What do I need to tow 5th wheel with RAM 2500 Megacab?

I pull a Heartland Sundance XLT 285BH with a 2013 2500 mega cab using a B&W companion hitch in the furthest back hole. I can make a pretty sharp corner backing up on uneven ground and still have clearance probably into the 80 degree range. The Sundance has what they call a 88 degree cut back corner which allows it. I don't think I could get by without a slider if I had a fifth wheel with a flat front. My previous short box ford definitely allowed a bit more clearance though. I think ford uses a 6' 9" box compared to RAMs 6' 4" box. Ready to camp with the fresh tank full it only squats the rear end an inch at most. I actually had to do a reverse level on the pickup pulling some spacers out of the back to get a bit more bedrail clearance at the back of the box.

jmtandem wrote:
Some of the Cummins have gone two million miles, many one million. You will be a long time wearing it out!

True but with how much upkeep? How long do injectors last? What about lift pump or other major items?

Thanks for all the responses. I am mostly checking into what options we have if I don't find the Open Range Roamer travel trailer we really like. I will do the math and be sure I am well under my limits with this truck (which will NOT be jettisoned for a 3500), whatever we decide. For the "weight police", I wanted your input too so I can see worst case scenarios, and match my truck's capability to the right 5th wheel if we should go that way. Any 5th wheel we'd consider would be small compared to other 5th wheelers (30' or less), and would have to come in well below the truck's capabilities. Again, thanks for all the answers; I found many reasonable responses I can chew on for next year.

Major Dad, You should have no problem with weight. I have an OR that I pull with my 2500 and it weighs out fine and is not the light. Good Luck and Happy Camping. We have pulled ours over 30,000 miles and are still happy with the product. Factory is excellent to work with and they have a 2 year Warranty.

Major Dad,
People take risks posting any questions on a public forum such as this. Questions such as which tow vehicle for a certain trailer, which trailer for a certain TV, which toilet paper, which propane grill, which RV dealership, which ____________ bring out the propensity of some to declare that their opinions are correct and all others are worthless. Be careful of all posts which recommend you jettison all your equipment and purchase what they have. You might pay attention to those posts made by folks who have successfully used the combination of equipment about which you are asking. Some here are adamant that one needs a Caterpillar D9 to pull a grocery cart... because that's what they use. Some here believe one can pull a Redwood with a Chevy Blazer.

I commend you for ignoring answers to questions you didn't ask (like which TV you could buy to replace your current TV) and for processing all this information with logic. Proceed.

Major Dad,

There are always folks on these forums that will try to tell you what you can get by with. Really? Who wants to just get by? Get the truck and fifth wheel combination that will allow you to have a stress free towing experience. If you don't care about gross weight considerations the megacab is essentially the same in tires, wheels and axles as the crew cab but for some reason they were rated lower by Dodge in their first years. The later model megacabs have payload numbers more in line with the same truck as the crew cab.

You asked some good questions, you got some good answers. The best way to determine where you are in the weight category is to go to the scales with the truck loaded for camping/towing and then weigh the pin on the fifth and see where you stand. Obviously because you brought your issue to the forum, you expected many responses. And you got them.

If gross weight is important to you, I would not tow the fifth; if tire, axle and wheel numbers are more important to you then you likely will be OK. Just because somebody else tows over gross and has never had a problem does not provide a lot of comfort. 'Comfort' in your case where you are likely marginal on the numbers is spelled more truck!

I have to wear this truck out first, and it only has 42K on it. If I do get one at that time, it would be most likely SRW.

Some of the Cummins have gone two million miles, many one million. You will be a long time wearing it out!

Here we go!
Even that "lite"
5er will likely put you over your max payload. Have you taken the Ram to a scales a lately, you might be surprised where you sit with avaiable payload.
Keep in mind EVERYTHING you put in that truck reduces your payload!
So that leaves you a choice, bigger TV or go by rear axle and tire rating. It isn't the best solution, but many do it, doesn't make it right or unsafe, yes I ment to say unsafe.
The decision to do this is yours and yours alone, looking at your numbers you would likely could be 300 to 400# over GVWR.

I would suspect the lighter pin weight is due to the two slides in the rear of the trailer along with the furniture. I would think that added weight in the rear of the FW will take some weight off the pin. I know that, when I put my boat on the back of my FW, my hitch weight decreases due to the leverage of the boat trailer hitch weight on the back of the FW. At least that's my opinion. Jayco said that my hitch weight was supposed to be 1,365 pounds with a dry trailer weight of 7,272 or so. That's a little less than 20%. Loaded max is supposed to be 9,950 so using that ratio, the hitch weight if I fully loaded up would be about 1,865. Doubt that you will ever get that close to max weight.

Your choice of hitch depends on the profile of your 5th wheel. I have an auto slide and need it. With it fully slid back I can do a 90 degree turn with only an 1" to spare.

Winged One wrote:

Major Dad wrote:
I am using the Ram towing guide, and it is 2140 for my vehicle.

Does it actually say 2140 on the sticker in your truck? They can be different sometimes.

Yes. Also have the printout from the Ram online handbook since they didn't give me a paper copy (grrr!).