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[CCJUNTUNEN]

Trust me you will need a 3500. I had a 2500 short bed to pull our Solitude 375res and it was not even close to being enough. I then put factory one ton springs on it. That was a huge improvement. I recently bought a GMC 3500 DRW and would NEVER go back! At the very least get a 3500 long bed, but I would suggest a DRW.

[Band1t]

I read a great opinion a while back on the trailer ranges suitable for each size truck. This individual completely left out the diesel 2500. If the gas 2500, can't handle it, jump straight to a 1 ton. I liked that thought.

I bought my truck in 2021, with a future 5'er in mind. I went Ram 3500 DRW longbed. Fully loaded Longhorn, truck payload is 5,004 lbs. After subtracting a good 500 lbs for me, wife and pets, that leaves 4,500. Ended up with a 38.5' 5'er with a pin weight of 3,650. This leaves me 800 lbs or so for B&W hitch, tools, etc.

You can never have enough truck.

[glennto]

Looks like I'm going to be third in line (better late than never) to tell you that there are very few 3/4T trucks with enough payload capacity to pull a 5th Wheel Camping trailer...especially when you go 3/4T AND diesel. Right off the top, because of the diesel engine, you are going to lose at least 600 lbs of payload, due to the weight of the diesel engine vs. a gas engine. Get the 4WD version of the diesel, and poof, there goes another couple hundred pounds of payload down the drain. Solitudes will have lot of pin weight and a 3/4T diesel truck is simple not going to be up to the task...if you want to stay within the payload and GVWR of the truck.

Simply not true! I have a 4WD 2500 Chevy Duramax and believe me, it tows my GD Reflection 29RL (and my previous two 5Ivers as well) just fine....and before you don't believe me, be assured I repeatedly scale my rig, looking at front axle, rear axle, combined and dead tow weight values (with full fuel, passenger load, propane and camper loads) and compare values to tire, axle and vehicle ratings. Room to spare. I wouldn't be on the road if this was not the case.

Sure, the bigger 5Ivers you can't, but go by the weights, not hearsay. The industry has cranked out many 5th wheels with a miss-leading '1/2 ton towable' statement which puts them in the real range of a 3/4 ton.

[xrated]

Simply not true! I have a 4WD 2500 Chevy Duramax and believe me, it tows my GD Reflection 29RL (and my previous two 5Ivers as well) just fine....and before you don't believe me, be assured I repeatedly scale my rig, looking at front axle, rear axle, combined and dead tow weight values (with full fuel, passenger load, propane and camper loads) and compare values to tire, axle and vehicle ratings. Room to spare. I wouldn't be on the road if this was not the case.

Sure, the bigger 5Ivers you can't, but go by the weights, not hearsay. The industry has cranked out many 5th wheels with a miss-leading '1/2 ton towable' statement which puts them in the real range of a 3/4 ton.

Would you mind sharing the numbers for your truck? Most 3/4T diesel trucks have very low payload numbers because of the extra weight of the diesel, compared to the gas version of the same truck. Then the 4WD version of the truck reduces it even more. Your trailer has a GVWR of right at 11,000 lbs, and a normal pin weight being put down by a trailer that size would be right at, maybe over 2000 lbs. Then throw in the 5ver hitch, passengers, anything and everything else that goes in/on the truck and you now have a possibility of 2500+ lbs on the truck. And I'm not just taking heresay. I had a 3/4T Ford diesel CrewCab 4WD XLT with a payload number of exactly 2148 lbs.....which at the time was very typical.....and even less than that if you bought the Lariat version or a King Ranch. Granted, from 2020 and up, most of the truck manufacturers have increased the GVWR of the 3/4T trucks and some of them are in the 10,600 lb range instead of the old standard 9900 or 10K GVWR.

Another factor that usually comes into play...most folks don't want a stripped down single cab truck as their tow vehicle, which obviously is going to result in more payload capacity than a loaded up CrewCab, with all the bells and whistles on it. So maybe you have one that does have enough payload for the task at hand, but I also noticed that you never once mentioned the payload numbers when you mentioned vehicle ratings. So share with us what some actual numbers are please. And I still stand by my original statement that there are very few 3/4T trucks (diesel in particular, not the gassers) that can handle much in the way of 5th wheel camping trailers that sometimes have 22, 23, 24% of the trailer weight being put down on the pin.

[terryriddle]

A 2500 won’t have the capacity for a solitude

A 2500 won’t have the capacity for most fifth wheels

NB Canada is right!! Your pulling a large 5th wheel.

[glennto]

Would you mind sharing the numbers for your truck? Most 3/4T diesel trucks have very low payload numbers because of the extra weight of the diesel, compared to the gas version of the same truck. Then the 4WD version of the truck reduces it even more. Your trailer has a GVWR of right at 11,000 lbs, and a normal pin weight being put down by a trailer that size would be right at, maybe over 2000 lbs. Then throw in the 5ver hitch, passengers, anything and everything else that goes in/on the truck and you now have a possibility of 2500+ lbs on the truck. And I'm not just taking heresay. I had a 3/4T Ford diesel CrewCab 4WD XLT with a payload number of exactly 2148 lbs.....which at the time was very typical.....and even less than that if you bought the Lariat version or a King Ranch. Granted, from 2020 and up, most of the truck manufacturers have increased the GVWR of the 3/4T trucks and some of them are in the 10,600 lb range instead of the old standard 9900 or 10K GVWR.

Another factor that usually comes into play...most folks don't want a stripped down single cab truck as their tow vehicle, which obviously is going to result in more payload capacity than a loaded up CrewCab, with all the bells and whistles on it. So maybe you have one that does have enough payload for the task at hand, but I also noticed that you never once mentioned the payload numbers when you mentioned vehicle ratings. So share with us what some actual numbers are please. And I still stand by my original statement that there are very few 3/4T trucks (diesel in particular, not the gassers) that can handle much in the way of 5th wheel camping trailers that sometimes have 22, 23, 24% of the trailer weight being put down on the pin.

OK, Here's my numbers:

Condition: 2017 Chevy LTX 4WD Duramax. 2016 GD 29RL fifth wheel. 4x successive weighs at Sorensen Moving truck scale. Full fuel and propane load. Half tank water, empty grey and black. No passengers, no consumables in trailer

Weights: [actual (vehicle): Loaded front axle: 4700 (5200), loaded rear axle: 5280 (6200), total loaded vehicle: 8400, total camper: 9080, tongue weight: 1580, trailer dual axle load: 7500 (8800)

Calculated margins: ~500 lbs in vehicle, 935 lbs in trailer,

[xrated]

OK, Here's my numbers:

Condition: 2017 Chevy LTX 4WD Duramax. 2016 GD 29RL fifth wheel. 4x successive weighs at Sorensen Moving truck scale. Full fuel and propane load. Half tank water, empty grey and black. No passengers, no consumables in trailer

Weights: [actual (vehicle): Loaded front axle: 4700 (5200), loaded rear axle: 5280 (6200), total loaded vehicle: 8400, total camper: 9080, tongue weight: 1580, trailer dual axle load: 7500 (8800)

Calculated margins: ~500 lbs in vehicle, 935 lbs in trailer,

A couple of things I have questions about. So you are saying that the pin weight is only 40-50 lbs more than the advertised EMPTY pin weight of 1538 lbs? Second question, with a loaded truck weight of 9980, how are coming up with approx. 500 lbs of vehicle margin....is your truck's GVWR 10,000 lbs or ???

You do realize that the the payload rating of your truck is a result of the actual weight of the truck deducted from the GVWR of the truck, and not the RAWR and the FAWR. And also could you share you truck's GVWR as well as the payload or Cargo Carrying Capacity. numbers

I will say one thing, if your actual weights that you listed above are spot on, you are by far the exception rather than the rule as far as how light you and the trailer are when traveling......maybe 500 lbs above the empty weight of the trailer, which is measured without propane in the tanks and without a battery.

[DECelt]

Thank you all for your quick replys. If not a Solitude, can a 2500HD with a Duramax safely pull a 32 to 34 foot 5th wheel with a 1000# to 11000# uvw and 1750 t0 2100 pin weight. Once again, thank you. Just trying to figure all this stuff out. I believe the Chevy 2500HD has towing capacity of 18000#.

You'll have to look at the door sticker to get an accurate number. Ram can tell you based on VIN. Not sure if the other two.

I'll give you an example of the payload differences in the Ram trucks; my new long bed 3500 has a payload capacity of 4060. Virtually the same truck in a short bed 2500 that I got for a dealer loaner was 2100ish.

I tow a Solitude 310GK with my SRW...but I wouldn't go any heavier.

[glennto]

A couple of things I have questions about. So you are saying that the pin weight is only 40-50 lbs more than the advertised EMPTY pin weight of 1538 lbs? Second question, with a loaded truck weight of 9980, how are coming up with approx. 500 lbs of vehicle margin....is your truck's GVWR 10,000 lbs or ???

You do realize that the the payload rating of your truck is a result of the actual weight of the truck deducted from the GVWR of the truck, and not the RAWR and the FAWR. And also could you share you truck's GVWR as well as the payload or Cargo Carrying Capacity. numbers

I will say one thing, if your actual weights that you listed above are spot on, you are by far the exception rather than the rule as far as how light you and the trailer are when traveling......maybe 500 lbs above the empty weight of the trailer, which is measured without propane in the tanks and without a battery.

Lots of numbers! Sorry, I am working off of a worksheet I prepared at time of weighing. Truck and camper are not with me at this time. I cannot confirm where I got GAWR (F/R) for my vehicle but I do know that this was the primary criteria used to compare against. The 500 lb margin I quoted was simply the front axle margin (using GAWR's, I am actually closer to 1000lb under, but I understand this either number is arguable).....with a pin weight of 1580 (3/4 ton) I did not worry about GVWR! I cannot find a good GVWR for my exact vehicle at this time. I am confident that trailer and pin weights (and empty/loaded truck weights) are all spot on. On a more speculative basis, I have understood vehicle GVWR numbers to be conservative to take into account static load center of gravity issues (something that is not as critical with a near 3-dof fifth wheel hitch). That's my story! Thanks for your comments.

[xrated]

Lots of numbers! Sorry, I am working off of a worksheet I prepared at time of weighing. Truck and camper are not with me at this time. I cannot confirm where I got GAWR (F/R) for my vehicle but I do know that this was the primary criteria used to compare against. The 500 lb margin I quoted was simply the front axle margin (using GAWR's, I am actually closer to 1000lb under, but I understand this either number is arguable).....with a pin weight of 1580 (3/4 ton) I did not worry about GVWR! I cannot find a good GVWR for my exact vehicle at this time. I am confident that trailer and pin weights (and empty/loaded truck weights) are all spot on. On a more speculative basis, I have understood vehicle GVWR numbers to be conservative to take into account static load center of gravity issues (something that is not as critical with a near 3-dof fifth wheel hitch). That's my story! Thanks for your comments.

Well, the thing about using GAWR (front or rear) is that they are NOT the determining factor that the manufacturer uses to determine the truck's payload number. The payload number is a result of many factors of the components of the truck, as well as specific testing done by the manufacturer. And the bottom line is that anytime you exceed the payload number that is on the vehicle safety sticker, you have automatically exceeded the truck's GVWR, as determined by that vehicle manufacturer

The following information is written by: Bob Raybuck, NTEA Director of Technical Services

Often, GVWR and gross vehicle weight (GVW) are thought to be the same, but they are not. A truck’s GVWR is the maximum weight rating established by the chassis manufacturer. GVW is the total weight of the truck and payload at a point in time.

There’s a common misconception that a truck’s GVWR is determined by adding gross axle weight ratings (GAWRs) together for all axles. Although this was a common way of calculating GVWR many years ago, it’s no longer an accurate method. The chassis manufacturer task of establishing a vehicle GVWR is much more difficult today due to advancement of safety system standards and how vehicles meet these requirements. This is why many trucks have a GVWR much lower than the combined axle ratings. It’s not uncommon for a truck with a GVWR of 19,500 pounds to have a front axle rated at 7,500 pounds and a rear axle rated at 14,700 pounds. Safety standards that apply to braking, vehicle stability, and chassis manufacturer internal standards for durability, dynamic stability and handling can restrict GVWR even though the sum of the axle ratings exceeds 22,000 pounds. In this instance, the OEM set the GVWR at 19,500 pounds based on test results and vehicle dynamic performance to ensure a safe, reliable truck.

A specific vehicle’s GCWR is based on parameters established by chassis manufacturers. The manufacturer makes an assessment in accordance with SAE International test protocols, determining maximum GCWR. Additionally, the OEM runs stringent tests based on internal requirements which may include testing total GCWR braking capability using only the towing vehicle chassis braking system. GCWR is the total weight of the truck pulling the trailer and the trailer itself. The truck chassis dictates proper GCWR for safe operation of the combination truck and trailer.