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webejpn's avatar
webejpn
Explorer
Jul 26, 2017

Did I just buy a 5th wheel?!?!?! What did I get into?

Some background.
Been camping all my life. We recently sold our travel trailer that was sitting on some land we owned. We sold it with the land because I had no way to tow it hence why it sat at that land. Well, that was 4 months ago and since I bought a new half ton truck shortly after selling the land, we got the itch to buy a camper that we could actually go places with. So we went to the dealer with full intent on buying a mid 20's footer travel trailer. Well, thanks to a good salesman and my negotiating wife we got a great deal on a 2018 Arctic Wolf 265dbh8 fifth wheel. I've never owned a 5th wheel!!!!

My truck is a 2015 Chevy Silverado half ton, crew cab with 3.73 gears (10,900lb towing capacity)
I guess my biggest concern is towing this trailer with this truck. Any insight as to what I'm getting into?

Thanks
Matt

80 Replies

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  • garyp4951's avatar
    garyp4951
    Explorer III
    Jul 26, 2017
    I pulled my first 5er with a half ton for a few seasons, and it was overloaded a little so I had to put Timbren load levelers on it to keep from damaging my rear springs, but I was real glad when I got the 2500HD.
  • ford_truck_guy's avatar
    ford_truck_guy
    Nomad
    Jul 26, 2017
    webejpn wrote:
    Why is my truck not enough?
    Unloaded its 8300. Hitch weight is 1300.
    Last time I weighed our gear we were under 1000lbs.


    advertised pin weight is 1300# DRY... ADD your 1000# = 2300# . . Noe add your hitch #, and your family . . NOW look on your door sticker and see what your allowable payload is?
  • kerrlakeRoo's avatar
    kerrlakeRoo
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2017
    webejpn wrote:
    Why is my truck not enough?
    Unloaded its 8300. Hitch weight is 1300.
    Last time I weighed our gear we were under 1000lbs.

    Pin weight of 1359
    Hitch + ???
    What type batteries weight = ???
    Dresser and other items in Bed room weight= ???
    Tools and supplies in basement = ????
    Water tanks Forward of axles? = ???
    You weigh = ???
    DW weight = ???
    Other stuff in truck will weigh = ???
    Truck payload cap is somewhere between 2100 and 2300
    You dont have a lot of wiggle room left
  • fj12ryder's avatar
    fj12ryder
    Explorer III
    Jul 26, 2017
    With a fifth wheel it's not so much what you can tow, as much as it is how much you can carry. By the time you add a hitch, and various sundries you'll probably be over 2000 lbs. in the bed of your truck rather than 1300 lbs. Hitch weight alone will very likely be in the neighborhood of 2000 lbs.

    Figure 20 percent of the GVWR of the 5th wheel for hitch weight, since no one hauls an empty trailer.
  • NMWHITIS's avatar
    NMWHITIS
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2017
    I towed our fifth with the same TV for awhile. I had to add air bags to level it out, but it did ok. I felt like it was hard on the truck, and moved to a diesel.

    If we were just taking shorter trips I would have probably kept the 1/2 ton.
  • md_procouple's avatar
    md_procouple
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2017
    Well I am not getting into the weights etc. that others are posting. But the same thing happened to us 3 yrs. ago. didn't have any thing to do one Saturday afternoon, figured we would look at new trailers just kill some time and to see what was out there. Low and behold, at the second dealer we went to, the salesman showed us a unit he thought we would like. My wife stood in the center of the living room looked at me and said Nope, not it. We proceeded to look a second unit, again she stood in the living room, did a 360 turn, looked at both me and the salesman and said, "Yep" this is the one. The next thing I remember I was sitting in his office signing papers ! That is the last time we are just going to "Look" at something just to kill some time lol !!! Good Luck and Happy Camping !!
  • webejpn's avatar
    webejpn
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2017
    Why is my truck not enough?
    Unloaded its 8300. Hitch weight is 1300.
    Last time I weighed our gear we were under 1000lbs.
  • kerrlakeRoo's avatar
    kerrlakeRoo
    Explorer
    Jul 26, 2017
    At a glance the Arctic wolf's GVWR of 11,519 seems a bit much for the Chevy with its 10,000 tow cap.
    Also your pin weight empty of 1300 empty, by the time you add a hitch, load batteries, and fill the basement and water tanks will get hard on a payload of about 2100 in the truck.
    Nice looking unit though.
  • rhagfo's avatar
    rhagfo
    Explorer III
    Jul 26, 2017
    Well, now your turn! Time for a new TV, I would be looking for a good deal on a 350/3500 SRW.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Jul 26, 2017
    Too much for the truck. Your first mistake is listening to dealers.

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