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 back on those decisions...now just trying to understand what the real potential consequences are.
My truck...2014 Ford F250 CC 4x4 SWB with the 6.7 Diesel...paid for. I have an automatic sliding hitch, have added Air Lift air bags to the truck as well as a BakFlip bed cover. I recently weighed the truck with just myself and about 6 gallons of diesel...the weight was 8320 lbs., the truck has a GVWR of 10000 lbs. leaving me with a payload capacity of 1680 lbs. I would say that my wife and kids add another 430 lbs., we carry about another 50 pounds of stuff in the cab with us, and then filling the 24 gallon tank would add another 130 lbs. Subtracting all of that...we are left with a payload capacity of about 1070 lbs.
My camper...2015 Grand Design Reflection 323BHS. The GVWR is 13995 lbs., the dry weight is 10780 lbs., and the hitch weight is 1980 lbs.
Based on my calculations for my truck...it appears we are over the GVWR of the truck by 910 lbs. When looking at other 5th wheels offered by Grand Design...my truck could not tow any of them and be within the GVWR of the truck. I am not sure if any manufacturer makes a 5th wheel with a hitch weight that will fit into the 1070 lb. capacity I have left.
When I bought the truck, I had no idea I would be going the camper route. I bought it to tow my aluminum car trailer and classic Mustang. A year later...the wife wants to start going camping...and the 5th wheel was my idea of roughing it. Being an impulse buyer that I am (I know how bad this is so no need to rub it in), we went and looked at a few models and bought the one that met our needs/desires. Of course, the dealer said towing it with the truck I had was going to be no problem. And it has not been any problem at all. We have not gone real far mind you but it tows like a dream and with the air bags pumped up to 65 lbs...truck sits perfectly level.
I know I am not alone out there as far as towing more 5ver than the truck is rated for...I think the most popular combo I see on the road is SRW truck with 5ver behind. And even if some of those are 350s/3500s...the GVWR capacity of those trucks isn't different from the 250s/2500s.
Since I can't un-buy the truck or the camper (especially the camper)...I am trying to find out what the real potential consequences are from continuing to tow with the truck I have. I know it is not the limitations of the engine/transmission because they put the same engine/transmission in the 350s and 450s. Is it the brakes not being able to appropriately stop the vehicle? To make matters worse...I had plan to replace the stock/original fuel tank with a tank that basically doubles the capacity...so I don't have to stop every 250 miles for fuel. Doing this would add another 180 lbs. on top of the weight I detailed above.
My truck...2014 Ford F250 CC 4x4 SWB with the 6.7 Diesel...paid for. I have an automatic sliding hitch, have added Air Lift air bags to the truck as well as a BakFlip bed cover. I recently weighed the truck with just myself and about 6 gallons of diesel...the weight was 8320 lbs., the truck has a GVWR of 10000 lbs. leaving me with a payload capacity of 1680 lbs. I would say that my wife and kids add another 430 lbs., we carry about another 50 pounds of stuff in the cab with us, and then filling the 24 gallon tank would add another 130 lbs. Subtracting all of that...we are left with a payload capacity of about 1070 lbs.
My camper...2015 Grand Design Reflection 323BHS. The GVWR is 13995 lbs., the dry weight is 10780 lbs., and the hitch weight is 1980 lbs.
Based on my calculations for my truck...it appears we are over the GVWR of the truck by 910 lbs. When looking at other 5th wheels offered by Grand Design...my truck could not tow any of them and be within the GVWR of the truck. I am not sure if any manufacturer makes a 5th wheel with a hitch weight that will fit into the 1070 lb. capacity I have left.
When I bought the truck, I had no idea I would be going the camper route. I bought it to tow my aluminum car trailer and classic Mustang. A year later...the wife wants to start going camping...and the 5th wheel was my idea of roughing it. Being an impulse buyer that I am (I know how bad this is so no need to rub it in), we went and looked at a few models and bought the one that met our needs/desires. Of course, the dealer said towing it with the truck I had was going to be no problem. And it has not been any problem at all. We have not gone real far mind you but it tows like a dream and with the air bags pumped up to 65 lbs...truck sits perfectly level.
I know I am not alone out there as far as towing more 5ver than the truck is rated for...I think the most popular combo I see on the road is SRW truck with 5ver behind. And even if some of those are 350s/3500s...the GVWR capacity of those trucks isn't different from the 250s/2500s.
Since I can't un-buy the truck or the camper (especially the camper)...I am trying to find out what the real potential consequences are from continuing to tow with the truck I have. I know it is not the limitations of the engine/transmission because they put the same engine/transmission in the 350s and 450s. Is it the brakes not being able to appropriately stop the vehicle? To make matters worse...I had plan to replace the stock/original fuel tank with a tank that basically doubles the capacity...so I don't have to stop every 250 miles for fuel. Doing this would add another 180 lbs. on top of the weight I detailed above.
