Tow vehicle for 5er

My 2004.5 Ram 3500 dually with a 5.9 Cummins, 3.73 axle, does not have the numbers to support a 15,000# fifth wheel. Gross combined weight rating is 21,000# and truck with passengers and hitch is 8,000# leaving 13,000# for the trailer. If considering a Ram you might want to look newer.

Thanks guys for all the replies. Still would like to hear from others about their trucks past or present. Need to find something by springtime

Tim

Pin weight is always a concern, with a heavy FW. An older DRW may be able to carry the 3K pin weight, but likely won't have enough GCWR, due to a less capable drive train. The transmissions, cooling system, and other running gear were the weak points. With an older, tired 10-15 year old truck, you certainly would not want to push the limit of listed GCWR.

Jerry

My only advice is you can't have to much truck when towing! I tow with a 2017 F-450.

We spent the summer of 2016 in Alaska with our old 30' fifth wheel. We were set up in a Camp Ground in BC off of the Casier Hwy. when a new arrival started down the gravel road desent to the pull through site next to ours. They made it about 50' before the trailer began to drive his undersized truck. Pushing it down the hill with his brakes locked up. He finally slid and turned off the road onto the grass and got the rig stopped before he slid past his site. Not enough truck for the toy hauler he was towing in that instance. Just because you can pull it doesn't mean you can stop it. Gravity is evil at times. I also suspect his brakes on the trailer were sick or the after market trailer brake controller he was using was not set correctly to activate the brakes enough to help the truck slow and stop the trailer. It was either a 1/2 or 3/4 ton SRW he was towing with.

Good luck with your decision.

Since I'm never likely to tow a FW that large, my =personal= "dream truck" would be an '07 Duramax "classic" with LBZ engine. NO DEF REQUIRED! Yes, a lot less payload, but not having to deal with DEF and much cheaper taxes, er, =registration=, makes it my "ideal". Now, were money no object, I'd =build= a truck on an '07 frame, with upgraded suspension capacity. Best thing would be, you guessed it; NO DEF and CHEAPER to register. :B

Lyle

I sure don't see the big objection to def. It is not very expensive (about $8/2.5 gallons), only needs replenishing about every 5000-6000 miles, and only takes a couple of minutes to pour into the vehicle tank. At least that has been my experience with it in the past year.
Barney

More torque with a diesel, just saying...

Tim Nowicki wrote:
Gas mileage not even a factor. Lookin at my options to SAFELY tow a 15,000LB 5er. Heck I've been doin 6-7 MPG for the last 25 years on my motorhomes!!!
Tim

BarneyS wrote:
I sure don't see the big objection to def. It is not very expensive (about $8/2.5 gallons), only needs replenishing about every 5000-6000 miles, and only takes a couple of minutes to pour into the vehicle tank. At least that has been my experience with it in the past year.
Barney

I find the Def system to require more maintenance than what it should. It is not really that complicated but the components are made by Bosch and it seems they have been designed to just out last the warranty period. I had a heating element fail on my 2011 Powerstroke at about 90,000 miles. I bought the part from someone who deleted his F450 and did the work of changing it myself so it wasn't too bad. But, others I know with both Chev and Ford have had the same issue and it was a $1000 repair. Likely Ram is the same, I just don't know anyone with a newer Ram.

My friend's 2003 F350 with a V-10 has a payload rating of over 3600 lbs, and a GCVWR of 20,000 lbs.

AlaskaShooter wrote:
My only advice is you can't have to much truck when towing! I tow with a 2017 F-450.

We spent the summer of 2016 in Alaska with our old 30' fifth wheel. We were set up in a Camp Ground in BC off of the Casier Hwy. when a new arrival started down the gravel road desent to the pull through site next to ours. They made it about 50' before the trailer began to drive his undersized truck. Pushing it down the hill with his brakes locked up. He finally slid and turned off the road onto the grass and got the rig stopped before he slid past his site. Not enough truck for the toy hauler he was towing in that instance. Just because you can pull it doesn't mean you can stop it. Gravity is evil at times. I also suspect his brakes on the trailer were sick or the after market trailer brake controller he was using was not set correctly to activate the brakes enough to help the truck slow and stop the trailer. It was either a 1/2 or 3/4 ton SRW he was towing with.

Good luck with your decision.

Pulling a 15000 lb RV with a new F450 might work ok but it won't work as good as pulling that weight trailer with a new F350.