Bobandshawn wrote:
I am fairly new to the RV scene. I have a 2008 Keystone pull behind but am looking at getting a newer and larger 5th wheel unit. I have a Ram 2500 Mega Cab 6'4" bed 4X4 with the 6.4 Hemi. It is rated to pull 15,200 lbs. We will be looking for something in the 9K-11K lightweight trailer and try and keep the max weight below 13K or so. It is just me and the wife traveling 95% of the time, but there is the occasional grandkid tagging along at times.
We are totally confused what to get. I think we've actually looked at too many RV's and there are a bunch out there.
I am trying to get some real world evaluations from real people who use RV's quite a bit.
I fully understand the majority of units regardless of who built them use the same components and such. But so far I am of a thought that the actual construction of the trailer plays a much larger role in the reliability of the unit than pretty furniture and size of the fridge.
Any recommendations on units that are reliably build but meet my weight limitations?
Thanks for any offered help. Bob
Bob, what year is your Ram? BIG difference in payload in the past 10-15 years. This is the main limiting factor; you can tow the space shuttle with a Tundra, but you couldn't =carry= a single tire from it without near-destroying the truck in short order. You have to find out what your max available payload is. Look at the sticker on your truck, find the payload number, then subtract passengers' weight (driver is already included, as is full fuel), hitch weight, "stuff you might carry in the truck" weight and hitch weight. The resulting number will be your net payload that will be the pin weight you can carry. Now, when looking at FWs, never, NEVER use the dry weights for any calculations. Use the FW's GVW and take 25% (worst case) of it as your fully loaded pin weight. If that number is under, or fairly close to your net payload calc, then you're good to go. You do have to realize that it will be =very= rare that you'd hit the FW's GVW, so even if you're over a bit on your pin wt at GVW, you're almost never going to see it in reality. As I said, it's a "worst case".
All this doom 'n gloom being said, the newer your truck, the more payload you're going to have. Most of the later model 3/4 ton trucks actually use the same rear axles as do their 1 ton brothers, so just because something has a lighter rating doesn't mean that you can't push those limits a bit, if you're willing to. Biggest issues on the truck, if you're going to bust the net payload number, is RAWR and tire capacity. Many of us on here bust our payload, some considerably, but stay under the RAWR and tire capacity, and don't worry about it. In my situation, I'm just under my RAWR but my tires had less capacity, so I upgraded a tire size and picked up nearly 800 lbs capacity, which puts my tires =over= my RAWR. I tow relatively level without airbags, Timbrens or helper springs, so don't worry about it and I don't feel unsafe.
In looking at new FW's, my top 2 choices are KZ Durango 1500 and Jayco Eagle HT. The Durango 1500s all have a 10,500 GVW and the Eagle HTs are all 9,950 GVW (but also have the capability from the factory to tow a 3k trailer, so combined GCWR is 12,950). Personally, I'm leaning towards a Jayco, mostly because of local dealer support. The KZ has a few features that would fit me a bit better, but not enough to have to deal with the ONE dealer available in the entire state of AZ.
Lyle
2022 GMC Sierra 3500 HD Denali Crew Cab 4x4 Duramax
B&W OEM Companion & Gooseneck Kit
2017 KZ Durango 1500 D277RLT
1936 John Deere Model A
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