20,000 Teton 5er - Truck Needed (legally)

Jarlaxle wrote:
My choice for that would be a no-brainer: Ford F-550, V10 and 4.88 gears.

Well, I can agree, that you don't have any brains if you make that choice.

Jarlaxle wrote:
My choice for that would be a no-brainer: Ford F-550, V10 and 4.88 gears.

Hahahahha........hahahaha, wait.....hahahaha!
You'd have another birthday before reaching your destination if you had to pull a 20k + trailer with a V10, even with 6.88 gears!

Your truck will be perfectly fine if you upgrade to disk brakes. The trailer should stop it's self. I bet your truck is helping stop your MS.

I can honestly say I don't feel the 18K+ MS behind me when I apply the brakes the TV and RV each do their job seamlessly. Until you experience it you won't believe it's possible. I did not!

Keep your TV get the new RV and install Kodiak Disk's.

OP this is a tough call and I can see your dillema. You have a newer 450 that is close to perfect but just barely. Here is how I handled a similar situation. With our truck we had a 13,500 k fiver for 4 years and the srw truck handled it fine. We bought a new longer rig that weighs 1k more putting us close to our gcwr. I was not comfortable with this so I found some 19.5 Ricksons and figured I would give it a shot. First tow was 10 miles on city streets stopping, turning, accelerating, and braking... all felt great. Trip 2 was 50 miles adding highway traffic. Finally we hit the road for 150 miles with long mountain passes. From the get go I said if I ever say "whoa" then a dually was in the forecast. Mind you we are within specs but I enjoy living. The truck performed perfect and we have now logged 800 miles.

Point to all of this is you can start out with your truck and see if you have a whoa moment. If you do then hdt is the way to go. You can pick up nice ones for less than you can sell your current truck for.

Thanks for everyone's inputs on the pulling capability of a pickup vs MDT/HDT. One question that is still on my mind is braking capability. My 18k 2005 DRV and the 20k 2006 Teton both have shoe brakes. Is the Stopping power & distance of the RV combined with the 450/550 pickup compared to an MDT/HDT significant and a good reason for choosing one over the other? Again, thank for all you inputs.

RLGetman wrote:
Thanks everyone. Great info. I currently have a 2005 DRV 18,500 lb RV (loaded) and pull it with 2011 Ford 450 6.7. It pulls it fine but I am always conceded about stopping power. The 2006 Teton would be 20,000 loaded. I thought I would need a stronger truck at least for the stopping power.
Thanks Again!

Does your MS have disk brakes? With the Teton the first thing I would do is install disk brakes and then the trailer is stopping the trailer. Our MS has disk's and we never feel like there is a stopping problem.

Thanks everyone. Great info. I currently have a 2005 DRV 18,500 lb RV (loaded) and pull it with 2011 Ford 450 6.7. It pulls it fine but I am always conceded about stopping power. The 2006 Teton would be 20,000 loaded. I thought I would need a stronger truck at least for the stopping power.
Thanks Again!

We have a heavy fifth wheel at 18+ weight. We pull it with a Dodge Ram diesel 5500 and it handles it great.
Just my opinion, I think we get a little bit better fuel mileage with a Dodge. We get around 10 MPG and up, towing. Depends on the road and terrain.
We are full timers.

Thanks everyone. Great info. I currently have a 2005 DRV 18,500 lb RV (loaded) and pull it with 2011 Ford 450 6.7. It pulls it fine but I am always conceded about stopping power. The 2006 Teton would be 20,000 loaded. I thought I would need a stronger truck at least for the stopping power.
Thanks Again!

My choice for that would be a no-brainer: Ford F-550, V10 and 4.88 gears.

mpierce wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
The 13 or 14 RAM Dually will easily and legally handle that RV.

Our combo is 28K+ and the RV is 18K+. The truck handles the RV with ease in all conditions.

I agree. I weigh about the same, 28k+, and, with the 2014 RAM Dually, it handles it great. MUCH better than a few years older model would. Exhaust brake, etc. I am amazed at how well it works.

And, I am a commercial trucker, Peterbilt lover! I had been thinking about converting one of my Petes with CAT C-15 and 18 speed, but not anymore. The new model DRW's are impressive.

Before this dually I towed a 32.5' Avion Platinum with my 98 4x4 quad cab RAM with the combo grossing 20.5K. The truck handled the RV in most conditions except for the sudden gusts of wind and semi's passing and so on. I always felt I was at my limit and always felt like I always had to be constantly paying attention.

I was extremely pleased after towing the new RAM Dually and MS Combo of 28K+ in all weather conditions.

What convinced me the Dually was up to the task was traveling from Palm Springs to Phoenix on I-10 heading east with winds coming from the South West at 45mph. I could let go of the wheel and did not move from my lane. The only time I actually felt the wind was coming into Blythe where the road curves to the right and the wind was more directly from the side. Even then it did not feel unsafe. Friends were traveling in front of us in a 40' Motorhome. When we stopped the driver said how much he fought the steering wheel to stay in his lane. I told him what our rig felt like. Now he is thinking about a Dually and 5er.

I am sure the bigger rigs are rock solid also but I know my combo is very safe from all It has been thru.

Nice to have options. A few years ago I would have gone with the bigger rig but that now is not necessary. IMHO