Question on Pin Weight and Toy Haulers

miboje wrote:

lincster wrote:
Guess who wears the pants in the family. LOL

Hate to tell you, but if you go by tow ratings alone, and you want to stick within those tow ratings, you don't have the right truck for a big 5th wheel toyhauler.

You won't offset the pin weight by putting something in the garage, especially if you tow with full water.

My empty pin weight on my trailer is 2600lbs.
I put a 2700lb sand rail in my toy hauler, but with full water, my pin weight actually goes up to 3400lbs. It also depends on where your water tanks are located.

So, if you want to live by the tow ratings, you need to be looking at a bumper pull trailer.

I had a 2004 SRW F350, but once I ordered my 5th wheel, I proceeded to trade my truck in on a Dually. I am one of those people that go by tow ratings, so having the correct truck for my trailer was important to me.

When it comes to money, I am the practical, wise and frugal one. So yes, I wear the pants when it comes to spending and money management.

I have been looking at the bumper pull toy haulers. Thank you for that advice. We don't want one of the land yacht toy haulers.

Like I said, we are still in the learning process, so it's wise to ask questions, which is what I am doing here. We do understand at this point that we won't be able to offset the pin weight enough to make a difference.

We did wonder about the water tanks and how that would affect things as well. Thank you for your input on that.

I'm glad that you are in a financial position to manage being able to order a new fifth wheel, then turn right around and trade up to bigger truck. For us, that would be two sizable monthly payments on top of a sizable mortgage that I don't feel is a wise choice for us. Not everyone is in that position, though. We're just an average, middle class family. I guess we don't quite fit in.

Hi There, I saw this post and was hoping you would not take offense but, figured you might. I have been around this forum a long time and I can pretty much guarantee he did not mean to offend but to put a smile on a few faces. that being said, we are here to help and ask questions don't let anyone's post send you away. You are doing the correct thing and asking the correct questions. Most of us here can not go out and buy a new TV, a few can. I seam to be in the same place you are asking the same questions and I have been RVing for many years. I know I can't tow the rig I want but what someone else to verify so i don't give up with out some sort of back up...
FYI this might work for me you might be able to do something similar.. I found a F550 that is 2 years older than my current tow vehicle that is worth about the same.. I might try and sell my F350 and get the F550.

lincster wrote:
Guess who wears the pants in the family. LOL

Hate to tell you, but if you go by tow ratings alone, and you want to stick within those tow ratings, you don't have the right truck for a big 5th wheel toyhauler.

You won't offset the pin weight by putting something in the garage, especially if you tow with full water.

My empty pin weight on my trailer is 2600lbs.
I put a 2700lb sand rail in my toy hauler, but with full water, my pin weight actually goes up to 3400lbs. It also depends on where your water tanks are located.

So, if you want to live by the tow ratings, you need to be looking at a bumper pull trailer.

I had a 2004 SRW F350, but once I ordered my 5th wheel, I proceeded to trade my truck in on a Dually. I am one of those people that go by tow ratings, so having the correct truck for my trailer was important to me.

When it comes to money, I am the practical, wise and frugal one. So yes, I wear the pants when it comes to spending and money management.

I have been looking at the bumper pull toy haulers. Thank you for that advice. We don't want one of the land yacht toy haulers.

Like I said, we are still in the learning process, so it's wise to ask questions, which is what I am doing here. We do understand at this point that we won't be able to offset the pin weight enough to make a difference.

We did wonder about the water tanks and how that would affect things as well. Thank you for your input on that.

I'm glad that you are in a financial position to manage being able to order a new fifth wheel, then turn right around and trade up to bigger truck. For us, that would be two sizable monthly payments on top of a sizable mortgage that I don't feel is a wise choice for us. Not everyone is in that position, though. We're just an average, middle class family. I guess we don't quite fit in.

miboje wrote:

broccoli2 wrote:
Trying not to hijack this thread but I am in the same predicament. I have an 07 f350 SRW 4x4 crew cab. I bought this to tow my 32 foot WW bumper pull. Towed it with no problems. I sold that and I've had a class A for the last few years, sold that and now found the perfect 09 WW CLD 4005. I was pretty much ready to go pick it up when it dawned on me that it's pretty heavy. 18,000 pounds with a 2800lb pin weight. I'm having a pretty hard time figuring out what my 07 can handle. What I've found. With 4:30 gears I have a 26k gcwr I have not weighed my truck since I had the bumper pull years ago, I would think its at least 6k. That leaves 20k. Is that to close? I see these trucks pull these massive toy haulers all the time. What can I do to my truck short of adding wheels can I do

Our '03 F-350 comes in at 7,740 with 1/4 tank of diesel, a dog, and a 200 lb. man, so I'm thinking your truck is probably heavier than 6K. It's best to find a scale and get your truck weighed loaded with people, pets, fuel and stuff you'll take in it, just as you would be taking it for camping.

haha Yea, your correct, I think I'm just avoiding doing this because I'm not sure I want to know..... Checking out some used 550's now..

Your truck has the same 9750 lb axle as mine, but 7000 lb rear suspension and wheels. I suspect the rear is about 3000 lbs empty before you load the people gear and pin weight. You could add taller bump stops to your overload springs and 19.5" wheels to get the full capacity out of the axle and some reserve on your tires, but you will have to decide if it is a safe combination for you. I suspect the actual pin weight on that fifth wheel will be closer 4500 lbs when loaded for camping.

My truck is an extended cab diesel and weighs about 7500 lbs - A crew cab weighs about 500 lbs more, long beg adds another 100 lbs and gasoline engine removes 500 lbs to help you get a rough idea of what yours weighs. My GCWR is 23K lbs with 3.73 gears.

broccoli2 wrote:
Trying not to hijack this thread but I am in the same predicament. I have an 07 f350 SRW 4x4 crew cab. I bought this to tow my 32 foot WW bumper pull. Towed it with no problems. I sold that and I've had a class A for the last few years, sold that and now found the perfect 09 WW CLD 4005. I was pretty much ready to go pick it up when it dawned on me that it's pretty heavy. 18,000 pounds with a 2800lb pin weight. I'm having a pretty hard time figuring out what my 07 can handle. What I've found. With 4:30 gears I have a 26k gcwr I have not weighed my truck since I had the bumper pull years ago, I would think its at least 6k. That leaves 20k. Is that to close? I see these trucks pull these massive toy haulers all the time. What can I do to my truck short of adding wheels can I do

Our '03 F-350 comes in at 7,740 with 1/4 tank of diesel, a dog, and a 200 lb. man, so I'm thinking your truck is probably heavier than 6K. It's best to find a scale and get your truck weighed loaded with people, pets, fuel and stuff you'll take in it, just as you would be taking it for camping.

Guess who wears the pants in the family. LOL

Hate to tell you, but if you go by tow ratings alone, and you want to stick within those tow ratings, you don't have the right truck for a big 5th wheel toyhauler.

You won't offset the pin weight by putting something in the garage, especially if you tow with full water.

My empty pin weight on my trailer is 2600lbs.
I put a 2700lb sand rail in my toy hauler, but with full water, my pin weight actually goes up to 3400lbs. It also depends on where your water tanks are located.

So, if you want to live by the tow ratings, you need to be looking at a bumper pull trailer.

I had a 2004 SRW F350, but once I ordered my 5th wheel, I proceeded to trade my truck in on a Dually. I am one of those people that go by tow ratings, so having the correct truck for my trailer was important to me.

Trying not to hijack this thread but I am in the same predicament. I have an 07 f350 SRW 4x4 crew cab. I bought this to tow my 32 foot WW bumper pull. Towed it with no problems. I sold that and I've had a class A for the last few years, sold that and now found the perfect 09 WW CLD 4005. I was pretty much ready to go pick it up when it dawned on me that it's pretty heavy. 18,000 pounds with a 2800lb pin weight. I'm having a pretty hard time figuring out what my 07 can handle. What I've found. With 4:30 gears I have a 26k gcwr I have not weighed my truck since I had the bumper pull years ago, I would think its at least 6k. That leaves 20k. Is that to close? I see these trucks pull these massive toy haulers all the time. What can I do to my truck short of adding wheels can I do

Look at some of the Northwood Mfg Desert Fox toy hauler travel trailers. They are built and insulated well. We had a Weekend Warrior prior to our truck camper. It had great capacities but the insulation was poor for colder climates. Don't be dissuaded in your purchase - Just turn your attention to vehicles that the truck will tow comfortably so you enjoy your time camping instead of dreading the drive.

The weight police will be after me but I don't think you are that far off...... it is less of a safety thing & more of a hard on the truck thing........ stick with the fifth wheel.....if the trailer is within the towing capacity of the truck you are probably fine........
Here is more of a question how far will tow & is it mountain areas or flat areas..... If you tow great distances & through the Rockies you probably want a duelly but if you tow shorter distances & flat ground what you have is probably ok...............2100 does seem a little low but my 05 Dodge duelly has gross cap weight at 4500

Bedlam wrote:
In 2005, Ford upgraded the chassis, brakes and suspension. I think they did it again in 2008 or 2009. The older trucks just don't compare to newer ones for towing and payload - This truck is at least two generations behind the the current offerings.

Have you considered a bumper pull toy hauler instead?

We became aware of the higher tow capacity of the 2005-2007 F-350 after we bought ours. Unfortunately, I had left the tow vehicle choice up to my fiance, which meant he was *supposed* to do all his homework. Needless to say, mama wasn't happy to discover that we were pretty limited and he hadn't quite done all his homework! OK - I lie...I was pissed. But we've got what we've got, which is all I'm willing to spend on the TV 'cause we aren't wealthy, and I really don't want to have to buy another truck because we've already had delay after delay to prevent us from reaching our goal of getting a camper.

Yes, last evening I was looking into toy hauler travel trailers. I have other important specs for the camper, such as adequate insulation, so finding the right combo is hard. If it comes down to it, a toy hauler isn't a necessity - it's just what mama prefers. I'm looking at the Heartland Torque, which is Heartland's lighter weight toy hauler line. There are other campers that would suit us, but I love the functionality of the toy hauler garage being a bedroom, family room - especially with the patio deck, and an indoor dining area. You just don't get all that out of one room in a "regular" fifth wheel.