SRW for pulling Fifth Wheel
I am looking to buy a new truck because we intend to upgrade to a fifth wheel within the next few years. I have read a ton of articles and posts saying that a dually is better and the truck to have. P...
Forum Discussion
ACZL wrote:memtb wrote:
If the truck will be “dedicated” for towing....then a DRW would be very desirable. However....there are many reasons to consider a SRW. In our case, it’s a year round, do it all truck! It will be used in ice/snow/mud, hunting on narrow “ two-track” roads/trails, and the usual daily uses. For us the SRW is “handsdown” more desirable!
Our 5er is over 20K pounds....and we do fine! However, modifications (Ricksen 19.5” wheels with Hankook “H” rated tires) have been made to the truck, and the 5er has a good suspension (MorRyde) and hydraulic disc brakes, and 3 axles (17.5” wheels/tires)
It come down to how the truck is to be used the majority of the time.....and how much money, you’re willing to spend to make the SRW a reliable/safe tow vehicle for a heavy trailer!
If I'm reading this right, your stating that your RV alone weighs 20k and pulling it w/ a srw? If my fuzzy math is right too, 20,000 x 25% = 5,000 pin weight. If so, God bless you for you have bigger kahoonies than me.
Going to commercial rated tires and rims does allow considerable capacity for a SRW and extra durability (longevity and puncture resistance) at the cost of ride comfort and lack of tire flotation in deep snow or soft sand. I easily put on 30K miles with 7000-8000 lbs on my F250's rear axle without any reliability or handling problems and fully expected the tires to age out before they would wear out. My 5500 has the same type of tire and has almost 40K miles on them with a healthy amount of tread left I doubt I will be able wear away before I replace the tires due to age.
I did have to upgrade the F250 suspension to control this heavier payload, but I had the footprint of a short bed extended cab SRW with the ride quality of a F350 DRW.
