Tow Rig question SRW or DRW for 5th RAM
I'm sure this has been debated millions of times, but here is a new spin. At what weight would you consider a DRW to be mandatory whilst towing a fifth wheel ? 10k 11k 12k 13k 14k 15k 16...
Forum Discussion
There is an easy way to determine if SRW or dually is needed.
But one surely MUST know the maximum pin weight that fully loaded fifth wheel is going to generate first thing.
Once that is known, try using the one tire only method. In other words, assume that the pickup itself is using up all the capacity of one rear tire on a SRW just to carry itself. And mind you, this is really not that far a stretch of the imagination. These new crew cab models, with diesel engines, can weigh in excess of 8,000 pounds. Doing a 60/40 split on weight means there is already 3,200 pounds on the rear axle. (8,000 x .40).
So now you have the one tire left. Plug in that max pin weight of the fifth wheel and see if the one tire has enough capacity to carry that weight.
You also may want to add say 250 pounds for a hitch and since most crew cab configurations have five passenger seating, 150 X 5 = 750 pounds for passengers.
Once you've gotten to this point, you'll immediately know if the SRW can handle the fiver, or if you actually do need to go with a dually.
It's simple, and it works.
But one surely MUST know the maximum pin weight that fully loaded fifth wheel is going to generate first thing.
Once that is known, try using the one tire only method. In other words, assume that the pickup itself is using up all the capacity of one rear tire on a SRW just to carry itself. And mind you, this is really not that far a stretch of the imagination. These new crew cab models, with diesel engines, can weigh in excess of 8,000 pounds. Doing a 60/40 split on weight means there is already 3,200 pounds on the rear axle. (8,000 x .40).
So now you have the one tire left. Plug in that max pin weight of the fifth wheel and see if the one tire has enough capacity to carry that weight.
You also may want to add say 250 pounds for a hitch and since most crew cab configurations have five passenger seating, 150 X 5 = 750 pounds for passengers.
Once you've gotten to this point, you'll immediately know if the SRW can handle the fiver, or if you actually do need to go with a dually.
It's simple, and it works.
