SRW for pulling Fifth Wheel

[rb2boxer]

I am looking to buy a new truck because we intend to upgrade to a fifth wheel within the next few years. I have read a ton of articles and posts saying that a dually is better and the truck to have. Problem is that I dont really want a dually, we pull maybe 10 times a year for weekends and family vacations, etc. The SRW is a much better daily option for us

I am looking at a chevy or gmc 3500 crew cab diesel with the standard bed. I would really love to hear from people with the similar truck pulling fifth wheels....any issues?

I would make sure whatever fifth wheel I bought matched the specs of the truck. The one we are thinking of grosses at 15K and a pin weight of 2500#

Thanks in advance!

[rb2boxer]

valhalla360 wrote:
If you are within your ratings, you should be fine.

A big question is what year truck? Newer have significantly higher ratings.

Also, a 15k trailer is more likely to have a 3000-3500lb pin weight...not the 2500lb you listed. Typical is 20-25%.

I don't have the truck yet but it will be a new 2018 or 2019

[Hannibal]

ShinerBock wrote:


Never said your truck wasn't capable and this it cannot do it......eventually. I just said that the statement you made that your 5.4L SD will tow what a diesel can tow at only 30% more is a load of crock.

Eventually? We run the same speeds in every situation we ran with our diesels. Sometimes faster. My '95 Cummins was only 160hp. I now have twice the hp. The day 310hp isn't enough to tow an 8500 lb trailer is the day I'll give it up.

[valhalla360]

If you are within your ratings, you should be fine.

A big question is what year truck? Newer have significantly higher ratings.

Also, a 15k trailer is more likely to have a 3000-3500lb pin weight...not the 2500lb you listed. Typical is 20-25%.

[ShinerBock]

Hannibal wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:

Hannibal wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
All I can say is, once you've owned a dually and towed with a dually, experienced the stability of a dually, it's pretty hard to ever go back to a single!

Nope, my 99 was the last and will be the last DRW I will ever own. It was not hard at all to go back to a single. I would rather decrease what I need to tow rather than buy another one. Luckily for me, my SRW tows my 14k 5ver just fine.

Imagine how silly it would sound if I raised the BS flag and posted telling you your SRW truck isn't capable of doing what you do with it on every trip. I could even claim that I've towed 5th wheels with many SRW trucks and they were all over the road, unstable and dangerous. :B

Gee, I wonder how my trailer makes it 160 miles to the coast each year if my truck wasn't capable.

If you towed many 5vers and were all over the road, then I would have to question your ability to properly load a trailer along with your claim that you 5.4L would only rev at 30% higher rpm than my diesel towing the same trailer.

There's the proper answer.
And I've owned four 5th wheels and towed them all with SRW trucks. Two with gas engines. We made it to our destinations every time.
I never said anything about your diesel.

Never said your truck wasn't capable and this it cannot do it......eventually. I just said that the statement you made that your 5.4L SD will tow what a diesel can tow at only 30% more is a load of crock.

[Cummins12V98]

Just because the RV's GVWR is XYZ it does NOT magically stop gaining weight at that number!

My GVWR is 21k, I full time and my RV scales at 23k. Now for you guys that think 20% is a good number it may be BUT if you are more than a weekend warrior I will bet your pin is at or near 25%.

Bottom line towing a 5er and staying within your SRW trucks RAWR is key to safe towing.

On a DRW truck there is usually a lot of tire capacity left.

Ya think this guy is within his RAWR?

Had a nice conversation with them as they were also heading South for the winter. I said those are heavy rigs, he agreed. I asked what his rear axle weighed, he has no idea! I suggested he may want to run it over the scales and compare to his rear tire capacity.

[Hannibal]

ShinerBock wrote:

Hannibal wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
All I can say is, once you've owned a dually and towed with a dually, experienced the stability of a dually, it's pretty hard to ever go back to a single!

Nope, my 99 was the last and will be the last DRW I will ever own. It was not hard at all to go back to a single. I would rather decrease what I need to tow rather than buy another one. Luckily for me, my SRW tows my 14k 5ver just fine.

Imagine how silly it would sound if I raised the BS flag and posted telling you your SRW truck isn't capable of doing what you do with it on every trip. I could even claim that I've towed 5th wheels with many SRW trucks and they were all over the road, unstable and dangerous. :B

Gee, I wonder how my trailer makes it 160 miles to the coast each year if my truck wasn't capable.

If you towed many 5vers and were all over the road, then I would have to question your ability to properly load a trailer along with your claim that you 5.4L would only rev at 30% higher rpm than my diesel towing the same trailer.

There's the proper answer.
And I've owned four 5th wheels and towed them all with SRW trucks. Two with gas engines. We made it to our destinations every time.
I never said anything about your diesel.

[RVcrazy]

We have a 3500 HD. Silverado SRW & are FT. We use a Pullrite hitch to tow our 33’ Hitchhiker fiver. It has been a great combo! The fiver has a GVWR of 15k, but our loaded unit only weighs 14K. Do the math, including max GCVWR.

[Edd505]

agesilaus wrote:
As per my sig line you'll see that we have a SRW F350 and have pulled our 34 ft fiver all over the US and Canada. Including up 12 percent grades. Never had a problem. Just keep the size of the fifth wheel within reason, 35 ft or below as a rule of thumb and you should be fine.

Yep F350 SRW 35ft as in signature. No an issue and most of my travels west coast mountains.

[ShinerBock]

Hannibal wrote:

ShinerBock wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
All I can say is, once you've owned a dually and towed with a dually, experienced the stability of a dually, it's pretty hard to ever go back to a single!

Nope, my 99 was the last and will be the last DRW I will ever own. It was not hard at all to go back to a single. I would rather decrease what I need to tow rather than buy another one. Luckily for me, my SRW tows my 14k 5ver just fine.

Imagine how silly it would sound if I raised the BS flag and posted telling you your SRW truck isn't capable of doing what you do with it on every trip. I could even claim that I've towed 5th wheels with many SRW trucks and they were all over the road, unstable and dangerous. :B

Gee, I wonder how my trailer makes it 160 miles to the coast each year if my truck wasn't capable.

If you towed many 5vers and were all over the road, then I would have to question your ability to properly load a trailer along with your claim that you 5.4L would only rev at 30% higher rpm than my diesel towing the same trailer.

[transamz9]

Hannibal wrote:


Imagine how silly it would sound if I raised the BS flag and posted telling you your SRW truck isn't capable of doing what you do with it on every trip. I could even claim that I've towed 5th wheels with many SRW trucks and they were all over the road, unstable and dangerous. :B

Then I would came that you didn't have your SRW trucks set up and maintained properly still don't change the fact that you 5.4 still revs more than 30% of a new and some old diesels to do the same work.

[Hannibal]

ShinerBock wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
All I can say is, once you've owned a dually and towed with a dually, experienced the stability of a dually, it's pretty hard to ever go back to a single!

Nope, my 99 was the last and will be the last DRW I will ever own. It was not hard at all to go back to a single. I would rather decrease what I need to tow rather than buy another one. Luckily for me, my SRW tows my 14k 5ver just fine.

Imagine how silly it would sound if I raised the BS flag and posted telling you your SRW truck isn't capable of doing what you do with it on every trip. I could even claim that I've towed 5th wheels with many SRW trucks and they were all over the road, unstable and dangerous. :B

[Walaby]

I believe the reason many people recommend using GVWR to ensure one has adequate capacity with their TV, is it would represent the potential worse case weight of the trailer, when loaded.

I will freely admit that it is harder to fill up a trailer with 3000 lbs cargo capacity vs one with 1000, but if your truck can handle a trailers GVWR, then it can handle anything lower than that, likely comfortably.

Actuals are obviously the best, and knowing both is obviously the goal. But, when trying to decide if a truck is sufficient for a trailer BEFORE PURCHASING IT, using the GVWR as worse case makes sense.

Mike

[JAC1982]

I think as long as you're within your weight limits, a SRW is fine. We have a dually and it pulls our toyhauler like a dream even in heavy crosswinds. But it is a total pain in the rear to take it anywhere by itself, and we don't even live in the city. That's why we have the Explorer (my daily driver) and the F-150 (his daily driver).

[Mickeyfan0805]

Wadcutter wrote:
You guys keep quoting GVWR. Obviously neither of you understand that GVWR is not actual weight. GVWR is Gross Vehicle WEIGHT RATING. A rating. Not actual weight.

We see this all the time on these boards - I constantly see the advice that a new buyer should go by GVWR when matching a trailer and a truck. It might be a good thing for a first glance, but it never tells the whole story.

Some trailers have 3,000 pounds of cargo capacity (or more) while others have 500. You could have two trailers with the same GVWR that have a 2,000 pound difference in weight before you load a thing. For me, if I'm limited to 10,000 pounds of towing, I'd rather have a trailer with a GVWR of 12,000 that actually weighs 9,500 over a trailer with a 9,500 GVWR that is riding at it's full capacity.

There are huge differences between ratings and actuals, and they BOTH must be understood, not just one.

[Wadcutter]

rhagfo wrote:

X2!
I agree Wadcutter’s math doesn’t add up!
I tow a 32’ 12,360# GVWR 5er slightly over at 12,600#, with a 2001 Ram 2500. Ready to tow the TV weighs 7,800# without the 5er, the packages GCVW is 20,500#, the pin is right at 2,600# +/- So Wagcutter is either towing his 5er near empty or has it full of helium!.

Doesn't matter what you believe. I've got the weight tickets. You both are just WAG without knowing what GVWR even means. My last ticket from spring totaled 20,100. That was with about 1/2 full holding tank, some clothes, no food so it was a bit light for normal travel. However, we normally only run with about 1/2 full holding tank but not near 1000 lbs of food and extra clothes.
You guys keep quoting GVWR. Obviously neither of you understand that GVWR is not actual weight. GVWR is Gross Vehicle WEIGHT RATING. A rating. Not actual weight.
You guys would have both flunked my truck weight classes.