How much 5th Wheel can I tow with my truck

[RobWNY]

Currently I have a Forest River Hemisphere GLX that weighs in the neighborhood of 8500LB dry and about 9500LB loaded. I do not travel with water other than a couple of gallons in the black tank to slosh around. It tows fine and my truck handles it with ease but I'm not very happy with it (poorly and cheaply built). I'm beginning to look at new 5th Wheels but I have no idea what my truck can handle and we all know how a dealer will tell you anything to make a sale. I'm not in a position to change trucks for another three years so I have to stick with the truck I have. I understand that a Dually Diesel is a preferable tow vehicle but not in the cards for me right now. As for the math, everything gets so confusing to me that I need some help. Can someone please give me an idea of the dry weight and max weight of a 5th wheel I should be looking at? Also, what else should I be paying attention to on the sticker of a new 5th wheel? I know I need to look at Pin weight but what else? I'll be adding the same amount of stuff I carry in the rig I have now so please keep that in mind too. We're going to the Tampa RV Supershow on January 16th to browse. Below are the specs of my truck. Thank you for any help you can give me.

From the manual
2017 Ram Crew Cab with 6'6" box. 6.4 Hemi with 3.73 rear end GVWR 10,800 Max Payload 4010LB GCWR 19,900 Max Trailer Weight 12,640

From the Stickers on my truck
GAWR Front 5500LB GAWR Rear 7000LB Max Payload 3900LB

My weight additions
Me 225LB Wife 130LB Spray in Bed Liner 50LB Folding Tonneau Cover 60LB 31 Gallon tank = 186LB when full. B&W Patriot 16K hitch with rails weighs about 175LB total. Then figure I'm going to be adding "Stuff", about 1000LB.

If I forgot anything let me know please and Thank you!

[RobWNY]

BarneyS wrote:

RobWNY wrote:
Thanks for everyone's input so far. I'll look at 5th wheels 11000-12000LB with a Pin weight of 25% or less. I should be ok then. I'm looking forward to the Tampa show. I've been to a couple big shows up North but never one that advertises having trams to get people around if needed. It must be huge!

You will really enjoy the Tampa show! We went every year for about 15 years or so. Yes, they have a couple or three "trains" that run a fixed route around the show in the streets along with all the people. Often, if you are pressed for time, you are better taking the hike rather than the tram.

The show is huge. The ticket is good for two days and you will certainly need both full days to see all of it. We never did get all the way around. There are ample places to sit for a bit to rest if needed though. All in all, a fun place to go. Hope you enjoy your visit! 🙂
Barney

Thanks Barney. This will be something to see. I can't wait!

[BarneyS]

RobWNY wrote:
Thanks for everyone's input so far. I'll look at 5th wheels 11000-12000LB with a Pin weight of 25% or less. I should be ok then. I'm looking forward to the Tampa show. I've been to a couple big shows up North but never one that advertises having trams to get people around if needed. It must be huge!

You will really enjoy the Tampa show! We went every year for about 15 years or so. Yes, they have a couple or three "trains" that run a fixed route around the show in the streets along with all the people. Often, if you are pressed for time, you are better taking the hike rather than the tram.

The show is huge. The ticket is good for two days and you will certainly need both full days to see all of it. We never did get all the way around. There are ample places to sit for a bit to rest if needed though. All in all, a fun place to go. Hope you enjoy your visit! 🙂
Barney

[MFL]

Your 3500 can likely carry anything you will be comfortable towing with the 6.4 gas, and 3.73 gears. You may be able to carry a 14K loaded to travel FW. I would not go much more than 12K scaled to travel wt. Having 4.10 gears would work better, and the Cummins diesel better yet.

Maybe a 14 GVWR FW would still work for you, if you didn't load to the max. My Ford 6.2 with 3.73 is rated to tow a 12,300 FW, with 4.30s 15,300 FW, which would put me over my axle/tire rating, mine being a 250.

Have a great time shopping!

Jerry

[RobWNY]

Thanks for everyone's input so far. I'll look at 5th wheels 11000-12000LB with a Pin weight of 25% or less. I should be ok then. I'm looking forward to the Tampa show. I've been to a couple big shows up North but never one that advertises having trams to get people around if needed. It must be huge!

[garyp4951]

I would stay under 12500 Gross since it is a gas truck, and 3.73 gearing. The one you are pulling now is probably a comfortable tow, and I would not want to go max, and be unhappy with the towing.

[jaycocamprs]

I'd look for something with a 10,000-11000 lb empty weight. Then when you load the 1,000 lbs that your now carrying you will have a pin of 3,000 lbs or less. 3,000 being 25% of 12,000 max total, if your lighter or the the pin is less than 25% that's good.
Now depending on where go, and how often. You may not like how the gasser tows, but it will do it.

[ependydad]

Coach-man wrote:
OK, a 5th wheel is not a “trailer” and it is not have anything to do with “how much can my truck tow”! A couple of years ago, they had a ½ ton Toyota towing the space shuttle! A 5th wheel puts approximately 25% of its loaded weight on your rear axel.

1, a fifth wheel isn't a "trailer"?

2, the pin weight is highly variable. I've seen anywhere from 15%-25%.

It all comes down to the individual rig. One thing I'll do is run a rig's dry weights through a calculator to estimate/extrapolate it's wet/loaded weight:
http://towingplanner.com/Estimators/TonguePinWeightFromDry

[Coach-man]

OK, a 5th wheel is not a “trailer” and it is not have anything to do with “how much can my truck tow”! A couple of years ago, they had a ½ ton Toyota towing the space shuttle! A 5th wheel puts approximately 25% of its loaded weight on your rear axel. You understand, it is loaded weight, with water, propane, food, beverages, clothes, even batteries are not included with “published dry weight figures”. Also, note that your weight capacity on the trucks door sticker does not take into account gasoline, gear, 5th wheel hitch, and passengers! Subtract weight of passengers, (use 200 pounds each), fuel, weight of hitch from your weight capacity. Then take 25% of the published dry weight of the 5th wheel, and add propane, dual 30 gallon tanks about 120 pounds, clothes food and gear add about 1,500 pounds. Water would be a little tricky, depends on how much you plan to carry, figure 7.5 pounds per gallon, I used to travel with only 10 gallons fill when I got to the site. Also, where the tank is, if behind the rear axel it could subtract weight, in front it would add! Finally, add that all up, and 25% of that total would be in the bed of the truck, how does that add up to the “adjusted” capacity? If that “fits” you should be ok, front rear axel weights can only be determined using scales, which you should do after everything is set up! Good luck, enjoy your new rig!

[Lwiddis]

“I do not travel with water other than a couple of gallons in the black tank...”

If you come out West you’ll miss a bunch of beautiful campgrounds that are dry. Buy/plan to carry the weight of a full fresh tank IMO.

[ependydad]

With 3,000 pounds of cargo carrying capacity left, you're looking at fifth wheels in the range of 12,000 lbs (if 25% pin weight) to 15,000 pounds (if 20% pin weight).

The challenge then is looking at the weight carried by the rear axle and making sure there's enough leftover in the GAWR and the tire loading capacity.

If you can take the truck loaded up like you would normally travel, it'll tell you real numbers of what's left over from a payload and rear GAWR perspective.

[Old-Biscuit]

With those axle ratings.......
14K GVWR 5th wheel