Well, after three years of planning and two more to go until retirement, we've finally purchased our future full timing 5th wheel. (see signature). I've spent the past three years pouring over info in this forum, asking questions, getting various answers and opinions, but always getting valuable info. Call it conducting a recon if you will. This coming weekend, we will conduct our walkthrough/PDI and hopefully pick up our new to us rig and bring it home. I have two PDI lists, gleaned from this forum, so I think I'm ready for that. Got the B&W Turnover Ball and Companion hitch. Spent all day Sunday putting in the Air Lift Loadlifter 5000 in the truck. There's a scale not far from the dealership, so everything will be weighed before we head home. Still need to pick up a portable air compressor and grease the hitch, but other than that, I think I'm ready. But you know how that goes.There are still a couple things I'm worried about though. Number one, the trailer has GY Marathon E rated tires which are barely able to handle the dry weight, and we've got 270 miles and the Arkansas mountains to get it home. That's weighing heavily on my mind.Second, the brakes. I know to use a compass to test whether the brake magnets are working during the PDI, but how do I set the brake controller without being able to do a roll test? I've got a few steep grades to pass through before hitting relatively level roads and I'm afraid of not having enough trailer brake? Any suggestions? Thanks for all your wonderful advice and help through everything. I will continue to use this forum and hopefully be able to input my own advice as we start the new chapter in our lives.

have the folks get you squared away on the brakes during the pdi.

Congrats on the new coach.Is the 2012 F250 going to be your fulltiming tow vehicle for the Montana?

Congratulations on your new rig. With your TV, you should be able to setup your gain on the break setting, that should be built in. As for your tires, you should find on the sidewall the weight rating and they should be inflated to the recommended PSI.

Welcome to 5th wheel & rving. One way to adjust your brake setting the first time is to drive the truck with 5th wheel at 30mph on sand or gravel, and apply the brakes. The 5th wheel brakes should lock up and skid some. adjust your brake controller until they just do. That setting will get you home.It is not the ideal setting though. The ideal setting is found by feel.After you have been doing this for a while, you will know when the brakes are set properly by just stopping the RV one time. The trailer brakes should be helping the vehicles stop, but not doing the majority of the stopping. You will know it when you feel it.It is good that there is a scale near the dealer. You should stop there and weigh the truck front axle, then the truck rear axle without the trailer (add the two for total truck weight). Then hook up the trailer and weigh the truck rear axle again, then the trailer, to weigh the trailer axles as a pair. From these numbers you can determine if you are within the specs for FAWR,RAWR,GVWR,GCVW, and trailer weight.Good luck on the new phase of your life.

Thanks for your service. I appreciate your dedication. The brakes will come. After it is fully loaded you will find how much you need. From what I've read about the tires I would pull them and put on a good quality tire. Maxxis is a good choice without breaking the bank. anyway enjoy your time of RVing. It has really meant a lot to us.

We've gone and done it now...... | Good Sam Community

Krease
Explorer
Aug 08, 2014
Well a few things...

I have a short bed with the same model and have no need for the slider.

You will want to replace your marathons immediately. I had 3 failures on mine and it's the same year model. Get G rated tires and worry no more.

Last, you will be over weight. Front living rooms are pin heavy and you will see. Whether or not you're comfortable with it will be up to you, but I wouldn't feel safe with less than my duals. Once you load that thing up for full timing, you'll want and need a bigger truck.
avvidclif1
Explorer
Aug 08, 2014
So if my front axle goes up 100 lbs when loaded I need to add that to what the scale showed the rear to weigh???

Think about what you said. The scale gives me the actual weights, no pluses or minuses needed.
stsmark
Explorer
Aug 08, 2014
Drillagent, thanks for your service, a couple thoughts having some miles in both an F250 and F350 srw. The big issue as you heard is really tires, if you have the 20's on your truck you have 7500 lbs of tire. If you have the Camper package you have the spring pack from a 350 with short blocks and 7500 lbs of tire. Airbags will be a great addition as the advertised pin of 2260 on the FL is going to squat pretty good.
I have put yellow Bilstien shock and a Hellwig Bigwig sway bar on my 2011 350 and it was worth every cent. Truck is totally calm with 31 ft Toyhauler on the back. The truck was fine before but with those and LT tires on the trailer everything just goes right on down the road very relaxed.
The Ford brake controller is easy to setup I noticed one thing that may help, it has a pressure input that software uses to set the output. If you stab the pedal it's going to hit the brakes harder I run mine right around 7. Feels great.
You mention hills in Ark.on the way home the Ford EB won't really slow the rig as much as hold the speed in Tow Haul I top the hill at around 50 and get it into 3rd as quick as possible which nets about 3300 rpm it takes about that rpm to generate noticeable braking it will hold speed on most hills.
That's my 2 cents, hope you have a fun trip this weekend.
jevanb
Explorer
Aug 08, 2014
avvidclif1 wrote:
jevanb wrote:
Shadow_Grey wrote:
If he weighs it before and after at a CAT scale it will give him each axle weight for the truck, trailer weight and from there he can add/subtract weights to get totals and pin weights for everything he needs to know.
so true.... we have a Cat scale house that can weight the trailers axles independently of each other, but when I was on it they were broke.. to the Op dont forget to look at the Front axle weight change and add this to your Rear axle weight, lots of people forget about this #

When I weigh on the scale I get a front axle, rear axle, and trailer axles weight. Why would I take the difference from the change in front axle and add it to the rear weight??? The scale just showed me what is on the rear axle when loaded.
the change either + or - needs to be figured in the weight, with my truck it is +100lbs Front axle added to the camper weight pin since the trailer was attached to the truck and now is it not, splitting hairs??? mabey.. but i like to know how much everything changed when the camper is attached and not...
snowycreek
Explorer
Aug 08, 2014
Congratulations!!!! I admire your dedication. There are going to be a few bumps in the road as you learn about your rig, your truck and the highway....but enjoy those moments, have a good laugh and then continue on with your journey. Happy traveling!!
bpounds
Nomad
Aug 08, 2014
OP, you've got to stop worrying about the weight thing. Your F250 has the same drivetrain, axles, brakes, and frame as a SRW F350. Your tires and wheels may be rated lower than what they put on an F350, as I noted above.

Don't sweat the GVWR. Keep an eye on your rear axle load. I suspect you will not be over the 6,000# rating, but the scale will tell you. If you are over, you've got the air bags to level what the springs can't handle, and at that point the tires/wheels become your primary concern.

If you need higher rated tires, you can usually find take-off wheels on craigslist, from guys who have gone with custom wheels, and they go for around $500 for a set. A set of OEM 18" wheels and LR-E tires will get you some added capacity. I would stick with OEM wheels, because all the after-market wheels will be lug-centric and you should stick with hub-centric wheels.
Jim_Sharon
Explorer
Aug 08, 2014
.........I've also come to the realization that there is no possible way a F250 diesel can ever tow a 5th wheel and NOT be overweight. I've already weighed the truck with DW and I included and it came in over 8,000lbs. Using the "kingpin weight is 20% of the trailer weight" formula so often times mentioned here, the trailer would have to be max 10,000lbs. If someone out there has a 5th wheel that light that is worth fulltiming in, I haven't found it. Not to mention the fact that my truck is capable of towing 15,200lbs (on paper), it doesn't make much sense. I've done the math multiple times. This is why I'm so worried about the trailer brakes. I'll need the additional braking to stop the rig..........

Congratulations drillagent. Sounds like you have the weight restrictions figured out. Lots of new RVers do not.

Actually, the 15,200 lb. towing restriction does kind of make sense.
It means that the truck motor, transmission, drive shaft, universal, rear, suspension, frame, ect. are rated to tow ( PULL ) 15,200 lbs, with some restrictions on the tongue weight.

It does not mean you can put that 15,200 lbs. into the truck bed, and not expect something to break. That is called PAYLOAD.

I don't know what your F250 payload is. Probably less than 2000 lbs, and that would include the weight of your passengers tools, firewood, hitch, anything that you might put into your truck, and finally, the kingpin of your trailer, which I would guess is between 2000-3000 lbs.

So yes, I would expect your rig to be over weight, and under braked. Sorry.
avvidclif1
Explorer
Aug 08, 2014
jevanb wrote:
Shadow_Grey wrote:
If he weighs it before and after at a CAT scale it will give him each axle weight for the truck, trailer weight and from there he can add/subtract weights to get totals and pin weights for everything he needs to know.
so true.... we have a Cat scale house that can weight the trailers axles independently of each other, but when I was on it they were broke.. to the Op dont forget to look at the Front axle weight change and add this to your Rear axle weight, lots of people forget about this #

When I weigh on the scale I get a front axle, rear axle, and trailer axles weight. Why would I take the difference from the change in front axle and add it to the rear weight??? The scale just showed me what is on the rear axle when loaded.
drillagent
Explorer
Aug 08, 2014
fly-boy wrote:
With a short bed I think I would have bought a slider hitch. Replace the tires on the trailer when you get home. You can do a roll test on the trailer brakes as you make your way out of the dealership towards the highway.

As for weights- Good idea to weigh and you have a solid plan. I would not be worried about being a little over weight. The weights Ford publishes are for continuos duty so being over for the times you are pulling the trailer is not going to hurt a thing.

Congrats.

I thought about the slider hitch, but I've personally spoken with other short bed drivers and 9 times out of ten, they said they never used it. Along with that, we made sure to choose a trailer with a cap that allows at least 79 degree rotation. I also have the B&W Companion set as far back as it will go. I will still keep an eye on it though.

I've also come to the realization that there is no possible way a F250 diesel can ever tow a 5th wheel and NOT be overweight. I've already weighed the truck with DW and I included and it came in over 8,000lbs. Using the "kingpin weight is 20% of the trailer weight" formula so often times mentioned here, the trailer would have to be max 10,000lbs. If someone out there has a 5th wheel that light that is worth fulltiming in, I haven't found it. Not to mention the fact that my truck is capable of towing 15,200lbs (on paper), it doesn't make much sense. I've done the math multiple times. This is why I'm so worried about the trailer brakes. I'll need the additional braking to stop the rig.
ReneeG
Explorer
Aug 08, 2014
His needing a slider hitch depends on the front cap style of the fifth wheel. We had a slider hitch on our short bed and never needed it. As for the tires, I'd have them inspected before thet 200+ trip.

Forum Discussion

We've gone and done it now......

About Fifth Wheel Group

Related Content

Well.....we've done it again

Now!!!

It's now time

Slider is stuck, what now?

Well.....it’s in the drive way now!!