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banjoguync's avatar
banjoguync
Explorer
Jun 30, 2016

Truck Limits for towing 5th wheel

Ok, so me and my family (wife and 3 sons) are considering buying a 5th wheel trailer and need some info as far as what to look for in weight. I have a 05 Ford F350 Lariat 6.0L V8 Diesel dually and loaded with us and our stuff about 1000lbs extra.....Im new to this and while I found this site I don't know how to make sense of it

https://www.fleet.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/2005_Towing_Guide.pdf

Can anyone help me, what weight should I be looking at for a 5th wheel without going to heavy? Id like to go low to be honest
  • You may want to post this in the fifth wheel forum. You will get a lot more feedback. Good luck with your search. You will probably find you can put a nice trailer behind that truck.
  • Your 2005 year DRW dually..........16,000# GVWR 5th wheel

    Enjoy your shopping
  • From the chart, you should be able to tow at least 16,000 pounds (less cargo weight) and since it is a dually you'll have the excess cargo capacity for typical hitch weights of fifth wheels that large.

    How big a fiver is that? Depends on how it is built. 40-foot lightweights can be under 15,000 pounds, so you can get pretty close to "maximum legal length" territory. 30 foot lightweights might be as low as 12,000 pounds. More heavily-built premium fivers might reach 15,000 pound weight at 34-foot length, going over 18,000 pounds as they reach 40 feet.

    Unless you are going for a heavy full-timing fiver, most of what's offered is in the range of what you can tow with a diesel "one-ton" dually pickup.
  • About anything you want short of a absolutely fully loaded D.R.V.

    (Select suites, type of Rig.)

    They tend to be very very heavy and you know withyou your wife and 3 kids you know that's adds a bit of weight there too

    but most any size of fifth wheel up to probably about 40 ft--- you should be fine.


    New,used,Toy hauler--- The world is your Oyster

    Dont start TOO SMALL ---- I am on my third fifth wheel and I'm probably about where I want to be right now

    my first was about 23 foot then the 29--30 and now I'm at a 38-foot
  • Thank you sir, that's more of what I was looking for. Were looking for a 28-31 ft
  • Using a '06 version of your truck, I routinely pull a 13K to 14K pound four horse gooseneck. It safely handles this load anywhere we have towed it. It's a strong pulling truck with lots of payload capacity.
    Enjoy your new camper when you get it.
  • Please do not multiple post
    See thread in 5th wheels

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