Sorry...another tow vehicle capacity thread
Lets just get this out of the way up front. I am a newbie to camping that made an uninformed purchase of too much 5th wheel for the truck I have. I already own the camper and the truck so no going b...
Forum Discussion
Wildwilly101 wrote:
Really? New truck is rated 14K GVW old truck 9K gvw. Enormous spring packs compared to very small spring packs. Not even close. Payload rating of 6K compared to payload rating of 2K. Loading of unit was fine, truck suspension simply couldn't handle the weight. No other factors involved. I was well beyond reasonable design parameters.
Yes really, you are apparently not aware of design parameters.
Your ratings on the 08 where limited on paper for marketing purposes, the actual design spec was much higher.
Based purely on the spring rating the 2500 spring pack with airbags will hold more weight than your new DRW and will be more stable with the anti-sway bar and airbags. Again numbers don't lie. The difference in the main leafs is 7%, and the overloads are rated less than the airbags. The modified 2500 had a more stout suspension, end of story.
Think about the air suspension on the 3500's. They have a smaller leaf pack, rated lower than your 2500 pack, and air bags.. You had that plus a anti-sway bar. The new air suspension is rated at 9,750lbs!!! You can't hardly find SRW wheels rated for that (I think the Ricksons might be, but the Visions aren't). You had plenty of suspension.
The frame on your 2500 was the same as the DRW, which could carry a max of 14,550 with fully loaded axles. While the new one can go higher it's not needed for that trailer. With a SRW if you are within your limits on tires the truck is within design spec, enough said...
You ended up with a better truck for that trailer, no doubt, but your statement about the differences was wrong. The biggest benefits to the new truck are the training wheels and eng/trans upgrades. The front suspension is also better, but nearly every lb of the 5er is on the rear axle.
