Can my tow vehicle tow a 310GK

[ardvark16]

My ‘22 F250 has a 10,800 gvw upgrade as a part of the ultimate trailer tow package. This upgrades the rear end to the Dana m275 (same as the F350), upgrades the rear spring pack (one leaf less than an F350), and upgrades the receiver hitch to 3”.

This all adds 800lbs to the base 10,000gvw, which essentially offsets the added weight of the diesel. My factory payload sticker is 2,835lbs.

A full-on F350 SRW is usually 11,400gvw, so my truck is sort of a heavy duty F250. Mostly this is to offset the diesel as I mentioned.

Interesting that I didn’t see that on any build sheets when I ordered my F350. So Ford lets you kinda offset the Powerstroke weight. Not as beery as GM which is I think over 11,000 gvwr but better than losing all of the payload like Ram. Either way, the OP should probably just go with a 1 ton to get 4000 payload. I’m strongly considering the 310GK and my SRW has a 4030 payload. I have no doubt it will be fine. I will never get a dually. They are great for towing, but horrible for everything else.

 

[classicrockguy]

Interesting that I didn’t see that on any build sheets when I ordered my F350. So Ford lets you kinda offset the Powerstroke weight. Not as beery as GM which is I think over 11,000 gvwr but better than losing all of the payload like Ram. Either way, the OP should probably just go with a 1 ton to get 4000 payload. I’m strongly considering the 310GK and my SRW has a 4030 payload. I have no doubt it will be fine. I will never get a dually. They are great for towing, but horrible for everything else.

Agree on the F350 for the 5th wheel, especially sans the diesel (eg with the big gas motor) which really gives you a lot more weight capacity for the pin. I knew I was getting the huge bumper pull when I ordered my truck, and also I wanted the least harsh ride for daily driving, so the F250 diesel with the extra 800gvw to offset the diesel weight worked the best for me.

I’ve since added bags, not so much for the weight but rather to further stiffen and level the rear of the truck. So considering everything about it is identical to an F350 except one leaf (and the door sticker and emblems), I probably should have just ordered the F350. I sort of incremented in to what I ordered, and by the time I figured this all out it was too late to change the order. After waiting 8 months for delivery, I’m glad I left it as is. Love the truck, pulls the trailer great, gets about 11-12mpg, and has plenty of spare cargo capacity. AND, there’s no 5th wheel in my future, so all good.

 

[Harrycomes]

Absolutely no offense taken, but I do have some comments and maybe another question or two.
I hope you do not take offense to my response because that is certainly not my intention either.

We are new here, we did not buy our camper yet and before we did we wanted to be as informed as possible. You say that “if you have to ask that question chances are you probably are over and shouldn’t”. I’m just trying to understand why this forum exists if you can’t ask a question?

I’m sure you read through this thread so you know we were getting conflicting (which ended up being wrong) information and we were just trying to confirm what was true and what was false from people who actually own that model. It actually worked because most of the people here just answered the question we asked and through their years of experience (especially with this model) gave us invaluable information that we could not find anywhere else.

So, if we did not ever ask this question, we would have never received all the answers back from these experienced 310 owners.

I certainly don’t want to be one of those folks who are towing these days and clearly don’t understand towing because that is terrifying to me also. I wish those folks went on a forum like this and asked similar questions because maybe some of them would have made a better decision.

It’s all good though. We appreciate you taking the time to respond to us. Just think if we didn’t ask the question, you wouldn’t have been able to.

All our lives we hear, “there’s no such thing as a dumb question”.
Well, we are still going to continue to ask those questions if we don’t have the answers. What’s great about a place like this is that if you don’t like the question, you don’t have to respond.

There are many people on here who think you need a diesel dually to tow anything. I've towed up to 15k with my 2022 F350 CCSB SRW 7.3 gas. 3900 payload. Not once did I wish I had a dually or a diesel.

 

[ajg617]

There are many people on here who think you need a diesel dually to tow anything. I've towed up to 15k with my 2022 F350 CCSB SRW 7.3 gas. 3900 payload. Not once did I wish I had a dually or a diesel.

I also am completely comfortable towing our heavy 310GK-R with our 3500 SRW. If we were going to do the Alaska trip, I told DW we would be getting a dually. But for me also, the SRW is the middle road to combine with a daily driver and a TV. Why a long bed? I really didn't want one but payload. Turning radius is not good, but I've gotten used to it and and happy with my choice, just park a little further away from the door at Walmart. Diesel? Yes 2nd Cummins and that was pure brand preference on my part and based upon trying to pull a TT up 11,000 ft with a 1500 GM gas years ago, and then ruining DW's Suburban towing horse trailers. Gas engines today are better then they were. Don't think you can go wrong on any of the majors either diesel or gas. I also put fresh tires on at about 22-25K miles or when tread gets down to 5-6mm.

 

[harell]

Our 2020 310gk with combo washer/dryer has a pin weight of 3200lbs. We pull it with a 2020 Ram 3500 dually diesel. In loaded up form we have about 2000 lbs left tò play with. I say about because every time you weigh ìn the figures will vary with every load. I went dually because the payload of the single rear axle was just enough to pull our trailer with little room for extras. Well worth the extra money. Good luck.

 

[Overtaxed]

Thanks for all the information provided. Just trying to make an informed decision and this certainly helps.

If we were ready to go full time right now it would be a no brainer and we would have just got a DRW. The problem is we are about 3-5 years away from that. We will be using it a month in the summer, a month in the winter and a bunch of local stuff in between.

The truck is going to be my wife’s everyday vehicle and she doesn’t want to be driving a DRW daily. We will see what happens when the day comes and we go full time. That is definitely the way to go. Thanks again.

Dually trucks are really kind of special purpose machines. They kind of stink at most stuff, but wildly excel at one thing (towing). Driving in the snow, not good. Driving in town, not good. Driving unloaded, not good (although, to be fair, my F450 isn't much worse than my 250 was, my wife swears it's better unloaded, I think it's a little rougher, but it's really close). But when you hook up a trailer, it becomes obvious in the first 100 miles, while dually trucks exist. They are a compromise for almost everything else, but they are heads and shoulder above a SRW when it comes to towing. Towing heavy, it's dramatic. But even hauling around my little 7K landscape trailer, it's just better, in pretty much every way, to the F150 and F250 that I had before.

It's about compromise, if your truck is a daily driver and you tow 2000 miles/year, most of the time the dually will be in situations where a SRW would be better (or MUCH better if you're into offroading or drive in the snow). You're giving up a lot to have a truck that's good at something that you don't do that often. If, however, your truck is more of a dedicated tow vehicle to move your RV lots of miles a year, you'd be nuts, for pretty much any RV, and certainly for any 5th wheel not to get a dually. At that point, you're looking for a special purpose vehicle (towing) and, in that category, SRW trucks shouldn't really even be in consideration. Kind of like looking for a car to drive around a track and trying to figure our which minivan would be best. None of them, you're buying a track car!

 

[Tim2542]

Is that your “Tow rating” you are referring to or GVWR? With respect I think you may be wrong on that. Look at your Rear Axel wt maximum limit on the door sticker and I think you will find you are right at the limit or beyond.
These trucks are all limited by the tires available and their maximum wt rating. Doesn’t matter which brand, which is right around 3750# in these sizes. Multiply by 2, for 2 tires and that will be the rear axel limit printed on the door label.

 

[Overtaxed]

Is that your “Tow rating” you are referring to or GVWR? With respect I think you may be wrong on that. Look at your Rear Axel wt maximum limit on the door sticker and I think you will find you are right at the limit or beyond.
These trucks are all limited by the tires available and their maximum wt rating. Doesn’t matter which brand, which is right around 3750# in these sizes. Multiply by 2, for 2 tires and that will be the rear axel limit printed on the door label.

^^This.

I'd go to the tire manufacturer website and find the ratings for your particular tire. But, as said above, if it's a typical light truck tire, it's probably ~3500-3750. Even 19.5's, which are the heaviest tire you can get on a pickup, generally top out in the mid 4K range. When you run them on a dually, that gives you at way more tire than you'd ever need, but, in a single, you could be close, even running 19.5's.

Tire and axle ratings (which usually aren't an issue, but make sure you check) are the areas I'd never run over. Just too risky IMHO. Also, if you run LT tires at 3750lbs/tire, you're going to wear them down quick!

 

[roegs01]

Absolutely no offense taken, but I do have some comments and maybe another question or two.
I hope you do not take offense to my response because that is certainly not my intention either.

We are new here, we did not buy our camper yet and before we did we wanted to be as informed as possible. You say that “if you have to ask that question chances are you probably are over and shouldn’t”. I’m just trying to understand why this forum exists if you can’t ask a question?

I’m sure you read through this thread so you know we were getting conflicting (which ended up being wrong) information and we were just trying to confirm what was true and what was false from people who actually own that model. It actually worked because most of the people here just answered the question we asked and through their years of experience (especially with this model) gave us invaluable information that we could not find anywhere else.

So, if we did not ever ask this question, we would have never received all the answers back from these experienced 310 owners.

I certainly don’t want to be one of those folks who are towing these days and clearly don’t understand towing because that is terrifying to me also. I wish those folks went on a forum like this and asked similar questions because maybe some of them would have made a better decision.

It’s all good though. We appreciate you taking the time to respond to us. Just think if we didn’t ask the question, you wouldn’t have been able to.

All our lives we hear, “there’s no such thing as a dumb question”.
Well, we are still going to continue to ask those questions if we don’t have the answers. What’s great about a place like this is that if you don’t like the question, you don’t have to respond.

As I read through this thread, I'm once again surprised at how some on this forum treat newer members. I participate in a number of car, truck, and RV forums, and this is one of the toughest. To those saying that there are too many questions on towability / weight limits and also to those asking an OP 'why you'd continue to ask questions', I say just move on. Sure, the search function can help many times, but as the OP pointed out he seemed to see conflicting information. Softening it by referring to some members as 'salty old dogs' is nice, but let's be honest - some are just rude.

That said, why do I hang around? Because there is some great wisdom on this forum and some extremely friendly members.

To the OP, I was in a situation very similar to yours. I had just purchased our RAM 3500 CC SB truck and was interested in the 310. Could we have made the numbers work? Yes, but we'd always be on the very edge and 10 lbs going into the 310 would require 10 lbs going out to stay within RAM ratings. We ended up with a 2930 S Class and could not be happier. It's at the higher end of our truck ratings, but we still have plenty of room to spare for our cross-country travels. I think you're approaching your situation the correct way and would recommend to keep asking!

 

[robmcqueen]

As I read through this thread, I'm once again surprised at how some on this forum treat newer members. I participate in a number of car, truck, and RV forums, and this is one of the toughest. To those saying that there are too many questions on towability / weight limits and also to those asking an OP 'why you'd continue to ask questions', I say just move on. Sure, the search function can help many times, but as the OP pointed out he seemed to see conflicting information. Softening it by referring to some members as 'salty old dogs' is nice, but let's be honest - some are just rude.

That said, why do I hang around? Because there is some great wisdom on this forum and some extremely friendly members.

To the OP, I was in a situation very similar to yours. I had just purchased our RAM 3500 CC SB truck and was interested in the 310. Could we have made the numbers work? Yes, but we'd always be on the very edge and 10 lbs going into the 310 would require 10 lbs going out to stay within RAM ratings. We ended up with a 2930 S Class and could not be happier. It's at the higher end of our truck ratings, but we still have plenty of room to spare for our cross-country travels. I think you're approaching your situation the correct way and would recommend to keep asking!

Very well said. There are a few on here that think they know it all and are great authority on anything to do with RV's Trucks or Towing. I feel sorry for there wives i bet that RV gets really small at times. LOL I almost got kicked off of here once for calling a guy out for being a know it all. They said i was personally attacking him and as i think about it now i was because he is such a Donkey on here. A smart person that does not know the answer to a question they have will ask, A dump one will not ask. This forum is here to help each other out not make them feel stupid.

 

[ajg617]

As I read through this thread, I'm once again surprised at how some on this forum treat newer members. I participate in a number of car, truck, and RV forums, and this is one of the toughest. To those saying that there are too many questions on towability / weight limits and also to those asking an OP 'why you'd continue to ask questions', I say just move on. Sure, the search function can help many times, but as the OP pointed out he seemed to see conflicting information. Softening it by referring to some members as 'salty old dogs' is nice, but let's be honest - some are just rude.

That said, why do I hang around? Because there is some great wisdom on this forum and some extremely friendly members.

To the OP, I was in a situation very similar to yours. I had just purchased our RAM 3500 CC SB truck and was interested in the 310. Could we have made the numbers work? Yes, but we'd always be on the very edge and 10 lbs going into the 310 would require 10 lbs going out to stay within RAM ratings. We ended up with a 2930 S Class and could not be happier. It's at the higher end of our truck ratings, but we still have plenty of room to spare for our cross-country travels. I think you're approaching your situation the correct way and would recommend to keep asking!

That's why I went with the Long Bed - 4014lbs sticker (yeah that isn't real payload). But fully loaded for a 70 day trip from NH to Glacier and Yellowstone, then down to Carolina, we were under payload - even after I installed a 55 gal tank and lost 180 lbs. When I researched the 2020s, 21s, and 22 310GKs the UVW with the same base options was all over the place by as much as 2-300lbs. Couldn't understand it except that they are all different and no guarantees that the UVW is accurate from the factory as I later found out. I asked the same questions back in 2020-2021. Pulled 16K so far - 42K on the TV so between a third and a half.

 

[Harrycomes]

I'm probably a minority on here, but I keep the bare minimum in my truck. A few straps, Tarp, and that's about it. It seems some guys carry loads of gear that cut down on their payload. I've got a set of tools I keep in my 5th wheel and another set in my enclosed trailer. No need to bring the kitchen sink with me. I've got a 3900lb payload on a sb srw

 

[roegs01]

That's why I went with the Long Bed - 4014lbs sticker (yeah that isn't real payload). But fully loaded for a 70 day trip from NH to Glacier and Yellowstone, then down to Carolina, we were under payload - even after I installed a 55 gal tank and lost 180 lbs. When I researched the 2020s, 21s, and 22 310GKs the UVW with the same base options was all over the place by as much as 2-300lbs. Couldn't understand it except that they are all different and no guarantees that the UVW is accurate from the factory as I later found out. I asked the same questions back in 2020-2021. Pulled 16K so far - 42K on the TV so between a third and a half.

Ha! I've always envied you long box guys just because of the extra payload you get - not to mention the additional cab clearance you get when towing. Was just no way I'd be able to get a long box in our garage. Next time around I'd be tempted to try a dually, but around here they're just so inconvenient. None of the local car washes take them, and the do-it-yourself washes are becoming few and far between. They also are not so good in the snow. That said, everyone raves about how good they tow and it would be fun to own one for a while.

 

[lorend]

^^This.

I'd go to the tire manufacturer website and find the ratings for your particular tire. But, as said above, if it's a typical light truck tire, it's probably ~3500-3750. Even 19.5's, which are the heaviest tire you can get on a pickup, generally top out in the mid 4K range. When you run them on a dually, that gives you at way more tire than you'd ever need, but, in a single, you could be close, even running 19.5's.

Tire and axle ratings (which usually aren't an issue, but make sure you check) are the areas I'd never run over. Just too risky IMHO. Also, if you run LT tires at 3750lbs/tire, you're going to wear them down quick!

Almost all tires will have the max payload rating on the tire sidewall. With my tires I only have 3300# max with an axle rating of 6000# Those seem to be two numbers that very often get overlooked. They need to go hand in hand with the payload. I will say that I am not sure you can be under on the payload and be over on tire and axle rating but we have all seen rigs that are only thinking if they can pull that rv down the road.

 

[lorend]

Hats off to you for doing the research. Happy for you to be looking forward to your new purchases. Doing the research is what keeps you from joining the "two truck" club because the first truck was too low on payload for the rv. Looks like you have decided that a larger truck than the 250 is in order. I have a Ram 2500 with a fifth wheel 4000# lighter than the 310GK and it works well but I would not want to be pulling a 15k trailer all over the country with my truck. And that comment comes with 40 years of driving professionally. Also, good for you for not taking any offense with some of the replies that you have gotten on this website. Some of the replies I read I think that either that person is single or they know not to talk to their spouse that way. lol

 

[faitro11]

[MENTION=57488]faitro11[/MENTION], the bottom line is a 3/4 ton truck is not what you need for a Solitude.

Here is my experience.....

I have about 3400 lbs on my pin.the pin of my 310GK-R. One measurement (actual weight scale readings) was about 3300 lbs.

I have a Reese Goosebox, and F-350 Long Bed.

Last year I upgraded from an F-350 Short Bed with a 330 lb DEMCO hitch and a MorRyde pin box to the Gooseneck. I upgraded to a LB to lose the 330lb hitch, gain 500 lbs of payload capacity (difference between the F-350 SB and the new L and pick up another 244 lbs by using the Reese Goosebox.. Here are my calculations for various hitch combinations.....

Here are some calculations I made when deciding to make the change.....
MorRyde Pin Box: 138 lbs
Demco Slider: 331 lbs
469 total
Reese Goose Box: 225 lbs (-244 lbs)
Gen-Y: 134 lbs (- 335 lbs)
B&W Comp. 20K: 153 lbs (- 378 lbs)
Demco 8550033: 177 lbs (- 254 lbs)

With a short bed you would likely need a slider hitch for a Solitude if you expect to make a sharp turn; folks will say you don't; I had the RV hit my cab without the slide trying to back in my driveway (pretty much a 90 degree turn). So when you hear about folks that say they do it, they do, but for me I didn't need the risk.

One more thing.... I'm not sure this is still the case but I bought mine (5 years ago) from LazyDays I had to sign a form saying I would tow it away in with a 1 ton truck; I spoke with others who had the same experience.

I hope some of this helps. I know it might not be the feedback you want.

Thank you and yes it helps more then you think. It's exactly the feedback I need to hear. Contrary to what some people post on here I'm just trying to get as much accurate information to try and make the best decision going forward.

So I think I'm on the right track. If you don't mind me asking, do you have any of these options (Onan Generator, extra batteries or the W/D) installed in your camper?

I also was wondering if you know anything about the Gen-Y Goosepuck 5" Offset Ball. I was told if I wanted to go with the Reese Goose Box I could use that in a standard bed and it would give me additional clearance.

Thanks again, for helping me out.

 

[faitro11]

As I read through this thread, I'm once again surprised at how some on this forum treat newer members. I participate in a number of car, truck, and RV forums, and this is one of the toughest. To those saying that there are too many questions on towability / weight limits and also to those asking an OP 'why you'd continue to ask questions', I say just move on. Sure, the search function can help many times, but as the OP pointed out he seemed to see conflicting information. Softening it by referring to some members as 'salty old dogs' is nice, but let's be honest - some are just rude.

That said, why do I hang around? Because there is some great wisdom on this forum and some extremely friendly members.

To the OP, I was in a situation very similar to yours. I had just purchased our RAM 3500 CC SB truck and was interested in the 310. Could we have made the numbers work? Yes, but we'd always be on the very edge and 10 lbs going into the 310 would require 10 lbs going out to stay within RAM ratings. We ended up with a 2930 S Class and could not be happier. It's at the higher end of our truck ratings, but we still have plenty of room to spare for our cross-country travels. I think you're approaching your situation the correct way and would recommend to keep asking!

Thank you and thanks for hanging around. I appreciate what you and a lot of other folks on here said. I know when you post something on places like these forums and put yourself out there asking questions you open yourself up to all kinds of answers so knowing that going into this helped. What I didn't expect was someone telling me to not ask a question. Anyway its all good because it seems there are way more people on here wanting to help then not and I have gotten a lot of good responses that helped me out.