Paul39 wrote:
Looking for input on my potential truck/5th wheel combo. A little background first. I have had trailers, but this would be my first 5th wheel. As I am opening this up to the weight police, I am looking for honest opinions and I don’t want to make a costly mistake. With that said, my opinion (as an automotive engineer) is that I’m a rule follower (regarding GVWR, etc) but I have no problem being close to the limit as I know there is a significant safety factor already built into those numbers. With that said – here is what I am looking at:
Tow vehicle
2023/4 Ford F250 4x4 7.3l gas short bed well optioned (maybe King Ranch)
From what I have found on the internet
Rear GAWR 6,340
Front GAWR 5,600
Tow Capacity 16,500
Payload 3,923
GVWR 10,500
Curb Weight 6,480 – 6550 (I see different amounts depending on what site I go to)
So – my math says 10,500 GVWR – 7100 Truck (added 550lbs for people/etc) – 200lbs for hitch (may need a slider) leaves 3,200 for pin weight. Assuming a 22% pin weight puts me at 14,500lb max 5th wheel.
I’m looking at a Cougar 290RLS
Dry Wt 10,124 lbs
Hitch 1,805
GVWR 12,200
Length 33’8”
I know many will say just get the F350, but the truck will be used 95% as a daily driver and 5% towing. Seems like I have a reasonable margin. ~4,000 lbs on tow capacity, ~500 lbs cargo capacity/GVWR assuming trailer is loaded to GVWR.
Does anyone see flaws in my logic before a spend a small fortune on these toys? Is the Curb weight of 6,550 for a short wb 4x4 7.3l crew seem right? I looked up all the specs for this particular truck and it seems consistent in that range, but comments on other posts look like the truck weight could be more. Also – any comments on the Cougar 290RLS?
You won't know the actual payload of that =specific= truck until you lay eyes on the sticker on either the door or the B pillar. You may have basic specs for a base truck and you could easily have another couple hundred lbs of options that take off your payload.
I'm with those that say to go to a 350 SRW. You're likely to have the truck a lot longer than the FW, so if you want to "move on up" to a larger FW, you won't have to worry about it. I did just that and I can tell you that my '22 3500 rides a =whole= lot better than my old '02 2500 D'max. Ride quality, unloaded, is much better, even though I know I'm still driving a truck.
Also, with the newer trucks and FWs, you'll have much less clearance issues and, with a 4x4, the turning radius will be larger than a 2x4, giving you a bit more clearance. Slider is entirely up to you but, IMO, not necessary. On my 3500, I set my B&W Companion to the =rear=, given that my FW only grosses 10.5k, so that gives me even more clearance. Yeah, at nearly 13k GVW, the Cougar will make a 350 squat a bit if the hitch is to the rear, but not badly, IMO.
Lyle
