what is to long or to heavy for a SRW

[Jefferson Beifuss]

We are thinking of moving up to a fifth wheel and are considering the 337RLS. I realize a move to a diesel will be necessary. I do not want a dually under any circumstance. I know this is a loaded question so please only answer with your experience with what you are using or have used. We are currently towing a 297 RSTS which is about 34 ft.

I pull our 337RLS with a short bed F350 with a slider hitch based out of Utah mountains. I did add a 5k bag to the suspension and some Sulastic spring shackles to soften the unsprung ride for DW. When I drove commercially, I added an 80 gallon, gravity feed fuel tank and a rear mounted tool box. Scale weight of the optioned truck was 9290 lbs, the trailer's GCWR of 13,995 doesn't push the truck's capabilities, but I don't load the trailer to its maximum load capacity anyway. That's just too much stuff. I'm not a full-timer, just a longer term camper. Hope that helps.

[HaywireRandy]

I think there is alot to consider here , weather it is a Ford Chev or Dodge , they are all fairly close so it is preference. I have had the long box and the short box , both have their advantages , long box you have more room up in front of the hitch, no need for a sliding hitch, short box less room in front of hitch , need sliding hitch. The big difference that I noticed was between the long box and short ,was the turning radius ,which was a concern for me. So your out looking at trailers ,your worried about length ,weight , tongue weight etc. So I went with the short box ,for shorter turning radius ,have 12 ply tires on ,put firestone airbags on rear have the sliding hitch which I have never used but it is there if needed. I have a Momentum 320g that I can get anywhere so far ,that I can turn around on a dime and I have been in some very tight places. I hope this helps out some guys in making the decisions a little easier. Take Care

[donbaldw]

We pulled a 2018 GD 337RLS with a Washer/Dryer with a 2017 GMC 3500HD Denali with SRW with no issues. The Tow/Haul and Diesel Brake made things painless.

We had the GMC OEM 5th Wheel/Puck System on our truck and used a Curt 16K Hitch with the Slider with no issues.

We recently upgraded to a new 2021 GMC 3500HD Denali with SRW because of the unbelievable GMC trade in value on our 2017. As a result of the 5th Wheel/Puck System changes with the
2020 and later GMC/Chevy models requiring a new puck assembly, lengthening the wheelbase and moving the pucks backward, we determined that we no longer need a Slider Asm.

As a result, we have decided to sell our complete CURT 16K 5th Wheel Hitch that includes the Puck Adapter, Slider Asm, and A16 Head. We are located in No. CA if anyone is in need of a
great 5th Wheel Hitch.

Detailed Information - https://www.curtmfg.com/part/16668#

[rrlowen]

I think it's pretty well all been said by now but I have a detailed spread sheet which is quite easy to use for calculating towing capabilities so I will say what my experience is.
In our case, we could handle a 337 with our truck but just barely. It's a 2021 GMC Duramax standard box Duramax 4X4 AT4.
The sticker says 3845 lbs. which should be lots if the 337 hitch is in the 2800 lb. range.
We pull a 303. It's hitch weight is 2200, helped by 2 electric bikes (with rack, 160 lbs.) on the back end.
By the time we have loaded 2 of us, golf clubs, kyak, generator (100 lbs.), B&W hitch, tonneau cover, fuel, some firewood, extra propane, extra gas we are within 500 lbs. on truck GVW with the 303. Lots of rear axle and tire capacity room left (1,000 lbs.) Trailer is loaded to within 400 lbs. of GVW but trailer axles have 1,100 lbs, left.
So, with both the truck and trailer the issue is GVW.
The moral of this story is - what do you want to bring with you? It's easy to overload a truck.

[Ryorke]

Hi, good feedback, we have a 2014 337 RLS, and have over 50k miles on it and a 2013 2500 Silverado, Z 71, Duramax with over 70K miles and it pulls great. We had to redo the suspension 25K ago and that gave us 7k axles and we have a mor-ride pin box that really helps. the only addition to the truck was Super Springs, Sumo Springs, and a Fast Fuel Sys lift pump. We just weighed in and were fully loaded at 14K, (100lbs over), but with the new suspension that is not a problem. The best advice I ever got was try to stay 2K or more over the max tow rate. The other was go diesel especially if you are going to tow a lot. Good luck and enjoy the 337. Oh and get it all loaded and weigh it, most RV's seem to be over weight and it will surprise you how much stuff you can stuff...

[mylostclub]

Real world experience. Not going to reply with all the sticker numbers and posted recommended weight limits as this has already been done many times. I also know many in here may disagree, and state it is not within limits, but the OP wanted real world experiences, so here it is........

I currently have a 2017 GD Momentum 376th, triple axle, which is 16,000lbs dry and likely 18,000lbs loaded. Then I load the Harley streetglide in the back at almost another 1000lbs. I've had it for almost 4 yrs now, and pull it all over the country with no issues using me SRW F350 diesel. Been from east coast to west coast many times, and have had no issues.
My truck is a 2017 Ford F350 Crew Cab Lariat 4x4, SRW diesel with the long bed. Went with the long bed this time on this one due to the bigger fuel tank of 47gls. I kicked this dame issue around long and hard before buying my current trailer, and received a ton of feedback saying I needed the dually, and the 100 reasons why I did. The final deciding factor was when I was staying at a park and saw a guy pull in with my same truck, pulling the trailer I wanted, and unloading his Harley as well. So, I went over and got the "real world" experiences straight from the guy who has experienced it - who said he had no issues with the SRW. I went out and bought my current trailer the next month.
For what it is worth - my prior set up was a Ford F250 CC 4x4 shortbed, SRW diesel - and I was pulling a dual axle 5th wheel that was roughly 14,000lbs dry and roughly 16,000lbs loaded and had no problem with that either.
How do they pull?? Really not much of a difference. The long bed is probably a bit more stable. The short bed is surely a bit easier to get in and out of places, but this was also likely due to the fact that the trailer I was pulling was only duel axle, and the new trailer is a triple axle requiring wider turns, and more room backing in and maneuvering.
For what it is worth - I have 60,000 miles on my truck pulling the new setup - the brakes are still good, shocks are still good, and I'm just about to get a new set of tires for the first time. Everything is holding up fine.

[DragonDriver]

Let me start out by saying it's not about length - it's about weight and especially pin weight for the trailer and true payload capacity for the truck.
Rob

2nd Chance is spot on ... self and SWMBO ended up with the SRW F350 SB but we did two things: 1st we shunned the super-tricked out upper end models, 'cause all that trim comes right off your payload; and, 2nd we went with the aluminum Anderson hitch to minimize that as well.

This is a new-to-us rig but we bought it from a wonderful Grand Design couple (is there really any other kind) who had pretty much the identical set up and had no issues or concerns after many thousands of towing miles.

[papermakermd]

2nd Chance is spot on ... self and SWMBO ended up with the SRW F350 SB but we did two things: 1st we shunned the super-tricked out upper end models, 'cause all that trim comes right off your payload; and, 2nd we went with the aluminum Anderson hitch to minimize that as well.

This is a new-to-us rig but we bought it from a wonderful Grand Design couple (is there really any other kind) who had pretty much the identical set up and had no ir concerns after many thousands of towing miles.

Thanks to everyone who has responded over the past four days. There are to many to thank individually. There has been a lot of great info from everyone. I think I have decided to go with the F350 XLT with the 7.3L.engine SRW. The diesels are just to pricey for my blood. The only major add on will be the premium XLT package, spray in bed liner, the 9900 lb package, Ford fifth wheel kit, and the tailgate assist step. I'm thinking of the 3.73 axle but the 4.30 is still in mind. I know nothing about fifth wheel hitches but the Anderson sounds like a good option. I don't want the dealer selling me what he wants to sell. I'm pretty much sold on the 337 RLS but the DW has an Artic Fox in mind. It is a beautiful trailer but the nearest dealer to us is 136 miles away. The dealer my 297RSTS came from is near 100 miles away and is too far for as many times as I have had to haul the trailer there. Anything else I need from the Ford dealer other than the puck system. Once again Thanks for everyone's input. We are in Texas until Early April so nothing will happen until after we get home.

[fez111]

We are thinking of moving up to a fifth wheel and are considering the 337RLS. I realize a move to a diesel will be necessary. I do not want a dually under any circumstance. I know this is a loaded question so please only answer with your experience with what you are using or have used. We are currently towing a 297 RSTS which is about 34 ft.

Hi. The correct answer to your question is: It depends on who you ask. Without getting into the weights and all of the acronyms listed on here, just remember that just because yo CAN do something doesn't necessarily make it a smart thing to do. We had a 2006 F250 long bed Super Duty truck we bought for a smaller 5'er. But then we found our Solitude...42.5 feet at 14K+ lbs. Regardless of what some people say, I did the math before I bought the Solitude and although it was very close to the maximum published weights it did not exceed them. I did, however, add air bags to lift the back of the truck to get the front jacks further off the pavement. All that being said...

Doing the aforesaid math I realized that the rear truck tires were maxxed out. This left very little room for anomalies. The thought of blowing a tire n the mountains of Tennessee scared me to death. Depending on your tire loading with the RV you mentioned this would be my biggest concern...

Our solution was to add a Dually Kit to my F250. (www.arrowcraft.com) That solved my tire loading problem because each tire sees half as much load. It also removed any and all sway I felt on occasion.. The entire process including 4 new Michelin tires was about $4200, much less than buying a new truck (mine was paid for). It is actually a pleasure to tow our Solitude now...well it would be if it weren't for all of the idiots on the road...!

[papermakermd]

Thanks for the info fez111 but there will be no dually for an everyday driver. I would if I were fulltime but DW will not go for that. We pull South once a year and back Home. Hope to get out West soon. I will have to make do with what I get. I don't anticipate anything over 16000lbs. I will keep the hitch weight as low as possible.