ramcneal
Colorado
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We just picked up our first 5th wheel today. I weighed my truck prior to having the hitch installed and today when I picked up my trailer. These numbers are from a certified CAT scale.
Just truck:
Steer axle: 4260
Drive axle: 2780
Total: 7040
Truck and 5th wheel
Steer axle: 4300
Drive axle: 5260
Trailer axle: 7600
Pin weight: 2480
Total: 17160
I plan getting a loaded weight again once I fill the propane takes and add about 30 gallons of water which is what we normally carry. From the looks of things the grey water tank is located over the trailer axles, not sure were the fresh water tank is located since the belly of the trailer is enclosed. So it'll be interesting to see how much weight is added to the pin. Two 30lb propane tanks should be about 80lbs I believe and 30 gallons of water is 249lbs.
My truck is a Dodge 2006 2500 Cummins, short bed with a GVWR of 9,000, RAWR 6,000 (tire limit, axle rating is 10k), and GCWR of 20,000.
My trailer is a 2008 Keystone Challenger 32RKS. This model has the kitchen in the very back and after loading our stuff I would actually expect my pin weight to be lighter since 90+% of the stuff we loaded went into the kitchen. Admittedly not much.
So, I'm over the GVWR by 560lbs. We've already loaded the trailer with our stuff which took my wife and I about 30 minutes. We both laughed because it seems like 90% of the cabinets are empty. I'm not worried about going over the GVWR for a couple of reasons. (1) A SRW 3500 with otherwise the same configuration has a GVWR of 10,100. Everything is the same except for the rear springs. (2) I added air bags and an exhaust brake. (3) When I towed it home I had to readjust my brake controller to apply less pressure because I could feel the trailer really pulling hard. I like a neutral feel when the trailer is hooked up and it indicates to me that the trailer has more than sufficient braking. (4) Finally, the mechanic said he let a little air out of my air bags when installing the hitch. When I got home and checked the pressure I found out he let all of the air out. My truck didn't even sag with the stock springs. Well, it did go down a little, but the truck ended up looking level instead of slightly high in the back.
So, some here may condemn me for going over the GVWR. To those I can only ask how is my truck any different than a 3500.
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2008 Keystone Challenger 32RKS
2006 Dodge 2500 Cummins, 6-speed manual, exhaust brake, air bags, Rancho 9000 shocks
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Lakemann
New Jersey
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Joined: 02/03/2009
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O.k. heres the deal, weighed my truck today. Its a 2008 Dodge 2500 Cummins 6.7 with an auto trans and an 8' bed. She came in right at 7620# with just me and a full tank of fuel. After reading ramcneal's post above me, its hard to imagine that an extra 2 feet of driveshaft,frame and sheet metal would end up being 580# more. Should I have gotten a shortbed and used that extra 580 elsewhere?
2008 Dodge 2500 CTD
2011 Sprinter 311BHS
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DW-gray
Lompoc, CA
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Joined: 01/05/2009
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Lakemann wrote:O.k. heres the deal, weighed my truck today. Its a 2008 Dodge 2500 Cummins 6.7 with an auto trans and an 8' bed. She came in right at 7620# with just me and a full tank of fuel. After reading ramcneal's post above me, its hard to imagine that an extra 2 feet of driveshaft,frame and sheet metal would end up being 580# more. Should I have gotten a shortbed and used that extra 580 elsewhere?
My former 08 Ram 2500 4X4 Quad weighed 7680# with extra gear inside and pulled my empty 41 foot Cyclone very well, but it was well over the GVWR so I traded up for a 3500. Weigh your TV and RV to find out if it's overweight.
Dave Gray
RV Safety Educator & Consultant
08 Dodge Ram 3500 4X4, Dually, 6.7L Diesel, 09 Heartland Cyclone 4012
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ramcneal
Colorado
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Lakemann wrote:O.k. heres the deal, weighed my truck today. Its a 2008 Dodge 2500 Cummins 6.7 with an auto trans and an 8' bed. She came in right at 7620# with just me and a full tank of fuel. After reading ramcneal's post above me, its hard to imagine that an extra 2 feet of driveshaft,frame and sheet metal would end up being 580# more. Should I have gotten a shortbed and used that extra 580 elsewhere?
One difference, I wasn't in the truck when it was weighed, but I did have a full tank of fuel. I weigh 250lbs, so your truck is an extra 330lbs. I too doubt one and a half feet of steel would make up the difference, so it's probably someplace else. Do you carry tools in the truck? What about a 5th wheel hitch? When I weighed just the truck I didn't have my 5th wheel hitch yet. Another possibility is the difference in engine weight? Is it possible that Cummins added iron to the block for the larger displacement? What are the axle weights?
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Lakemann
New Jersey
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The scale I was on, was at the local garbage transfer station so I couldnt get axle weights. The truck is bone empty, nothing but me and full tank of fuel. No tools,no hitch,nothing! I find it hard to believe that this truck can only "legally" handle another 1380# of payload. When I throw my wife and kids into the mix, I'm looking at just around 1,000# payload. I bought this thing with the intentions of buying a small fifth wheel. Could the scale be off?
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ramcneal
Colorado
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It seems hard to believe that the scale could be that far off, but it's the only thing that makes any sense. The transfer station scale is probably more concerned with the delta between coming in loaded and leaving empty. So if the scale registered a couple hundred pounds heavy it wouldn't matter.
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DW-gray
Lompoc, CA
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Lakemann wrote:The scale I was on, was at the local garbage transfer station so I couldnt get axle weights. The truck is bone empty, nothing but me and full tank of fuel. No tools,no hitch,nothing! I find it hard to believe that this truck can only "legally" handle another 1380# of payload. When I throw my wife and kids into the mix, I'm looking at just around 1,000# payload. I bought this thing with the intentions of buying a small fifth wheel. Could the scale be off?
As compared to my former 2500, your scale weight appears to be about right. You need to find a 5th wheel with hitch weight of less than 1000 pounds so that you will be able to allow for the added gear, etc. I know this is not what you wanted to hear. The 2500 has the power to pull very heavy loads but isn't rated for it. I felt very comfortable with my 2500 pulling my Cyclone but I didn't want to risk it. My 2500 weight rating was: Front 5200#, Rear 6010# and GVWR 9000#. I didn’t even weigh it with the RV because it was too obvious. My 3500 cert label is: front 5200#, rear 9350# and GVWR 12,200#. I got a steal of a deal on the 3500.
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CG_Pilot
Port Angeles, WA
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Joined: 08/02/2008
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Okay...Just got back from the scale. What a suprise!
2008 Silverado 3500 SRW D/A CC w/full fuel, tool box, B&W Hitch, Myself and DW
Fiver is 2008 Arctic Fox 27-5 pretty much ready to camp with full propane tanks, two batteries but no water.
TV without fiver:
Steer Axle: 4400
Drive Axle: 3600
Total Wt of truck w/o fiver is 8000
With fiver:
Steer Axle: 4400
Drive Axle: 5720
Trailer Axle: 7920
Pin Weight: 2120
Total Trailer Wt is 10040
Total Gross of truck when towing is 10120 (120 lbs over GVWR)
Combined Vehicle Wt is 18040
Curious thing is that the advertised pin weight of the fiver is only 1500 lbs. I didn't think I had a total of 600 lbs in the trailer much less having it all on the pin.
Ed & Jeannine Kaetzel
Port Angeles, WA
2008 Chevy 3500 D/A
2008 Arctic Fox 27-5L B&W Companion Hitch
Fifth Airborne Pin Box
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ramcneal
Colorado
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As you've probably read elsewhere. The pin weight advertise by the manufacturers is never the loaded weight. That would scare folks off. The manufacturers always state the dry or shipped weight. That is without many options that the dealer may install such as T.V.s, awnings, and sometimes chairs. Propane tanks weight something like 60lbs each. A battery is what ... 50lbs or so. Right there you're looking at 220bls. Anything you put in the storage area, which on all of the 5th wheels I've seen is between the trailer axles and the king pin, is split between the trailer axle and the king pin.
I hope to be weighing my rig this weekend. I weighed my truck empty and my truck with the new 5th wheel right after picking it up from the dealer. When I weigh it this weekend I'll know exactly how much I've added to the trailer. Since we're not full timers and my wife and I pack fairly light I don't expect a big shock. At the same time, I'm weighing the trailer so that I'll know the weight and not be guessing or assuming.
Who knows. Maybe I'll be so shocked at the weight increase I'll just have to sell my current truck and buy a used HDT. :-)
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Brad NSW
California
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Joined: 02/17/2009
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Questions.
Where do you get the axle readouts? I'm in San Diego.
What does it cost?
What if you are over manufacturer's GCWR?
USN Ret. 03Ram3500, 5.9CTD, 5spd, SRW, ATS filter, S&B Intake, IssPro (Pyro, Boost, Fuel, Trans & R Dif) SMARTY SR, Prodigy Controller, AirDog 100. 09Montana 3665RE 5er, 6 TST Tire monitors. Pakbrake Ex brake & airbags, 12' Baltik inflatable w/3.3HP OBM
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