So confused about towing

[prestonbunch]

Hi, everyone.

My husband and I have some questions about towing. We are getting conflicting reports as to what we are able to tow and we are so confused. We once wound up in a situation where we purchased a trailer that we found out was too much for our vehicle to safely tow and we don't want to find ourselves in that situation again. Our truck is paid for and we'd like to hang on to it for a few more years.

We have a Dodge Ram 2500 MegaCab.

We currently tow this travel trailer with it with no problems:
http://www.sierrarvsales.com/product/used-2012-dutchmen-rv-kodiak-300bhsl-404208-29

We aren't happy with the quality of this trailer, though. We've done a lot of repairs on it and there are some design flaws that are frustrating.

So we are in the market for a different camper. Hubby would like to switch to a fifth wheel. But we have been told by several dealers we can't tow a fifth wheel.

This one in particular we were looking at. One dealer said we could tow it with no problem. One dealer said no we can't.

https://www.rvtrader.com/dealers/Tom-Schaeffer%27s-RV-Super-Store-739862/listing/2011-Jayco-Eagle-Super-Lite-31.5FBHS-120825479

(Ironically it's the dealer who is selling it who told us we can't tow it, so it's not like somebody's trying to snowball us into buying something we can't tow, which is more what you'd expect.)

We have Google searched and read a bunch of information on weight ratings, tow ratings, payload capacity, but we are more confused than ever.

Can someone explain to us in layman's terms if we can't tow a fifth-wheel, why we can't?

[prestonbunch]

MFL wrote:
Yes, more info is needed, and even then there will be many conflicting replies on this forum. Ten Y/O truck, one Y/O truck, makes a difference. Most any late model 25 series truck can handle that FW listed. Some may need suspension enhancement, and this truck would likely require a specialty pinbox, such as the revolution. OP is looking at, and currently has a bunk house. How many people/pets in truck?

Jerry

Two adults, three kids ages 9, 10 and 12. Three dogs -- one small, one medium, one large.

[MFL]

Yes, more info is needed, and even then there will be many conflicting replies on this forum. Ten Y/O truck, one Y/O truck, makes a difference. Most any late model 25 series truck can handle that FW listed. Some may need suspension enhancement, and this truck would likely require a specialty pinbox, such as the revolution. OP is looking at, and currently has a bunk house. How many people/pets in truck?

Jerry

[newman_fulltime]

Carrying capacity you will be right under are at your limits loaded the biggest problem is the nose of the trailer hitting the cab of the truck

[prestonbunch]

JIMNLIN wrote:
first off you didn't give us any information on your truck or trailers numbers to give you a recommendation.

We need the truck and trailer year model.
the trucks and trailers GVWR.
The trucks RAWR
is the truck a manual transmission or auto

You will not get a same consensus on this forum where it come down to a 3/4 ton truck towing a 5th wheel trailer......everyone has a opinion on weights so read between the lines.

I can tell you now as long as your 2500 Mega Cab is OEM .......it can tow a 5th wheel trailer.
Give us some help....thanks
Jim

Truck is a 2006. It's GVW is 8800 lbs. That's what the door label says. It's a automatic transmission, 4WD. Hubby says the gear ratio is 373. RAWR is 6010.
Our current travel trailer is a 2012. It's GVW is 8900 pounds.
The fifth wheel is a 2011.

The truck is gas, not diesel.

We are the second owners of the truck. It towed a fifth-wheel at one point because you can tell there was a fifth-wheel hitch in the bed.

[troubledwaters]

Go to this site CLICKY and start reading. It is not rocket science once you understand the fundamentals. I can tell you this right now, no one at this point has given you any credible advice as they don't even know what the payload rating of your truck is or what you and better half weigh. Very basic information needed to start with.

Basic fact is you can tow a lot bigger TT then 5er with the same truck due to tongue weight of (comparable) the same size trailer is a lot less than the pin weight.

[wrgrs50s]

You can tow that fine. The super lights are usually under 10k lbs. That should be reasonable for any 2500. Gas will work but deisel would be a breeze.

[2Macs]

You did not indicate whether your Dodge was gas or diesel. If it is gas, then I agree with the dealer. If diesel, what size diesel? You must remember, the major requirement for towing is not horsepower, it is torque. Torgue determines the ability to tow a trailer, either TT or 5th Wheel, especially in the hills and mountains. Gas engines do not have the torque required to tow a heavier 5th Wheel. Check the torque of your Dodge. If it does not have at least 600 ft lbs of torque, forget it or purchase a new tow vehicle.

[JIMNLIN]

first off you didn't give us any information on your truck or trailers numbers to give you a recommendation.

We need the truck and trailer year model.
the trucks and trailers GVWR.
The trucks RAWR
is the truck a manual transmission or auto

You will not get a same consensus on this forum where it come down to a 3/4 ton truck towing a 5th wheel trailer......everyone has a opinion on weights so read between the lines.

I can tell you now as long as your 2500 Mega Cab is OEM .......it can tow a 5th wheel trailer.
Give us some help....thanks
Jim

[newman_fulltime]

He truck should be able to handle the load. Mega cabs have a low carrying capacity which carrying capacity is what a truck needs for a fifth wheel

That being said the problem I see with that trailer and the shorter bed is he trailer will hit the cabin turns you can put a Reese revolution pin box on and resolve that issue the easiest

[donn0128]

Without knowing the weights there is no way to say for certain whether you could or could not tow it.
The problem you have is the relatively short box that comes standard on MegaCab trucks. I believe it is shorter than even a standard 6 foot short bed. If you were to hitch up and if weights were within specs, the first time you tried to back at any angle you could take out the trucks rear window. Slider hitches can help, but are not a cureall on mega cabs.
Couple that with the really soft suspension and high ready to travel weight it is highly unlikely you will not be comfortable putting so much pin weight on the truck.
BTW as a comparison, a TT will place around 12% of its weight on the truck. Whereas a fifth wheel will drop approx 20% of its weight directly on top of the rear axle. To put it more bluntly, with fivers it is not towability, but trucks weight carrying capacity that is key.

[gbopp]

OP's Current TT

Fifth Wheel OP is Considering