1/2 Ton 5th Wheel

[JeanMarie]

Hi Everyone!

I was at an RV dealership today, and I was told by the salesman that my 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi, would have no problem pulling a Keystone Cougar Half-ton 5th wheel trailer. My husband doesn't think it would be a good idea, and that it would ruin his truck. I loved the RV, and I want to buy it.

Any advise on this? Do you think it's a good idea to pull this trailer with my truck? Or is it just a sales gimick?

Thanks!!

[Golden_HVAC]

1,000 pounds of hitch weight should not be a problem for the Dodge truck. 8,000 pounds 'camping weight' should also be within the specs for a normal 1/2 ton Hemi equipped truck.

But still I can not say you are good to go without knowing the GVWR of the truck and the normal truck curb weight. I do know that for the Ecoboost equipped F-150 that is a normal load to put on that truck. I think that they have a GVWR package that allows up to 2,300 pounds of cargo and a trailer up to 11,300 pounds before reaching the GCVWR.

You would have to be concerned about the GCVWR. Say your Dodge is 16,000 pounds. And the trailer is 8,000 pounds. Curb weight of the truck is say 6,200 pounds with full fuel and passengers. This leaves you with a truck and trailer weight of only 14,200 pounds, well within a 16,000 pound rating. However if the truck GCVWR is only 14,500 pounds, you would be cutting it close.

Good luck!


Fred.

[C-Bears]

My buddy found a new 28' TT that he really wanted to buy. He really didn't want to get a 3/4 ton truck. I can't recall the hitch weight but it seemed pretty heavy to me. The salesman told him he could get a Tahoe and it would pull it great, just make sure the Tahoe had the bigger engine.

He found a gently used Tahoe with all the bells and whistles. He pulled the new TT two or three times and has blown out the OEM air suspension on his Tahoe twice. Now the TT just sits in the CG, no more traveling.

Yes, some salesmen will tell you anything to make the sale.

[fla-gypsy]

JeanMarie wrote:
Wow, thanks for all the help. So I guess my husband was right (again).

The 5th wheel is out of the question now. There was one other model that we both liked. It was a 26 ft. travel trailer. The Hitch weight is 853, and the dry weight is 6447. Would this be a better haul for my truck?

That would be a much better choice. You will still need a good WD hitch with integrated sway control IMO. I would recommend the Reese Dual Cam system or the Equalizer system.

[nomad297]

Grandpere wrote:
Yes, and get a WDH with a sway attachment and you will be set to go.

This is pretty random.

Bruce

[Grandpere]

Yes, and get a WDH with a sway attachment and you will be set to go.

[Golden_HVAC]

We would need to know more about the truck before giving good advice.

I know that the 2011 - 2015 F-150 Ecoboost has at least 4 different GVWR on the trucks. And if you take into account that 'your' truck can be anything from 2000 to 2015 model year, it can be significant GVWR change between the years and cargo packages.

So what is the GVWR? Is it crewcab, extended cab, regular cab? Any clue as to the curb weight? If the curb weight is say 5,000 pounds while it has a 7,500 pound GVWR, then you could add a substantial amount of weight to that truck before overloading it. However most Rams are more then 5,500 curb weight, and GVWR can be just about anything?

Ford has some Ecoboost F-150's with a 2,300 pound cargo rating. That is nearly as much as some of the crewcab F-250's. Back in 1999, the diesel F-250 crewcab with 4 wheel drive, it only had a 965 cargo rating. That can be all used up with 6 passengers, leaving nothing for cargo or a hitch.

Most fifth wheel hitches come in a crate that is about 150 - 200 pounds. So that hitch is not light, and will take away from the cargo rating.

Also consider the brake size. You might have disk brakes all around, and be fine. But if the trailer plug comes unplugged from the truck, it can be a problem with a 1/2 ton truck, while a dually F-350 will stop in a somewhat longer area, but still stop.

Good luck,

Fred.

[JeanMarie]

Wow, thanks for all the help. So I guess my husband was right (again).

The 5th wheel is out of the question now. There was one other model that we both liked. It was a 26 ft. travel trailer. The Hitch weight is 853, and the dry weight is 6447. Would this be a better haul for my truck?

[jerem0621]

You need to upgrade the truck to a 3/4 ton if you want that Fiver. Yes, you can pull it and stop it... but the fivers pin will likely overload your Ram 1500's rear axle.

[mileshuff]

As others have said, pin weight in the bed of the truck would be the main issue rather than the total weight of the trailer.

I have a 2004 Dodge Durango with the Hemi. We pulled or previous trailer for over 10 years. Fully loaded the trailer weighed about 5500 lbs. While the Durango was rated to 8500lbs there is no way I would think about pulling that much. The Hemi is a great engine and performed well with 5500lbs but that would be about my limit. We do live in a mountain state with many steep grades so that is a factor. If you live where its flat 6-7000lbs might be ok but no higher regardless of vehicle rating. You won't be happy!

[fly-swatter]

That's a similar setup to what I have and yes I pull it no problem but yes I am overloaded. My pin weight is about 1450 loaded plus a bit of cargo in the truck. Am thinking of a 3/4 ton for next year.

[Grandpere]

It has a dry hitch weight of 1420 pounds. At a minimum you need a 3/4 ton truck to handle this big a dry hitch of that size. With a hitch that weighs 200 pounds or more you are now at 1620 dry your half ton is overloaded and you are not even in the truck much less have anything in the 5er.

[JeanMarie]

Here are the specs. for the 5th wheel that I wanted. It's just me and my husband, no kids, 2 small dogs.

http://www.keystonerv.com/buyers-guide/model-comparison?m0=85474

[mdamerell]

You need to run the numbers but probably not.

The newer pickups have a higher rating than the older trucks. I own a 2004 and know that in 2005 the numbers started to climb but the new trucks are just built for heavier loads. At least by manufacturers printed material. If you open the drivers door on the truck there should be a sticker which gives the GVWR. Weight your truck with fuel and family ready to go camping and what's left is for carrying the camper.

2005 Ram tow ratings

I don't know what the numbers are for the 5er you looked at. A 5th wheel will have about 20% of it's loaded weight in the bed of the pickup. This is what overloads most pickups in the 5th wheel world. The truck probably has 1,200 to 1,700# of cargo capacity for family, bikes, hitch (200#) whatever else you load in truck and the camper's pin weight (hitch). A 10,000# camper (loaded, not the dry weight) will put 2,000# in the bed. Even at a loaded weight of 8,000# (small in the world of 5ers) a pin weight of 1,600# will exceed your pickup.

Cougar Half-Ton Specifications

[KD4UPL]

Pulling it isn't the issue. It's supporting the pin weight of the trailer. By the time you add people, cargo, hitch, and accessories to the truck there won't be much payload left. I don't know which trailer you're looking at but likely it would overload the truck.
A few things to keep in mind:
Salesman generally will say anything to make an sale.
He is correct, it will pull it. That's not the issue.
A trailer that is "1/2 ton towable" doesn't mean you can take any "1/2 ton" vehicle, load it down with whatever you want, and then still pull the trailer.
If your truck is actually a regular cab 2wd model with no options and there will only be two of you in the cab with no other gear then you could probably be withing the payload rating of the truck. I highly doubt this is the case.