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Early in 2018, I purchased a Venture SportTrek 327VIK travel trailer (840lb dry tongue weight, 9600lb GVWR) that I was pulling with my 2016 F250 with a 10,000lb GVWR. I ran it across the scales with the trailer loaded, fuel and DEF tanks full, all my travel accessories in the truck bed, and people in the cab of the truck and the F250 weighed in on the CAT scales at 9700lbs, giving me 300lbs of headroom on the F250’s 10,000lb GVWR. So, I decided I wanted to increase my headroom and purchased a 2018 F350 SRW with the 11,500 GVWR, which gave me about 1,800lbs headroom. The rig hauled like there was nothing behind it and I could put all I wanted in the truck when going down the road without any problems.
Well, after a few months in the 327VIK, we opted for more space and upgraded to a 2018 Montana High Country 385BR 5th wheel with a rated pin weight of 2660lbs. When I hook the 385BR to my F350, the F350’s actual GVW is 11,420lbs with me in the driver’s seat, nothing in the bed, a full tank of fuel and DEF, and the trailer loaded with our normal gear. I now have only 80lbs of headroom to the GVWR and must keep the truck empty to prevent going over the F350 SRW 11,500lb GVWR. The current configuration pulls great, is very stable on the road even on windy days and stops with normal brake pedal force. But I am now looking at the 14,000lb GVWR F350 in 3.55 DRW to pick up the additional headroom so I can load up the truck if necessary.
Knowing the actual weights of your vehicles and doing the math is my recommended course of action. Start with the GVWR of your tow vehicle off of the sticker on the door pillar, weigh it on the scales with the normal gear you would carry on the road, full tanks, 5th wheel hitch in bed or weight distributing hitch attached, people in the seats, without any trailers attached and then subtract that actual weight from the GVWR of your truck and you will know how much tongue weight or pin weight you can haul. Find a trailer that matches these numbers or start looking at a higher rated tow vehicle.
I know that if you add up the axle ratings, you get a higher number than the GVWR. My truck is: 5990lb Front GAWR + 7230lb Rear GAWR = 13,220 lbs which is 1,720lbs higher than the 11,500lb GVWR, but I opt to use the manufacturers most limiting ratings (GVWR) on setting up my rig.
CAT Scales has a Smartphone AP that allows you to pull on the scale, weigh, pay, and get a PDF of the weight ticket emailed to you. You cab do all of this from the cab of your truck and get accurate weights of your tow vehicle and trailer. This is a highly recommended part of setting up your rig. Knowing your actual weights is key to the performance of your rig.
Do the math and everything will work out. SAFE TRAVELS!
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