Cheers everyone. Would appreciate any insight on the following towing question.
We have an F350 SRW Super Duty with a towing capacity of 19,000 GVWR and a payload capacity of 3,450. For the truck, the GVWR is 11,500, with a front GAWR of 5,200 and rear GAWR of 7,200. We anticipate that the combined weight of passengers, dogs, sliding hitch and bed cover would be 920. That would leave a balance of 2,530 for the hitch weight.
We are considering buying a Solitude 2930RL-R. Grand Design's website indicates that the UVW of this model is 11,500, with a hitch weight (we understand that this is dry hitch weight) of 2,200. We are therefore assuming that the ratio of hitch weight to fifth wheel weight is roughly 19%, which we are rounding to 20%.
The GVWR of the fifth wheel is 15,000, which is roughly 79% of the truck's towing capacity of 19,000, so we are comfortable there. The issue we are focused on is hitch weight / payload.
We have found a 2930RL-R model for sale that has an actual UVW of 11,800 (based on the sticker on the vehicle). If we put 1,000 pounds in the fifth wheel when traveling, for a total weight of 12,800, and apply the 20% ratio, then the hitch weight would presumably be 2,560, which is just about exactly the truck's capacity. So we have two questions.
The first is this: what is a realistic assessment of the weight of "stuff" that couples in retirement typically carry in a fifth wheel that is used for trips but not full-time living? We've heard anywhere from 500 to 2,000 pounds. I'm aware of the weight of water, and we'd probably travel without much if anything in the tank, so I'm really looking for figures for other categories of weight. Thoughts from those of you who have done this before?
The second is whether it is generally considered necessary to apply the 80/20 rule not only to GVWR towing capacity but also to hitch weight. Do folks typically give themselves a margin on this, or is considered okay to be right at the maximum payload weight in the truck?
Thanks in advance for any input.
We have an F350 SRW Super Duty with a towing capacity of 19,000 GVWR and a payload capacity of 3,450. For the truck, the GVWR is 11,500, with a front GAWR of 5,200 and rear GAWR of 7,200. We anticipate that the combined weight of passengers, dogs, sliding hitch and bed cover would be 920. That would leave a balance of 2,530 for the hitch weight.
We are considering buying a Solitude 2930RL-R. Grand Design's website indicates that the UVW of this model is 11,500, with a hitch weight (we understand that this is dry hitch weight) of 2,200. We are therefore assuming that the ratio of hitch weight to fifth wheel weight is roughly 19%, which we are rounding to 20%.
The GVWR of the fifth wheel is 15,000, which is roughly 79% of the truck's towing capacity of 19,000, so we are comfortable there. The issue we are focused on is hitch weight / payload.
We have found a 2930RL-R model for sale that has an actual UVW of 11,800 (based on the sticker on the vehicle). If we put 1,000 pounds in the fifth wheel when traveling, for a total weight of 12,800, and apply the 20% ratio, then the hitch weight would presumably be 2,560, which is just about exactly the truck's capacity. So we have two questions.
The first is this: what is a realistic assessment of the weight of "stuff" that couples in retirement typically carry in a fifth wheel that is used for trips but not full-time living? We've heard anywhere from 500 to 2,000 pounds. I'm aware of the weight of water, and we'd probably travel without much if anything in the tank, so I'm really looking for figures for other categories of weight. Thoughts from those of you who have done this before?
The second is whether it is generally considered necessary to apply the 80/20 rule not only to GVWR towing capacity but also to hitch weight. Do folks typically give themselves a margin on this, or is considered okay to be right at the maximum payload weight in the truck?
Thanks in advance for any input.
