PULLING 20K OR BETTER

In my travels since going full time I have seen, mostly Fords F450 & F550's towing faith wheels. I also saw a GMC 5500 set up for fifth wheel towing. I do not know their ratings, but they have to be above a 350/3500! And they appear, at least outwardly to be stout pickups! Are these rigs considered HDT/MDT's?

NC Hauler has a good point, even though we are full timers, we still have to go grocery shopping, Church, and sight seeing. So for me a pickup that I can easily park is toward the top when I am considering what to tow with!

It's oblivious you don't know me at all.. I wasn't invited personally to anything that I'm aware of. For your information. I had a stroke 11 months ago and am STILL trying to recover from that... I didn't drive for almost 5 months and I Still can't tow more than several hours without stopping and resting.. My back and neck hurt CONTINUALLY.. My left arm is very weak and I now walk with a limp... So I really wasn't up to a long haul to a rally:R.. So forgive me for missing your rally..Oh, did I mention my wife's hip replacement?.. That too has slowed us down some.. I don't "spout" anything ... If you don't want to read my post... Block me, then you don't have to read anything I " spout". I towed a 45' Jayco TH with a pin weight of 4200# and was still 900# under my trucks GVWR and . WELL UNDER RAWR. So I too know one doesn't need a semi tractor trailer rig to tow a 21K 5er. You MDT AND HDT's owners that don't want to hear what the newer 350/3500 Duallys can tow aren't the only ones that know how to do the math, though I think at times you've overlooked the common sense aspect of the towing formula.
When someone doesn't agree with you, all of you jump on the one telling there is another way to tow heavy 5ers since 2013

Again, block me, ignore me.. I won't go away from RV.net, but will leave the know it all's and their cliques on the "special forums",

Why would I go to a rally or event with people who don't want me around:h

Sorry I had the stroke, it's a life changer.. Hope you can forgive me, it messed up a WHOLE BUNCH OF PLANS we had at age 65, now age 66... I'm just trying to live and enjoy life... Not hanging out with anyone that doesn't want me around... Too much stress isn't good at this point in my life.....

NC Hauler wrote:

jims1 wrote:
Once you hit the Continental Coach weight range, a true MDT will be needed. The CC coaches are in the 25K+ range. Friends of our have a CC that weighs 27k with empty tanks. For most DRV's and lower brands, you can go with a $70k pickup if you want.
We went with a fully loaded 610 Volvo for $19k already converted with 443000 miles on it.

So you've now moved the weight from 23K,(OP) and went to 25-27K plus..guess you'll get to where you need to justify a semi tractor rig....We were at 23K...It only takes common sense and simple math to figure at what 5er GVW that one would need a semi to tow it...You hit it..though your example is not that of the original post..re-read..
Well, got admit I paid about 63K for my fully loaded 2016 3500...full warranty and extremely comfortable and I can pull it into my carport, take it to drive thru ATM, Micky Dee drive thru, park at grocery store in regular parking places and use it as my daily driver to and from work..I can tow with it and park in church parking lot on Sunday..I can use the bed to haul a load of wood or whatever. use it all the time for any and everything...don't need a semi tractor no matter the price WAAY to big and not very practical in every day life to most...If they're so popular, one would think you would observe piles of them towing 5er's on the highway...I haven't seen it...A select few towing heavy 5er's that can now be towed by a 350/3500 and will argue till they're blue in the face that they're right, everyone else is wrong..Main reason I rarely frequent the escapees forum..extremely rude people ganging up on those that believe the way I do in today's world..The times, they are a changing.

You sprout that mess on every forum you can....
The OP asked about what is available to pull the heavier 5'ths. The Ford and Dodge can to an extent. But you don't know what the pin weights are on the custom RV's. Most CC's if over 40ft, will have 6000lb or more pin. Many go above 7500lbs. You can put that on a dually if you want, but it's not going to last long.
Also, read the fine print, most tow ratings are based on a gooseneck flatbed trailer like they show in all the commercials.

You were invited to the recent East Coast HDT rally. You elected not to attend. So before you trash talk us anymore, maybe you should learn a little more about this option. It may not be for you, but it may be for others.

Chad Brooks wrote:
Rusty, are you certain on the rear axle being different on ram 3500's ? What package are you referring to?

my 385/865 has the 11.8 also but less bolts holding it.

IdaD wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
My truck and RV in Sig tows a combined load of 32,950# CAT scale. DRV is 23k with rear axle at 9,880#. Truck sits level with factory rear air ride suspension. Rock solid in very windy conditions. Also confident descent on 14 percent grades.

No a MDT/HDT is not needed to pull a DRV!!!

What's your RAWR?

I think you know the answer. It's 9,750# that is what it will weigh when I remove the SouthBend clutch, pressure plate and flywheel I won in a drawing and kelp when I clean out some unwanted items.

avvidclif1 wrote:

RustyJC wrote:
You can certainly drive a Class 8 tractor if you want, but the point of this thread is that it is not necessary. Some of us prefer not to drive HDTs, and we can tow our heavy 5th wheels just fine with today's available 3500 duallies.

Rusty

Obviously you missed the header in the original post. It asked about pulling a 20k+ 5th wheel. Nothing about dualies or HDT's. I gave an opinion based on price vs capability and threw in ride as a plus. If you need a daily driver buy a prius.

Nothing in the OP about daily drivers, either. The fact of the matter is that, when we're on the road with our 5th wheel, our Ram IS our daily driver, and it's also capable of towing 5th wheels over 20,000 lbs GVWR.

If you like Class 8s, have at it, but the original post asked if it was necessary to use a MDT or Class 8 tractor to pull a 20K+ 5th wheel. The answer is no, it's not, and I've given the numbers to prove it.

Rusty

RustyJC wrote:
You can certainly drive a Class 8 tractor if you want, but the point of this thread is that it is not necessary. Some of us prefer not to drive HDTs, and we can tow our heavy 5th wheels just fine with today's available 3500 duallies.

Rusty

Obviously you missed the header in the original post. It asked about pulling a 20k+ 5th wheel. Nothing about dualies or HDT's. I gave an opinion based on price vs capability and threw in ride as a plus. If you need a daily driver buy a prius.

jmadren wrote:

SoCalDesertRider wrote:
... It's the same width as a dually pickup, 96". ...

But a pickup dually is only that wide at the rear wheels - the rest is the same as any other pickup. Opening the doors and getting in/out while parked in a regular parking space is not the same in a MDT/HDT.

The cab of my truck is narrower than the bed and rear tires. Not as narrow as a pickup cab, but it is narrower by about 6" or so.

My truck is high enough that doors open above the roofs of many small passenger cars. LOL

I was never one to try to park my long wheelbase dually F350 in a small up front parking space. I always parked out back and walked. So I park my International in the same places I parked my old dually F350. There was no practical change in how I use the new truck versus the old one.

I didn't use my dually F350 as a daily driver, errand running around town vehicle. I don't use the International that way either. I have a Ranger and a Tacoma for errand running and such.

Chad Brooks wrote:
Rusty, are you certain on the rear axle being different on ram 3500's ? What package are you referring to?

The 385/900 3500s with the Aisin AS69RC get the 11.8" AAM rear axle. 68RFE trucks get the 11.5" AAM.

Rusty

NC Hauler wrote:
The RAWR per Ram is 9750# at 65 psi...tires will take 80 psi...AAM rates this rear axle to 11300#. With all 4 tires filled to 80 psi., (max sidewall pressure), per AAM, axle is then rated to 10, 200#...

So just like all levels of pickup truck, the published "max tow" rating is rubbish in the real world.