5th wheel with a half-ton?

[1derfultigger]

I know there are probably better places to post a question like this but I am hoping to possibly get some advice or experiences from others that have been throught it or investigated it in more detail in the past.

We currently have a Jayco ultra-lite travel trailer that pulls just fine behind my 04 Dodge Ram 1500 4x4 with Hemi Engine. However, my wife is on a kick to possible trade and upgrade to a similar size 5th wheel (little more room and little better layout). The 5th wheel we are looking at (online) is also a Jayco and is also an ultra-lite unit. The total gross weight seems to still fit okay with my truck's specifications and the dealer rep we talked to on the phone looked up something and told us our truck can handle this 5th wheel fine within specs. However, I know that 5th wheels typically have a substantially higher "hitch weight" than travel trailers do and am concerned that, even though the dealer says it would be okay, the hitch weight of this 5th wheel may be too much for my half ton truck. When I take the gross weight rating of my truck, 6550 pounds, and subtract the dry weight of my truck, 5200+ pounds, it leaves less than 1300 pounds not including the total weight of the passengers (2 adults and 2 kids) and any misc items plus the weight of a 5th wheel hitch (no idea). The hitch weight of this particular 5th wheel is a little over 1400 pounds. Am I calculating things wrong or would I truly be overweight on the truck even thought the weight of the tow vehicle and the gross weight of both vehicles is within spec?

 

[ftwildernessguy]

My personal feeling is that you would want a little more truck for a 5th wheel. I thought about doing the same thing with my F150 a few years ago and decided against it after talking with a number of experienced 5th wheel haulers. One thing they all seemed to agree with - duallies tow a fiver the best, single wheels just shift around too much.

 

[stacktester]

I'm not following you on the weight thing. You should be able to look on the drivers door to find your trucks GVW. If it's close I wouldn't do it. Whatever you do, don't listen to a salesman as they want to sell you the camper and if you come in in a Porsche they will say no problem.

I would check with your local dealer on weight. Is this truck a short/long bed? If it's short you're going to need a slider hitch. You may also need to put either heavy duty shocks or air shocks on the truck. One thing I will say is a 5'er pulls wayyyyyyyy better than a tag a long. When the semi's pass me now I don't get the (suck me up, push me away) draft that they usually bring to a tagger. RV.NET is full of info but a lot of people on here will be helpful too. You're going to get a lot of stability pulling a 5'er so the sway is minimal. Hopefully you're truck will meet the requirements if you decide on the trailer.

 

[1derfultigger]

I do have a shortbed and they did mention a slider hitch but I don't really know one from the other at this point. They included hitchwork in the price they gave me. In this case, I don't think the salesperson is purposefully misleading me, I just have a feeling she didn't check the level of detail that she needed to. My wife spoke with her and it appears she just opened a big book, looked up the tow rating of my truck and compared that to the GVWR of the trailer and said it would be okay. And, as I said, when you just look at the combined GVWR of both vehicles combined and/or the GVWR of the trailer vs. the max tow weight of my truck, everything is within spec. But, I think the deal-breaker is the hitch weight plus the truck weight vs. the GVWR of the truck.

I have a great relationship with this dealer and I don't think they would mislead me to make the sale. I bought my current TT from them and have referred 3 or 4 other customers to them that have made purchases. It's a family owned business and they do business the way I like it. On my first purchase, they gave me a price over the phone, take it or leave it, and nobody else would do that. This fifth wheel we are looking at is priced 6 to 7 thousand dollars less from them than we've seen it listed in other states and dealers all over the country on the internet. They even made me a trade price over the phone, site unseen.

They are closed on Mondays but, tomorrow, I plan on calling and second guessing the ability of my truck to pull this 5th wheel and see if I can get one of the service guys to check it out for me. I feel like this is a great deal but I can't or don't want to replace my truck to get it.

 

[1derfultigger]

I've checked RV.net before. If you think my weight calculation math is confusing, you should see some of the responses on RV.net. That's part of the reason I came and asked here.

Is there a way to boost up the weight rating on a truck. Someone mentioned air shocks or heavy duty shocks. I wonder if adding either would possibly allow a little cheating on the hitch weight?

The last thing I want to do is overload my truck and mess it up or put me or my family in danger.

I'd love to have a diesel heavy duty or even a dually but it's somewhat cost-prohibitive for me given that I wouldn't need it for anything else but pulling an RV a few times a year. I work from home and drive less than the average person and the biggest job I typically need my pickup for, aside from pulling the travel trailer, is hauling garbage to the dump a couple of times a week.

 

[Disney Campers]

When I take the gross weight rating of my truck, 6550 pounds, and subtract the dry weight of my truck, 5200+ pounds, it leaves less than 1300 pounds not including the total weight of the passengers (2 adults and 2 kids) and any misc items plus the weight of a 5th wheel hitch (no idea). The hitch weight of this particular 5th wheel is a little over 1400 pounds. Am I calculating things wrong or would I truly be overweight on the truck even thought the weight of the tow vehicle and the gross weight of both vehicles is within spec?

if your gross weight is 6550 and dry weight of truck is 5200, you don't have much left over for cargo and people, add a hitch and toys and there is not much room left for the 5th wheel.

Be careful on rv net, when you mention a half ton and fifth wheel in the same sentence the weight police come out of the woodwork to give their 2 cents worth.

 

[poptoone]

I had the same dilemia when we looked to buy again this year. I have a 1/2 Ton Dodge 5.9 Long Bed 4x4. The camper dealer swore it would handle a lite fifth wheel with no problem. After much research and web searching it seems that most people who try to pull a 5th with a 1/2 ton either sell the camper or are forced to upgrade to a 3/4 ton or a ton dually! We went with a new TT instead and I'm happy I did. I'm still upgrading to a diesel 3/4 ton but not because I have to! I just like new toys!!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I had the same dilemia when we looked to buy again this year. I have a 1/2 Ton Dodge 5.9 Long Bed 4x4. The camper dealer swore it would handle a lite fifth wheel with no problem. After much research and web searching it seems that most people who try to pull a 5th with a 1/2 ton either sell the camper or are forced to upgrade to a 3/4 ton or a ton dually! We went with a new TT instead and I'm happy I did. I'm still upgrading to a diesel 3/4 ton but not because I have to! I just like new toys!!

I am very reluctant to let out my secret, but here it is. Wives are far more apt to agree to a larger TT than a larger truck. However, once you buy the larger TT and tell the wife your present truck is just too small to pull it, they are more than willing to let you buy a bigger truck. Everybody's happy. Just don't tell FWgirl what I said.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

When you call back about the tow weight make sure that they are looking at the info for a 4x4 not a 2 wheel drive, you actually lose a little capacity with the 4x4(at least that was the info we found on our 2005 1500 Hemi)

 

[CJWindham]

This is my first post here but I had to chime in. I frequent RV.net alot and I agree, the belief of the weight police is if you are not pulling with a 1 ton dually or MDT you are going to kill everyone on the road. With that being said, I used to pull our 25ft 5er with a F-150. We were right at the max weights on axle ratings. It was not a fun experience. My dry weight for the 5er was listed at 5270#'s. With a hitch weight of 1050#'s. Keep in mind these were the "dry" advertised weights. My GVW weight for the 5er is 7250#'s. Loaded and ready for camping it comes in right at 6700#'s. The hitch weight jumps to about 1250#'s.

In my opinion, you do not have enough truck for that 5er. Your math said you have 1400#'s of payload left when you subtract the other numbers. Then you need to add in the DW, kids and other stuff loaded into the truck as well as the 5er hitch in the bed (about 150-200 lbs. just for the hitch) It looks like you will be overloading at least your rear axle ratings before you even put anything in the 5er.

I moved up to a 3/4 chevy gasser after I blew the head gaskets in my F-150 and love the towing experience now.

I would stick with a TT if getting a new TV is not an option to go along with the 5er.

Just my $.02 worth.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Gatordad]

if your gross weight is 6550 and dry weight of truck is 5200, you don't have much left over for cargo and people, add a hitch and toys and there is not much room left for the 5th wheel.

Be careful on rv net, when you mention a half ton and fifth wheel in the same sentence the weight police come out of the woodwork to give their 2 cents worth.

ain't that the truth....... the weight police are the worst.

 

[MS_mom_1965]

How long is the camper you have now, and how long is the one you want to buy?

Another thought, my dad thinks his truck pulls the camper just fine as long as he can cruise along at around 55 or 60 mph, tops.

However, my DH is a truck driver, and he thinks he should be able to pull the camper 70 - 75 mph, uphill or whatever, since that's what he is accustomed to.

Therefore, my dad has a 1/2 ton, and we have a 3/4 ton. Sorta depends on what you mean by "will it pull it"...

 

[Gatordad]

also, your tow vehicle should work with the area of the country you live in. My Titan will not be the optimal vehicle to tow our 5th wheel whenever it gets here, however, the guy from weekend warrior said it won't be as big of a problem as if we lived in the rockies, or were trying to pull it on I-15 from LA to Vegas.

A lot of it depends on braking capacity.

 

[big kahuna1]

I do not think you will be very happy using a 1/2 ton in a fiver. The pin weight is the biggest issue. The GVWR is not the biggest issue for towing a fiver (although you will hear different from the weight police, most of which don't know the difference between a nut and a bolt). If you are exceeding your tire and axle capacities (GAWR) then you are looking for trouble. If you are not exceeding the GAWR and Tire ratings then you would be ok but I think that may be impossible with a 1/2 ton.

 

[clkelley]

My dad pulls an older, small 5th wheel with a 2004 F150 Lariat (automatic transmission). They just took it on a 5 week 7,000 mile cross-country trip and had no problems. Don't know the weight ratios on the various weights, but he did mention a total of about 10K in weight (truck/trailer/generator/ hitch, everything).

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Tig, I think you pretty much answered your own question in your post. Your math looks correct to me. Lack of any extra load capacity in the truck is what got me out of my Avalanche and into my 2500HD. After calculating hitch weight, people and fuel I think we had only 150 # left, anyone that knows me will tell you that that last 150# is gonna go for beer.

Scott

 

[Gatordad]

I sort of know him, and I agree......... but 150lbs will only get you thru the afternoon.... better send a Bud truck to refuel.