Max Payload vs. Pin Weight (Ford, Ram, Chevy)
Hi,
I recently bought a new 5th wheel and truck to tow it. I got a 40 foot Open Range with a 2500 pound pin weight.
I was looking at fairly loaded SRW long bed diesels from Ford, Chevy and Ram. I ended up getting the Ram due to the much higher payload. The Fords and Chevys that I was looking at had max payloads (from the door sticker) around 3400 pounds, while the similarly equipped Ram had a pay load of 4200 pounds. My thought was that with the camper and truck fully loaded I would be pushing up against the max payload of the Chevy and Ford (even though I liked them a bit better).
So my setup now, even when fully loaded, will provide me close to 1000 pounds of margin I would guess. Theoretically should my truck do a better job of towing my trailer given that I am significantly below the max payload vs the Chevy or Ford that would be right up near their max? I would guess that would be the case from a logical perspective.
My other question is what would make there be such a big difference in payload between the Ford/Chevy and the Ram? For similarly equipped models (and all long bed, quad cab diesels with automatic transmissions) the difference is about 800 pounds. That is not a small difference. What would be so drastically different with the Ram to justify such a higher rating? Is there something inherint in their design (solid front axel for instance) that makes it more capable of hauling more weight? I assume that the three trucks are all rated against the same standards.
Thanks
Matt
I recently bought a new 5th wheel and truck to tow it. I got a 40 foot Open Range with a 2500 pound pin weight.
I was looking at fairly loaded SRW long bed diesels from Ford, Chevy and Ram. I ended up getting the Ram due to the much higher payload. The Fords and Chevys that I was looking at had max payloads (from the door sticker) around 3400 pounds, while the similarly equipped Ram had a pay load of 4200 pounds. My thought was that with the camper and truck fully loaded I would be pushing up against the max payload of the Chevy and Ford (even though I liked them a bit better).
So my setup now, even when fully loaded, will provide me close to 1000 pounds of margin I would guess. Theoretically should my truck do a better job of towing my trailer given that I am significantly below the max payload vs the Chevy or Ford that would be right up near their max? I would guess that would be the case from a logical perspective.
My other question is what would make there be such a big difference in payload between the Ford/Chevy and the Ram? For similarly equipped models (and all long bed, quad cab diesels with automatic transmissions) the difference is about 800 pounds. That is not a small difference. What would be so drastically different with the Ram to justify such a higher rating? Is there something inherint in their design (solid front axel for instance) that makes it more capable of hauling more weight? I assume that the three trucks are all rated against the same standards.
Thanks
Matt
