Enough truck for 2006 3400 RL - Montana Owners Club

Ronald Babb · 02-01-2006, 10:56 AM

We just purchased A 2006 3400RL back in September 2005 .I have a 2002 duramax 3/4 Ton crew cab.Is this truck big enough to handle it,i have been following this forum for a while,some say yes some say no,i need your views on this subject.Thank You

Broome101 · 02-01-2006, 11:22 AM

Ronald I think you will see that many folks in this forum, use the same truck as you have, you should be fine.

Montana Sky · 02-01-2006, 11:49 AM

I have the 2500HD Chevy and tow the 3400RL with no problems. I know there are many folks who say you have to have a 1 ton, I have found no reason to trade in for a 3500. This truck pulls the hills and holds the speed going down the other side. There has been no stability issues with passing semis or high winds, it is a very stable ride. I have thought about adding airbags to the truck since it does squat approx 1.5" when hooked up. To current day I have not installed them as I cannot justify the money spent with the way this truck performs while towing the coach. I have added the pyrometer and turbo boost gauges due to the response I received from other MOC members towing with diesel motors, this is something that I will have on all of my future diesel trucks. In my opinion, your truck will be able to handle your new coach with ease.

Garin1 · 02-01-2006, 05:05 PM

Ronald, you will get many opinions on this. All good and well meaning. Look on the home page of the forum and you will see a lot of people pulling the 3400 with a 3/4 ton. My last TV was a f150 Lariet and I pulled a 30 Couger with it

.Like Montana Sky I installed airbags on it to bring it level on those horrible Louisiana roads (I10)

. Other than that it pulled the Couger all around the country with no problems

. Talk to those that are in the same rig and get first hand experience

,,By the way,, welcome aboard and have fun

rickfox · 02-02-2006, 04:16 PM

Ronald,

Your question really has 2 answers.

Answer 1: As you can see, my Duramax is a 2003 and I have a 3400RL purchased in November. I am quite satisfied with the ability of the TV to move and stop the 3400. I did add airbags so that the TV rides level - making sure that I do not air them up as to lift the truck box off the helper springs. The 2006 3400RL has a heavier pin weigh than the earlier models, so when loaded, the pin weight will easily reach 2800#. At this point you will need the airbags or the TV will be noticably squatting. Also note that at this point you will be very close to exceeding the maximum rear axle weight of the 2500HD.

Answer 2: When loaded with less than 1200# of cargo, you will likely be over the GVWR of the 2500HD, and with a full load of goodies, the increased pin weight will put you well over the GVWR of the 2500HD by 600 - 800#. So - technically - the 2500HD is NOT enough truck.

As for me, I'm moving on down the road with my 2500HD. However, I have weighed my rig a number of times and with a number of different loads, and I make very sure that I am not overloading axles or the tires - especially the tires. I have yet to hear about a broken axle, or broken frame. But I've heard many a story about tire problems.

Be careful, know what you're doing, have fun.

Montana Sky · 02-02-2006, 07:18 PM

Rick,
Great point and thank you for catching my mistake. I failed to mention that the new 3400RL has a higher kingpin and you are 100% correct, you can over gross the truck. My pin right now weights in at 2,100 lbs and the truck at 7,400 lbs giving me a GVWR of 9,500 lbs. Thanks again.

richfaa · 02-03-2006, 01:11 AM

Rickfox comments are correct and he has the data to back it up. In My opionion there are two other issues to consider in a TV.What will you use the TV for besides Towing and what can you afford. Our pervious Tv was "not enough truck" for what we were towing but we towed for 10 years with no problem( had air bags of course) Out present Tv is used as TV 95% of the time and $ were not a issue so we got the biggest TV we could find (execpt for the diesel and that is another story) Now having a TV that is " not enough truck" is good news and bad news. That we had "not enough truck prevented us from buying a larger Camper and thereby saved $ over the years. The bad new was that " not having enough truck" prevented us from buying a larger camper.

G McCall · 02-03-2006, 01:13 AM

I now pull a 2005 Mountaineer 326FKDS TT so I'm not experienced to comment on the Trucks capacity for hitch weight.
However you can add a power box as I have (actually 2 boxes), beef the tranny up and opened the exhaust so that the truck can gain speed up Pikes Peak. Of course the EGTs might get ya there , but as for passing cars ETC and running the grades, no problem. Just keep an eye on the EGT guage.

(For the record I race my truck with my local diesel club sometime, so I might not be your normal RV'er)
If your passing me on the road you best be smiling

Dave e Victoria · 02-03-2006, 02:32 AM

I can't speak to ford or dodge but, for GMC/Chevy the first limit on load is the load capacity of the rear tires. It is critical to avoid overloading the rear axle weight. IMO, this is even more important than the GVWR. Check the rating embossed in the sidewall of the tire. That number is for one tire so multiply by 2 (wide hips get to multiply by 4) and avoid going over this weight on the rear axle EVER. And, note that this rating is for a fully inflated tire.
Dave

richfaa · 02-03-2006, 03:23 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Dave e Victoria

I can't speak to ford or dodge but, for GMC/Chevy the first limit on load is the load capacity of the rear tires. It is critical to avoid overloading the rear axle weight. IMO, this is even more important than the GVWR. Check the rating embossed in the sidewall of the tire. That number is for one tire so multiply by 2 (wide hips get to multiply by 4) and avoid going over this weight on the rear axle EVER. And, note that this rating is for a fully inflated tire.
Dave

HUmmmm. The tires on my Ford Dually (Load range E) read 1320 for dual use X4 =5280 the rear Axel GVWR listed on the door is 9000 lbs rear, The Tv has the 12.5K GVWR package. Big disparity.
The 3400 has a LISTED Hitch weight of 1975 (more or less, no doubt more) That's 3305 to play with....sound like enough ???????

Dave e Victoria · 02-03-2006, 04:48 AM

Rich,
I guess it depends on how much stuff you load in the bed. The rear tires (American General) on Bubba read 2470 for dual use. That gets me to 9880 for the tires. The gawr for the rear is 8200 pounds. I figure I have room for the 3800 pound pin weight when I last weighed the Cambridge.
Dave

richfaa · 02-03-2006, 07:33 AM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by richfaa

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Dave e Victoria

I can't speak to ford or dodge but, for GMC/Chevy the first limit on load is the load capacity of the rear tires. It is critical to avoid overloading the rear axle weight. IMO, this is even more important than the GVWR. Check the rating embossed in the sidewall of the tire. That number is for one tire so multiply by 2 (wide hips get to multiply by 4) and avoid going over this weight on the rear axle EVER. And, note that this rating is for a fully inflated tire.
Dave

HUmmmm. The tires on my Ford Dually (Load range E) read 1320 for dual use X4 =5280 the rear Axel GVWR listed on the door is 9000 lbs rear, The Tv has the 12.5K GVWR package. Big disparity.
The 3400 has a LISTED Hitch weight of 1975 (more or less, no doubt more) That's 3305 to play with....sound like enough ???????

Hold it the 1320 was K it is 1920LBS X4= 7680Lbs that's better////

Dave e Victoria · 02-03-2006, 10:38 AM

Rich
Sounds to me like you should be ok unless you really stuff a lot of bird seed in the truck.

Our Bubba Truck has "E" range tires rated at 2470 pounds for dual configuration which adds to 9880 total for four. The GAWR for the rear axle is 8200 pounds. Our last measured pin weight on the Cambridge is 3800 pounds although we are on a diet now. I am comfortable with our margin of 4400 pounds.

Dave

RADHAZJOE · 02-03-2006, 03:08 PM

I am pulling a 2005 3400RL with a 2004 Chev 2500 HD with Duramax. 22,000 miles and NO problems so far. Long 6 deg grades will slow you down but then they slow Semi'sdown.

richfaa · 02-04-2006, 01:25 AM

Dave..What brand and size tires that are rated at 2470 are on your "Bubba" truck. For my future reference. I figure when we start some REAL traveling in about a year I may want to upgrade..I am very tire sensitive.

Dave e Victoria · 02-04-2006, 02:41 AM

Rich,
The bubba has General Ameritrac 215/85 R 16 tires all around icluding the spare.
Dave

dsprik · 02-04-2006, 03:08 AM

Dave, was that your choice, or is this what came with the truck... sorry... "Bubba"?

richfaa · 02-04-2006, 03:26 AM

The 05 Ford tires are Contitrac LT 245/75 R17 all around..Tires are a down the road issue.. We will not be close to exceeding anything..

Dave e Victoria · 02-04-2006, 03:53 AM

Dave,
There was a tire choice but, I did not specify. I believe the other choice was michilen with similar ratings but not sure.
Dave

HomeOnTheRoad · 02-05-2006, 02:54 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Dave e Victoria

Rich
Sounds to me like you should be ok unless you really stuff a lot of bird seed in the truck.

Our Bubba Truck has "E" range tires rated at 2470 pounds for dual configuration which adds to 9880 total for four. The GAWR for the rear axle is 8200 pounds. Our last measured pin weight on the Cambridge is 3800 pounds although we are on a diet now. I am comfortable with our margin of 4400 pounds.

Dave

Isn't that 4400 reduced by the weight of the truck and gear that is weighing on the axle? The margin is really much smaller than 4400. Probably closer to 1000 margin.

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