1jeep wrote:
Honestly if I were to be truck shopping knowing that my intentions were to tow a 5th wheel I would just skip over to a 350srw as that will give you 11500 for GVWR
I would agree. I don't think GVWR means much of anything on 3/4 ton diesel trucks because it's artifically low for non-performance reasons. If your intent going in is to exceed the GVWR regularly I think it makes more sense to go with a 1 ton. But if you already had a 3/4 ton, I think the important numbers to keep in mind are your tire and axle ratings because that's really what the truck is capable of doing - I wouldn't worry too much about payload. Just my humble opinion, of course.
I don't know why 17" wheels come with lower axle ratings but that seems to be the case across the board. My truck has 18" wheels and a 6500 lb RAWR. The 17" wheels come with 6000 lb RAWR. I don't know if the difference is the tires or wheels.