Upgrade to 5th wheel

[Taxman2436]

I have a 2019 Ford F-250 6.7l diesel. I’m looking at a Grand Design 320MKS but want to make sure my truck can haul it. According to the brochure the trailer is 10,721 UVW. According to Fords towing guide the truck will tow 14,800 lbs. I’m thinking that if it will I may need to beef up the rear suspension. Also, I’m not sure how “UVW” relates to the actual weight I will be towing. Also looking for hitch recommendations.
Thanks for any help provided.

Lenny

[Lantley]

I'm not trying to dial in the weights,because for the most part I don't have all the data to dal it in accurately.
I have tools and other stuff in the rear of my truck. Those things are not loaded/placed in the truck to evenly balance the weight. They are simply placed in the truck wherever they fit. As a result my tires are not carrying the same weight.
If I really wanted to use the charts to fill each tire to its corresponding PSI I would have to know the weight of each tire otherwise I'm just guessing.
Secondly we go through all the calculations and then buy a dually truck because it can carry a heavy load. However we then only fill the tires part wat which derates the trucks ability.
Give me full capacity. I did not buy a dually for the soft ride.

[rhagfo]

Well the tires on the back of my DRW are only inflated to 55 psi for the load I carry, for full payload 65 psi, sidewall 80psi. My name isn’t Fred Flintstone don’t like riding on rocks.

Max sidewall could be overinflated for load carried, resulting in poor wear and traction.

[Lantley]

To get maximum capacity out of the tire.

[Cummins12V98]

"Just like tires always fill to the max air"

Please explain WHY.

[Thermoguy]

Lantley wrote:

2112 wrote:
I calculate it this way:
6340-2840=3500lbs. This is your rear axle limit
3500-200=3300lbs. Subtract 200lbs for the hitch
12000 X 0.25=3000. Guesstimated pin weight if the 12,000lb trailer is loaded to the max

3300-3000=300. You have 300lb margin on your rear axle.

I thought the pin weight was taken at 20% of gross weight not 25%.
12000 x .20= 2400 3300-2400=900

My 5ver has similar specs to this one. My 2500 has a rear rating of 6200. Weighing my unit fully loaded for camp, it was at 5142, over 1000 lbs of capacity left over. I think you will be fine as long as you bring what you need and not a lot of junk. I keep a lot of camp stuff in the trailer and have yet to have any weight issues.

As far as the hitch, I have a short bed, no slider hitch, my trailer is a little older so it does not have rounded corners. I did pop my window the first year I had the trailer backing at home. I learned a lesson, I just don't back as sharp. It hasn't kept me from camping where I want to. It's not an issue going forward, only backing. Just be careful and watch the corners when you back.

Do not go with a gooseneck adapter. Some are OK, but best to follow the lessons learned on this site. I have a friend that has a bent frame due to a gooseneck adapter. I have a companion hitch since I have both a gooseneck and 5th wheel trailer.

Good Luck with your decisions.

[rhagfo]

jjj wrote:
I always go with the gvw and not the built weight.
You will slowly start adding more things when you
start using it and will find out you will start
getting close to your gvw before you know it.
Just like tires always fill to the max air, I go
by the GVW. Just my 2 cents. That is how I do it.
Good luck on your new fiver.

While this is a good policy, you also need to take into account the trailers payload capacity. In this case it was 3,200#+, so for weekending or even long trips not likely to get there.

What is really scary is seeing a 40'+ 5er with a payload of about 2,500#! They are NOT a rare occurrence, way too many out there with almost nothing for payload.

[Grit_dog]

valhalla360 wrote:
At 14k GVWR, you are looking at a pin weight of 2800-3200lb by the time you load up and are ready to go out on a trip.

What does the yellow payload sticker on the door say? Pin weight along with passengers, gear, hitch, bolt on after market equipement...etc... all count against payload. Unless you are obsessive, I'm betting you are up close to 4000lb of payload used and most 3/4 ton trucks will be significantly over their limits.

Do people do it anyway? Sure. You will get people telling you that you can pull even more because they know better than the engineers. No ones going to pull you over, so ultimately, it's your call but if you want to stay within the ratings, I'll give you 10-1 odds you exceed them.

And I’ll give you 100-1 odds that you have no clue where the “ratings” come from… however unsurprising that may be.

[jjj]

I always go with the gvw and not the built weight.
You will slowly start adding more things when you
start using it and will find out you will start
getting close to your gvw before you know it.
Just like tires always fill to the max air, I go
by the GVW. Just my 2 cents. That is how I do it.
Good luck on your new fiver.

[Cummins12V98]

Cptnvideo wrote:
We had to get the truck 90° to the trailer once. Glad we had a long bed.
But I understand a sliding hitch does the same for a short bed.

LongBed = NO COMPROMISE!!!

[Cummins12V98]

"8.5 ft typically for larger 5ers."

Don't think your statement is factual. Many large 5er's are 8'. The more expensive units are 8.5' but they are far and few.

[Cptnvideo]

We had to get the truck 90° to the trailer once. Glad we had a long bed.
But I understand a sliding hitch does the same for a short bed.

[valhalla360]

Cptnvideo wrote:
Aren't most 5th wheel trailers 8' wide?
And aren't most short bed pickups less than 4' from rear axle to cab?

8.5 ft typically for larger 5ers.

Most newer 5ers have compensated:
- The front corners are radius'd to give a little more space before they would hit the truck cab.
- Most 5er pin boxes are extended out 18inches or so giving you more space to turn more sharply.
- You can get a slider hitch giving you more space.

Plus, you are presuming that you will get the trailer fully 90 degrees to the truck. Most of the time, you don't need to turn that sharply.

While I certainly prefer a long bed for 5er towing, a shortbed isn't the end of the world.

[Cptnvideo]

Aren't most 5th wheel trailers 8' wide?
And aren't most short bed pickups less than 4' from rear axle to cab?

[valhalla360]

At 14k GVWR, you are looking at a pin weight of 2800-3200lb by the time you load up and are ready to go out on a trip.

What does the yellow payload sticker on the door say? Pin weight along with passengers, gear, hitch, bolt on after market equipement...etc... all count against payload. Unless you are obsessive, I'm betting you are up close to 4000lb of payload used and most 3/4 ton trucks will be significantly over their limits.

Do people do it anyway? Sure. You will get people telling you that you can pull even more because they know better than the engineers. No ones going to pull you over, so ultimately, it's your call but if you want to stay within the ratings, I'll give you 10-1 odds you exceed them.

[blt2ski]

IRRC from a previous post somewhere, I believe MA is like WA state, you need to buy tonnage for your pick up. Just make sure you have proper paid for gvw, ie higher than you actually wieght!
Other issue I don't know, not mentioned, you state RAWR is 6340 lbs. What is limiting factor? If it's the tires, there is nothing illegal or wrong about upsizing them when you need new ones to gain payload capacity, closer to you axle or spring capacity. Your door sticker won't be correct, at least where I am, LEO/CVEO's don't go by door sticker rating for how much I can weight. It's paid for registration.
I don't see any issues with what you want to tow. Be it true or civil legal issues.

Marty