Hello everyone. Thank you in advance for your feedback. My wife and I have been RV'ing in our Heartland North Country 291RKS for the past few years and have considered switching to a fifth wheel. However, when I do the math based on my current tow vehicle, I am not certain that we will be able to find many.I currently own and tow with a 2015 Ram 2500, 4x4, 6.7L Cummins with the A6 tranny. The truck has a GVWR of 10,000 pounds. Weighing the truck at two local scales with only myself in it yields a weight of 8100 pounds. Add in 300? pounds for a 5th wheel hitch, 115 pounds for my wife, and then another 200 pounds for dogs, firewood, etc. leaves me with about 1285 pounds. So am I correct that I will need to search for a fifth wheel with a pin weight well under 1300 pounds?

The main reason your truck is listed at 10,000 lbs, is some states require class A license for anthing over 10,000 lbs! I would be more concerned with rear axle, & wheel tire limitations than GVWR! Your truck's engine, transmission, Rear axle, and brakes are identical to a 3500.

You have a 6500 RGAWR. What you need to know is how much the rear axle weighs ready to tow. Understand you will be over your trucks GVWR, and that you may need air bags to level the truck when put the pin weight on it. It should handle 2500+ pin weight under those conditions.Ram made a larger separation between the 2500 and the 3500 single rear wheel when they went with rear coils on the 2500 for a softer ride. Chris

Coach-man wrote:The main reason your truck is listed at 10,000 lbs, is some states require class A license for anthing over 10,000 lbs! I would be more concerned with rear axle, & wheel tire limitations than GVWR! Your truck's engine, transmission, Rear axle, and brakes are identical to a 3500.This gets debated a lot on this site but I am in agreement with this statement. The 10k GVWR limit is a class restriction that has nothing to do with the truck itself. If you compare your axle ratings to a 3500 you've got the same front rating and your rear rating is only 500 lbs lower (assuming you don't have the base 17" tires, which are rare). The rear coils are the reason for the lower rear axle rating, but the axle itself plus the tires, brakes, wheels and truck in general are the same.

Coach-man wrote:The main reason your truck is listed at 10,000 lbs, is some states require class A license for anthing over 10,000 lbs! I would be more concerned with rear axle, & wheel tire limitations than GVWR! Your truck's engine, transmission, Rear axle, and brakes are identical to a 3500.The reason it is limited to 10k (class 2 truck) is that 10,001-14,000 it becomes a class 3 truck (350/3500). Chrishttps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck_classification

Do you have a tire loadng sticker on driver's side door post that says something like "do not load in excess of xxxx lbs"?

Is my math correct??? | Good Sam Community

13 Replies

capri180
Explorer
May 31, 2016
Thank you everyone for your input. Lots to keep in mind if we decide to purchase and begin RV'ing in a 5th wheel. Thank you again.
rhagfo
Explorer III
May 31, 2016
Coach-man wrote:
MFL wrote:
Me Again wrote:
You have a 6500 RGAWR. What you need to know is how much the rear axle weighs ready to tow. Understand you will be over your trucks GVWR, and that you may need air bags to level the truck when put the pin weight on it. It should handle 2500+ pin weight under those conditions.

Ram made a larger separation between the 2500 and the 3500 single rear wheel when they went with rear coils on the 2500 for a softer ride.

Chris

Agree with Chris, a 2500 lb pin would likely work. That would be about a 12,000 lb. scaled weight, ready to camp FW.

Jerry

X3, 2500 LBS pin weight should be very doable.

X4.

I do a 2,200# pin with a 2001, and no issues, could easily go to 2,500..
It is still up to you to exceed your GVWR.
Coach-man
Explorer
May 31, 2016
MFL wrote:
Me Again wrote:
You have a 6500 RGAWR. What you need to know is how much the rear axle weighs ready to tow. Understand you will be over your trucks GVWR, and that you may need air bags to level the truck when put the pin weight on it. It should handle 2500+ pin weight under those conditions.

Ram made a larger separation between the 2500 and the 3500 single rear wheel when they went with rear coils on the 2500 for a softer ride.

Chris

Agree with Chris, a 2500 lb pin would likely work. That would be about a 12,000 lb. scaled weight, ready to camp FW.

Jerry

X3, 2500 LBS pin weight should be very doable.
MFL
Nomad II
May 31, 2016
Me Again wrote:
You have a 6500 RGAWR. What you need to know is how much the rear axle weighs ready to tow. Understand you will be over your trucks GVWR, and that you may need air bags to level the truck when put the pin weight on it. It should handle 2500+ pin weight under those conditions.

Ram made a larger separation between the 2500 and the 3500 single rear wheel when they went with rear coils on the 2500 for a softer ride.

Chris

Agree with Chris, a 2500 lb pin would likely work. That would be about a 12,000 lb. scaled weight, ready to camp FW.

Jerry
fla-gypsy
Explorer
May 31, 2016
Only you can decide whether exceeding the makers " do not exceed" GVWR is an option. The maker says not to, arm chair engineers here have no down side if you do.
capri180
Explorer
May 31, 2016
IdaD wrote:
Coach-man wrote:
The main reason your truck is listed at 10,000 lbs, is some states require class A license for anthing over 10,000 lbs! I would be more concerned with rear axle, & wheel tire limitations than GVWR! Your truck's engine, transmission, Rear axle, and brakes are identical to a 3500.

This gets debated a lot on this site but I am in agreement with this statement. The 10k GVWR limit is a class restriction that has nothing to do with the truck itself. If you compare your axle ratings to a 3500 you've got the same front rating and your rear rating is only 500 lbs lower (assuming you don't have the base 17" tires, which are rare). The rear coils are the reason for the lower rear axle rating, but the axle itself plus the tires, brakes, wheels and truck in general are the same.

Correct, the truck is equipped with factory 20" wheels and tires. The tires are the factory Firestone Transforce AT (LT285/60R/20 E rated)
rhagfo
Explorer III
May 31, 2016
BB_TX wrote:
Do you have a tire loadng sticker on driver's side door post that says something like "do not load in excess of xxxx lbs"?

Well all vehicles built since 2006 have this sticker, and all the sticker is the difference between the curb weight of the vehicle as built, and it's listed GVWR. The only place this sticker is useful is on the dealers lot comparing "Payload" between different TV.

The OP has gone beyond the "Yellow Sticker" he has weighed the TV with him in it and has determined that he is down to about 1,300# available for pin weight, staying within GVWR. Now if he chooses to exceed GVWR and go by Rear axle rating, then he can carry more than 1,300# of pin.
capri180
Explorer
May 31, 2016
BB_TX wrote:
Do you have a tire loadng sticker on driver's side door post that says something like "do not load in excess of xxxx lbs"?

I'm sure that I do, will need to look when I get out of work to see what those figures are.

So what I am gathering thus far is that I should not concentrate on the GVWR, but rather the gross axle weight ratings, and the load ratings of the tires?
BB_TX
Nomad
May 31, 2016
Do you have a tire loadng sticker on driver's side door post that says something like "do not load in excess of xxxx lbs"?
Me_Again
Explorer III
May 31, 2016
Coach-man wrote:
The main reason your truck is listed at 10,000 lbs, is some states require class A license for anthing over 10,000 lbs! I would be more concerned with rear axle, & wheel tire limitations than GVWR! Your truck's engine, transmission, Rear axle, and brakes are identical to a 3500.

The reason it is limited to 10k (class 2 truck) is that 10,001-14,000 it becomes a class 3 truck (350/3500). Chris

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truck_classification

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Is my math correct???

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