Tow question

[Snowwolfe]

Greetings from E Tennessee. We owned 4 motorhomes in the past but are now considering a 5th wheeler. Model 3121RL. It will be equipped with a generator and most likely the water tank will be half full while traveling.
Our plan is to buy a new Ford F350 diesel single wheel crew cab long bed 4x4. The GVWR will be 12,400. I am just beginning to understand tow and pin weights. I have no doubt the truck can pull it but will be legal with the pin weight? Two adults in the truck and not a lot of gear in the back seat. My guess is the trailer will be loaded with the average amount of gear.

[jsb5717]

Welcome aboard! And congrats on asking the right questions. Calculating all weights needs to be done using only loaded weights. The GVWR on that trailer is approx 16k lbs. Loaded pin weight would be approx 3200k lbs. Add that to the people and gear you will loading, including the hitch weight...basically anything added to the truck becomes part of the payload calc.


There is a yellow sticker in the driver's side door jamb of the truck that will tell you max load capacity for that truck...something like "people and cargo should not exceed XXX lbs". That's your payload capacity. If everything loaded ONTO the truck is less than that number then you're good.

[mhs4771]

You will probably be very border line. The On-board Generator sitting in that front storage compartment will help increase your pin weight well over what you would estimate.
If you're planning on only being weekenders and maybe an additional week or two you should be able to make do, if you watch what else you put into the trailer. If you're looking to long term travel or full timing you would be much better off with the 350/3500 Diesel Dually.

[shorthauler]

The GVRW on our 2016 is 11,500 and we are fine pulling a 3120. You will have more than enough power and truck to pull your new rig. Enjoy!

Ralph & Nadine
2020 3120 Legacy
2016 F350

[mhs4771]

Any of the Big Three Diesel 250/2500 or 350/3500 will pull any Montana and most any other Fifth Wheel out there, so it's not the pulling but the carrying the pin weight where problems occur. Once you put in a Hitch, add passengers, and any other items in the bed the 250/2500 Series TVs quickly run out of payload capacity.

[mtlakejim]

You won't find hardly anyone that will argue with the diesel option. The engine brake alone is worth the extra $$$$ never mind the towing torque.


I wouldn't dismiss the duallies out of hand. Most folks commenting against them really overstate their hand. The width really isn't that big of a deal and the newer models ride about as good as SRWs. Really unless your a total wimp the duallies are really nice these days. My wife drives ours all the time and loves it.


For sure duallies are towing beasts. They are perfect for the job, more stable and also hold their resale better.


YOU DON"T NEED A SEMI but the next size larger than the bare minimum will give you a bit of safety cushion that is worth every penny.

[jsb5717]

Of course power to pull isn't the issue. It's payload. It's always payload. Do the math, make a wise choice, have fun!

[beeje]

Originally Posted by Snowwolfe

Greetings from E Tennessee. We owned 4 motorhomes in the past but are now considering a 5th wheeler. Model 3121RL. It will be equipped with a generator and most likely the water tank will be half full while traveling.
Our plan is to buy a new Ford F350 diesel single wheel crew cab long bed 4x4. The GVWR will be 12,400. I am just beginning to understand tow and pin weights. I have no doubt the truck can pull it but will be legal with the pin weight? Two adults in the truck and not a lot of gear in the back seat. My guess is the trailer will be loaded with the average amount of gear.

My buddy just bought the same truck you listed above. His yellow sticker states 3150lbs as his max payload. Not enough truck for the trailer. You need a dually.

[Snowwolfe]

Originally Posted by beeje

My buddy just bought the same truck you listed above. His yellow sticker states 3150lbs as his max payload. Not enough truck for the trailer. You need a dually.

Are you sure? I looked at a couple at dealers and found they had max payloads in the low 4000 range. The long bed option alone adds 1200 pounds to the GVWR. The Ford brochure says 4580 for a long bed crew cab 4x4. I realize you would lose some of that but surely not almost 1400 pounds.

[shorthauler]

Look inside the drivers door jam on the yellow and white tire info sticker and you will see the maximum combined weight of occupants and cargo. My F350 has a GVWR of 11,500 with a maximum weight of 3,120. If the new truck has a GVWR of 12,400 I would assume the payload would be higher than that.

Ralph & Nadine
2020 3120 Legacy
2016 F350

[twindman]

I think the 2019 or 2020's changed the payload a lot - even tho they are the same truck from the year before. At least that is what I think I saw somewhere. So a 2016 payload for the same truck may be way over or under (I forget which) than a 2020 version.

[beeje]

Originally Posted by Snowwolfe

Are you sure? I looked at a couple at dealers and found they had max payloads in the low 4000 range. The long bed option alone adds 1200 pounds to the GVWR. The Ford brochure says 4580 for a long bed crew cab 4x4. I realize you would lose some of that but surely not almost 1400 pounds.

I am absolutely certain I looked at his yellow sticker when I first saw his truck. Each truck is going to be different depending upon its options and trim level. His was a Lariat.

Just to give you another example I traded in a 14 GMC Denali crew cab long bed diesel dually. Its payload was 4950.

The truck in my cig is an 18 Chevy LTZ crew cab long bed dually diesel. Basically the same truck but its payload is only 4450

[scottz]

Originally Posted by Snowwolfe

Are you sure? I looked at a couple at dealers and found they had max payloads in the low 4000 range. The long bed option alone adds 1200 pounds to the GVWR. The Ford brochure says 4580 for a long bed crew cab 4x4. I realize you would lose some of that but surely not almost 1400 pounds.

Make sure you also consider the tires. We have a 3160RL (with generator). It is the same unit as a 3120RL which got the new name around 2018. We pulled with a 2014 F350 SRW for a couple years; no problems. The truck was about 800 over on the rear axle, however, being that much over on the tires was my biggest concern. For this reason, we traded for a F450 DRW. The newer F350 SRW has more capacity and maybe different tires than our 2014; you need to check on this.

[Snowwolfe]

Appreciate all the information. I have no aversion to buying a dually. My thoughts are the SRW F350 would need air bags to keep it level so the price is very similar. If I stay with a SRW what type of weight rating should I look for on the tires? The trucks I have looked at have E rated rear tires with a combined carrying capacity of 7,280. Is that enough?

We are just in the planning stages and dont expect to purchase the trailer and truck for 6-12 months. Want to hit the local RV circuit to explore different models then will trade in our truck for one capable of doing the job legally.

Ford truck inventory sucks right now. Very few SWW long bed crew cabs on the lots anywhere. I expect this to improve towards the first of the year.

[mhs4771]

Beeje, that's interesting I have an '18 Silverado High Country Dually Crew Cab and my Cargo capacity is 4930 Lbs.

[beeje]

Originally Posted by Snowwolfe

Appreciate all the information. I have no aversion to buying a dually. My thoughts are the SRW F350 would need air bags to keep it level so the price is very similar. If I stay with a SRW what type of weight rating should I look for on the tires? The trucks I have looked at have E rated rear tires with a combined carrying capacity of 7,280. Is that enough?

We are just in the planning stages and dont expect to purchase the trailer and truck for 6-12 months. Want to hit the local RV circuit to explore different models then will trade in our truck for one capable of doing the job legally.

Ford truck inventory sucks right now. Very few SWW long bed crew cabs on the lots anywhere. I expect this to improve towards the first of the year.

As you stated above you have no aversion to buying a
Dually. That solves all your weight issues. No need to worry about tire weight no need to worry about pin weight (for the most part). Now you can go RV shopping without worrying too much about weight.

To answer your tire weight question above you would have to have the truck and weigh the rear axle to make that determination.

[Daryles]

Hopefully this helps shed some light

2016 F350 DRW, Lariate.
2019 3130re,

Weighed on 8-12-2020 (fully loaded)

Truck
Steering axle. 5160
Drive axle. 3880
Total. 9040

Hitched
Steering axle. 5320
Drive axle. 6980
Trailer axle. 11080
Total. 23380

Pin 6980 - 3880 = 3100

[Snowwolfe]

Decided not to worry about weight and get the dually. I realize the F450 has better turning radius but am going to stay with the F350 DW 4X4.
We never do drive thru's or park on the streets and we have two other vehicles as well so dont see much advantage to the dually. Issue solved

[Carl n Susan]

Originally Posted by Daryles

Hopefully this helps shed some light

2016 F350 DRW, Lariate.
2019 3130re,

Weighed on 8-12-2020 (fully loaded)

Truck
Steering axle. 5160
Drive axle. 3880
Total. 9040

Hitched
Steering axle. 5320
Drive axle. 6980
Trailer axle. 11080
Total. 23380

Pin 6980 - 3880 = 3100

I think the pin weight is actually 3260. You forgot to add in the extra 160 lb. on the front axle.

[scottz]

Originally Posted by Snowwolfe

Decided not to worry about weight and get the dually. I realize the F450 has better turning radius but am going to stay with the F350 DW 4X4.
We never do drive thru's or park on the streets and we have two other vehicles as well so dont see much advantage to the dually. Issue solved

There is not much price difference between the F350 DRW & F450 DRW; get the one you want.