New truck for the new camper!

[PJ5rs]

I have a 2021 Cougar 364 BHL on order. I am now looking at new trucks. I’m going to go with the GMC 3500. The GVWR on the camper is 14,000. I have found a SRW with a GVWR of 12100, GCRW of 29700, but the payload is only 3693. RGAWR IS 7250.
Am I right in believing this is not enough? I’d rather have a SRW, but I’m more concerned about having enough truck. Is a dually in my future? Thanks.

 

[Retired]

Im not familiar with GM trucks but the F250 and F350 SRW with the 6.7 diesel will both pull a 5er over 20,000# GVWR with a GCWR over 30,000#.

The F350/F450 DRW will both pull a 5er over 30,000# with a GCWR over 40,000#.

Its spendy, but IMO thats the throw money at it way to go.

 

[Joe Hogan]

If you are planning to use F Series for many miles you might want to read up on the fuel system issue and the now surfacing transmission issues. I'm a Ford guy, but these issues if they happen are show stoppers.

Edit: I forgot the Death Wobble issue that has been reported on many F250-350 trucks. This is being addressed by a TSB rather than increase the list of Recalls. Essentially the bearing on the steer Knuckle develops play and cause the wobble under certain conditions, like rail road tracks and pot holes.

Ford Super Duty Fuel Pumps Are Defective, Claims Class Action Lawsuit

Ford Super Duty fuel pumps on 2011-present models with the 6.7L Power Stroke engine allegedly don't function well on American fuel, leading to failure.

fordauthority.com

2020 F250 7.3 10 Speed Transmission Defect - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

2017+ Super Duty - 2020 F250 7.3 10 Speed Transmission Defect - I recently purchased a 2020 F250 SD with a 7.3 gasser with the Gen 1 10 speed transmission on 19 Sep 2020. After hearing a metal to metal rubbing noise coming from what I thought was the engine I scheduled an appointment at my local...

www.ford-trucks.com

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I have a 2021 Cougar 364 BHL on order. I am now looking at new trucks. I’m going to go with the GMC 3500. The GVWR on the camper is 14,000. I have found a SRW with a GVWR of 12100, GCRW of 29700, but the payload is only 3693. RGAWR IS 7250.
Am I right in believing this is not enough? I’d rather have a SRW, but I’m more concerned about having enough truck. Is a dually in my future? Thanks.

So what is the pin weight? 20% would be 2800# still leaving 800# for whatever. I think you will find the tire weight rating is the limiting factor. Check into a higher rated tire if you need srw.

 

[PJ5rs]

Kevin, you mean higher rated tires for the camper? my big question is even with 2800# of pin weight plus people and stuff, I’d be pretty close to max on the tv. Should I do that? id lIke to buy a SRW, but Ican get a DRW if I should. This will be my first camper!

 

[Kevin D Pem]

TV tires, not the RV tires. Check what you can get before you buy.

My brother went single because that is what he needed to garage his truck.

Life is a compromise!

 

[RAMmer-Jammer]

I have a 2021 Cougar 364 BHL on order. I am now looking at new trucks. I’m going to go with the GMC 3500. The GVWR on the camper is 14,000. I have found a SRW with a GVWR of 12100, GCRW of 29700, but the payload is only 3693. RGAWR IS 7250.
Am I right in believing this is not enough? I’d rather have a SRW, but I’m more concerned about having enough truck. Is a dually in my future? Thanks.

You are correct to question your capacity before making the leap on a new truck. You are good on everything but the payload, where you may be too close for comfort. At 14,000# GVW, that 5th wheel will put 2800# or more on your hitch. That leaves you 893# for everything else on and in the truck before you have no margin left between your traveling weight and your payload limit. If you, the wife, any kids, the 5th wheel hitch, the dog, the tools and stuff under the seats, in the bed or tossed on the back seat weigh a combined total of less than 893#, then you are under by that amount. Not likely a fat safety cushion though. My truck has very similar numbers and I decided to stay at or below 13,000 GVW on the 5th wheel to have a safety margin. Maybe you travel light enough that you will never pass the 13,000# threshold and never worry about it. The specs show that trailer with a dry weight of 11,277 and a payload of 2,723, so maybe you stay under 1700# of stuff in the trailer and get by.

 

[Retired]

This is what is on the bottom of the page on Fords towing guide. Who weighs 150#?

"Maximum payload and towing capabilities are for properly equipped base vehicles with required equipment and a 150-lb. driver and vary based on cargo, vehicle configuration, accessories and number of passengers. See label on door jamb for carrying capacity of a specific vehicle"

 

[Calsun]

I have a 2021 Cougar 364 BHL on order. I am now looking at new trucks. I’m going to go with the GMC 3500. The GVWR on the camper is 14,000. I have found a SRW with a GVWR of 12100, GCRW of 29700, but the payload is only 3693. RGAWR IS 7250.
Am I right in believing this is not enough? I’d rather have a SRW, but I’m more concerned about having enough truck. Is a dually in my future? Thanks.

80% of the 5th wheels I see on the highway are pulled by SRW trucks. What is important is the load capacity of the rear tires. My GM 2500HD came from the factory with tires rated at 3095 lbs and I replaced them with ones rated at 3750 lbs and gained 1100 lbs of payload capacity. I also added SuperSprings and installed Rancho XL adjustable shocks. With a 4,000 lb payload in the bed of the truck it was dead level and no bouncing or sagging with that load.

The GM trucks use a AAM rear axle rated at 11,000 lbs so the limiting factor is the springs and the tires. Dual rear wheels allows the use of lower rated tires but there is the alternative of the 3750 lb rated tires of which there are at least three companies making, or going to 19.5 wheels and tires which provide 4800 lbs of load capacity per tire. Going to the 19.5 wheels and tires will cost roughly $3,000 but that is far cheaper than buying a new truck and paying the sales tax and DMV fees and having a truck that when not towing is a pain to drive and a pain to park and where tire rotation is not practical so you end up paying twice as much for tires over time.

Depending on the 5th wheel trailer the rule of thumb is to plan on having 25% of the trailer weight carried by the bed of the truck. With a 5th wheel I would expect 90% of the weight to be supported by the rear wheels and 10% by the front wheels. The only way to know for sure is to hook up the trailer and take it to a CAT or other public scale and have your rig weighed.

Ford also is the only manufacturer I know of that includes frontal area for the trailer in specifying the towing capacity of its vehicles. A 5th wheel trailer is going to provide the greatest amount of air drag and that is as much if not more of a factor that the load inside of it.

Payload ratings always factor in 150 lb people which is why a regular cab pickup with have the highest payload rating and a crew cab version will have the lowest payload rating. Lots of people in the USA weigh less than 150 pounds and that includes some children as well as adults. Amazing at my age to see so many fat people waddling around as when I was growing up there were no fat children and I only saw one fat worker as a teenager. Of course that was before McDonalds and all the fast food garbage became commonplace.

 

[PJ5rs]

thanks for all the input on this. It will help a great deal, gives me some options I wasn’t aware of before.