Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum - View Single Post

Dean A Van Peursem · 03-28-2006, 01:01 PM

Before we get too far off topic let me provide some hard facts I learned today about the 3400RL and the 2003 Ford F250 Super Cab, Lariat, 8' bed, 7.3L Diesel engine purchased with all available HD options and Trailer Towing packages available in 2003. Loaded is probably an appropriate term.

After many discussions with the Montana 5th Wheel Dealers, Ford truck dealers and additional 5th wheel owners I have come to an arbitrary but truthful, I beleive, conclusion. "ALL" 5th wheel owners are overloading (Ford Guidelines) the 2003 F250 (and maybe newer ones and 350's as well) no matter how small the 5th wheel is. I have come to the conclusion that the way Ford specs the trucks one cannot haul a 5th wheel or a brd camper and stay within Fords guidelines as follows:

Here are the specs published on my door frame on the F250:

GVWR = 8800 lbs
Front axle = GAWR 5200 lbs
Rear axle GAWR = 6084 lbs
Tires LT 265/75R16E

I weighed my truck today, empty, on a certified scale with a 1/4 tank of Diesel fuel:

Total gross weight = 7180 lbs
Front axle weight = 4350 lbs
Rear axle weight = 2830 lbs

Now if we put two tall people in the truck plus some personal belongings and some stuff in the truck bed plus the 5th wheel hitch mechanism, plus a full tank of diesel fuel, lets estimate then the total weight of the truck is around 8,000 lbs. Then the payload avalable for pin weight is 800 lbs. No reasonably sized 5th wheel I'm aware of has that little amount of pin weight and no reasonable sized truck camper weighs such a small weight. And it would be hard to find any loaded full sized equipment trailer that only adds 800 lbs of hitch weight. At least not the ones I have hauled cross country.

So my conclusion is, if one has to stay within Ford's guidelines for this truck all one can haul is a light bumper hitch trailer. Now we all know that isn't what is happening in the real world. So IMHO the real question is how much is reasonable, legal and safe to overload (over Ford's guidelines) this type of vehicle? I suspect that most 5th wheelers are at least 1,000 to 2,000 lbs over on GVW on the truck itself. Towing weight is easier to comply with I think.

What are the the flaws in the conclusions I have come to? Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions and safety warning that have been offered to date. It is sincerely appreciated.

03-28-2006, 01:01 PM	#14
Dean A Van Peursem Montana Master Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Snohomish Posts: 579 M.O.C. #5583	Before we get too far off topic let me provide some hard facts I learned today about the 3400RL and the 2003 Ford F250 Super Cab, Lariat, 8' bed, 7.3L Diesel engine purchased with all available HD options and Trailer Towing packages available in 2003. Loaded is probably an appropriate term. After many discussions with the Montana 5th Wheel Dealers, Ford truck dealers and additional 5th wheel owners I have come to an arbitrary but truthful, I beleive, conclusion. "ALL" 5th wheel owners are overloading (Ford Guidelines) the 2003 F250 (and maybe newer ones and 350's as well) no matter how small the 5th wheel is. I have come to the conclusion that the way Ford specs the trucks one cannot haul a 5th wheel or a brd camper and stay within Fords guidelines as follows: Here are the specs published on my door frame on the F250: GVWR = 8800 lbs Front axle = GAWR 5200 lbs Rear axle GAWR = 6084 lbs Tires LT 265/75R16E I weighed my truck today, empty, on a certified scale with a 1/4 tank of Diesel fuel: Total gross weight = 7180 lbs Front axle weight = 4350 lbs Rear axle weight = 2830 lbs Now if we put two tall people in the truck plus some personal belongings and some stuff in the truck bed plus the 5th wheel hitch mechanism, plus a full tank of diesel fuel, lets estimate then the total weight of the truck is around 8,000 lbs. Then the payload avalable for pin weight is 800 lbs. No reasonably sized 5th wheel I'm aware of has that little amount of pin weight and no reasonable sized truck camper weighs such a small weight. And it would be hard to find any loaded full sized equipment trailer that only adds 800 lbs of hitch weight. At least not the ones I have hauled cross country. So my conclusion is, if one has to stay within Ford's guidelines for this truck all one can haul is a light bumper hitch trailer. Now we all know that isn't what is happening in the real world. So IMHO the real question is how much is reasonable, legal and safe to overload (over Ford's guidelines) this type of vehicle? I suspect that most 5th wheelers are at least 1,000 to 2,000 lbs over on GVW on the truck itself. Towing weight is easier to comply with I think. What are the the flaws in the conclusions I have come to? Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions and safety warning that have been offered to date. It is sincerely appreciated.