oklahomamike
oklahoma
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2012 Newmar X-Aire 40DSBR pulled by 2010 Dodge 3500
Loaded ready to go with fuel and water but no toys in garage.
Gross Trailer Weight 19,100
Pin Weight 3,980
Truck weight 9,200
Steer Axle 4,960
Drive Axle 8,540
Trailer Axle 14,800
Gross combined weight 28,300
* This post was
edited 06/21/12 08:15pm by oklahomamike *
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sirdrakejr
Las Vegas, Nevada
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Whew!!!
2011 Palomino Maverick 1000SLLB on a 2004 Dodge Quadcab CTD Ram3500 SRW long bed equipped with Timbren springs, Stable Load bump stops, Rickson 19.5" wheels/"G" range tires and a Helwig "Big Wig" rear anti sway bar.
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DW-gray
Lompoc, CA
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oklahomamike wrote:2012 Newmar X-Aire 40DSBR pulled by 2010 Dodge 3500
Loaded ready to go with fuel and water but no toys in garage.
Gross Trailer Weight 19,100
Pin Weight 3,980
Truck weight 9,200
Steer Axle 4,960
Drive Axle 8,540
Trailer Axle 14,800
Gross combined weight 28,300
You may want to consider visiting Fifth Wheel St. and enter some numbers in the Safety Report.
* This post was
edited 08/12/12 01:10pm by DW-gray *
Dave Gray
RV Safety Educator & Consultant
08 Dodge Ram 3500 4X4, Dually, 6.7L Diesel, 09 Heartland Cyclone 4012
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oklahomamike
oklahoma
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DW-gray wrote:oklahomamike wrote:2012 Newmar X-Aire 40DSBR pulled by 2010 Dodge 3500
Loaded ready to go with fuel and water but no toys in garage.
Gross Trailer Weight 19,100
Pin Weight 3,980
Truck weight 9,200
Steer Axle 4,960
Drive Axle 8,540
Trailer Axle 14,800
Gross combined weight 28,300
You may want to consider visiting Fifth Wheel St. and enter some numbers in the Safety Report.
I agree I would benefit from a bigger truck. That is a very good web site you pointed me to I will check it out this evening. I am 540# under FAWR and 1210# under RAWR on truck of course I am over on GCVWR. I am concerned about safety and keep my equipment in top condition and limit speed to 60 mph when towing. What are the weights on your rig it looks close to what I have.
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DW-gray
Lompoc, CA
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oklahomamike wrote:DW-gray wrote:oklahomamike wrote:2012 Newmar X-Aire 40DSBR pulled by 2010 Dodge 3500
Loaded ready to go with fuel and water but no toys in garage.
Gross Trailer Weight 19,100
Pin Weight 3,980
Truck weight 9,200
Steer Axle 4,960
Drive Axle 8,540
Trailer Axle 14,800
Gross combined weight 28,300
You may want to consider visiting Fifth Wheel St. and enter some numbers in the Safety Report.
I agree I would benefit from a bigger truck. That is a very good web site you pointed me to I will check it out this evening. I am 540# under FAWR and 1210# under RAWR on truck of course I am over on GCVWR. I am concerned about safety and keep my equipment in top condition and limit speed to 60 mph when towing. What are the weights on your rig it looks close to what I have.
First, let me share one of the information paragraphs in my new app available for the iPhone:
If any of your safety margins are displayed in RED, then you are towing with a potential driving hazard. It's your responsibility to consider what you think is safe for your towing situation, whether it’s 4 pounds overweight or 4000 pounds overweight. You need to take a careful look at how your vehicles are loaded. You may need to remove or relocate some items to better balance the load. In some instances, you may need to purchase a tow vehicle with higher towing capacity or purchase a trailer with less gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR).
I think it's much better know what your towing weight is, even if it is over any of the load ratings. At the very least, a RVer can be aware and drive accordingly and be prepared for safer driving. Driving blindly without knowing the weight of your rig is far more dangerous in my opinion.
Like you, I'm well under my axle ratings and I'm still over on the GCWR. I'm still working on that issue. But, as far as I know, no state is concerned about the GCWR. They only look at the GAWRs. In California, there is a stopping requirement. I don't remember the details. I tested my rig based on the CA requirements and I was able to stop well less than the maximum distance.
Therefore each knowledgeable RVer has to decide if they are towing safely with their rig. As for my experience with my Ram truck, it is grossly underrated.
I also agree that a maximum of 60 mph is the right choice. I set my cruise control for 58 mph (1,500 rpm in 6th gear) which I found to be my most economical highway speed for my truck and I feel safe at that speed.
* This post was
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edited 08/12/12 01:09pm by DW-gray *
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oklahomamike
oklahoma
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DW-GRAY
That is an excellent web site you developed there. Thank you for your interest in 5th wheel safety.
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BusyC
Billings, MT
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Joined: 06/14/2012
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Thanks to everyone who has entered their information. I am thinking of upgrading to a fifth wheel and I found this information VERY helpful. So we finally got to go to the CAT scale...why did we pick a day when it was 102 degrees?!
We had just spent 2 days at Cooney Dam in Roberts, MT. The truck was fully loaded with the following:
DH - 220lb
Me - Not telling
DS - 36lb
2 dogs
dog crates
chairs
raft
auxiliary tank with 55 gallons of diesel
Fuel tank full (29 gal)
Deer Bumper (95lb)
Truck is a:
2002 Ford F250 7.3L diesel Super Duty Crew Cab with Camper/Towing Pkg(I believe this is where they use a F350 axle, larger radiator, stiffer springs, etc) Axle Ratio 3.73
Banks Headers
Trailer is a:
2006 Sunnybrook Sunset Creek 279RB Travel Trailer (it is about 31'4")
Black Tank Full
Gray tank full
Lots of 'stuff'
Here are the readings
TRUCK WITH TRAILER
Steer Axle 4520# (Max Rating 5200#)
Drive Axle 5240# (Max Rating 6084#)
Trailer Axle 7140#
GCW = 16900#
TRUCK WITHOUT TRAILER
Steer Axle 4820#
Drive Axle 3840#
GVW = 8660#
EDITED TO ADD 6/25/12: My husband pointed out that if we needed to add some payload capacity we could just limit the amount of fuel we put in the auxiliary tank or leave it empty.
This trip there was some climbing in altitude, some rough dirt roads, and we got 10.88 mpg. I was pretty happy with that!
We are looking to get a fifth wheel but it is much larger. We keep getting various 'opinions' on what numbers are important in determining whether or we can tow it. Hope this information helps someone! Great idea!
* This post was
edited 06/26/12 05:25pm by BusyC *
Carol - Billings, MT
2002 Ford F250 7.3l Diesel Crew Cab
2013 Keystone Montana 3100RL
Loving RVing as a family! DH, Myself, DS (6yr) and 2 dogs!
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bpounds
Sophmore Brain...
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BusyC wrote:Truck is a:
2002 Ford F250 7.3L diesel Super Duty Crew Cab with Camper/Towing Pkg(I believe this is where they use a F350 axle, larger radiator, stiffer springs, etc) Axle Ratio 3.73
Banks Headers
Trailer is a:
2006 Sunnybrook Sunset Creek 279RB Travel Trailer (it is about 31'4")
Black Tank Full
Gray tank full
Lots of 'stuff'
Here are the readings
TRUCK WITH TRAILER
Steer Axle 4520# (Max Rating 5200#)
Drive Axle 5240# (Max Rating 6084#)
Trailer Axle 7140#
GCW = 16900#
TRUCK WITHOUT TRAILER
Steer Axle 4820#
Drive Axle 3840#
GVW = 8660#
We are looking to get a fifth wheel but it is much larger....
You have very little payload left on your GVWR. An '02 F250 probably has an 8800 GVWR, and your truck loaded as you described (no trailer) already weighs 8660. So if you want to load a fifthwheel on the truck you are going to have to ignore GVWR limits.
You will want to focus your attention on the rear axle rating. On that you have 2244# of capacity remaining. You can find many medium size fivers with pin weights under that. But be sure you calculate loaded pin weights, not the manufacturers published pin weights which are when empty.
Unfortunately, you cannot do a large fiftwheel without exceeding the truck GVWR and RAWR. Even though I believe the truck would handle it fine with air bags.
* This post was
edited 06/25/12 08:52am by bpounds *
2006 F250 Diesel
2011 Keystone Cougar 278RKSWE Fiver
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BusyC
Billings, MT
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Thanks bpounds for your review of my information! I am glad to have another set of eyes on it. I forgot to mention in my first post that we have an auxiliary tank with 55 gal of diesel in it in the bed of the truck. So if we needed more payload we could just take less fuel.
The rig we are looking at is a Keystone Mountaineer 346LBQ with a sticker shipping weight of 12020, a published pin weight of 2205, and a cargo capacity of 2240. According to our Ford dealership, based on the VIN of our truck, with all of the options we can tow up to 14,500lb.
We love the Mountaineer model because of all of the room for people, dogs, and stuff but it may be too much rig for us. All of the ones that are lower in weight have a very disappointing kitchen setup and the bunks are not full length for an adult. Oh well...may have to wait for newer models.
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Glen Schumann
Winona, MN
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BusyC wrote:The rig we are looking at is a Keystone Mountaineer 346LBQ with a sticker shipping weight of 12020, a published pin weight of 2205, and a cargo capacity of 2240. According to our Ford dealership, based on the VIN of our truck, with all of the options we can tow up to 14,500lb.
Your truck can TOW (ie pull) 14,500 pounds but it can only carry the difference between it's loaded weight (fuel, passengers, hitch, miscellaneous cargo) and it GVWR.
Published pin weight are often low (although what you listed is closer than many). The normally accepted figure for estimating pin weight is to use 20% of the 5th wheel trailers GVWR which would be 2440 for your unit based on what you have provided. I don't know of a 3/4 ton pick up capable of carrying that much weight safely.
Good luck.
2013 Redwood 34 SK (36'11", e slides, dual pane windows, self leveling, full paint)
2010 Chevy 3500 HD LTZ Crew Cab Duramax/Allison 4X4 LB
B&W Companion Hitch on Rollover Gooseneck Ball
Handmade Pens, Glen’s Workshop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/GlensWorkshop
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