Will this truck tow this fifth wheel?

[GrahamSiebring]

Hello! New to these forums, and just starting out with planning full time RV living with my wife. We are both travel nurses and trying to figure out the best configuration for us. Wanted to hear your take on this configuration.

Will this truck:

2018 Ford F250 Super Duty Crew Cab - Carvana

Used 2018 Ford F250 Super Duty Crew Cab XLT Pickup 4D 8 ft for $54,590 with 58,396 miles. | Carvana

www.carvana.com

Safely tow this fifth wheel?

Solitude 3330RE / 3330RE-R

UVW: 12200 lbs. | HITCH WEIGHT: 2400 lbs. | GVWR: 16800 lbs.

www.granddesignrv.com

The truck is rated to tow up to 17.5k lbs and had a payload capacity of 3380 lbs (diesel). The weights for the fifth wheel are below. My understanding of the GVWR is that it is the dry weight plus any water, propane, and extra appliances or stuff stored in the unit. So fully maxed out, the weight is just under the truck’s towing capacity. Is this cutting it too close, or would I be safe with this setup? Thanks so much!

UVW1	12200 lbs
Hitch Weight1	2400 lbs
GVWR	16800 lbs

 

[Gronk]

Yes, it will tow it, BUT, you will be over the payload capacity of the truck. You nee to look at the GVW of the trailer and ignore the UVW or Dry Weight because you will never tow it at that weight. Anyhow, figue about 22% of the GVW will be the pin weight. Then add the weight of the hitch, passengers, fuel, and anything else you want in your truck including the spare tire. As an example, the 16,800 lb GVW will give you a pin weight of about 3696 lbs then add about 100 lbs for the hitch, 350 lbs for passengers, etc. you will be quite a bit over the payload capacity. You can add air bags and they will allow you to level the truck but will not increase the payload.

 

[GrahamSiebring]

Ahhh I see. What type of truck would you recommend for this trailer? Would a dually be my only safe option? Or should I look for another 3/4 ton truck that would support the 3696+hitch+passengers+other cargo? Thanks so much for the help btw.

 

[Gronk]

You could probably get a 350/3500 SRW that can handle the weight, Just figure out all you want in the truck and use the sticker by the driver's door for the cargo capacity. Most people recommend staying at 80% or less of the figure on the truck.

 

[Fish]

I was thinking of buying a fifth wheel about 4 years ago. I had a 2015 Chevy 2500hd crew cab duramax at the time. I was thinking I could upgrade the tires and be fine. Another tenant at the campground I was staying at for work (I was in a travel trailer) was pulling a big jayco 5th wheel with the same truck I had and said it did fine.

Then I saw a news article where a ford F250 had blown a rear tire up by Effingham, IL while pulling a fifth wheel. It showed pics of the damage. Don't see how they survived. They rolled a few times, cab was flat, trailer destroyed.

I traded for a Ram crew cab Cummins dually long bed before I even started trying to buy a fifth wheel. Ended up with a Keystone Montana High Country, gross weight 16,500. Had it until this past summer.
Dually doesn't cost much more, not that much harder to wheel around and park, I'd never pull a fifth wheel without a dually.

 

[GrahamSiebring]

Thanks for the input you guys. Yeah sounds like I need at least a F350 super duty or equivalent, and maybe even a dually. There’s enough at stake that I definitely don’t want to cut corners here.

 

[billnourse]

With a GVWR of 16,000 your pin weight will be about 32 or 3300. That pretty much eats up the useful load of your payload of 3400. You are okay as far a total trailer weight, and if you load the truck light with only 2 passengers and maybe an Andersen hitch that weighs 35#, you won't be over useful load by very much. There are a lot of people out there that are towing a lot more with your same truck.
I am towing a toyhauler that is in the same weight class with a 2022 Duramax 3500 HD and am under max in all catagories, but I am not full time. If I were traveling like you will be for your job, I would certainly consider a DRW.

 

[GrahamSiebring]

Thank you. Yeah looking at DWR trucks now! Would this suffice? I’m finding it difficult to figure out the max towing of some trucks when shopping online, as the numbers posted seem off sometimes. Wish I could see the sticker on the door…

https://www.carmax.com/car/21427137

Carmax says it has a max towing of 11k pounds, which clearly wouldn’t be enough. But other places I look say this truck can tow 30k pounds. Can someone clear this up for me?

 

[billnourse]

That truck won't even know a 16,000 trailer is back there. It is definately rated for the 5th wheel you are looking at. I would guess that the 11000 is for bumper pull.

 

[billnourse]

From what I can see, that truck has a GVWR 14,000 with a useful load rating of 5,700. It will be more than enough for your trailer.

 

[GrahamSiebring]

Great! Thanks a lot. It seemed that it would be plenty from looking at other sources, but I was thrown by what Carmax said.

 

[Fish]

The Ram I sold was same year I had rear air levelling and aisin tranny. 5400 lb payload.