Fifth wheel hitch weight concerns

[das]

New to posting on the forum but have been reading for a couple of years and learning from other's experiences. We currently own a 7300 pound TT and are looking to upgrade to a fifth wheel. Looking at the Keystone 324FWBHS that is 10869 pounds and has a 2160 pound hitch weight. I have a 2015 Chevrolet 2500hd 6.0 that has a payload of 3152. Just looking for thoughts of the hitch weight concerns from other fifth wheel owners or am I just being parinoid? I know there is a big difference in the weight and payload but the 2160 weight is a huge difference from the 750 pound trailer tongue weight I am used to towing. Not totally stuck on the 324FWBHS model but do like the rear bunks and outdoor kitchen that come with it so I would also be up for ideas of something similar. Most of our towing will be less than 3 hours from home.

[Old-Biscuit]

Forget that 'magical published MAX TOW Rating'......it is a fantasy number based on concept only achievable in the 'on paper' world.
It is NOT a real world number.

"My truck is rated for 14K. Tow chart shows max tow of blah, blah, blah"

Horse pucky!!!!

Long before that magical MAX Tow number is reached......GVWR, RAWR & Rear Tire Max Load ratings will be reached or exceeded.

Those mfg. MAX TOW numbers come with 'fine' print
150# Driver, 20# cargo base models etc.
Trim level (bells/whistles), options, add-ons, additional passengers etc. etc. ALL end up lowering the real tow number.

Best thing one can do is WEIGH your tow vehicle----camp ready (Everybody, everything in truck cab/bed).
Then you have a real number to start with.
Subtract that real number from your tow vehicles GVWR. That number (Available payload) will tell you 'how much weight' can be added to two vehicle before exceeding ratings (whichever ratings you choose----GVWR, RAWR, Rear Tire Load or NONE)

As for which 5th wheel.

Since you can't go get it weighed before purchasing.......
Use the trailers GVWR. Take 20% of that number...now you have a close 'guesstimate' of what the 'wet pin' could weigh.
Do you have enough 'Available Payload' to handle that 'wet pin'
YES-----NO

At least you have a better idea then 'dry weight plus 1400#' give or take, or TOW Chart shows 13,600# or etc. etc. etc.

[Racine96]

Sorry it should read Das not Dad.

[Racine96]

Dad,

You need to know that people in this posts love more truck than less. You have not said how many passenger are going to travel with you, how much stuff you usually carry, and how fast you want to go. I have a 2500 gas with 4.1 rear end, which gives me a max FW of 14.000#. My FW weighs 11,500 loaded. Since the I am not in a rush and it's only my DW and I, I have no trouble moving from WI to TX for the winter earlier this month. Would a bigger truck done it better, sure but I am retired and not in a rush and it did just fine. My personal experience, better than speculation. My 2 cents.

[das]

Thanks for the reply, that was the answer I expected to hear. Enjoy your new diesel.

[therink]

It tows excellent with the 3500 1 ton. I used to have a 2500 Silverado (08). It did not tow it well. Was over payload and maxing out the rear Springs.
My pin weight scaled is 2500 lbs, with trailer loaded weight of 12280.

Edit- I just factory ordered a 15 Denali 3500 SRW Dmax. Can't wait to tow it behind that.

[das]

therink wrote:
You said you have the 6.0 gasser. Is your axle ratio 4:10 or 3:73? If 3:73, the max trailer weight you can tow is something like 9600 loaded. If 4:10 it jumps to around 13,600.
The loaded pin on that fiver is going to be around 2600 lbs. Add 150 for hitch, 500 for passengers and gear and you are going to be over the gvwr of the truck. Anything else in the bed of the truck, tools, firewood, etc will put you way over gvwr.
Lots of people tow heavy fivers with 3/4 trucks but I would consider a lighter fiver or a 1 ton truck.
I have been in this boat and was not comfortable towing over weight so I moved to a one ton. I now have room to spare.

therink
Just wondering how your fiver tows? Noticed in your signature that your trailer is almost identical to the one we were looking at. The manufacturer lists your hitch weight to be about 1890 and the total starting at 10,720. I do have a 4:10 which was my only option so that puts my max fifth wheel towing at 14,000. I know this does not allow for all of the items in my truck tike passengers, hitch and other things that get loaded bofore a trip.

[lanerd]

FastEagle wrote:


It’s probably best to load up the trailer as it would be loaded for a camping trip and then find some scales for a more accurate pin weight until you become familiar with your trailers balance when loaded.

The problem with this statement is that the OP would have to "own" the trailer first as no dealer will allow you to do that.

Ron

[das]

donn0128 wrote:

das wrote:
Thanks for the info and ideas. That's what I was hoping to hear was someone that tows with a similar truck and trailer. Larger TV isn't an option for me since I just got this on 3 months ago. Any lighter fifth wheel ideas are welcome if I could find something similar (just lighter). I know that I cant have everything that we wont wrapped up in a small trailer. Other option is a travel trailer that almost has the same set up. A Keystone 34BHPR that only has a dry weight of 7076 lbs.

Why do you keep asking about "dry" weights? Have you been reading the posts?
But to answer your question, yes a TT would be a far better choice for your truck. With the 6.0L motor you also have to be very careful of weights.

The only reason I ask about the "dry" weights are because we are just looking at the is model as an option. I do not know what the total weight will be because I do not have it. Can not take it across a scales as some have mentined if I do not own it. We added about 1400 pounds of weight to our TT and did not know how much more weight people load in a Fifth Wheel. Thanks to answers i have received and have helped make our decision, this trailer is probably not something I would want to be pulling with my current set up.

[therink]

You said you have the 6.0 gasser. Is your axle ratio 4:10 or 3:73? If 3:73, the max trailer weight you can tow is something like 9600 loaded. If 4:10 it jumps to around 13,600.
The loaded pin on that fiver is going to be around 2600 lbs. Add 150 for hitch, 500 for passengers and gear and you are going to be over the gvwr of the truck. Anything else in the bed of the truck, tools, firewood, etc will put you way over gvwr.
Lots of people tow heavy fivers with 3/4 trucks but I would consider a lighter fiver or a 1 ton truck.
I have been in this boat and was not comfortable towing over weight so I moved to a one ton. I now have room to spare.

[goducks10]

IMO you should be fine on the pin weight. My concern would be the 6.0 gasser pulling close to 12,000lbs. Not sure what types of terrain you town over but any steeper roads will strain the 6.0.

[donn0128]

das wrote:
Thanks for the info and ideas. That's what I was hoping to hear was someone that tows with a similar truck and trailer. Larger TV isn't an option for me since I just got this on 3 months ago. Any lighter fifth wheel ideas are welcome if I could find something similar (just lighter). I know that I cant have everything that we wont wrapped up in a small trailer. Other option is a travel trailer that almost has the same set up. A Keystone 34BHPR that only has a dry weight of 7076 lbs.

Why do you keep asking about "dry" weights? Have you been reading the posts?
But to answer your question, yes a TT would be a far better choice for your truck. With the 6.0L motor you also have to be very careful of weights.

[B_O__Plenty]

byronlj wrote:
How come everybody says to add 200# for a hitch? I just looked up the shipping weight for a couple of large hitches, 18 and 20k, and they only weighed 143#. Maybe they are adding 60# of paint to cover the mounting bolts.
Dave

You will also have mounting rails and brackets..It's not like 60# will make a huge difference if you're over on the weight.

B.O.

[das]

Thanks for the info and ideas. That's what I was hoping to hear was someone that tows with a similar truck and trailer. Larger TV isn't an option for me since I just got this on 3 months ago. Any lighter fifth wheel ideas are welcome if I could find something similar (just lighter). I know that I cant have everything that we wont wrapped up in a small trailer. Other option is a travel trailer that almost has the same set up. A Keystone 34BHPR that only has a dry weight of 7076 lbs.

[poncho62]

All of the above said.....Putting 750 lbs on the back hitch is different than putting the same weight in the bed of the truck over the axle. Due to leverage, the weight is carried much better in the bed. I know its all weight, but it needs to be considered where is being applied to