Weight rating, 5er vs conventional

Thats also not always true either.
Besides the axle doesn't carry the load but rather the bearings in the housing and as said for the most part they can be the same.
The larger axle diameter is more about coping with twist.... not load carrying ability which is the point being made.
Buy a F250 with the heavy service or camper package and you get the same axle/suspension as the F350 srw according to Ford gurus on the many Ford diesel websites.
They also mention many are confusing the smaller axle/axle housing specs used on the F250 6.2 gasser trucks with the bigger units on the diesel equipped trucks.

Many folks are smart enough to see or find out what engineers are telling us through Q&A sessions with engineering and looking up part numbers....others ??

Coach-man wrote:

Allworth wrote:
To try to provide an engineering answer to your initial question:

The weight distribution on the truck's suspension is different, therefore the allowable total trailer weight is different.

A

P.S. Believe the manufacturer's Mechanical Engineering Team. They know what they are talking about concerning a truck that they designed even though some on the forum seem to think they are smarter than the builders/designers.

Not always an engineering issue! Some states have extra fees for above 10.000 LBS! ¾ ton trucks come in just under the 10,000 lbs. mark. Done to prevent those extra charges to kick in. For the most part, drive trains identical to the 1 ton versions. Only real difference is the extra fee’s! Be aware and educate yourself, to what is available and what you can safely haul.

Not 100% true. If you read the specs in the above links you'll see that the F350 has bigger parts in the rear axle.

Allworth wrote:
To try to provide an engineering answer to your initial question:

The weight distribution on the truck's suspension is different, therefore the allowable total trailer weight is different.

A

P.S. Believe the manufacturer's Mechanical Engineering Team. They know what they are talking about concerning a truck that they designed even though some on the forum seem to think they are smarter than the builders/designers.

Not always an engineering issue! Some states have extra fees for above 10.000 LBS! ¾ ton trucks come in just under the 10,000 lbs. mark. Done to prevent those extra charges to kick in. For the most part, drive trains identical to the 1 ton versions. Only real difference is the extra fee’s! Be aware and educate yourself, to what is available and what you can safely haul.

Tim Nowicki wrote:
I thank everyone for their input. Lots to consider. 4X4-the links you provided have very good info. thank you

This from Ford. Gives all the mechanical weight specs.
Ford truck clicky

This from Dodge/Ram
Dodge/Ram clicky

I've never found anything for GM truck specs that goes as far back as the Ram and Ford spec sheets.
GM has a online ordering guide with specs but its just covers the last 3 years.

I think BarryG20 may have it. Factory tow packages usually include a Class IV hitch which maxes out at 10,000 lbs trailer GVW without weight distribution.

I thank everyone for their input. Lots to consider. 4X4-the links you provided have very good info. thank you

To try to provide an engineering answer to your initial question:

The weight distribution on the truck's suspension is different, therefore the allowable total trailer weight is different.

A

P.S. Believe the manufacturer's Mechanical Engineering Team. They know what they are talking about concerning a truck that they designed even though some on the forum seem to think they are smarter than the builders/designers.

I may have missed it reading through the posts but I think the major reason for the difference between 5th and ball type trailer ratings is the hitch on the vehicle. A ball hitch comes in different classes 1-5. A vehicle with a class 5 hitch (which they really only recently started putting on trucks previously class 4) have ratings of max weight and max tongue weight. IE a class 4 hitch has a max weight rating of 10k weight and 1k tongue weight same hitch with weight distributing hitch is 14k and 1400 lb tongue weight. A class 5 hitch ups it to 12k, 1200 tongue and weight distributing hitch up to 17k or 1700lbs tongue weight. As you can see the tongue weight in the ratings is at 10%. Most trailers at 10% hitch weight are going to be hitch light. You move that up to 15% and that 17000lb rating becomes more like a hitch weight of 2550lbs well over the hitch tongue rating. To keep the hitch weight at 15% at the rating of 1700lbs your trailer can only be 11333 lbs(even a 12% tongue to trailer weight ratio is well over the tongue weight rating of 1700lbs at 2040lbs). Where as with a 5th hitch your limiting factor is not really the hitch but by payload rating of truck, rawr or tire rating for the truck depending on what you prefer to go by not the hitch. I have towed some heavy trailers over the years and I personally would not tow a 17000 lb trailer with a ball hitch with a srw truck. Even a dually would be questionable for me too much tail wagging the dog by that point. Not saying people don't or cant but not for me.

Absolutely do NOT even consider a Ford 6.0L diesel. They were junk. Ford 6.4L motors were not much better. So avoid Ford diesels in the years your looking at. They can be made better, but at what cost? Cummins I6 motors are a true 500K motor with years and years of service behind them. Besides they have 25% fewer moving parts. GM forces their diesel buyers into only one rear end configuration. See they all have their downsides. My 10 year old Dodge 6.7L is a pulling beast that also gets decent fuel economy. You need to go looking and test driving them. Pick one you feel is best for your situation and go.

Also we need clarification on how old you want to go. In you're first thread you said you wanted a "10 year old truck max". I take that to mean you want something no older than 2008.....but then you made mention of wanting something from the 2000 era? At least one of us is confused.