Towing a Momentum 395ms

[Rauser64]

I just purchased a grand design 395ms. I had purchased a 2022 diesel Chevy 3500 4x4 SRW long bed for a tow vehicle prior to buying the trailer, but I am starting to get nervous if it can handle the trailer. I’m still waiting on the truck to come in and may be able to switch to a DRW at the same dealership. I’d like to have a SRW over DRW but can the SRW actually pull this trailer? I have been told by 4 separate salesmen it could but not sure if they were just trying to get me to buy. I will not actually be hauling a toy but converting it to a kids room and living in the rig full time. Thanks.

[xrated]

I just purchased a grand design 395ms. I had purchased a 2022 diesel Chevy 3500 4x4 SRW long bed for a tow vehicle prior to buying the trailer, but I am starting to get nervous if it can handle the trailer. I’m still waiting on the truck to come in and may be able to switch to a DRW at the same dealership. I’d like to have a SRW over DRW but can the SRW actually pull this trailer? I have been told by 4 separate salesmen it could but not sure if they were just trying to get me to buy. I will not actually be hauling a toy but converting it to a kids room and living in the rig full time. Thanks.

I'll make a couple of important points here...1. That trailer is huge...20,000 lbs GVWR, 13' 5" tall, a couple of inches over 45' from nose to tail, and really does require a truck that will be as stable as possible when towing it (think Dually vs. SRW). 2. Payload capacity of a truck. The claim from the factory on the pin weight of that trailer is listed at 2900 lbs. That number will rise at least 150 lbs or so after the dealer installs a battery or batteries and then the propane tanks are filled.....so let's say 3050 lbs pin weight. Next, you are going to start loading it with your stuff once it's yours and the pin weight is going to up considerably. Obviously, it will depend on how much stuff you load in the trailer and the location of all the stuff. In my opinion, it's pretty easy to visualize the pin weight being in the 3600 to3800 lbs or maybe higher. Now add the weight of the 5ver hitch to that number....and then anything and everything you will put On the truck and IN the truck. Maybe a toolbox with tools and stuff in it. A tonneau cover over the bed, passengers, pets....anything that adds weight to the truck. Of course, only you know or have an idea about how much stuff you will load into the truck and the trailer, but at least you now have an idea of all the things to consider.

My answer is that I would NEVER consider towing that trailer without a Dually truck that has at the minimum....5000+ lbs of payload capacity.

And just as a reference, I have a 2018 Momentum 394M, which was the same exact trailer as the 395M back in 2018 except mine does not have the rear 1/2 bath in the garage area. I run just under 4000 lbs on my pin weight....and I carry no more than about 25 to 30 gallons of fresh water. The pin does lighten up about 100 lbs or so when I load my Can Am Spyder in the garage, but it really isn't a significant number to make or break the deal. My tow vehicle is a F350 CrewCab, 4x4 Dually that has a payload sticker that reads 5270 lbs.

And remember, if you are going to be living in the 395 full time, it's very likely you will have as much stuff in the trailer as you can possibly fit....so the likely-hood of the trailer being at full GVWR (20,000 lbs) seems to me would be very likely. The Answer.....Dually!

[Hoopy Frood]

JMO of course, but I wouldn't pull that trailer with anything but a dually. I use a dually to pull my 351M, and it only weighs 17,000 lbs.

[A.Texas.Yankee]

Absolutely [emoji817] % will NOT safely pull that trailer. You'll be pretty close to maxing out the legal payloads but also safety. I can tell you there's been times the 395MS has come close to pushing my 450 to it's limits. You get a good gust of wind on the highway and that could be all it takes.

Full-time Traveling Family ,'21 Momentum 395MS-R, '21 F450 King, 2000watts solar, Dual Victron MP-II 12/3000 2 x 120v, 1220ah LiFePo4

[Overtaxed]

A 395 is, as others have said, a "dually only" RV. Yes, a SRW will tow it. A DRW will tow it dramatically better, safer, more comfortable and with a lot more margin if something goes wrong. A trailer that big, start with an F450; see if that will work for you. If not, step back into the 350 and duallies from other brands. The 450 is in a class it's own, nobody else makes anything like it; the differences aren't obvious, but they are there compared to the other DRW trucks you'll look at (most importantly, the brakes and 19.5" tires).

[Spartacus]

Dually, like it has been said, and welcome to the forum.

[xrated]

Hmm.....wonder what happened to Rauser64....hasn't been back on this site since the question was posted 3 days ago.

[Hoopy Frood]

May not have liked what he was reading.

[Spartacus]

Lol, my wife and I are traveling cross this country, from WA state to NC and now from NC back to WA state we are now in ID and along the way I have seen a lot of TH and big rv's towing behind a SRW when it should be tow by dually, but they was going the other way, thank God.

I just hope that when he come back that it will be different in his decision.

[BobKilmer]

Lol, my wife and I are traveling cross this country, from WA state to NC and now from NC back to WA state we are now in ID and along the way I have seen a lot of TH and big rv's towing behind a SRW when it should be tow by dually, but they was going the other way, thank God.

I just hope that when he come back that it will be different in his decision.

Every configuration is different and you can't tell what is required without knowing the details. There are those of us who tow a toyhauler with a SRW and are within all our towing limits, verified by CAT scales. I now have over 20,000 towing miles in this configuration. I just left Windrock Park with my 381M, 10 degree slope going in and out. My SRW did great.