Brand new to MOC! Great blog! - Montana Owners Club

Seamus&Marley · 05-10-2019, 11:22 AM

Hi folks. Just joined. Extremely impressed with this blog, really great and well organized. Hats off to the team who built and managing it. We’re still shopping for our Montana 5th so we have lots of questions for you good folks. Starting with matching our tbd unit to our 2017 Ram 2500hd diesel 6.7liter i6 Cummins, SWD crewcab short bed with a tow capacity of 17k lbs. I want to avoid mistakes and do as much right as possible. Really want a unit over 35ft. For full time living with best hitch recommended for a short Bed. Can you recommend the best forum to post questions and research on? Cheers and tks.

PNW Fireguy · 05-10-2019, 12:27 PM

Welcome to the forum. You are in for some entertaining responses regarding your very first topic, truck wars. Best of luck with your search for your 5er

sambam · 05-10-2019, 12:33 PM

Yep, you've brought up the dreaded topic again. For my money, any Montana "over 35 ft", is in the one ton category. But that's just my opinion without looking at the numbers. Pin weight is the usual achille's heel for a 3/4 ton. In any case, I've got my popcorn ready.....welcome!

jsb5717 · 05-10-2019, 12:50 PM

Welcome...nothing like jumping in at the deep end of the pool.

This is an oft-discussed topic and there is info throughout this forum worth paying attention to.

You will find that the question isn't "can my truck pull this trailer?" but rather "can my truck pull this trailer safely?".

You will want to pay attention to the GVWR and loaded hitch weight of any trailer you're considering. Most likely you don't have enough truck for most any 35'+ trailer.

Good luck...enjoy the swim

MidMOTraveler · 05-10-2019, 01:52 PM

Welcome

Theunz · 05-10-2019, 05:37 PM

Strap on your seat belt, you're in for quite a ride! Keep in mind there IS a difference between what's "legal" for your truck and what your truck is capable of. Some here feel that if it's not legal it's not safe. Towing makes some nervous if the truck even twitches, while some are comfortable with the natural movement of a towed vehicle. Read until your sick of it and then make your decision. I'll state out front that I feel that a one ton dually is the best truck for towing any new Montana, it's just not the best truck for everyone.

wed · 05-10-2019, 05:44 PM

Welcome ask all your question and hope we can get you a answer!
Ed

**DQDick** · 05-10-2019, 05:45 PM

Welcome to the forum! Here's another thing to think about with the truck you have. Your going to load your rig up if you full time and so your pin weight will be up there. Your SRW truck may say it will take the weight, but if you weigh your wheels individually when the trailer is on you quite likely will find you are overweight for your tires. If so, over time, sidewall buldges and cracked beads may be in your future every couple of years. You can guess how I know.

Seamus&Marley · 05-10-2019, 07:25 PM

Many tks for all the kind replies. We knew from the outset, that the best tow vehicle was a diesel dully, but we knew we didn’t want that size truck, so we picked the 2017 Ram 2500HD with the Cummins eng. and a verified max 17,100 lbs dry weight tow capacity. Thinking most of the Montana we liked were between 13k-13.8k. We don’t plan to drive with more than the very min gray,black and fresh water or none at all. Staying in campgrounds and not boondocking. I also knew that a short bed would potentially be problematic, but read about some great sliding hitches designed for them. I will now consider a 31’ unit under 12k lbs dry weight.

Last2Die · 05-10-2019, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MidMOTraveler

Welcome

PNW Fireguy · 05-10-2019, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seamus&Marley

Many tks for all the kind replies. We knew from the outset, that the best tow vehicle was a diesel dully, but we knew we didn’t want that size truck, so we picked the 2017 Ram 2500HD with the Cummins eng. and a verified max 17,100 lbs dry weight tow capacity. Thinking most of the Montana we liked were between 13k-13.8k. We don’t plan to drive with more than the very min gray,black and fresh water or none at all. Staying in campgrounds and not boondocking. I also knew that a short bed would potentially be problematic, but read about some great sliding hitches designed for them. I will now consider a 31’ unit under 12k lbs dry weight.

Your crunch point is going to be payload vs pin weight. The towing capacity will not be your limiting factor. When doing your research realize that the factory dry pin weight is the absolute best case scenario and not real world. Our actual pin weight is more than 1500lbs over the spec’d dry weight. Just an example number to keep you thinking.

TennTom · 05-10-2019, 08:45 PM

I am very comfortable with my setup. 2018 Ram 2500 with the Gas 6.4, bed is 6.4 with a Curt slider #20. Trailer is a 42' 381TH. I hit the scales a lot at first to get comfortable with loading. Pin weight with hitch has always been below 3500k and trailer fully loaded was just over 15k. Is that the best setup? Guess I could convert a Peterbuilt or Kenworth.

You will read lots of posts about this, as mentioned before. Do what you feel is right.

Seamus&Marley · 05-11-2019, 09:33 AM

Ok TKS, you have giving me some hope. I don't want to trust the RV dealer who has skin in the game to make a sale which is why I'm asking the experienced experts and what to avoid mishaps or as many mistakes as possible. It seem clear that "pin weight" is a key factor. I certainly don't want to wreck the truck and safety is paramount. How's your turning radius with sliding hitch you mentioned? Any other recommendations on best sliding hitches? Cheers

Last2Die · 05-11-2019, 10:08 AM

Take a look at the Anderson ultimate hitch. You may like it. Boils down to preference, some like the 38lb 5th wheel hitch because they have it, others need it, some hate it but at least take a look.

Theunz · 05-11-2019, 10:50 AM

The Andersen will give you a little more room between the trailer and the cab than a standard hitch, but not as much room as a slider will. Just as I stated earlier about a dually being best, but not for everyone, same goes for hitches. An auto slider is the safest and most convenient, but is extreamly heavy and large. It also takes up a lot of room in your bed, takes more maintenance, and is expensive. A manual slider is much less expensive, lighter, and takes up the same real estate as a standard hitch. A manual slider, however, won't do you a bit of good unless you stop, get out, and move it. Remember it's not just backing up that can cause contact with the cab, making a tight or U turn is just as likely to get you in trouble. I've used a manual slider with a short bed for over 14 years and only moved it a few times, and could have been ok even if I didn't, although the maneuver would have taken longer. The one time I should of moved it and didn't was in a gas station when I got in a hurry and made a very sharp turn. I barely kissed the cab and got lucky with only a very light scuff of the clear coat. That incident was with an older trailer with a "square" front unlike the curved front on the newer trailers. I recently bought a newer truck and was going to go with an auto slider, but since the truck already had a turnover ball gooseneck hitch I decided to give the Andersen a try. Thousands have towed thousands of miles with a short bed and a fixed hitch with no issues, but to do so you must be diligent.
PS. Hitch discussions can get almost as heated as truck discussions, especially when it involves the Andersen!

TennTom · 05-11-2019, 06:18 PM

Just one other comment. Even though you may be under your pin weight you should think about installing some air bags back there. This will keep the geometry up front where is needs to be so you don't wear out everything up front. I opted for some by Firestone. They hold up to 100lbs of air. I put between 60-70lbs and when empty keep it at 5lbs.

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