Tow vehicle - Montana Owners Club

Montana_5851 · 05-31-2006, 07:58 AM

Any one trying to tow a 2004 3380rl with a 2004 chevy 2500hd duramax/allison? Weights seem to be right on the edge. The Chevy is rated at 12,000 and the bed is 2500.

Devildog · 05-31-2006, 08:22 AM

On 5th wheel, rated at 15,300 with gross no more than 9200 for 2001. current weight on my vehicle is 4400 on front axle and 3000 on rear axle. 6200 lbs is max weight you can go on the rear axle if you have the proper Load E rated tires.

dsprik · 05-31-2006, 08:24 AM

Bluebiker,

It is on the edge. It depends on what else you are using your 2500 HD for. Many here are using GM 2500's, F250's, and Dodge 2500's. Many will tell you that you can tow safely with them - and they have been for years.

Many others will tell you that it is not good to take chances with a weight rating that is "on the edge", and that you need to check your ratings and extra weight you will be putting in your Montana (and in the tv - gear and passengers weight), and make sure you have enough truck (1 ton dualie) to have peace of mind.

If you are going to use your 2500 for a daily driver, more than hauling your Montana every day, then there is something to be said for the easier to manuever, better gas mileage, generally cheaper tv.

If you have a second auto for a daily driver and you use your tv for mostly only towing your Monty. Then I would suggest a one ton dualie (DRW) as your tv.

Stand by for opinions...

Montana Sky · 05-31-2006, 10:33 AM

I tow a 2004 3400RL with my 2004 2500HD.

I have been happy with the way this truck handles my coach. Have not had any trouble with the mountains or the flats, truly enjoy towing with this truck.

I am interested if any other 2500HD crewcab owners have weighed their truck without the coach? I would like to know what your front and rear axle weights were?

Cat320 · 05-31-2006, 02:49 PM

Check the sticker on the left rear door or pillar of the drivers side of your truck. The sticker, entitled "Tire and Loading Information," will have a section that says, "The combined weight of cargo and occupants should never exceed ____ pounds." That's all you can carry and stay within GVWR. The max cargo capacity of your truck (if it is a 4x4, cc, sb) is between 2200 and about 2400, a bit more if a 4x2 and or ec. By the time you add a realistic pw, a hitch, full fuel, passengers, cargo, etc...you will most likely be over your GVWR. There are quite a few using 3/4s, and will say they've done if for years with no problems...which means nothing. Also, I question the logic of buying a smaller truck because it is a 'daily driver,' and a dually would be more difficult to handle on a daily basis. Seems to me it would make more sense to drive the 3/4, if you want it, but get a smaller 5er. I'm not going to sacrifice safety because my truck is a daily driver. At this time I do not have anything that will pull a Montana, but as you can tell, I can see a dually in my future...yep, be a pain driving through McDonalds, but it's the safe thing to do.

dsprik · 05-31-2006, 05:02 PM

I was set on a 2500HD 4x4. I knew I was pushing the envelope, but I was defiant on this issue - even though Rich (Richfaa) kept "gently" suggesting to me that I was an idiot... well, maybe those weren't his exact words...

Here's what I did:

After discovering that a diesel 2500 HD 4x4 was consistently, and frustratingly (is that a new word for our dictionary, Sue?), out of my price range on a used one, I finally broke down and drove a F350 Lariat 4x2 dualie 7.3 diesel. To say I was impressed was an understatement. A 1 ton duallie 2 wheel drive is cheaper, by far, than a comparable 4x4. It is lower to the ground and it drove like my Park Ave through some curves that I am familiar with around my home. It gets better gas mileage than a 4x4 diesel, and it actually has slightly higher weight ratings than the same model in a 4x4.

I drove it home and took Cheryl for a ride. Then she wanted to drive it. She loved it. We are sold.

As far as losing the 4 wheel drive... we plan on being in Florida/AZ/etc in the winter. I will adjust to unstable ground - sand/mud/wet grass/etc situations as needed. As Rich pointed out, school buses seem to do OK in northern climes in the winter. If I do need to be in these winter situations on occassion, I will just make sure that I have plenty of weight in the bed.

Parrothead · 05-31-2006, 06:21 PM

Contary to popular opinion, a dually is not that hard to drive, park, etc. I can even go though some drive throughs. I can make it at our bank, our KFC and one of the hamburger joints. If not we park and WALK, you know one foot in front of the other (LOL).
Happy trails......................

dsprik · 05-31-2006, 06:30 PM

Quote:

quote:Originally posted by Parrothead

... I can make it at our bank, our KFC and one of the hamburger joints...
Happy trails......................

Wow! I don't need a whole lot out of life more than that!

Montana Sky · 05-31-2006, 07:51 PM

Dave,
I never did hear, did you get that Ford you were looking at??

dsprik · 06-01-2006, 02:08 AM

No, Dave. The salesman was not someone I wanted to deal with. He whined too much. I find many car salesmen treat their customers like little kids - with a "mightier than thou" attitude, which is offensive to me. When I tell someone what I want to do, after months of research on used auto pricing and going through budget figures, and then they try to tell me that I am not looking at it the right way, and that am being unreasonable... I move on. There are plenty of these trucks out there and if I don't trust the guy, he is not getting a dime of my money. They all seem to act like "THIS IS THE TRUCK!" Great... then they should buy it...

My cousin in G.R. is looking for me - should have stayed with him in the first place. At least I trust him. He should be able to come up with a nice 4x2 dualie for me with a high end interior package. I expect to hear something anytime from him.

richfaa · 06-01-2006, 03:03 AM

If you collect enough data and stay objective the correct decision will pop out at you... as for the mud, wet grass sand. When I told my my long time physician and good friend that.. My shoulder hurts when I try to reach way up high..His cure...so don't reach way up high. Stay out of wet grass, mud and sand//// and get a good road service plan..the 4X4 option on the Ford is 2838.00 my Allstate road service plan is 79.95 per year that's 35.4 years of road service plan.

sreigle · 06-01-2006, 06:22 AM

Bluebiker, the brochure specs on the 2004 3380RL (nice rig, by the way!) is for pinweight of 1840 lbs. That is one of the lighter pinweights of any Montana model. Loaded pinweight will likely be around 2200 lbs. You may well be within the payload rating for that truck. Many of us are carrying more pinweight than that with 3/4 ton trucks. As for the 2500HD D/A, it is a very capable setup. You'll have no problem with power to tow it and to stop it, assuming a good controller and good brakes all around. I'm also assuming the tow package.

Besides the pinweight, the brochure shows an average dry weight of 10,950, carrying capacity of 2,530, for a total GVWR max of 13,480. If you are weekending and vacationing I'd guess your towed weight will be right around 12,500 lbs, although that is purely a guess. If you are fulltiming, it may approach 13,000 or a bit more.

As for dually or not, in my opinion the primary reason for a dually is to get a higher payload. I personally see no stability issues with towing our Montana so do not consider that a factor (again, just my opinion). We will not have a dually simply because we fulltime and this truck is our daily driver. There are lots of opinions about drive thrus, parking, etc., but the main factor for us is we like to do sightseeing in places where a dually just doesn't work. But you have to make sure you get what makes you most comfortable and best fits your situation. There is certainly nothing wrong with going dually.

Good luck.

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