Can our truck tow a 5th Wheel/Very concerned wife!

[BritGirl]

I am sure this question has been asked before but we are looking for our first 5th Wheel and we want to know if our truck can tow it. Currently we tow a travel trailer dry weight 6350, loaded weight around 9000. Getting a new truck is not an option, we currently do not have a diesel (no judging please!) We have used the on line calculator on http://changingears.com/rv-sec-calc-trailer-weight-fw.shtml and it appears that according to this information we can tow this 5th weel. However, I am still very concerned and wanted real life feedback.

Here are the specs of the towing vehicle
2011 2500 HD GMC Sierra SLT with Towing Package, 6.0L V8.
GVWR 9500 lbs
GCWR 20500 lbs
Maximum loaded trailer weight rating 13900 lbs
Maximum king pin weight rating 3000 lbs
RGAWR 6200 lbs
GVW 6377 lbs

Fifth wheel trailer
GVW 8400 lbs
King pin weight 1600 lbs

We don't usually fill our RV with anything other than water and food as my wife drives a different vehicle and tows a trailer but we worked out how many gallons of water it held and then figured out that we thought the loaded weight would be (being generous) 11,000 lbs. This is 2000 lbs over what we currently tow.

Thank you for any help and feedback. Have a great day

[wintersun]

Your truck can handle a 5th wheel load up to 12,000 lbs. with no worries. I would highly recommend one of the kingpins like the ones from Trailair. They make a huge difference in ride comfort by minimizing transference of the trailer motion to the cab of the truck.

The GVWR is based on a calculation the factory does when the truck leaves for the dealer. The load rating is dependent upon the leaf springs and the rims and tires that are put on by the factory. The axle and wheel bearings are rated by its manufacturer at 10,900 lbs. so it will only be the limiting factor with a dually.

This simple concept seems to escape most people. The Combined Gross Weight Rating is a very different number that takes into account the engine, transmission, suspension, frame, axles, brakes, wheels, tires, and everything else in the vehicle. This number cannot be easily changed without major modifications to the truck.

You can add Supersprings or airbags to adjust the load capacity. The truck manufacturers do this with the majority of the 3500 trucks on the road that have only the addition of an extra set of leaf springs to boost their rating.

With a trailer it is easiest to go with the airbags as they enable you to adjust the exact height of the bed for the trailer.

Don't get bogged down in the minutia. If the load of the trailer on the bed of the truck causes it to sag then add air to the air bags until the height is where you want it. Stay within the maximum tow load of your truck and you will be fine. These heavy duty trucks are built from the ground up to tow heavy trailers and this is especially true for the current generation of GM trucks that were beefed up considerably in 2011. Only the 2013 and later Ram trucks compare.

[Need-A-Vacation]

Dayle1 wrote:

Need-A-Vacation wrote:

As we all know, it depends on what is loaded in the truck. I know our 2500HD CCSB 4x4 gasser weighed 8180lbs truck only. Granted, that was with maybe 400lbs of firewood, and we have a cab high 'glass topper which is easily another 200-250lbs. That was with about a 2/3 full tank. Family wise (4) we weigh under 500lbs (probably around 450lbs, just not sure the exact weight that our 11yo twin boys are weighing in at "today")

According to GM's weight calculator, a 2013 2500HD CCSB 4x4 with the 6.0l and LT trim weighs 6610.3 lbs. So you may have a bigger load than you have accounted for, by about 600-700 lbs.

Per my yellow door sticker I have 2750lbs payload capacity.

Did forget about 2-20" mtb's, tool box, and some boards for leveling, so maybe at most 150lbs, plus had the hitch in and wd bars in the bed.

BritGirl,

Any updates?

[NC_Hauler]

Old-Biscuit wrote:

BritGirl wrote:
You are correct, sorry. It is the dry weight. I can't imagine we would ever put 2500 lbs worth of stuff in our trailer either but we were being extra cautious!

Trailer dry weight 8400#
Carry capacity 2595#

10,995# trailer max weight.
Figure 20% wet pin weight......2200#

Your 2500 will tow that 5vr just fine.
Good combo.

Agree:)...If Old-Biscuit's numbers are right, don't see why truck can't tow a 5er with a GVW of 10,995#.

[Grit_dog]

Yes

[Dayle1]

Need-A-Vacation wrote:

As we all know, it depends on what is loaded in the truck. I know our 2500HD CCSB 4x4 gasser weighed 8180lbs truck only. Granted, that was with maybe 400lbs of firewood, and we have a cab high 'glass topper which is easily another 200-250lbs. That was with about a 2/3 full tank. Family wise (4) we weigh under 500lbs (probably around 450lbs, just not sure the exact weight that our 11yo twin boys are weighing in at "today")

According to GM's weight calculator, a 2013 2500HD CCSB 4x4 with the 6.0l and LT trim weighs 6610.3 lbs. So you may have a bigger load than you have accounted for, by about 600-700 lbs.

[Need-A-Vacation]

Dayle1 wrote:

dahkota wrote:
Wow.
The OP stated his/her truck weighs 8000 lbs loaded.
The OP stated his/her GVWR is 9500 lbs.
Simple math: 1500 lbs for pin weight and hitch.

You are right, but that 8k lbs may have included the TT tongue weight. No way a gas 3/4 ton loaded but without hitch weight would hit 8k. My previous '03 2500 with the diesel plus a utility bed and a 42 gal Transfer Flow fuel tank didn't weigh 8k lbs. Heck, even my present 1 ton diesel with the same utility bed doesn't weigh 8k lbs ready to roll.

As we all know, it depends on what is loaded in the truck. I know our 2500HD CCSB 4x4 gasser weighed 8180lbs truck only. Granted, that was with maybe 400lbs of firewood, and we have a cab high 'glass topper which is easily another 200-250lbs. That was with about a 2/3 full tank. Family wise (4) we weigh under 500lbs (probably around 450lbs, just not sure the exact weight that our 11yo twin boys are weighing in at "today")

What is the avg weight of a 5vr hitch? I know I looked into the weight of one (a B&W Companion Slider) over the w/e and with a bed saver it looked like it would be pushing 500lbs from what I found for weights.

[Sport45]

From the OP it sounds like there's no trailer involved in that weight.

BritGirl wrote:
We have not weighed the truck with the Fifth Wheel, but last time we weighed just the truck with a driver, 2 dogs and a full tank of gas it was about 8000 lbs.

For comparison, my 4x2 F-250 Crew Cab with V-10 weighs 6,200# with me in it and a half-tank of gas.

Maybe their dogs are big? 🙂

[Dayle1]

dahkota wrote:
Wow.
The OP stated his/her truck weighs 8000 lbs loaded.
The OP stated his/her GVWR is 9500 lbs.
Simple math: 1500 lbs for pin weight and hitch.

You are right, but that 8k lbs may have included the TT tongue weight. No way a gas 3/4 ton loaded but without hitch weight would hit 8k. My previous '03 2500 with the diesel plus a utility bed and a 42 gal Transfer Flow fuel tank didn't weigh 8k lbs. Heck, even my present 1 ton diesel with the same utility bed doesn't weigh 8k lbs ready to roll.

[Thunderbolt]

dahkota wrote:
Wow.
The OP stated his/her truck weighs 8000 lbs loaded.
The OP stated his/her GVWR is 9500 lbs.
Simple math: 1500 lbs for pin weight and hitch.

His truck doesn't weigh 8,000 unless he has stuff loaded in it. I delieve my neighbors 2011 Chevy DRW, LTZ with a Duramax only weighs 8,500.

[dahkota]

Wow.
The OP stated his/her truck weighs 8000 lbs loaded.
The OP stated his/her GVWR is 9500 lbs.
Simple math: 1500 lbs for pin weight and hitch.

[Mr_Beebo]

I believe the 4.10 gear is standard now on the 2500s. My truck had the 5th wheel set up and previously pulled an 11,600lb unit thru Idaho with no problems. Payload on mine is just over 3000 lbs. Mine is rated to pull up to a little over 14K.

[kw_00]

Can't remember the pin off hand, go to look for the slip; it was slightly higher, but got to look again for the slip. Never had an issue going over rear axel weight. It's just me, (160 lb) wife (105)and little daughter (50). My truck has payload of 2997 lbs. That's another reason why I choose gas due to payload. On a side note to the OP, u have the right truck, no need to upgrade. If any questions as far as weight, go to the scales. By doing this u will have all the info u need. That's what I did, I felt the that I was fine, just verified it.

[Golden_HVAC]

The crewcab has a higher curb weight than a regular cab. Yet you have a gas engine, so your truck will be about 400 pounds less than the diesel version.

When you do upgrade, most people towing with 5th wheels will pick a 3500 series truck to carry more pin weight that is on a fifth wheel.

I am not sure what the maximum pin weight is for a crewcab, but the regular cab is about 800 pounds higher due to less curb weight of the truck. So if the GMC site says maximum pin weight for all 2 WD gas engine 2500 series is 3,000 pounds, they might be talking about a regular cab with only 1 driver inside, at 154 pounds.

That would indicate a regular cab with 6,350 pound curb weight and 154 pound driver, with a 3,000 pin weight, giving a total of around 9,500 pounds overall GVW. This does not take into account that you will be installing a 150 pound fifth wheel hitch.

My guess is that your crewcab is around 7,000 pounds curb weight. Install a 150 pound hitch, and 2 passengers, you are at around 7,500 pounds, leaving a limited 2,000 pound pin weight rating before reaching your 9,500 GVWR.

In other words, your truck will be overloaded by the time you hitch up and load it with clothes, and even a tiny amount of water.

Fred.

[Need-A-Vacation]

UH OH!!! LOL