5th Wheel w/ 1/2 Ton
I literally put the cart before the horse and bought a late 90's 5th wheel trailer before buying a truck to pull it with! I'm not sure if I can get away with a beefy 1/2 ton or should look for some...
Forum Discussion
sidewalkdrop wrote:
I'm not sure if I can get away with a beefy 1/2 ton or should look for something larger. Problem is, it seems harder to come by, and obviously, more expensive to move up to a 3/4 or 1 ton.
The unloaded trailer weight is 5400. Max loaded weight is either 7200 or 7900 pounds, I forget. I think it's 7200 though.
A beefy 1/2 ton truck ??
These trucks are very popular with the 1/2 ton truck crowd but are hard to find.
The '00 to '06 GM 1500HD has a 8600 GVWR 6.0 engine 4L80 tranny E tires and wheels and a 6000 RAWR with over 3k lb payloads.
The F150 HD in the 8200 GVWR with a 4800 RAWR E tires and wheels have payloads in the 2500-3000lb range.
... or The F150 with a 7700 GVWR and 4050 RAWR will handle a 5400-7200 lb 5ers pin weight.
The mid '00s 1500 Dodge Mega cab sits on the 3/4 ton chassis with a 8510 GVWR and 6000 lb RAWR E tires and wheels.
Your older 5400 lb dry weight or 7200 GVWR trailer can have a 1000 lb up to 1400 lb pin weight. This eliminates a older std duty 1/2 ton truck with a small gas engine and GVWRs under 7000 lbs and 3800 RAWRs which there are plenty of out here.
Or the new 1/2 ton trucks with the 6.0-6.2 gas engines 7000+ GVWR and 4000 RAWR will handle that small trailer with ease.
My first 5er was a new '84 7200 lb GVWR that actually weighed 6040 lb gross road ready. Had it on a 1500 chevy 305 engine 7004R tranny 3.73 axle. We pulled the trailer for 7 years all over the southern Rockies with the truck. Sure it was slow but with a 55 mph national speed limit no one had to wait on me.
