can my truck pull my RV?? newbie

so should I not even hook it up and try it? I can't afford a new truck- is there a company who can move it for me that isn't super expensive? feeling pretty screwed here

GVWR is 8800#

MAX towing rating is 12,800#

You will be over GVWR, RAWR, Rear tire MAX Load rating

And if you are going to be living in that trailer in Casper you will need skirting, heat lamps under rig, and a large propane tank set up (at least 100#)
Casper is no pic-nic in the winter. Lived there for 10 yrs. Good LUCK!!

CasperRVlivin wrote:
thanks! I have never pulled a 5th wheel before and I'm getting a crash course unfortunately. how do I find out what the max pin weight I can have in my truck is? what are the potential problems with this scenario? what should I look out for?

Go to a dodge dealer and have them run the VIN number and get your axle and GVW ratings. Then go a CAT scale and get the truck wieghed. The GVWR minus the total truck wieght is your maximum payload to stay within the manufactures ratings. The Rear Axle rating minus the actual rear axle wieght is the maximum you can legally load the truck bed (i.e pin wieght plus other stuff in truck) assumming you have correctly rated tires.

Your 3/4 ton should be able to safetly tow that trailer empty to where you want to go but it is going to be overwieght if you load very much stuff in the trailer.

thanks! I have never pulled a 5th wheel before and I'm getting a crash course unfortunately. how do I find out what the max pin weight I can have in my truck is? what are the potential problems with this scenario? what should I look out for?

Sorry, the Pin is the kingpin on the trailer that connects to the hitch in the truck. So when you hitch up, the pin weight is what they call how much weight the trailer puts on the hitch and in the bed of the truck.

What you might do if you have time is hitch up and go somewhere closeby for the weekend and see how she tows.

what is pin weight? and thanks for the responses folks :) I'm just hoping to make it up to WY and get it parked! any recommendations on things I can do to my truck for the trip to help it out?

It's the payload. Figure if you're going to be living in that RV it will packed pretty close to 14,000 lbs, so using that as a starting point. In a 5er about 20-25% of that will be on the pin. So 20% is 2800 lbs, 25% is 3500 lbs. Split the difference and call it 3100 lbs, add another 200 lbs for the hitch and you've over the payload of most 3/4 trucks. Brakes and springs, the 5er has its own brakes and springs may sag in the back, you can add air bags for that. Pay attention to the axle ratings and the tire ratings. Best thing you can do is stop at a CAT scale and get the rig weighed enroute to your destination.

I realize this is a general comment without knowing the ratings of your truck. One thing you can do NOW if you can call Dodge and find out what the GVWR is, then take the truck by itself to a scales and see what it weighs with you, full fuel, and the 5er hitch. Subtract the empty weight from the GVWR and that's how much you can put in the bed, ie is available for pin weight.

FWIW, tow ratings are all but worthless in the RV world, the vehicles run out of payload capacity before they exceed their tow rating. My truck is rated to tow 12000 lbs but I am right at GVWR capacity even though the trailer is only 8500 lbs fully loaded.

Yeah, too much trailer for that truck. Pin weight is your main problem. You will be probably 2500 to 3k #'s of pin weight, which is too much for a 3/4 ton. You may be ok for the one trip if you tow dry and carry as little weight as possible, but you need a bigger truck. Sorry. Btw, welcome to the forum!

what is it about this amount of weight that makes a 3/4 ton too small? just brakes/springs, etc? also, I can't seem to find the actual towing capacity of my truck... sticker is gone and so is the manual. googling has only left me with more questions than answers...

It'll tow it the one time, but too much trailer for the truck, that trailer is dually territory for sure. Go slow, be careful, and plan on a getting a bigger truck if you decide you want to see the country with this trailer.