Tow vehicle questions to ask / answer

**DBISS7** · 01-26-2021, 10:04 AM

Team,
Very similar threads on here - i get it - but needing some very specific help - I'm somewhat boxed in on the vehicle i own - F250 KR - Diesel - short bed - I have yet to pull the trigger on a fifth wheel, but strongly leaning into the GD Solitude 310- Factory Hitch Rating 2350#, GVWR #15 ,000 on 5'er. Sites are saying use generally 20% of this which equals #3 ,000 on the hitch. My GAWR on drive hitch is #6 340 , My drive axel weight from CAT certified scale was #3 ,220, So the math of 3,000 + 3220 = #6 ,220 which is right at my GAWR of #6 340 - allowing no extra for passengers and/or truck gear - Am i looking at this correctly????

Is the result that the 310 Solitude is too much for a F250 and that i need to jump back down to either the Reflection series or Reflection 150 series which have much more favorable math?

What are the right questions to ask the GD dealer to make sure i'm within specs, or at least can comfortably pull ??? For many reasons - I don't have option of going to 350 / dually - HELP PLEASE

**BreakfastinAmerica** · 01-26-2021, 10:21 AM

Take a picture of your door tag for us. What year is truck?
My 2018 is maxed out with my 27RL. I know if I want a larger 5er than I need to change my truck.
I bought my GD knowing I’m not getting anything bigger, it’s perfect for our needs and wants.

**Second Chance** · 01-26-2021, 10:28 AM

The Solitude 310 is too much trailer for a 3/4-ton truck. Period. Loaded, a 310 will put 3,300 lbs. or more (use 23% of GVWR for non-toy haulers) on the pin. For an F250 diesel (less payload than a gasser because of the weight of the motor and drivetrain), look for a fifth wheel with a GVWR in the 12,000 lb. range. One way to back into it is take your CAT scale weight, add 200 lbs. for a hitch (or 50 lbs. for an Andersen Ultimate), and subtract that from the GVWR on the truck's door sticker. Multiply the number you get by four and look for a fifth wheel with a GVWR equal to or less than the product of those calculations.

Rob

**bertschb** · 01-26-2021, 10:31 AM

Based on feedback from multiple Solitude 310GK owners, your actual pin weight will be around 3,200-3,300lbs depending of course on how you load it. So, you will definitely be exceeding the payload rating of your truck. But, I'd say 75% of the people pulling RV's are exceeding their tow vehicle payload rating. If that matters to you, get a lighter 5th wheel. If it doesn't matter, get the 310GK and don't worry about it. There are many people who feel the F-250 is identical in all respects to the F-350.

One thing I would NOT recommend doing is asking your dealer about it. Highly unlikely they will have any idea what you're talking about. My dealer only cared about the tow rating. I told him the tow rating is the one rating that doesn't matter as all modern trucks are rated for crazy high towing number. Payload is always the limiting factor.

**DBISS7** · 01-26-2021, 11:56 AM

Originally Posted by BreakfastinAmerica

Take a picture of your door tag for us. What year is truck?
My 2018 is maxed out with my 27RL. I know if I want a larger 5er than I need to change my truck.
I bought my GD knowing I’m not getting anything bigger, it’s perfect for our needs and wants.

Click image for larger version.

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here is the sticker info on the truck - It is a 2020 F250 King Ranch

**DBISS7** · 01-26-2021, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by Second Chance

The Solitude 310 is too much trailer for a 3/4-ton truck. Period. Loaded, a 310 will put 3,300 lbs. or more (use 23% of GVWR for non-toy haulers) on the pin. For an F250 diesel (less payload than a gasser because of the weight of the motor and drivetrain), look for a fifth wheel with a GVWR in the 12,000 lb. range. One way to back into it is take your CAT scale weight, add 200 lbs. for a hitch (or 50 lbs. for an Andersen Ultimate), and subtract that from the GVWR on the truck's door sticker. Multiply the number you get by four and look for a fifth wheel with a GVWR equal to or less than the product of those calculations.

Rob

Thank you for your input - is there any suspension upgrade / any upgrade that could make the F250 super duty capable for the Sol 310 -

**xrated** · 01-26-2021, 03:10 PM

Originally Posted by DBISS7

Thank you for your input - is there any suspension upgrade / any upgrade that could make the F250 super duty capable for the Sol 310 -

That truck, with a 10,000 lb GVWR is likely to only have around 2100 lbs of payload capacity. And one of the previous poster was wanting you to post a picture of is the other sticker over on the driver side door post. It too will be a white sticker, but there will be some yellow highlighted areas on it. On the upper right side of the sticker will be your payload capacity for the truck....post that up if you can.

**Second Chance** · 01-26-2021, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by DBISS7

Thank you for your input - is there any suspension upgrade / any upgrade that could make the F250 super duty capable for the Sol 310 -

Two answers:

1) There is nothing you can do as an owner (aftermarket) that will change the numbers on the door sticker. That's a legal thing.

2) With late-model trucks, there is less and less difference between similarly optioned 3/4- and 1-ton trucks (single rear wheel). Depending on brand, the 1-ton may have larger brake rotors and will likely have an additional spring leaf in the rear.

You will find a number of folks who will tell you, "Heck - just put a set of air bags on it and have fun!" I'm not in that group. In my opinion (and everyone has one), not all 1-ton single rear wheel trucks would be a good fit for a loaded 310GK. A King Ranch diesel is as heavy as a truck gets to start with, leaving you the least leftover payload. I would not pull a 310GK with your truck - but again, that's just my opinion. You can keep asking the same question different ways until you find someone who will tell you to go ahead, but the safety of you and your family is the most important aspect of this discussion.

Rob

**DBISS7** · 01-26-2021, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by Second Chance

Two answers:

1) There is nothing you can do as an owner (aftermarket) that will change the numbers on the door sticker. That's a legal thing.

2) With late-model trucks, there is less and less difference between similarly optioned 3/4- and 1-ton trucks (single rear wheel). Depending on brand, the 1-ton may have larger brake rotors and will likely have an additional spring leaf in the rear.

You will find a number of folks who will tell you, "Heck - just put a set of air bags on it and have fun!" I'm not in that group. In my opinion (and everyone has one), not all 1-ton single rear wheel trucks would be a good fit for a loaded 310GK. A King Ranch diesel is as heavy as a truck gets to start with, leaving you the least leftover payload. I would not pull a 310GK with your truck - but again, that's just my opinion. You can keep asking the same question different ways until you find someone who will tell you to go ahead, but the safety of you and your family is the most important aspect of this discussion.

Rob

Rob - in my line of work - i tell all my crew - all you can do is deal in reality - but also know there's sometimes reason to ask a question twice - I greatly appreciate your insight and knowledge - Reality is important as is safety, not only for me and my family - but for others around me traveling down the road - thanks

**orbsah** · 01-26-2021, 06:04 PM

One thing I would NOT recommend doing is asking your dealer about it. Highly unlikely they will have any idea what you're talking about.

Reminds me of when we were at the Hershey show a couple years ago. The dealer representing GD was absolutely certain an F250 was adequate for a 310. Fortunately I learned a lot more from the good folks of this forum and am very happy with our setup.