Another newbie from Oklahoma- full time and travel ready

[Erikksen]

My wife and I just traded up from our Cougar X-Lite and will be full timing it in a 2016 High Country 362RD. I have a 2004 GMC 2500HD Duramax/Allison to tow with so I'll be a little overloaded and looking into ways to help with that like exhaust brake and going back to stock tire size.

I have never lived in an RV full time and we will be also towing a seperate cargo trailer with more bunks to make it bearable with 6 boys.

I'm also looking at ways to carry more fresh water int he cargo unit since the 362RD only carries 64 gallons. Intended destinations are Fairbanks, AK and many places in between.

[PNW Fireguy]

Welcome to the forum from Washington state and congratulations on your new rig. It sounds like you are going to need more truck.

[Theunz]

Well for starters get the best tires you can for your truck and trailer. Sailun's seem to be the most popular choice for the trailer. At a minimum you should get air bags for the truck. A set of bilstien shocks would help as well. New brakes all around on the truck (and trailer if needed), and again the best you can buy. Oh, and you might run out right now and buy a flame suite, because you're about to get set on fire by the weight police. And if your planning on pulling that cargo trailer behind the 5th wheel, well....that's a whole mother can of worms!!

[Erikksen]

OK, let me go get my flame suit. BRB.

Got it on, now we can proceed. :-)

I'm sure the towing capacity on a 2500HD has been discussed thousands of times. The 2004 Owners manual rates the 2500HD at exactly the same trailer towing capacity as the 3500 at 12,000lbs. My trailer is 12,500 empty. One thing I was hoping you could help with is the Hitch weight- do the manufacturers hitch weight ratings reflect full trailer gross or empty weight? I'm figuring full load for us will be around 500lbs of water and 1,000lbs of stuff totaling around 14K.

I was thinking about Toyo M-55's, the 245/75/16 tires are rated for 3042 single which is almost the same as my axle rating of 6084. My truck weighs in at 7700lbs and has a 2500lb rated pin weight.

No, the Cargo trailer will be pulled by my wife's Suburban 2500 8.1L rig.

I figured air bags, an exhaust brake, and maybe a mild tuner are in order. I have a Reece 16K hitch and I am wondering if I should really tow 14K with it.

[1retired06]

Welcome and hope the forum is helpful

[jcurtis934]

My belief is that your hitch should be an 18k unit. Still running bf Goodrich on my ford and they have been good, but I have been thinking of too open country for the f350 when these wear out. Pin weights are empty calculations by keystone, so if your gross on the high country is 14k, then pin would be approx 2800 to 3500 # using 20-25% to get this number. Anything keystone put in the unit that is above the basic unit was on top of the empty weight and takes away from the cargo capability...only a cat scale will reveal what your unit actually weighs. Sailun tires was mentioned by someone already as the only good Chinese tire, load range g, at this time. I would certainly agree that they would be very worthwhile on your rig to get away from the throw-away load range e tires that keystone puts on. Exhaust brake would also be a great investment in keeping downhill speeds comfortable and safe. Fulltiming is great for us...into start of year seven now. There are so many cool places in this country and the travel makes for a super education for the kids. Welcome to the group. John

[Erikksen]

OK, so if Keystone publishes a pin weight of 2690 that is empty, with a 12,724 UVW it's a 21.14%. Adding 1500lbs to the coach ought to add 317 pin lbs so 3007 on the pin. That's pretty heavy for me. I might have to move our 400lbs of printed matter to the cargo trailer. Get me back around 2925/13,600

Erik

[Troutn]

Welcome as I used to live in the Boomer Sooner land! Or else you could be a Pokie Okie fan?

[Erikksen]

Sorry, its too bad but I'm a motorsports guy and I just don't get involved. Could be because I'm actually a displaced Alaskan :-)

[Theunz]

I've said this somewhere before. If a hitch is rated at 16,000 it'll do 16,000 safely. I suspect the mfg. has actually tested it at at least 10% above that. Extra capacity is nice if you ever need more, but just a waste of money if you don't. On the extra water question, I've used the 5 gal water bottles like those used for water coolers. They ride well, are fairly cheap, and are about all I want to lift.
PS if you leave the state, I'm afraid I'll be the only one left who would rather watch a good auto or motorcycle race than a football game.

[mtlakejim]

Originally Posted by Theunz

I've said this somewhere before. If a hitch is rated at 16,000 it'll do 16,000 safely. I suspect the mfg. has actually tested it at at least 10% above that. Extra capacity is nice if you ever need more, but just a waste of money if you don't. On the extra water question, I've used the 5 gal water bottles like those used for water coolers. They ride well, are fairly cheap, and are about all I want to lift.
PS if you leave the state, I'm afraid I'll be the only one left who would rather watch a good auto or motorcycle race than a football game.

Never a waste of money to have a little extra SAFETY cushion!!

[mlh]

You should replace your standard ST tires with a set of G rated tires. Tires or rather ST tires are one of our main topics during the summer. There have been far too many times they blow out and take the side of your camper with them at a cost of several thousand dollars.
Be a little careful with your Allison transmission. Don’t add much more than 60 HP and 100 pound feet of TK to it.
And most of all ENJOY!
Lynwood

[Theunz]

Originally Posted by mtlakejim

Never a waste of money to have a little extra SAFETY cushion!!

According to his calculations he already has a 2000lb safety cushion, just how much does he need. Not everyone enjoys over paying!

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by Theunz

According to his calculations he already has a 2000lb safety cushion, just how much does he need. Not everyone enjoys over paying!

About the only thing I agree on is the hitch choice being OK.

[BuilderBob]

Welcome to the MOC family from Washington St!

Bob & Carol
Washington St
2017 HC 352RL 2008 Dodge 3500 DRW CC LB 4x4

Happy Trails

[JandC]

Welcome to the perfect forum for starting your full time adventure. I won't get into anything to do with the weight or hitch issue because I don't "have any skin" in that game anymore.

The only thing I will add is I believe your estimate of "1,000 pounds of stuff" is way under what it will actually be. If you are including food, clothing, tools, pots/pans, and everything else for 8 folks you are way off. There are only two of us full timing and our "stuff" adds 3,200 pounds to the mix. Granted, my wife has enough shoes to outfit a family of 8, but still.....

[Erikksen]

Thanks everyone for the warm wishes . The truck I have was meant to be a daily driver and to pull a weekend camper . Just inherited the new camper . Money becomes available I would like to upgrade it to a heavier model .

Cargo weight is a valid point just keep in mind that I'm pulling a car separate cargo trailer . When actually pulling I may have to do some cargo distribution and move it to the other trailer .

Going to take a couple months to wrap up all of my affairs here in Oklahoma and then I'm looking forward to pointing north .

[Erikksen]

Weighed my 2500HD 3080 rear about 4230 front. I can carry 3,000lbs on the pin without overloading the GAWR. My CGWR in the manual is 22,000 and I think about 21,700 is as heavy as I'll ever tow.

Now I have to figure out how to turn my rear rack on my 362RD into a true cargo carrying trunk instead of just a bicycle rack ��

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by JandC

Welcome to the perfect forum for starting your full time adventure. I won't get into anything to do with the weight or hitch issue because I don't "have any skin" in that game anymore.

The only thing I will add is I believe your estimate of "1,000 pounds of stuff" is way under what it will actually be. If you are including food, clothing, tools, pots/pans, and everything else for 8 folks you are way off. There are only two of us full timing and our "stuff" adds 3,200 pounds to the mix. Granted, my wife has enough shoes to outfit a family of 8, but still.....

👠SHOES ~~~ while snowbirding 3 months i was searching for something and hit HER closet. WTH 21 pairs of shoes! When asked about it she said and 2 pairs of boots, slippers, and flip flops. I'll watch what she packs next week.

[Erikksen]

Haha 21 pairs of shoes I have a family of 8 and each has been allotted a limit on shoes they can take!!