Ford F-250 towing 303RLS

**NASCAR9** · 09-29-2019, 08:22 AM

I keep reading folks talk about fresh water and pin weight. I contacted Grand Design about the location of the water tank on my 303RLS. I was told fresh is behind the rear axel, grey and black are in front of the front axel. The tanks may be partially over lapping front or rear axel, I'm not sure about exact location.
Wouldn't a full tank of fresh water not remove pin weight?

**JeffD68** · 09-29-2019, 08:46 AM

Originally Posted by NASCAR9

I keep reading folks talk about fresh water and pin weight. I contacted Grand Design about the location of the water tank on my 303RLS. I was told fresh is behind the rear axel, grey and black are in front of the front axel. The tanks may be partially over lapping front or rear axel, I'm not sure about exact location.
Wouldn't a full tank of fresh water not remove pin weight?

Yes, it would. I personally would never think to add hundreds of additional pounds to the rear of the trailer in order to save a few pounds of pin weight. Your truck will have no idea if it's 100 pounds over or 100 pounds under its payload (or a few hundred for that matter). There is nothing magical about your payload capacity. Pick your poison. Filling your fresh water tank will negatively impact your stopping distance. To me, that poses a much more likely and immanent safety risk than exceedingly your payload.

**Beachcamper** · 09-29-2019, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by DaveMatthewsBand

By the way, I wrote an article on the Timbrens on my blog. If you get a chance you may want to glance at that as I posted photos and tips on making the swap easier.

https://www.gogetchasomenature.com/timbren-review/

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nice write up, I have timbrens on wish list once I get back from my trip. I don’t have any issue with sag with my F350 but Ford dealer says I have excessive wear on bump stops, it’s a 2018. Figure adding Timbrens would help and get rid of flimsy factory ones.

**MJMCCAND** · 01-15-2020, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by fsgarrett

I bought a 303RLS three years ago, upgrading from a Jayco 30 ft bumper pull. I did not check the weight limits....assumed they would be good with my F250 6.7 diesel. Power and pulling capacity has not been an issue. I live in Arkansas and have pulled my 303RLS to both coasts, through MT, WA, OR on the west coast and to Niagara Falls, PA, WV, NJ, etc. on the east coast. I joined this blog a few months back and this issue comes up often....so I decided to weigh my trailer, fully loaded and ready to camp. My TV/trailer package weighed 18,580. I weighed my truck by itself and it was 7,860, which leaves my trailer at 10,720. I am overweight. I do not plan to change anything with this setup, but if I buy a new truck in the future, it will be a F-350. Enjoy your trailer and truck.

Help me out here. According to Ford's documentation the Diesel F-250, 4WD, SWB with a 3.55 Axle Ratio has a Fifth-wheel towing capacity of 14,100 - 14,800 lbs. depending on your GCWR. That being the case, why do you consider a 10,720 lbs. fiver overweight for the truck? I'm new to this whole fiver thing.

Thanks

**JeffD68** · 01-15-2020, 12:31 PM

Originally Posted by MJMCCAND

Help me out here. According to Ford's documentation the Diesel F-250, 4WD, SWB with a 3.55 Axle Ratio has a Fifth-wheel towing capacity of 14,100 - 14,800 lbs. depending on your GCWR. That being the case, why do you consider a 10,720 lbs. fiver overweight for the truck? I'm new to this whole fiver thing.

Thanks

Are you trying to start trouble? Just kidding. Many here will chime in with talk about the "payload sticker". The pin weight of a 303 will likely put most F250s with a diesel engine over the payload capacity of that specific truck. Modestly equipped F250s with a 6.7 generally end up with 2200-2300 pounds on the payload sticker and that is actually a reasonable pin weigh for the 303. So pin weight alone, before anything goes in the bed or cab ends up consuming all of the available payload capacity. The actual relevance of the payload sticker is a hotly debated topic on this, and other RV forums.

**MJMCCAND** · 01-15-2020, 12:40 PM

You're spot on, about the pin weight, not trying to start trouble. Two things must be considered for towing: towing capacity and payload capacity.

I'm going through this exercise today with my F-250 and a GD 230RL that we're picking up this Friday. I know that I'm good with the towing capacity [camper GVWR: 9,500 lbs. vs 14,800 lbs. of truck fifth-wheel towing capacity - which by the way differs from the conventional towing capacity]. However, I have to look at my payload sticker to ensure my estimated actual payload of 1,600 lbs. is well below my payload rating for my truck - I'm pretty sure it's around 2,000 lbs. I'll know for sure once I get to the vehicle.

Gracias

**jkwilson** · 01-15-2020, 01:03 PM

The pin weight on the door sticker has no grounding in the physical construction of the truck. The 10,000 pound GVWR is a number chosen to slip in under federal requirements for CDLs when the truck is used in business. In many cases, the only difference between a 250 and 350 is the door pillar sticker and the 2 or 3 on the model number. A 350 can be equipped with options that differentiate it, but there are plenty of 350s made that are equipped exactly like 250s but have substantially larger payloads.

Pay attention to axle weights and you will be fine. They are real, and not artificially reduced for legal compliance.

**The Bone** · 01-15-2020, 01:59 PM

I see people also talking about timbrens v air bags. I prefer air bags because they are adjustable. At first I didn't have the air compressor on the truck and big mistake. I had a portable compressor and what a pain to use all the time. They also work nicely with the shocks to cushion the ride when unloaded. I run 10pounds unloaded and about 60 loaded.

**fsgarrett** · 01-15-2020, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by MJMCCAND

Help me out here. According to Ford's documentation the Diesel F-250, 4WD, SWB with a 3.55 Axle Ratio has a Fifth-wheel towing capacity of 14,100 - 14,800 lbs. depending on your GCWR. That being the case, why do you consider a 10,720 lbs. fiver overweight for the truck? I'm new to this whole fiver thing.

Thanks

Most of us F-250 diesel 4x4 owners are not "overweight" for towing capacity. The issue, and several folks have already alluded to it, is the cargo weight. My F-250 shows 2260 pounds. Fully loaded camper, no water in the tanks, without my loving spouse or my beagle, has me at 2280 pounds according to certified scales. I have pulled my 303 from Arkansas over the Rockies to the west coast, and over the Appalachians to the east coast, without any issues. I am just saying that my next truck will be a F-350 or I will go with a 150-series camper with a hitch weight under 1400 pounds.

**The Bone** · 01-15-2020, 06:08 PM

One thing I have noticed at the number of slide in campers in 250/350 trucks. I was looking at those once. Those are heavy. Some of them are so heavy that they over load most SRW trucks. I looked at the Lance site and there biggest is 4,628 pounds. Smallest is 1,903. Some DRW trucks can't handle the biggest lance LOL