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.

[rhagfo]

travisgsf wrote:
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.

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??

[Gemstone]

"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

[the_bear_II]

I've towed the same 15,000lb 5th wheel with 2 SRW trucks and 2 DRW trucks. The SRWs felt like the front of the trailer was always trying to push around the rear of the truck..."tail wag the dog". I still felt in control but it was just a squishy feel to the rear of the truck when going around turns.

The duallys always feel stable.

Once I got got my latest C4500 Dually I would never go back to towing that 5th wheel with anything less than a MDT. Towing with the C4500 is like paradise, very stable especially in panic stop situations.

[Me_Again]

And the class 7/8 guys look down their noses at the DRW pickup guys!


Chris

[donn0128]

The majority of those towing heavy with a SRW truck simply do not understand towing at all. They have listened to a salesman telling them anything to make a sale and go blissfully into the sunset ignorant of the real world around them.

[ependydad]

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)