Hitch me up Baby! A hitching deliberation Saga - did I reach the right conclusion??!

[frank4711]

You have plenty of truck for your 5ver .... I love my B&W Patriot 18K ... American Company ... all welded ... lots of options for adjustment ... simple hook-up handle is not spring loaded when pin goes in there is no doubt you are connected ... mine stays in so no worries about removal ...

[Bearii]

You always need to be careful using online numbers when it comes to how much a truck weighs, or curb weight. You also can ignore any talk of payload numbers in regard to what the actual payload of a particular truck might have.....

Xrated, you are spot on with your info. I was aware of those details when I purchased the truck, that's why I went to the 3500, I wanted to be sure I had lots of extra payload for all the extras we often forget that add up to payload. Technically I have lots of extra payload, but I wanted to be sure that if we decide we want our next 5er to be a little bigger I'd still have plenty of payload capacity. I've also noted that so many have mentioned that the pin weight typically is much closer to the 20% mark than the 14% of the GVWR of the 5er that the specs provided. I'm not sure if it was clear in my previous comments but I am using the yellow sticker payload number above, not the payload from the manufacturer specs for that model.

By the way, for anyone trying to determine which size truck to buy click here for a website has an excellent calculator that takes into account all the numbers you need to consider in your truck purchase. There is a lot of other great info there but their truck data is a bit out of date, you can get that from the manufacturers website. However, like Xrated said, use the actual yellow sticker from the truck you're considering to finalize those numbers. There is an app called RV Tow Check that works great if you're trying to determine this while at the dealer's lot. It's not quite as comprehensive as the website but it will definitely give you enough info to let you know if that truck can truly handle your RV. Don't forget your passengers, hitch weight, and all the other stuff we throw in our trucks in your payload number!

Most of what Xrated said is true.
However this 10,000 GVRW is also misleading. You will find that a 3/4 ton and 1 ton truck will have the exact payload capacity and yellow sticker in the door. This is mostly for registration purposes. If your truck has a higher GVRW than 10,000 pounds you will have to get commercial plates and those are more expensive than regular plates. Here in Ca I still had to get commercial plates. Some states are different. You also need to look at the sticker further and determine that your axles will carry more weight than than 3,200 pounds. My truck has 7,000 pound rear axles and 6,000 pound front axles. Thats 13,000 pounds but my truck only weighs 7,200 which leaves around 5,800 pounds of total payload..... Putting 500 pounds over that stupid yellow sticker is ok....

Hey Bone - thanks for weighing in, it's funny how these posts always turn into "is your truck big enough" discussions. Fortunately this beast is well equipped for our little 5er and even for ones quite a bit bigger. Having never towed a 5th wheel before I was interested primarily in help with the hitch choice and if my logic was sound in my conclusion. I provided all the numbers in case someone would see something I was missing in the mix.

However, I'm not sure I concur on your discussion of GVWR. My axles are rated similar to yours at 6,000 rear and 7,000 front. My tires are rated at 3,640. There are many factors for GVWR, while axles is a key one, frame strength, braking power, tires, body strength, etc. are all determining factors. I do agree that the GVWR has a significant safety factor built in but I for one would never want to tow anything that exceeded any of the ratings. Not just because of the potential for insurance claim denials or lawsuits, but because it wouldn't be safe for my family and those I share the road with. While I may never have an accident doing it, if I did, and hurt or killed someone, I couldn't live with that.

It is interesting that my RV dealer tried to convince me that my smaller F150 I had was just fine to tow the 260RD. Technically it was right on the edge of the numbers, that is as long as we didn't put anything in the truck, no grandkids along or tools, etc., and never added anything to the trailer that would increase pin weight. I said, no way, time for a new truck! (Besides, I only need the thinnest of excuses to start looking at new trucks - lol). Thanks again for chiming in, good luck in your journeys. Which hitch are you running?

[Bearii]

You have plenty of truck for your 5ver .... I love my B&W Patriot 18K ... American Company ... all welded ... lots of options for adjustment ... simple hook-up handle is not spring loaded when pin goes in there is no doubt you are connected ... mine stays in so no worries about removal ...

Frank, love that truck of yours! She must be a dually to have that much payload - very nice! Mine is white as well, matches the 5er very nicely, I might even add a little black pin striping as well to match the 150 Series Reflection black stripes. Your 5er is gorgeous too! Love those Solitudes, if we went full time again I'd definitely get a Solitude if we didn't go back to a motorhome.

How do you like your TST 507 TPMS? I had the EezTire TPMS on the motorhome, it worked great. I'm still considering if I want to go with EezTire again or try the TST. Did you consider other TPMS's, if so what led you to pick the TST?

Thanks for the feedback on the hitch, nice to hear it is working so well for so many.

[frank4711]

Frank, love that truck of yours! She must be a dually to have that much payload - very nice! Mine is white as well, matches the 5er very nicely, I might even add a little black pin striping as well to match the 150 Series Reflection black stripes. Your 5er is gorgeous too! Love those Solitudes, if we went full time again I'd definitely get a Solitude if we didn't go back to a motorhome.

How do you like your TST 507 TPMS? I had the EezTire TPMS on the motorhome, it worked great. I'm still considering if I want to go with EezTire again or try the TST. Did you consider other TPMS's, if so what led you to pick the TST?

Thanks for the feedback on the hitch, nice to hear it is working so well for so many.

Nope it is SRW and I love it ... TST is good and customer support is great when I set it up just call the 800 # and they talk you thru it in minutes ... only one I considered after asking around .... thanks later Frank

[xrated]

Most of what Xrated said is true.
However this 10,000 GVRW is also misleading. You will find that a 3/4 ton and 1 ton truck will have the exact payload capacity and yellow sticker in the door. This is mostly for registration purposes. If your truck has a higher GVRW than 10,000 pounds you will have to get commercial plates and those are more expensive than regular plates. Here in Ca I still had to get commercial plates. Some states are different. You also need to look at the sticker further and determine that your axles will carry more weight than than 3,200 pounds. My truck has 7,000 pound rear axles and 6,000 pound front axles. Thats 13,000 pounds but my truck only weighs 7,200 which leaves around 5,800 pounds of total payload.
Now the lawyers here will go nuts here LOL and they are everywhere to hear people talk.
Get in a accident and you will lose your house car and first born. That last one may not be that bad LOL
There are a lot of leeway when it comes to the numbers. Lots of safe guards are built into them The only number that is rock solid IMOP is the combined vehicle weight rating. That is what the truck and trailer weigh together. Don't exceed that number. That is because of the brakes on the truck. I also don't think that a truck by itself will stop 14,000 pounds regardless of how many tires the truck has. There is a reason they put brakes on trailers. Without them the truck would never stop.
I went through all this when I got my truck. Putting 500 pounds over that stupid yellow sticker is ok. If it wasn't than everyone should be driving a Kenworth. They say you can never have to much truck. You will however have trouble going to the grocery store in it.
I hope I cleared up the fog for you OP.

Truck payload capacities that are based on RAWR and FAWR have not been used for years and years and years. There is so much more to determining payload capacity than Axle weight ratings. You aren't the first to bring up that type of comment, but it simple isn't valid and is not the basis for determining payload. SAE Standard J2807_201602 is the latest of the revised standards.

Here is a good article about it........ https://fifthwheelst.com/SAE-J2807-Tow-Tests.html

[Bearii]

....Here is a good article about it........ https://fifthwheelst.com/SAE-J2807-Tow-Tests.html

Great article, I’d even recommend reading the referenced article too: http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/tow...s-the-standard

Fifth Wheel St is a great site with lots of good info on towing. I wish they still had the online calculators but the app is good and I didn’t mind paying the small fee. It was handy to have right at the dealers walking through the lot. Plus, why not reward the guys for their hard work!

Thanks Xrated!

[xrated]

Great article, I’d even recommend reading the referenced article too: http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/tow...s-the-standard

Fifth Wheel St is a great site with lots of good info on towing. I wish they still had the online calculators but the app is good and I didn’t mind paying the small fee. It was handy to have right at the dealers walking through the lot. Plus, why not reward the guys for their hard work!

Thanks Xrated!

Thank you Dave. I believe the "4 Step Weight Safety Plan" process is still free and is a great source of doing the "numbers" on a particular towing rig combination

[The Bone]

Bearii
As for the hitch I have the B&W 18,000 hitch non slider. I love that hitch. Nothing automatic about it. There is a handle that you have to close and pin so there is no chance to not be hooked up. Lots of adjustments in the hitch so you can clear the cab no matter what.

[trucknut]

I have just gone through what you found out about the goosebox hitch (sigh), and now again still deciding what hitch to put on the 19 crew ram. The air bag system on your truck, does not act like an air designed hitch, the air hitch responds to your trailers suspension and truck suspension movements. I ran an air hitch for 9 years with lots of off road miles, that saved the trailer from annihilation on extreme wash board and bumpy roads. I would watch the rear view mirror on wash board roads, as the truck suspension would severely bounce up & down, and the trailer would move lightly.
I no longer travel off road (quad - bike), and going into retirement mode, as my body has highly suggested.
The air hitch I ran in the past was a Mountain Master Air hitch (they also make a non air hitch - rubber cushioning, with the fore & aft systems cheaper), but the air hitch is now wore out and in need of repair or replace. Anther I looked at was Trail Saver BD1, the supplier would set up the head assembly for the turning point wedge. Then there is the Blue Ox etc....
As you can tell, i will buy a hitch with some type of suspension, air or rubber cushioning!!! Have fun, let us know what you decide and how it works out.

[Bearii]

I have just gone through what you found out about the goosebox hitch (sigh), and now again still deciding what hitch to put on the 19 crew ram. The air bag system on your truck, does not act like an air designed hitch, the air hitch responds to your trailers suspension and truck suspension movements...

Thanks for the feedback. I suspect you're completely right. When I read the manual it seems it is only acting to being the truck back to level when you put a load on. I'll check out the air hitches again! [emoji6][emoji106]

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