the only way to be sure would be to load everything up as if you were going to spend a long weekend camping, and tow it down to a certified scale and get it weighed. Not sure if your dealer will allow that before purchasing, but that is the only way you will know for sure what you are going to be towing. Good luck!
  • laknox's avatar
    laknox
    Nomad
    Aug 31, 2016
    Bumpyroad wrote:
    are you really going to carry 3,000 lbs. of stuff? wouldn't 1500 be more reasonable?
    bumpy


    You have to figure in that you =might= be traveling with fairly full tanks, as the OP has stated he has done.

    Lyle
  • laknox's avatar
    laknox
    Nomad
    Aug 31, 2016
    dturne69 wrote:
    I have a question. I'm looking at purchasing a 12k dry weight 15k loaded weight 5th wheel camper. The guy at camping world says it would be no problem towing it with my 2008 gmc 2500 4x4 4door. It has the duramax and Allison package. I downloaded a calculator that tells me how much my truck can safely haul. Here are the details.
    Gvwr 9200
    Max combined weight 22k
    Curb weight 5850
    Max 5th wheel pin weight over 5k
    The website calculator says something about a 20 percent pin weight. I know what it is I just don't know how to come up with the figure. If I figure it right and I move the average down to 18 I could pull the coach loaded comfortably. In parentheses it says that use 25 if you don't know the pin weight. I do.
    5th wheel
    12k dry
    15k loaded
    Pin weight 2580
    I've read countless stories of folks that purchased coaches and when they hooked the coach up it bottomed out on the frame. I don't want that. I want to be able to safely take my family of 5 camping. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.


    Without going too much into numbers, and a$$-u-me-ing that 15k is the GVW of the FW you're looking at, you're looking at 3k on the pin, or more. Way, way too much for a 250/2500 series truck, IMO, even a '16/17. Just like a salesman at a Jayco dealer told me that the Eagle HT's were "half-ton towable". Truth is...maybe, and only with the =right= half-ton with certain options installed, is it doable. Will the owner be comfortable with it? I doubt it. It would greatly help if you posted which FW you were looking at so we can give you more specific info.

    Lyle
  • Njmurvin's avatar
    Njmurvin
    Explorer II
    Aug 31, 2016
    My truck is rated GVWR 9900 and axles 5200/6150 (fr/rr). I would be reluctant to pull that trailer with my truck. My AF grosses out just over 12K lbs and I feel that's even pushing it for me. I think you need more truck.

About Fifth Wheel Group

19,027 PostsLatest Activity: Jun 19, 2019