1/2 ton towable FW

[2halfs]

Can you recommend some 1/2 ton towable FW manufactures....

In looking at units it is important to us to have a walk around queen bed.

Extremely important to have access to the bathroom and refrigerator when slides are in.

Unit should be under 27 or 30 feet in length.

Any recommendations on manufactures or floor plans?

Thank you,

[JIMNLIN]

Now were getting some where.
A 1500 HD has a 8600 GVWR 6000 RAWR with load E tires and wheels. Comes with the 6.0 engine and the tough old 4L80e tranny and can be a 3.73 or 4.10 gears. Payloads run over 3000 lbs and up to 12k tow ratings. The drivers side door post will have the GVWR/FAWR/RAWR.

If this is your truck its a much sought after 1500 truck which is the old 2500 before GM came out with the HD 9200 GVWR 3/4 ton truck.

The 1500 HD has a very light gross weight. From the factory it can have a 2600-2700 lb rear axle weight which leaves well over 3000 lb payload. I would stick with around a 2500 lb wet pin weight for this truck.

How much will it pull ?? You know it pulls your current TT with no issues.
The older 6.0 engines don't have the performance of the new 6.0 so I would stick with a 10k-11k wet weight trailer.

[Me_Again]

Look at the upgrade path and hitches. If you get a 5th wheel now, you will install a 5th wheel hitch in the existing truck which is costly. Within a very short time you will be out of that truck and reinstalling the hitch in a 250/2500 or 350/3500 truck and paying again. Most trucks come with a rear receiver hitch, so if you get a newer truck now you hook up to the bumper pull and go, with maybe a brake controller installation.

Now the real ringer, people looking at your 1500 with 5th wheel hitch holes in the bed, will want to degrade its value!!!! Second cost wammy! Chris

[2halfs]

Thank you so much for the responses....basically the responses lead us in the direction we already know.

Our truck is a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 1500HD Crew Cab, gas fuel (the other specs I do not have but will check again....I do know we are on the lower end of the GVWR).

We currently tow a 2004 30ft Travel Trailer (with hitch) Trail Bay beautifully.You really can not tell we have a trailer behind us.

But we do want to move up to a Fifth Wheel.

I was hoping to short cut and up grade the trailer first....then up grade the pick up. But looks like common sense says we may limit ourselves doing this.(we can't financially do both upgrades at the same time, year).

I have been sucked in with all the advertisements of "1/2 ton towable", I also have already learned not to believe the sale representative in this. That you need to know your specs and understand what your pick up can handle with towing.

Darn I was hoping there was a light weight (25-27 ft.) Fifth Wheel out there that we could tow with our current pick up.

[Markiemark32]

Livin Lite


I have no idea if it is truely 1/2 ton towable, they just pitch them as light----Livin Lite.



Markiemark:C

[NC_Hauler]

rhagfo wrote:

Me Again wrote:

x96mnn wrote:
Need more info on your half ton. Not all half ton models are towable by every half ton. They list a 12000pd fifth wheel as half ton towable as there are two half tons on the market that can do it. A Chev and Ford configured a certain way, can tow 12000pds and payloads around 2000pds. Similar truck loaded up may only tow 9000pds with 1300pds of payload based on its gears and the extras added.

Prize for best answer so far. Chris

X2!

The issue with 1/2 ton 5er is that if the TV states MAX trailer, that is for the stripper model of a Max tow Max pay load. Every pound added to the TV is a pound less the TV can tow, most are at less than 10,000#. Those "1/2 tons" have GVWR that are about 95%+ of total axle capacity, making it easy to be within GVWR and over rear GAWR!

X3.....There are some small 5er's that don't fit the bill of the OP's that he could tow...but if he is talking slides, you're talking more and more weight..

.and the OP should be using GVW of any 5er he is looking at...don't go by "empty" or "dry weights" because no one tows a 5er, going camping, dry or empty....and take 20% of the 5er's GVW to get a "ball park" of how much pin weight you'll put in the bed of your truck, and add another 200# for a 5er hitch...


also if you'll be towing in the mountains, you really may not be happy with the results, and your truck may not like it, if you go with a 5er that fits your want's.. If flat land towing...would be a little different..but you still have to be able to maintain a safe speed.

I'm thinking like others OP needs to weigh his truck and compare the weights to how much room he has left on the rear axle to add a hitch and the pin weight of the 5er....and make sue he has "E" rated tires and his truck and not Passenger tires...

[rhagfo]

Me Again wrote:

x96mnn wrote:
Need more info on your half ton. Not all half ton models are towable by every half ton. They list a 12000pd fifth wheel as half ton towable as there are two half tons on the market that can do it. A Chev and Ford configured a certain way, can tow 12000pds and payloads around 2000pds. Similar truck loaded up may only tow 9000pds with 1300pds of payload based on its gears and the extras added.

Prize for best answer so far. Chris

X2!

The issue with 1/2 ton 5er is that if the TV states MAX trailer, that is for the stripper model of a Max tow Max pay load. Every pound added to the TV is a pound less the TV can tow, most are at less than 10,000#. Those "1/2 tons" have GVWR that are about 95%+ of total axle capacity, making it easy to be within GVWR and over rear GAWR!

[TXiceman]

OP, your shopping list does not fit any 1/2 ton truck, once you add supplies and passengers. Truthfully, 24 or 25 feet is the about the max you will be able to pull with a 1/2 ton truck comfortably.

When the RV manufacturers "determine" that a trailer is 1/2 ton towable, they will use a base weight truck to maximize the trucks capability and then use a trailers dry weight.

The 1/2 ton truck will reach its GVWR or rear axle GAWR long before it reaches its GCWR.

On a trailer, the dry weight is a useless number. The dry weight will not include any accessory listed in the brochure as an option. This will include items such as the air conditioner, microwave, awning, TV, battery, full propane tanks, etc. Then you add your supplies. A trailer may weigh 500 to 1000# over the brochure dry weight when delivered with options.

On the truck, the tow ratings are based on a base model truck with only a 150# driver, and often, less than a full tank of fuel and no hitch (150#).

So you need to start by weighing your truck loaded for a trip with passengers and work with the information you have on YOUR truck.

If you truly want to meet your shopping list, you will need to start with a 3/4 ton truck.

Ken

[sue_t]

A real life example...

Our 25' fifth wheel was listed with a dry weight of 5,850 lbs and a GVWR of 7,000 lbs with a dry hitch weight of 1,120 lbs.

Ready for camping it actually weighed 7,892 lbs with a pin weight of 1,762 lbs. 600 MORE than the spec sheet!

We tow it with an F-250 7.3L PSD, which handles it nicely. The previous owner of the fifth wheel had a half ton and that is the reason he sold it after using it a half dozen times; it was too much trailer for his truck and he didn't like white-knuckle driving. We got a great deal as a result - half price for a like-new fifth wheel.

[therink]

I am one that beleives that the term "half ton towable" is a very misleading term and a marketing gimmick.
As mentioned above, 20 percent pin weight on a lighter fifth wheel (say gvwr of even 9000 lbs) will be around 1800 lbs. Add 250 for hitch and hitch mounting hardware, another 300 for passengers and 300 for other items in the truck and you are loading approximately 2600 lbs onto the truck. This will clearly exceed most 1/2 ton payload ratings. Most 1/2 tons also are equipped with P rated tires. In my opinion, they are too soft for that kind of load.
I would research thoroughly before buying a fifth wheel for a 1/2 ton.

[Me_Again]

x96mnn wrote:
Need more info on your half ton. Not all half ton models are towable by every half ton. They list a 12000pd fifth wheel as half ton towable as there are two half tons on the market that can do it. A Chev and Ford configured a certain way, can tow 12000pds and payloads around 2000pds. Similar truck loaded up may only tow 9000pds with 1300pds of payload based on its gears and the extras added.

Prize for best answer so far. Chris

[wandering1]

It depends on what your tow vehicle is capable of handling (read the tow specs from the manufacturer) and the fifth wheel weights. The TV axle ratings will not tell you how heavy a fifth wheel you can tow.

[MFL]

If you look at the ratings of your truck, you will know what FWs you can carry. Yes, there are some FWs, that are truly 1/2 ton towable, but you can not go by the brochures.

If you know your payload #, and the RAWR, you only need to weigh the truck, to see what hitch weight you can carry. Most FWs will have about 20% of their weight on the pin. If you use the FW GVWR, say 10,000 lbs., this would be about 2,000 lbs. pin weight, plus 150-200 lbs. more for the hitch.

Two thousand plus, is too much hitch weight, for most true 1/2 ton trucks.

Jerry

[kaydeejay]

2halfs wrote:
Can you recommend some 1/2 ton towable FW manufactures......................
Thank you,

Need more info on your truck first.
Most important is payload.
You have a black/yellow label on your driver's door pillar that says "Weight of occupants and cargo must not exceed xxxx".
What is that "xxxx" number?
Then, from your Owner's manual, what is your Max Tow capacity?
With those two numbers we can get you started.

[TomHaycraft]

See reference to my trailer in the signature lines. I towed with an '09 Silverado C1500 (with tow package, 9,600 lb tow capacity) for close to 3 years. Got all around Texas. The C1500 did the job until I had the cash to get more pulling power. This Springdale has about the lightest pin weight you'll find for the size of trailer. I was within 140 pounds of my rear GAWR and 90% of my GCWR of the truck. Limitation on horsepower was most noticeable when trying to maintain 65mph on Interstate into a 15mph headwind.

The floor plan is as you describe.

[Toolguy5]

Keystone Cougar has 1/2 towables.