Forum Discussion

wrasse's avatar
wrasse
Explorer
Jan 27, 2014

TT or 5th wheel Toy Hauler Safest with 1ton SRW TV?

I currently have a 2011 SRW Ram 3500 Megacab with cummins 6.7.
DRW is not an option for us at this time. Trying to see if TT or 5th wheel would be better option.

According to factory specs...

My 2011 SRW Ram 3500 Megacab has payload of 2600 lbs, max travel trailer rating of 13,350 lbs. Unfortunately, Dodge does not list a separate rating for 5th wheel towing.
My tires have been upgraded and are larger 18" E rated with 3900lb load capacity.
My truck also has an upgraded curt 18K hitch.
I have towed 28ft boat weighing 12K plus on trailer and it does great with handling it, downhill on the mountains were cake with the exhaust brake.

Travel trailer toy hauler option that we like.

It has these specs
Impact Fuzion 303 Travel Trailer Toy Hauler
Dry weight: 8834 lbs
Hitch Weight: 1300 lbs
GVWR 13,000
http://www.keystonerv.com/impact/
We would need a large wd/sway hitch setup for this.
But at nearly 35 feet end to end, this would be pretty long load behind us.


We also love these 5th wheel toy haulers in the 35-36ft range but they are all quite a bit heavier in terms of GVWR.

Voltage V3200 (Dual Axle)
Voltage Haulers Model 3200 Floorplan
Unloaded Weight 12,994
Hitch Weight 2,599
GVWR 16,500

Impact 311 (Dual Axle)
Unloaded Weight 11,095
Hitch Weight 2,790
GVWR 16,500


Thunderbolt XLR 380AMP (Tri Axle)
Thunderbolt Toy Hauler Fifth Wheel by Forest River
Unloaded Weight 13,475
Hitch Weight 2,323 (lightest, probably b/c tri axle setup)
GVWR 18,000


Out of these three, which of these options would be the safest to tow for us?

We would use it 6-7 times per year, traveling between 300-1500 miles.
Toy Haulers
  • tsetsaf's avatar
    tsetsaf
    Explorer III
    Feb 03, 2014
    englishmatt wrote:
    Just FWIW and nothing else...

    I pull an Elevation 3912 5th wheel. It's 41ft long at weighs in a 13,500 (approx). I pull it with a 2013 RAM 2500 SRW 6.7 Cummins. I added air bags to the rear, but probably didn't need to.

    My truck pulls my 5th wheel easy and tows it straight like a dart.

    Like I said, this is only FWIW and your mileage may vary...BUT...I wouldn't think twice about it. Pulling a 5'er you need to consider your PAYLOAD...not the tongue weight.

    Having pulled several very heavy TT's, IMHO a 5th wheel is cake.

    easy decision, IMO.


    Not a toy hauler but our rig loaded is 13.5k give or take few hundred. We have covered 20k miles across the US in all types of weather and the truck handles the load fine. Fifth wheel will be more stable than a tongue trailer hands down. As noted above the single rear wheels will be noticeable on steep twisty grades; I compensate by literally following the yellow suggested speed signs. You could also bump up to 19.5 wheels with heavier ply tires for a more stable ride.
  • englishmatt's avatar
    englishmatt
    Explorer
    Feb 03, 2014
    Just FWIW and nothing else...

    I pull an Elevation 3912 5th wheel. It's 41ft long at weighs in a 13,500 (approx). I pull it with a 2013 RAM 2500 SRW 6.7 Cummins. I added air bags to the rear, but probably didn't need to.

    My truck pulls my 5th wheel easy and tows it straight like a dart.

    Like I said, this is only FWIW and your mileage may vary...BUT...I wouldn't think twice about it. Pulling a 5'er you need to consider your PAYLOAD...not the tongue weight.

    Having pulled several very heavy TT's, IMHO a 5th wheel is cake.

    easy decision, IMO.
  • kfp673's avatar
    kfp673
    Explorer II
    Jan 28, 2014
    I am in a similar situation but with a '12 2500 Ram. I will not be looking at quite as heavy a trailer as you but I am heavily leaning toward 5 TH wheel. The space is so nice and 5ers are nicer to tow. I will likely go over my payload but not by much.
  • hbensley's avatar
    hbensley
    Explorer
    Jan 28, 2014
    Here is a URL to a PDF with the 2011 towing capacities.
    2011 RAM Towing specshttp://www.media.chrysler.com/dcxms/assets/specs/2011_Ram_HD_Towing.pdf
    Take a look here. You should get some information to help with the answer you are looking for.
  • JIMNLIN's avatar
    JIMNLIN
    Explorer III
    Jan 27, 2014
    I would stick with the Voltage or the Impact. The 18k tri axle trailer are safer to stop and with 6 brakes are hands down superior to tandem axle braking. However 16k-18k can push the back of a non DRW truck around which can be dangerous especially on wet pavement on a twisty downhill grade.

    Actually the 13350 lb tow rating and 21000 GCWR with a 3.73 gear ratio is for a GN or 5th wheel trailer. If the truck has the 4.10 gears then the tow rating increases to 16800 lbs and a 24000 lb GCWR.

    Dodge for some odd reason issued a very low 10xxx GVWR and a 6500 lb RAWR on the pre '13 model 3500 SRW trucks. For '13 they pumped them up to 12400 GVWR depending on truck configuration with a 7000 RAWR.

    Your tires, and hopefully the wheels, were uprated to 3900 lbs . All thats left is rear suspension help if it needs anything at all which I doubt. I wouldn't do a thing to the truck till its loaded and make short trip. Then is the time to decide.
    Dodge rates all '11 3500 SRW with a 6500 RAWR. Many owners report rear axle weights in the 2800-2900 lbs range when empty which leaves around 3500-3600 lbs for a payload.

    Its not necessary you pull a TT unless you just want one.
  • raroberts's avatar
    raroberts
    Explorer
    Jan 27, 2014
    I much prefer a 5th wheel over the TT. It's more stable, you get more trailer for the length, the total truck/trailer length is less, they have much more room (their floor to ceiling distance is higher, so more storage) they sleep more people comfortably. On the downside, you lose some truck bed space, maneuvering could be a problem with a short bed. I love my 5th wheel.
  • mrkoje's avatar
    mrkoje
    Explorer
    Jan 27, 2014
    What is safest is to not overload your truck. Being that the 2011 Ram 3500 Meagacab SRW payload rating is low compared to others you have a tough choice to make.

    The tongue weights on pull behind toy haulers are much heavier than standard travel trailers. They design them this way because of the weight that will be added behind the rear axles of the trailer as we load our toys. Because of this it makes balancing the load a PITA but eventually you get good at it.

    The end result before actually traveling anywhere with the trailer is still 13% or so weight on the tongue. You just start out with say 20% and as stuff is loaded the weight on the tongue gets slightly lower.

    I like my pull behind but mostly I like the brand. If Northwood were to make a 5th wheel TH again then I would most likely be all over it.
  • jmtandem's avatar
    jmtandem
    Explorer II
    Jan 27, 2014
    So from that perspective, does this mean that out of the three, the travel trailer choice would be a safer tow choice?
    Never had a 5th wheel before but my understanding is that they are far more stable when towing.



    Fifth wheels are probably more stable when towing. A TT can be stable when using a premium hitch like ProPride or Hensley. But, your issue is payload capacity. Many boats can have as little as 5 percent on the tongue so a 12,000 pound boat and a 12,000 pound TT is not the same both from wind resistance, side wind loads for sway considerations when big truck pass, and from hitch weight. I would opt for the TT unless you get a dually and you indicated that is not in the cards. You have more than enough engine with the Cummins, that is not an issue and the exhaust brake is excellent for safety down hills. From those two considerations you are gold.

    For some reason Ram kept the GVWR on the megacab artifically low as it has the same running gear as the previous quad now crew cabs with higher gross weights. Last year the megacab's gross was increased but in previous years the megacab dually 3500 had a gross of under 11,000 pounds; while the same truck in crew cab configuration was around 12,200. You might look into those numbers for your truck as it might make your decision real easy real quick. A 13,000 pound TT toyhauler could easily have a tongue weight of 1700 pounds and the hitch is at least another 100 pounds.
  • wrasse's avatar
    wrasse
    Explorer
    Jan 27, 2014
    So from that perspective, does this mean that out of the Four choices above, the travel trailer choice would be a safer tow choice for my SRW?
    Never had a 5th wheel before but my understanding is that they are far more stable when towing.


    jmtandem wrote:
    It depends on what you want to do with the numbers. The TT will have a substantial hitch and tongue weight as toyhaulers are front heavy when unloaded but that will be less than the fifth wheel pin weight. Most boats do not have 13 percent or more on the tongue; most TT's do. What it all boils down to is how much over payload you want to be; that will dictate how much over gross vehicle weight you want to be as well. If you look at the rear axle you probably have plenty of capacity and many do consider axle and tire loads.
    Others will try to stay within the GVWR.

    I would think the fifth wheel would work far better with the dually as it has a larger rear axle and four skins down for the pin weight. Fifth wheel hitches can easily weigh about 250 pounds so the pin weight can be considerable. For planning purposes use 25 percent of the toy haulers gross for pin weight. It most likely will exceed your payload without any other stuff in the truck or people.
  • jmtandem's avatar
    jmtandem
    Explorer II
    Jan 27, 2014
    It depends on what you want to do with the numbers. The TT will have a substantial hitch and tongue weight as toyhaulers are front heavy when unloaded but that will be less than the fifth wheel pin weight. Most boats do not have 13 percent or more on the tongue; most TT's do. What it all boils down to is how much over payload you want to be; that will dictate how much over gross vehicle weight you want to be as well. If you look at the rear axle you probably have plenty of capacity and many do consider axle and tire loads.
    Others will try to stay within the GVWR.

    I would think the fifth wheel would work far better with the dually as it has a larger rear axle and four skins down for the pin weight. Fifth wheel hitches can easily weigh about 250 pounds; add to that the pin weight and it can be considerable. For planning purposes use 25 percent of the toy haulers gross for pin weight. It most likely will exceed your payload without any other stuff in the truck or people. Never use dry brochure pin weights. An 18,000 pound gross toy hauler will likely have a pin weight around 4000 pounds if not more. And if the hauler is lightly loaded the pin weight could be even more as toy weights tend to balance out the pin weights.

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