For those of you towing with a one ton crew cab 6.5' box

[mrad]

What are the maxlengths you are towing?
We are making the jump from a 37' bumper to bumper TT to a 5th wheel. We towed the TT with a Ford Excursion and traveled all throughout the midwest and CO, AZ, and other western states with no problems.
I'm Finding used long box diesels has been next to impossible unless the have 250,000 miles.

We did come across a clean low mileage one ton crewcab duramax yesterday and have it on hold. door sticker said not to exceed 4,400 lbs of cargo and weight so we will be fine with weight. Just wondering was kind of total lenght you are pulling with these.
Would just hate to mkae the purchase and find out I am short on length. On the other hand, I would would also hate to miss out on this unit.

thanks in advance for your replies.

[otrfun]

mrad wrote:
What are the maxlengths you are towing?
We are making the jump from a 37' bumper to bumper TT to a 5th wheel. We towed the TT with a Ford Excursion and traveled all throughout the midwest and CO, AZ, and other western states with no problems

. . .

thanks in advance for your replies.

5th wheels are inherently more stable towing than a TT because all the pin/tongue weight is placed directly over the rear axle. As long as you're within your truck's payload/tow capacity ratings, I believe you're going to find towing most any 5th wheel with any late model HD diesel truck is going to be a step-up in stability vs. towing the 37' bumper-pull TT with the Excursion.

[blofgren]

My truck is a one ton Megacab with the 6.5' box and it tows great with fantastic stability. Of course it is also a dually! :B

[MikeRP]

Me Again wrote:
We pulled a 39'4" high profile 5th wheel with a 2015 SRW 4x4 RAM 3500 CC SB. We were 24,500 combined and trailer was pushing 15,500 to 16K. We chose a trailer with a lighter 2435 lb dry pin weight. Truck was loaded heavy, as full timed for two years, and we were near the 7K RGAWR. We made two round trips from NW Washington to Arizona and both included some high winds without issues.

My exact experience except my trailer is 1000 lbs or so lighter. I’m running 4080 lb tires.

[Me_Again]

We pulled a 39'4" high profile 5th wheel with a 2015 SRW 4x4 RAM 3500 CC SB. We were 24,500 combined and trailer was pushing 15,500 to 16K. We chose a trailer with a lighter 2435 lb dry pin weight. Truck was loaded heavy, as full timed for two years, and we were near the 7K RGAWR. We made two round trips from NW Washington to Arizona and both included some high winds without issues.

[MikeRP]

mkirsch wrote:
A crew cab short box has a LONGER wheelbase than a standard cab long box.

NOBODY has a single qualm about towing ANY length trailer with a standard cab long box truck. NOBODY says a standard cab long box is "too short."

Logic dictates if the standard cab long box is adequate, a LONGER truck is no less adequate.

You know that is the “First Time” I’ve heard this before on any forum. Freakin great point!

Kudos. You are right.

Mike

[Grit_dog]

valhalla360 wrote:

mrad wrote:
2013 duramax SRW. Payload was actually 4,200 lbs. It will be just the wife and I traveling so It's doubtful we will ever approach 600 lbs in the truck itself. The truck has a 33 gallon tank.

Dry pin weight is 2,700 and 12,000K dry trailer weight. I is a front living so I am guessing most of the contents will be stored close to axle (kitchen) or behind the axle (bedroom) so I am thinking that would take a little pin weight off when loaded. We dont dry dock so rarely if ever would we travel with water.

Thanks again for all the input.

I'm betting if you take it to the scales loaded, you will be right close to the limits.

Average American couple plus a 200lb hitch will be close to 600lb (I leave to you if you want to put her on a scale)...but that would be with nothing else in the truck or truck bed...add running boards, tool box, fire wood, etc... and you can quickly add a few hundred pounds more.

Pin weight almost always goes up as you load and you wind up in the 20-25% range, hence 3000-3500lb on a 15k GVWR rig.

mrad, you're overthinking it, seriously. Are you actually going to pack your stuff based on pin weight? (within reason of course)
valhalla is correct, and 4200lb payload rating on that truck, is about the same as the OE tire/wheel rating. I'd say that's the lowest real world payload limiataion.

[valhalla360]

mrad wrote:
2013 duramax SRW. Payload was actually 4,200 lbs. It will be just the wife and I traveling so It's doubtful we will ever approach 600 lbs in the truck itself. The truck has a 33 gallon tank.

Dry pin weight is 2,700 and 12,000K dry trailer weight. I is a front living so I am guessing most of the contents will be stored close to axle (kitchen) or behind the axle (bedroom) so I am thinking that would take a little pin weight off when loaded. We dont dry dock so rarely if ever would we travel with water.

Thanks again for all the input.

I'm betting if you take it to the scales loaded, you will be right close to the limits.

Average American couple plus a 200lb hitch will be close to 600lb (I leave to you if you want to put her on a scale)...but that would be with nothing else in the truck or truck bed...add running boards, tool box, fire wood, etc... and you can quickly add a few hundred pounds more.

Pin weight almost always goes up as you load and you wind up in the 20-25% range, hence 3000-3500lb on a 15k GVWR rig.

[4bearhug]

We pull a 38' 5th wheel (that will max out at 14,500 fully loaded) with a 2015 3500 Silverado SRW CCSB no problems whatsoever. Handles very nicely and is well under limits.

Sounds like you have a truck lined up, but I will mention that we are looking at new trucks and would be trading/selling ours. One owner, 54k mi. duramax diesel, also have B & W 5th hitch. FYI

[mkirsch]

A crew cab short box has a LONGER wheelbase than a standard cab long box.

NOBODY has a single qualm about towing ANY length trailer with a standard cab long box truck. NOBODY says a standard cab long box is "too short."

Logic dictates if the standard cab long box is adequate, a LONGER truck is no less adequate.

[Grit_dog]

mrad wrote:

We are making the jump from a 37' bumper to bumper TT to a 5th wheel. We towed the TT with a Ford Excursion and traveled all throughout the midwest and CO, AZ, and other western states with no problems.



Would just hate to mkae the purchase and find out I am short on length.

thanks in advance for your replies.

Read just what I clipped out of your post and think about it.

You towed a 37' bumper pull (far less stable by design than virtually any GN or 5ver trailer) with a 137" wheelbase vehicle with squishy springs (comparatively) and a less capable chassis and had no problems.

Now you're considering towing a 40' (?? for the sake of argument lets go with 40') 5ver which is more stable with a far more capable vehicle with a significantly longer wheelbase (bout 16" longer).

What again is the concern? Better buy the truck, although if it was a good deal it's probably gone by now. If it's not, be a bit more wary of the price or condition. With the crazy times right now, if it's anything like here, any vehicle or toy that is a good deal lasts literally hours before it's sold, not days or weeks.

[Grit_dog]

valhalla360 wrote:
There is a legal upper length limit (varies by state) but unless you double tow, it's unlikely to be an issue as the 5th wheel sits over the truck bed as opposed to a bumper pull that sits fully behind the truck.

Can you give us more details about the truck...year, single rear wheels vs dual rear wheels. If it really has a 4,400lb payload, it should be OK for up to a 15k trailer which should have a pin weight on the order of 3000-3500lb.

ITS A SHORT BOX. IT CANT BE A DUALLY!

And what does max length laws have to do with it???

[mrad]

2013 duramax SRW. Payload was actually 4,200 lbs. It will be just the wife and I traveling so It's doubtful we will ever approach 600 lbs in the truck itself. The truck has a 33 gallon tank.

Dry pin weight is 2,700 and 12,000K dry trailer weight. I is a front living so I am guessing most of the contents will be stored close to axle (kitchen) or behind the axle (bedroom) so I am thinking that would take a little pin weight off when loaded. We dont dry dock so rarely if ever would we travel with water.

Thanks again for all the input.

[valhalla360]

There is a legal upper length limit (varies by state) but unless you double tow, it's unlikely to be an issue as the 5th wheel sits over the truck bed as opposed to a bumper pull that sits fully behind the truck.

Can you give us more details about the truck...year, single rear wheels vs dual rear wheels. If it really has a 4,400lb payload, it should be OK for up to a 15k trailer which should have a pin weight on the order of 3000-3500lb.

[Grit_dog]

@ rhfago No one makes a short box dually except for the Mega Cab.
OP, it’s not a short truck, it’s fine.