Towing Question

[Montana_5470]

OK- I really need some help understanding exactly how to interpret the weights on towing 5th wheels. We've ordered an '06 3475 and have a Chevy 2500HD Duramax Deisel with the Allison 6 Speed Automatic. Montana publishes a vehicle weight of approx 11,000 lbs and a hitch weight of 2000 lbs. Do I add those two together in order to get the empty weight of the trailer minus cargo, water and lp? Or does the 2000lb hitch weight represent the amount of weight of the 11,000lb that will be resting on the hitch?

Thanks

[Fordzilla]

I would say the total weight of the trailer is 11,000. You will have about 2,000 on the truck and the trailer axels will weigh closer to 9,000. The published weights are not always right on so I would weigh it yourself sometime to get more accurate measurments.

[BigBlue]

Here is a site with lots of information about trailer weights
http://www.klenger.net/arctic-fox/weight/index.html
Hope this helps

[Montana_5470]

Thank you very much. This is very informative.

[sreigle]

jreed007, just be aware that published weights are usually far from what you'll actually experience. The 11,000 is the dry weight as it comes from the factory and usually includes only what the factory calls "standard options." It does not include a battery, fluids, nor propane bottles. The propane bottles and battery are added by the dealer. Add those plus all your gear and you'll find the rig weighs probably 1000 to 1500 lbs above the published dry weight. On the side of the rig is the GVWR numbers. That's the max you can safely load the trailer to. In the brochure and on the Montana website you can add the Gross Dry Weight (UVW) and the Carrying Capacity (CC) to get the GVWR. If you plan on fulltiming you can probably figure on another 1000 lbs or so.

Pinweight/hitchweight usually will be higher than advertised, too, by up to several hundred pounds or more. I'd figure on that 2000 lbs of pinweight becoming closer to 2500, more if loaded for fulltiming.

I agree with the others - 11,000 is the total dry weight, of which 2,000 is pinweight and 9,000 is on the axles.

Good luck. That was a really good question.