Forum Discussion

prestonbunch's avatar
prestonbunch
Explorer
Oct 11, 2014

Finding out how much we can tow

We have a Dutchman Kodiak bunkhouse travel trailer. It's poorly made and crumbling before our eyes, but that's another issue for another post.

We are looking to get a different RV and my hubby would like to go with a fifth-wheel this time. But we are getting conflicting information about what we can tow. It seems like even the dealers don't always know what they are talking about. The saleswoman I spoke with yesterday at a dealership told me to call back when I found out what I could tow. ??? I thought they'd be trained to help.

Anyway, our trailer right now is considerable size. It's a 300bhsl model, about 39 feet long with three slides. Hubby tows it with a Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab with no problem.

We were looking at a Sundance fifth-wheel with two slides. I believe it was 36 feet long. And the salesperson told us he didn't think we could tow it with our truck. He said we needed to find out the gear ratio of our truck for him to look it up. How do I find that out?

Any suggestions/advice/help would be appreciated.

Thanks.
  • prestonbunch's avatar
    prestonbunch
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2014
    JIMNLIN wrote:
    prestonbunch wrote:
    The other one we were looking at was a Forest River Heritage Glen.

    Length: 36'7"
    Hitch weight: 1490
    Dry Weight: 9545
    GVWR: 11,510
    Cargo capacity: 1906


    I have a 2500 Dodge/Cummins and pull a 11200 lb 5th wheel trailer with two slides. Great combo.

    Our 2500 Dodge trucks have a 6000 RAWR that carries the hitch load from a trailer.
    Your Mega Cab and all the kids/other gear may have a 3000-3200 lb rear axle weight which leaves 2800-3000 lb for a payload.

    A 11500 GVWR 5th wheel trailer can have a 2300 lb pin wight which can bring the trucks rear axle weight to approx 5500 lbs. Now add another 200 lbs for a hitch = 5700 lbs. You now have 300 lbs reserve before going over axle/tire load ratings.

    The truck and this trailer make a good match.


    Thank you for the input. This stuff is really confusing if you don't know what you're doing, which I don't! I just want to make sure we are (1) safe and (2) don't damage our vehicle by towing more than we can handle.
  • JIMNLIN's avatar
    JIMNLIN
    Explorer III
    Oct 11, 2014
    prestonbunch wrote:
    The other one we were looking at was a Forest River Heritage Glen.

    Length: 36'7"
    Hitch weight: 1490
    Dry Weight: 9545
    GVWR: 11,510
    Cargo capacity: 1906


    I have a 2500 Dodge/Cummins and pull a 11200 lb 5th wheel trailer with two slides. Great combo.

    Our 2500 Dodge trucks have a 6000 RAWR that carries the hitch load from a trailer.
    Your Mega Cab and all the kids/other gear may have a 3000-3200 lb rear axle weight which leaves 2800-3000 lb for a payload.

    A 11500 GVWR 5th wheel trailer can have a 2300 lb pin wight which can bring the trucks rear axle weight to approx 5500 lbs. Now add another 200 lbs for a hitch = 5700 lbs. You now have 300 lbs reserve before going over axle/tire load ratings.

    The truck and this trailer make a good match.
  • prestonbunch's avatar
    prestonbunch
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2014
    downtheroad wrote:
    Wow..a salesman who was honest and said that he didn't know. Usually they know one thing for sure, "You can tow that-no problem."

    Anyway, make sure that you consider no only what you can tow but what your truck can carry...PAYLOAD when considering especially a 5th wheel is very if not more important...Also do not use "dry" unloaded numbers when doing your research.

    Post your trucks payload and the weight of the trailer you are considering and you will get better advice/ opinions here on the forum.


    Oh, we have already met that salesman before. When we first bought our trailer, hubby had a Nissan Titan that they assured us could tow it. Sure it could tow it. But not well. After it pushed us through a four-way intersection on the way home, we decided we needed a different tow vehicle.
  • prestonbunch's avatar
    prestonbunch
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2014
    The other one we were looking at was a Forest River Heritage Glen.

    Length: 36'7"
    Hitch weight: 1490
    Dry Weight: 9545
    GVWR: 11,510
    Cargo capacity: 1906
  • downtheroad's avatar
    downtheroad
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2014
    Wow..a salesman who was honest and said that he didn't know. Usually they know one thing for sure, "You can tow that-no problem."

    Anyway, make sure that you consider no only what you can tow but what your truck can carry...PAYLOAD when considering especially a 5th wheel is very if not more important...Also do not use "dry" unloaded numbers when doing your research.

    Post your trucks payload and the weight of the trailer you are considering and you will get better advice/ opinions here on the forum.
  • prestonbunch's avatar
    prestonbunch
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2014
    Our current trailer is:

    Length - 36'11"
    Hitch weight - 809
    Dry weight - 7480
    Cargo capacity - 1582

    (If I add dry weight and cargo capacity is that Gross Weight?)

    The fifth-wheel we were looking at is:

    Length - 35'9"
    Hitch weight - 1873
    Dry weight - 9663
    Gross weight - 13,600

    So, I'm guessing it's either that hitch weight or the gross weight that's the problem?
  • KarenS144's avatar
    KarenS144
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2014
    You might find info here:

    http://www.trailerlife.com/trailer-towing-guides/

    http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/towing_guide/

    Many times it's not the towing that's the problem. It's the stopping that sometimes doesn't workout so well. Your TV needs to have the weight & power to safely STOP whatever you're towing.

    You need to find the numbers on the trailer you're considering. They should be listed somewhere in the unit..maybe in a cabinet? This link will help you understand what all those weights mean:

    http://changingears.com/rv-sec-tow-vehicles-understand.shtml

    The truck should have a plate somewhere that tells you what it's limits are.

    Don't forget that you have to factor in EVERYTHING in the trailer when considering weights...food, bedding, water, personal items and you need to consider the same for the truck.
  • Bumpyroad's avatar
    Bumpyroad
    Explorer
    Oct 11, 2014
    congratulations, you have found a salesman who didn't just blindly state, "Oh sure you can tow that". but what are all the numbers on your TV and proposed 5er?
    bumpy

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