5Th wheel question on PIN weight and truck GVWR

tinner12002 wrote:

TuckerMGP wrote:
Thanks for the info! Next time I go by a scale I will weigh my truck and go from there.

I agree, I too think I can get by for now knowing its only going 2x a year 3 hours max...a 1 ton diesel will most likely be in my near future!

The diesel duallys are nice if you do a lot of traveling or have a big trailer but Just for the use you talk about your better off with the gas unless you can park the truck and have something else to drive around town. Not good for diesels to be used as grocery getters or around town driving on a constant basis.

I had a old 2002 diesel, loved it, but sold it on 2005 and have been running gas 3/4 tons and have been happy with them.
I also use the truck for daily work too, so it will be used for more then just towing. But overall, after seeing the video for the new 2014 RAM HD's, I like the sounds of the new 6.4 Hemi. Most likely I will be leaning in that direction when the time comes. Although it may be in a 3500 vs the 2500. But again, too early to tell.

NC Hauler wrote:

TuckerMGP wrote:
Hello -

I am planning to buy a 5th wheel this winter for next camping season.
I have only towed with a TT so I am looking forward to the upgrade.

My current truck is a 2012 RAM 2500 4x4 Hemi 3.73 axle ratio
GVWR is 8800 and rear axle load I believe is 6500?

I am looking at 5th wheels with PIN weights of 1700 to 2000lbs.
How do I figure out the MAX that I can put in my truck?

The camper is parked at a seasonal site most of the season, with the exception of maybe 1 trip in the summer, then its back to the seasonal site and I tow it 2 hours home for the winter. Most cases, it will be hooked to my truck 4-6 times a year.

Thank you

Do yourself a favor and use the 5er's "GVW" weight to try to figure out the pin weight...No one tows an RV, empty or "unloaded"...Take 20% of the 5er weight and that'll give you an idea of how much weight you'll put in the bed of your truck...you also need to add approx. 200# for a 5th wheel hitch.

As stated, weigh your truck to see how much payload you'll have to play with...Most ignore GVWR ratings and go straight to the trucks RAWR which gives them more room for pin weight, so make sure you haven't exceeded that limit.

What 5er are you looking at, what is it's GVW? Even if you only tow it 4-6 times a year, I would imagine that you would prefer to do it safely, so I'd want to make sure I had a "handle" on all the numbers to make sure that what little bit you tow it, you'll be ok doing it..

As of now we are leaning towards the Cougar 330RBK, still in the shopping/research phase so that could change, but based on weights and our needs it looks like the best fit.

Check this chart,
http://www.ramtrucks.com/en/towing_guide/pdf/RAM.2500.3500.Towing.Specs.pdf

It looks to me like your max trailer is listed as somewhere between 10300 and 11350 based on what truck configuration you have.

TuckerMGP wrote:
Thanks for the info! Next time I go by a scale I will weigh my truck and go from there.

I agree, I too think I can get by for now knowing its only going 2x a year 3 hours max...a 1 ton diesel will most likely be in my near future!

The diesel duallys are nice if you do a lot of traveling or have a big trailer but Just for the use you talk about your better off with the gas unless you can park the truck and have something else to drive around town. Not good for diesels to be used as grocery getters or around town driving on a constant basis.

TuckerMGP wrote:
Hello -

I am planning to buy a 5th wheel this winter for next camping season.
I have only towed with a TT so I am looking forward to the upgrade.

My current truck is a 2012 RAM 2500 4x4 Hemi 3.73 axle ratio
GVWR is 8800 and rear axle load I believe is 6500?

I am looking at 5th wheels with PIN weights of 1700 to 2000lbs.
How do I figure out the MAX that I can put in my truck?

The camper is parked at a seasonal site most of the season, with the exception of maybe 1 trip in the summer, then its back to the seasonal site and I tow it 2 hours home for the winter. Most cases, it will be hooked to my truck 4-6 times a year.

Thank you

Do yourself a favor and use the 5er's "GVW" weight to try to figure out the pin weight...No one tows an RV, empty or "unloaded"...Take 20% of the 5er weight and that'll give you an idea of how much weight you'll put in the bed of your truck...you also need to add approx. 200# for a 5th wheel hitch.

As stated, weigh your truck to see how much payload you'll have to play with...Most ignore GVWR ratings and go straight to the trucks RAWR which gives them more room for pin weight, so make sure you haven't exceeded that limit.

What 5er are you looking at, what is it's GVW? Even if you only tow it 4-6 times a year, I would imagine that you would prefer to do it safely, so I'd want to make sure I had a "handle" on all the numbers to make sure that what little bit you tow it, you'll be ok doing it..

See if this helps:
What Can I Tow?

The max you can put in it is on the door sticker. How you get to that number is up to you. Your RAWR is 6000lbs per Rams towing guide. Your payload is around 23-2400lbs. FWIW I tow a 5'er that has a dry pin of 1385lbs. All loaded and with a B&W Patriot my pin is somewhere between 17-1800lbs depending on water. If I use the trucks payload then I'm real close to my 2176lbs with everything else in. If I use the trucks RAWR of 6000lbs then as of the last weigh in I'm at 4900lbs on the rear axle. 1100lbs under.

If you're looking at dry brochure pin weights of 17-2000lbs then it's a very good chance you'll be over the trucks payload, but still under the trucks RAWR. For your short trips I'd do it. But remember you max tow rating is 10,500.

Thanks for the info! Next time I go by a scale I will weigh my truck and go from there.

I agree, I too think I can get by for now knowing its only going 2x a year 3 hours max...a 1 ton diesel will most likely be in my near future!

The most accurate way to determine your available pin wieght is to go get your truck wieghed at a CAT scale while it is full of fuel and other stuff including passengers you will have while pulling. Then calculate 2 things:

- Max pin wieght based off of GVWR which is GVWR minus actual truck total wieght. This is the max pin wieght you can have an maintain all of your manufactures ratings which really means warrenty
- Max pin wieght based off axle rating by RAWR minus actual rear axle wieght. This is the maximum allowed remaining payload (meaning pin wieght) that you can legally have on the road (number of trips and distance doesn't matter). Axle and tire ratings are DOT legal requirements while vehicle GVWR is not.

I suspect the pin wieghts you are talking about in your post are the manufactures brochure/advertised pin wieght is dry trailer pin wieght, doesn't mean much unless you really are going to tow it totally empty. Typical pin wieght of FWs is about 20% of its loaded wieght. So take the 2 numbers you calculated above and multiple them by 5 to get the approximate FW GVWR you can tow. Use the number calculated by GVWR for maintaining manufacturers ratings. Use the number calculated by axle wieghts for the maximum you can legally hook to your truck on public roads

With a gas powered 3/4 ton rig I normally suggest you stay below 10k GVWR FW but since you are only towing very occasionally you can probably legally tow around 12k# GVWR FW and just put up with the poor power performance for those few times.