Towing Heavy 5er with SRW Truck

[travisgsf]

I personally don't as my unit is 11k dry. I see a lot of SRW diesel trucks (newer models which I know handle more than older ones) towing huge 5th wheels or toy haulers.

Any of you have a setup like this? I'm talking 14,000+lbs of dry weight. From what I see the newer 250/2500 trucks pull around 16,000-17,000 at their max.

I was curious to know how these things actually tow with that much weight. Do you feel in control? Tow weight and truck is always a huge topic on every forum. I know almost everyone says go dually but not many people do.

[azjeffh]

kennethwooster wrote:
.....and it tows my 32ft. Cameo without a hitch.

I'm impressed that your truck doesn't need a hitch to tow it. Must be something new with the Fords :W

OP- I would be amazed to find someone with a 3/4 ton who can tow to the manufacturer's maximum tow ratings without being over their truck's GVWR or RAWR.

[steelpony5555]

I would rather talk dry weights first since that is the only constant firm number. Unless you weigh your rig every time you go out you never know the exact weight. Mine is 10.6 dry but loaded I vary between 12k if just going out for the week to 12.5+ when going out for a month or 2 or 3.....Plus depending on the trailer depends on how much over dry the GVW will be. My gross is 14K lbs but my trailer never sees that kind of weight.... . But my take is I have towed mine with a single wheel and it was fine. Do I prefer my dually, heck yeah cause it is finer lol lol just like I had a 2wd dually but this 4wd dually handles even better.

[Cummins12V98]

IMHO

I don't care what the weight is a RV over 36' is too much for 4 tires to control. Windy conditions, panic stops, rapid lane changes and so on.

Most don't have a clue what weight is sitting on their rear tires.

If you need air bags to bring the rear of your truck up to level you need more truck.

[kennethwooster]

I made a mistake and ended up with a F250, 2011. Truck has tons of power, but it would sag very bad. I put air bags on and it tows my 32ft. Cameo without a hitch. however; I know I'm over weight or right at it. We are starting to look at DRW truck in the future. For one thing we hope to get a longer trailer in the Lifestyle brand. They are heavy.

[Me_Again]

travisgsf wrote:

MTPockets1 wrote:
Most always the SRW crowd says it pulls just fine, while the issue should be about "payload" . The max payload regardless is the two tires are rated for only so much; most I am aware of is 3415 lbs per tire at 80 psi. That's 6830 lbs. subtract from that the truck weight on rear axle, hitch, people, fuel, other options, and payload tops is 3000 lbs, and realistically much less. You just can't get 5 lbs of Sh** in a 3 lb bag.

And then most of those guys add airbags that can handle 5000lbs. Does that even help?

People add air bags to duallies also. RAM is going to have them as a factory option. Manufacturers have been softening springs to improve ride. Air bags allow one to adjust to the load from the cab. Win Win!

Chris

[travisgsf]

MTPockets1 wrote:
Most always the SRW crowd says it pulls just fine, while the issue should be about "payload" . The max payload regardless is the two tires are rated for only so much; most I am aware of is 3415 lbs per tire at 80 psi. That's 6830 lbs. subtract from that the truck weight on rear axle, hitch, people, fuel, other options, and payload tops is 3000 lbs, and realistically much less. You just can't get 5 lbs of Sh** in a 3 lb bag.

And then most of those guys add airbags that can handle 5000lbs. Does that even help?

[travisgsf]

WHY DO YOU TALK DRY!!!! Do you tow it DRY???

I pull my 05 Copper Canyon at 11,000 GVW (AKA loaded). You look to have been around about a year, it is stated we like to talk either GVWR or GVW, most don't get to the full GVWR, but average between 1,000# to 2,000# pounds of payload.

Do I feel in control, absolutely! if I didn't i would not be pulling what I am pulling.

Over GVWR, yep no bags or Timbeirs needed this truck came from the factory with real springs.

This is not the last mile to a Camp Ground this is what much of the main state highway (HY 26) between Portland OR, and the Oregon Coast could be considered the main road to Ft. Stevens SP with over 500 sites, and a KOA right across the road with 100+ sites.

Would you feel safe and in control driving this at 55 to 60 mph??

Why do you yell?

I talked dry just to compare apples to apples. I'm probably around 13,000 I figure when I tow. Would I feel comfortable in your pic with my setup. Absolutely. I've always felt like I'm not near the max on my truck which I like. Also down here it's nothing but flat roads. No winding mountain type roads or hills. I just see it at campgrounds and I had someone I know looking at a setup like this with a toy hauler. I'm sure it can be done. I'm just thinking is it all that bad? I don't know. People on here talk of both extremes i.e. "Anything over 10k lbs get a dually" and "I pull my 16k trailer with my 250 like nothin!"

[Me_Again]

MTPockets1 wrote:
Most always the SRW crowd says it pulls just fine, while the issue should be about "payload" . The max payload regardless is the two tires are rated for only so much; most I am aware of is 3415 lbs per tire at 80 psi. That's 6830 lbs. subtract from that the truck weight on rear axle, hitch, people, fuel, other options, and payload tops is 3000 lbs, and realistically much less. You just can't get 5 lbs of Sh** in a 3 lb bag.

New SRW 3500 RAM's have 18" tires rated to 3750 each with a RAWR of 7K.

Throw a set of Rickson 19.5" rims and tires at it and one is approaching DRW capacity.

I would be more concerned with wheel base and ratio of weight between the TV and trailer than anything else.

Chris

[MTPockets1]

Most always the SRW crowd says it pulls just fine, while the issue should be about "payload" . The max payload regardless is the two tires are rated for only so much; most I am aware of is 3415 lbs per tire at 80 psi. That's 6830 lbs. subtract from that the truck weight on rear axle, hitch, people, fuel, other options, and payload tops is 3000 lbs, and realistically much less. You just can't get 5 lbs of Sh** in a 3 lb bag.

[donn0128]

OpenRangePullen_Ford wrote:
I tow a 14000 pound 41ft 5th wheel with my F-250 handles well, I got a SWR 250, for reasons i don't feel like explaining. I put a rack on the back of the 5th wheel that holds four extra LP tanks, my big tool box, and some other things. My 250 doesn't sag more than 1 1/2 inches now.

OK, I just have to ask the obvious. Have you ever run that load across the scales? Do you know what your rear tires are rated for?

[Veebyes]

ependydad wrote:

travisgsf wrote:
Do you feel in control?

I'll be shocked if anyone who is currently towing over their ratings admits to not feeling in control (regardless of what they actually feel). You'll get a lot of folks saying, "tows just fine" and "barely know it's back there".

You'll get a handful of responses saying they used to pull with a 2500 or SWR or whatever and upgraded to a dually and claim a "night and day difference".

And you'll get a few of us who have only pulled with a dually telling you we can't imagine towing with less.

(shrugs)

That about covers all possible answers.

[goducks10]

When in doubt, pull the dually out.

[OpenRangePullen]

I tow a 14000 pound 41ft 5th wheel with my F-250 handles well, I got a SWR 250, for reasons i don't feel like explaining. I put a rack on the back of the 5th wheel that holds four extra LP tanks, my big tool box, and some other things. My 250 doesn't sag more than 1 1/2 inches now.

[Me_Again]

Gemstone wrote:
"And the class 7/8 guys look down their noses at the DRW pickup guys!"....that's a bit of a fabrication doncha think ? I'll look forward to you providing an example of that from the archives here.

We are usually more on the informative side than the snobby side. We are always happy to share the reasons why we moved to a big truck, without a "holier-than-thou" attitude. Most of us have "been there, done that" with LDT's and know how easy it is to believe that our beloved LDT can do anything we ask of it.

But the bottom line is safety....what makes YOU comfortable. In my case, it wasn't my chipped Dodge SRW...which had more than enough HP and torque to pull my 19K lb 5th wheel....it just didn't have the stopping power that made me feel in control.

Regards
Gemstone

I was not jabbing at the 7/8 guys! Just trying to make a point with some of the DRW guys. There is always something bigger and better. People have to do want they do sometimes getting the cart before the horse. The weight police here sometimes get a little carried away with what a pickup can or can not do. Guy across from me towed a 36' DRV MS from Maine to Arizona for years with a 2001 2x4 RAM 5 speed manual quad cab LWB pickup. Somehow he made it!

Chris

[fla-gypsy]

Quote: "But the bottom line is safety....what makes YOU comfortable."

I would submit that what makes you FEEL comfortable, is not an acceptable indicator of what IS safe to do. One is based on nothing but assumptions, the other on fact.