Dry vs Actual Pin Weights

[hehbr]

For those of you that have 5th wheels in the 35 foot range, what was the difference between the dry pin weight and the actual pin weight of the trailer ready to go.

[bucky]

Published 2130, loaded 2600.
Now go get yours weighed if you already have it.

[justafordguy]

41' 5th wheel, 2020 lb dry pin, 2450 lb loaded.

[otrfun]

Artum Snowbird wrote:
With total respect for your question, look at your own rig, and think about where you put the things you put inside the rig . . .

That's one part to consider. IMO, what's more of a concern, is the accuracy of the manufacturer's empty pin weight rating to begin with. Manufacturers give the empty pin weight for a given model with no options. They have an incentive to low-ball their numbers---low numbers sell more trailers. Some models have massive and heavy options that can skew this number as much as 750-1,000 lbs. in larger rigs. Gotta be careful out there. Nothing sucks more than hitching up your new 5th wheel only to have your truck suffer a hernia right there on the dealer lot 😞

[hone_eagle]

dry or factory literature 2900#
cat scale actual just over 4000 #

[goducks10]

Length really isn't a factor for pin weight. It depends om the model you're looking at and how it's loaded. We add about 500lbs to the dry pin weight. It's 28' long. I would take that same 500lbs and add it to any other 5th wheel we look at regardless of length.

[RustyJC]

You'll likely find that loaded pin weights range from 20% to 25% of total loaded trailer weight. Some triple axle rigs might be a bit lighter on the pin, but for sizing purposes, you'd be pretty safe to assume that maximum pin weight will be 20% to 25% of the trailer's GVWR.

Rusty

[Colo_Native]

Of course this depends on how it's loaded. Mine is 34'
dry 1953 per mfg.
cat scaled with no water 2300

[ACZL]

For our Silverback, published weights are pretty much dead on. Dry pin 1830, dry weight 10,500. Scaled out, dry pin is 1810 and dry wt is 10,800. Fully loaded, pin 1900 and 5er wt is 12,800-----and still have room for an add'l 1k pounds of stuff.

[Old-Biscuit]

Dry UVW ---------- 10,210#
Dry pin weight .... 2,160#
Roughly 21.2%

Scaled weight .... 13,873#
Wet pin ---------- 3,130#
Roughly 22.6%

[alboy]

35.5 ft Newmar Cypress-2500 dry,3000loaded,scaled many times.

[Artum_Snowbird]

With total respect for your question, look at your own rig, and think about where you put the things you put inside the rig. I know, in my case, almost all my storage goes ahead of the axles. My one ton can handle a lot, and it's lightly loaded compared to when it carried a camper. Having said that, it's heavily loaded by the weight behind it, and I really notice that when I have that weight behind me going downhill.

Putting on the brakes and trying to slow down coming into a downhill tight curve is very nerve-wracking and not a lot of fun, but asking the transmission to slow the whole rig down is equally nerve-wracking too. If you are close to maximum, and looking for advice, don't let fear and common sense hold you back. Get a better truck, or a lighter rig.