Proper tow vehicle

[fredandfred]

When we bought our rig I had the dealer deliver it to its current spot. I have an F250 and I know I can't tow this unit with that truck. I am looking at a 1 ton dually and there are a few out there but not sure what to get. It seems that Dodge can haul more weight than Chevy or Ford. The Fords I looked at state a tow weight of 10,000lbs. I know the 379 is heavier than that but am I to rule out any tv that can't haul what this units weight loaded? If that's the case then I need a large tv that may fall in the commercial class. I don't want to go that route. I would like to know what others are using for their tv and any issues?

 

[gordofuchs]

I do not know the weight specifics of the 379, but we are towing a 305RE with a 2008 Dodge, 3500 Diesel, single rears. It tows like a dream, the only tough choice I had to make was the dually or single. If I knew that the truck was only used for towing, I would have gone with the dually. The dually is much more stable when towing. Our problem is once we set the trailer up in a location, we use the truck for sight-seeing in the area. The single wheel makes it possible to do that. A dually would be tough to find parking spaces in the smaller parking lots. The weight of our fifth wheel when fully loaded is around 18,000#. We tow with the Cummins, 3.73's, fully deleted.

Gordon and Janet Fuchs
Cleveland, Ohio

 

[WhittleBurner]

The new Ford gas engine srw 4x4 is rated to tow 12000#s. The diesel is rated for 15700#s. The dually goes up to 26500#s. Those are all crew cabs. This is off the ford spec sheet from ford.

 

[Bamaman]

Your 379FL is a 14K lb. unit (dry) and it has a pin weight of 3K (dry). That means your best bet would be a 1 ton dually diesel pickup truck.

Any of the Big 3's trucks will do the job.

For your full size trailer, I like the 8 foot beds with the factory pucks built into the beds to mount the hitch on.

 

[Thumper-MGRV]

I just left the dealer looking at the 375RE. We had our hearts set on the 379FL until we saw the 375 but they are basically the same trailer when it comes down to towing and I had pretty much decided on going with a Chevy/GMC 3500 dually as everything I've read says the stability is so much better. I do fear that parking and driving unloaded will be undesirable so I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I'm going to go drive a 3/4 ton single rear and a full 1 ton dually to get an idea of how much difference there really is in ride quality. I'll report back in the next week or so and let you know what I find.

 

[2butler]

I tow my 328M with my Chevy 3500 and get an average 12 to 15 MPG towing. I live in the Pacific northwest, so I cannot go more than 40 miles without hitting a steep grade. When I started looking to buy my tow truck, I felt over kill is the best way to go. I started looking at looking at the Dodge 3500, because my best friend had one, towing he averaged 10 to 12 MPG. But for me it boiled down to the motor and transmission. The Duramax and Allison power train seems to be the best on the market. My brother bought the Ford 350, and he has had the transmission rebuild, motor build and still does not have the power and fuel mileage I do with my stock Chevy 400hp 750 ft lbs of torque. So in a nut shell they are all great trucks, Ford has the comfort and tech some people have to have. Dodge has the Cummins that has a history of being a great motor. Chevy has the Duramax. the great part about my Chevy is I have towed both my friend and brother home when they broke down .

 

[Bamaman]

You can buy whichever truck you want. Any of the Big 3 diesel trucks can do the job just fine. But if you go with a 3/4 ton truck, you will need to order a different model trailer because you won't be equipped to handle a FL or full size fifth wheel with single rear wheels. (I have a F250 and never had any idea it's such a bastard truck.)
I bought a Reflection 323BHS @ 11k lbs. and 2K lbs. pin weight. My truck is max'd out with it in king pin weight capability. Although I'm missing my washer and dryer, we're not suffering in the least bit with our mid weight trailer.

 

[dloase]

As you can see from my signature, I drive a 3500HD DRW. However, I believe any of the big three would work. Actually my 3500HD drives nicer that my 2500HD did. Newer truck better suspension. Of course it is not my daily driver, but I have taken road trips to PA with it and would not bother me to drive cross country in it.

 

[fredandfred]

My other issue is I don't want to purchase a new or close to new truck. Right now I just don't have the funds. I am looking at used DRW trucks but don't want to make a purchase mistake on buying an older truck. I know it's a crap shoot with buying used but finding the right one is tough.

 

[Edward Lester]

When we bought our rig I had the dealer deliver it to its current spot. I have an F250 and I know I can't tow this unit with that truck. I am looking at a 1 ton dually and there are a few out there but not sure what to get. It seems that Dodge can haul more weight than Chevy or Ford. The Fords I looked at state a tow weight of 10,000lbs. I know the 379 is heavier than that but am I to rule out any tv that can't haul what this units weight loaded? If that's the case then I need a large tv that may fall in the commercial class. I don't want to go that route. I would like to know what others are using for their tv and any issues?

I tow our 369RL with a 2014 F350 dually with the 6.7 diesel. If you look in the RV parks, by far, Ford outnumbers the other two brands.

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk

 

[fredandfred]

I tow our 369RL with a 2014 F350 dually with the 6.7 diesel. If you look in the RV parks, by far, Ford outnumbers the other two brands.

Sent from my GT-P5113 using Tapatalk

I'm not attached to any maker. I did notice that Dodge seems to be able to tow more but I'm not opposed to Ford or Chevy. I currently have a Ford and it's a great truck.

 

[fredandfred]

I looked up the towing capacity of my current truck and it states the 250 and the 350 SRW tows the same weight, 12,500. Higher if it's a fifth wheel. I have a short bed and that may be an issue also.

 

[3rdCoast]

I tow with a 2003 3/4 ton Dodge with short bed. I have the same trailer you do and have NO issues pulling my camper. The tow rating of the Dodge is greater than that of the other two. The only thing you need to do is watch your truck with gauges when towing big, EGT's are what come to mind first. I also have a Bully Dog programmer that I keep on tow/economy and it also provides me with digital readings for my trucks vitals.

 

[fredandfred]

We have a new neighbor at this campground that just bought a beast of a unit. It weighs just under 17,000. Not sure of the pin weight. He is using an F250 short bed and says it works just fine. Makes me wonder if I should keep my 250 SRW or sell and go for bigger even though it states the 250 and 350 can tow the same. I know the DRW would be more stable.

 

[The_Mit_375RE]

Hi everyone figure I would come on here to tell you what we went thru. We have a 2015 2500 HD High Country Crew Cab (GAS) 5th wheel package truck. We were going to get a 366 DEN Solitude it was borderline on weight. We ended up getting the 375RE and it pulls fine. I gave trailer specs to GM, RV dealer, Grand Design, and GM dealer. Every one of them said you will be fine. I have driven it 600 + miles towing and no issues on mountains, hills etc. People at camp sites tell me I need a 3500 and a dually for it and I explain to them no you don't and how well it tows. It is confusing researching the tow capacity and axel weight it is all over on line. But for Chevy at least the 3500 tows the same at 2500. I have no sag on my rear truck when hitched. call your dealer and manufacture give them the spec sheet you have and they will tell you. But urban legend you need a 3500 for all 5th wheels over 38ft is false, at least on new model trucks.

 

[RamGunner]

There are people that will tell you to ignore the specs and tow over your weight ratings. There are people that tell you you need a 3500 DRW to tow anything.

You need to know your actual weights on your truck, loaded for a trip without trailer. Then you can start to figure out what you can safely tow.

http://www.momentumgunner.com/towing_notes.html

 

[Bamaman]

Grand Design says your 375RE is a 13,600 lb. unit (dry weight) and that it has a 3,000 lb. kinpin dry weight. In with your documents, you should have received a sheet from Grand Design's certified scale showing the actual weight, kingpin weight--right and left.

If your trailer's anything like my Reflection trailer, your actual weight is probably somewhat over 14,000 lbs. and the kinpin weight might be pushing over 3,500 lbs. And that's before you've loaded your "stuff" into the trailer. My kitchen side of the trailer weighed 700 lbs. more than the entrance side--surprising.

The only way you can be assured of your truck meeting the specs is to go put your trailer and truck on a certified scale--and then weigh the truck only including fuel and any "stuff" in the truck.

Sure your 3/4 ton diesel truck will tow it. But how would it handle in an emergency maneuver or in a heavy braking situation? That's when the dual rear wheels come into their own. And what many RVers don't realize is that duals are just not that more expensive than SRW 3/4 ton trucks.

Sure most dealers and your salesman are going to tell you your truck will handle the load. They only lie when they're moving their lips--their general nature. What's funny is that my dealer wasn't about to hook up my Reflection trailer to any truck that wasn't equipped to handle it.

My 2003 F250 7.3 (60 hp tow tune) diesel was in too good of condition to trade in for a newer, heavier truck, so I purchased my Reflection 323BHS to match my truck. I have the heaviest suspension available that year with the helper springs and I added a set of AirBag 5000's and a TruCool tranny cooler. My trailer is just over 11K, and my kingpin weight is just over 2K lbs. That's under the posted max fifth wheel towing weight of 13,200 and 2,500 kingpin weight. As with any 3/4 ton truck, the kingpin weight is the problem (more than the total weight.) Max out my weight carrying and I'm far above the kingpin/bed weight capability.

And we're not suffering in any way in our Reflection bunk house trailer. It suits us perfectly. as does our truck.

 

[G&Jcamping]

From what I found is that most people wrapped up on what their truck will tow (pull) and don’t pay as much attention to payload. From what I saw the F250 and F350 are basically the same engine, it’s the payload that was the difference. I pull a 305RE and decided to take no risks and got a F350 DRW to pull it. Talk about a stress free pull!!!! Only one down side about my rig---went to the So Cal RV show this weekend to see all the new stuff and my wife now realizes we can pull ANY of the Solitude and Momentum Models!! YIKES!!

 

[The_Mit_375RE]

I can tell you this much on a journey I had. Coming home going 68mph and an accident happen in front of me of a car pulling out into a semi. The semi flipped over everyone hit the breaks. I was sure I was going to not be able to stop it stopped pretty damn well. Not out to cause an argument I did the research I estimated my weights, I weighed the trailer and truck at weight station, I spoke to engine and Chassis engineers at GM. I'm good and was given green light But each person packs differently and weighs differently. I'm pretty OCD about making sure everything checks out before I purchase something. We liked the 366 Den but we were told we would be close I didn't want to chance it. 375RE was in or range and all good. I know a lot of engineers in Detroit for big three so my resources aren't B.S. me. ��

 

[RamGunner]

All I can tell you is that in an accident, highway patrol, insurance companies, lawyers, and DOT will look at the axle weight rating numbers on the side of your truck, axle weight ratings on trailer, tire ratings, and can look at GVWR. If you are over any of these, you are in danger of legal liability. Insurance companies have denied coverage in cases where someone was over ratings and was aware they were over their ratings. You risk your assets, present and future. The choice is yours.