Is Ford 250's the right choice for 36-40 footers?

[greenenergy]

I'm interested in buying a 2010 Montana and see that most are using the Ford 250 from the recent truck poll. My friend who owns a Keystone Challenger says this comment below about 3/4 ton trucks pulling Montana-- is he correct in his assesment below???

Rod

"The Keystone factory rep is right that there are a lot of 5ers out there being towed by 3/4 ton pickups, fords, gmcs, and dodge. However, they are in the 29 to 31 foot length and not in the 36 to 40 foot range"

[Desert RVer]

I suspect any 5th wheel in the 36 to 40 foot range would overload a F250. You need to dig inmto the specs really deep to determine what any truck can handle.

[ols1932]

quote:Originally posted by greenenergy

I'm interested in buying a 2010 Montana and see that most are using the Ford 250 from the recent truck poll. My friend who owns a Keystone Challenger says this comment below about 3/4 ton trucks pulling Montana-- is he correct in his assesment below???

Rod

"The Keystone factory rep is right that there are a lot of 5ers out there being towed by 3/4 ton pickups, fords, gmcs, and dodge. However, they are in the 29 to 31 foot length and not in the 36 to 40 foot range"

The real answer is NO! I pull with a F-250 and it will pull the rig but I really need something bigger. Have been pulling with this truck for nine years now. That doesn't mean it's right. It just means that I don't have the money to buy a bigger truck.

Orv

[Tom S.]

The length of the trailer has nothing to do with it, it's the weight that's important. Look at what the 250 is rated at (the sticker on the door) and then look at the maximum weight rating of the trailer (not the empty or 'dry' rating!) and compare them. If the trailer max weight is more than the truck's rating, you've answered your own question.

[mcgiver2]

Well in my opion i belive you need a one ton and the lenght doesnt matter but for a camper that long it will wieght a lot so just look at the wieght of camper and the wieght the truck can saftly handle....i had a 3/4 ton and i use a one ton now.....

[8e3k0]

Rod, get the weigh of the 5th wheel and then try and obtain an accurate weight of the pin and that is at the hitch when trailer is empty and then permitted allowance for personal belongings (additional weight). Generally a F250 will be over its GVWR with a 36 to 40 foot 5th wheel. You'll pull it, but the strain on the suspension and you may be a bit overbearing at times.

[Delaine and Lindy]

First you will never convince some people that a 3/4 Truck is not the same as a 1 ton Truck. This isn't a new topic, if the 5th wheel is over 34' its a good possibility that the pin weight will be over what a 3/4 ton is designed to handle. And in many cases you will also be over GVWR. I have also found that most RV manufactors post weights that aren't correct. To get a true weight you must weight the 5th wheel alone, and weight each wheel and you should be loaded as if your going on the road RVing. Then weight the Truck with all passengers with pets also. Then you will know the corrects weights on that day. I walk thru the RV park everyday and see all kinds of gadgets to make the Truck carry more weight or keep the truck from sagging. The best thing to do is get the Truck that is designed to pull the type of 5th wheel your pulling. I pulled for many years with 3/4 Ton trucks and mostly 1 ton Trucks. And the 1 tons were in most cases over the GVWR, for instance the Keystone Cambridge 358 my gross weight was 25,600 lbs. With the Truck and 5th wheel I am pulling with now my Gross weight is 31,400 lbs. But my Truck is no were close to being over Gross weight. And thats not counting the Chevy HHR that we tow behind the 5th wheel. The best thing is do a lot of research, and do the math yourself. But if your going to pull a large 5th wheel 34' and longer you should have a 1 ton Truck DRW's. Most don't like to hear that but its a fact. Good Luck with your choice. Most sales people are trying to sell a product, and don't want to say something you want like to hear. GBY...

[richfaa]

According to the weighing we just had at the fall rally our truck is just within the GCVWR of 23,500lbs... and I mean just..

[BB_TX]

Longer may equate to heavier total weight, but not necessarily heavier pin weight. Our 3075RL at 34' has a listed pin weight 200-300 lbs more than the 38' models! Figure that. And with the washer/dryer up front, it is probably worse than that since some of the 38' have the washer/dryer near the middle.

[Chip]

Yea, my pin weight is 3380 (includes the hitch)

Why is this so heavy?

[richfaa]

W/D.. I forgot about that in wondering why my 3400 weighed so much. Listed dry weight was..11,650 (if that was correct) additional options were.. 4 slide toppers, front A/C, slide in compartment tray, W/D, Two 12V batteries, central vac, Mor Ryde Hitch I just pulled the actual weight ticket for the camper taken the day we brought it home, ...completly empty....12,450lbs difference of 800lbs????? the listed CC was 2325lbs. less the 800lbs = 1525. I was in trouble from the get go.

[Art-n-Marge]

Yup Rich... I will not add a W/D or generator because of too much weight AND at the pin, no less. I will be toast. A 2nd A/C is the only thing I would consider because the weight gain is relatively small, but it will still add weight at my pin.

To stay on subject, it is my opinion an F-250 is too small for a Monty 95% of the time. A one-ton with a 4.x diff is much preferred. However, to set expectations, it's all about the several weight ratings. First, stay under the RAWR (not much left on an F-250), then stay under the GVWR - if the pin weight is heavy and you've got the truck loaded with stuff, then good luck staying under. Lastly, the GCWR. There is a good chance you will satisfy this because an F-250 can tow over 15,000 lbs, but the problem is that very little of the weight can be ON the truck.

DO NOT go by Marketing and Sales documentation. Start with the RVIA stickers, then head for the scales! The truck documentation is a lot better but go for real world numbers.

If you have a chance, go for an F-350 diesel and your chances are much greater for weight compliance. Getting a dually and you will have nothing to worry about (don't forget the 4x4, too).

The Keystone rep is talking about those within weight compliance. They'll never admit they allow their disty's to sell too heavy a rig to an F-250 owner. Turn down money? No way! After all, they took my money without blinking.

Welcome to the MOC "greenenergy". hmmmmmmm interesting tag. I hope you use biodiesel...

[berridge]

Get a one ton-even a SRW- and you will be safe. The price difference is small and you won't have to be part of the "overloaded and wondering if it is safe" gang. I wish I had as with my 3075 I am over the payload limit and the GCWR for my 3/4 ton truck although not over the RAWR.

[nunya]

if ya can,get a 1 ton DRW and you will never have to wonder......down the same road as some of us have till we got there! Saves money in the long run!

[steves]

Suggest you go to the Keystone Home Page, select the model and then select the floor plan, then you can see the shipped weight and the max weight ratings of your 5th wheel. E.G. my 340RLQ has a shipped (dry) weight of 12,880# and a carrying capacity of an additional 3,280#. Loaded to max would be an allowable weight of 16,160# My F350 is rated for a max 5th wheel rating of 15,200#. So you can see I could easily be over weight. A 1 ton dually does not help your weight capacity except for allowing a higher pin weight capacity. That said there is the tow boss option on a Ford F350 that does increase tow capacity based on a different rear-end and transmission and heavier rated trucks such as the F450, etc. So my suggestion is to go with at the minimum of a 1 ton rated truck, SRW or DRW is your option and the cost as stated before is not that much difference than a 3/4 ton truck.

[TLightning]

As noted above,the 3/4 ton diesels cannot handle the pin weight and remain in specs. Pulling is irrelevant, any of the big three diesels can pull any Montana...it's the pin weight issue that kills the 3/4s.

If the truck is an 05 model or newer...check the left rear door frame for the Tire and Loading Information sticker...it will give you the total cargo capacity for that truck. Ford's are very heavy with some 3/4 ton diesels having a cargo capacity of UNDER 2,000. A truck like that, with a Montana in tow, would be well over 1,000# over weight. Do the numbers yourself...I have.

[NCFischers]

I tow with a 1 ton dually. My pin weight is about 2900 pounds. I wouldn't feel comfortable with a 3/4 ton.

[greenenergy]

Rich said-- "According to the weighing we just had at the fall rally our truck is just within the GCVWR of 23,500lbs... and I mean just"

Hi Rich--

According to Fords website
http://www.a1warriortrailers.com/pdf...-tow-guide.pdf

a Ford 350 6.4 diesel with the 4x4, 410 diff makes the DRW at only 15,000 pounds--so you may be too heavy in your Montana loaded weight.

Additionally I have not seen any problems with King pin weight on Montana and Ford 250 based on the 15-20% averageing that Ford uses in their spec list.

Rod

[pbahlin]

Sort of off track but FYI, the 2010 1 ton Ram dually has a GCWR of 25400, GVWR of 12200 and cargo capacity of 4780. This is higher rated than previous years. Still....

The numbers work out for my Big SKY which is GVWR of 16535 and 2535 on the pin like this...

Curb weight of TV can be assumed to be 12200-4780=7420

My GVW will be:
70 gal aux diesel = 490 lbs,
35 gal of normal tank = 345 lbs,
me, DW, dogs = 500 lbs,
hitch = 200 lbs,
pin = 2535,
and truck = 7420

This adds up to GVW of 11490. So cool! This is OK and well within the 12200 GVWR for the truck.


So my GCW is GVW - pin + trailer = 11490 - 2535 + 16535 = 25490. This is not so cool. I've done this with every pick up truck out there and I always go over on GCWR.

Over on Escapees there's a thread that discusses the wisdom of going over GCWR. One school of thought is, no big deal it's not a NHTSA requirement to meet GCWR anyway and weigh stations and law enforcement don't check for this.

Another school of thought is that it's a big deal because pushing the envelope like this means high wear and tear of your drive train.

The third school of thought (written by a lawyer) is that GCWR should not be violated if you're up in front of a jury. As a lawyer the first thing he would do as a plaintiff is add up all the weights to show you are not meeting the manufacturers recommendations and depending on the jury this might be enough to make your insurance company head for the hills while the jury finds you guilty of negligence and a high reward to a plaintiff.

This last is the one that concerns me the most. It may be safer than drinking antifreeze and perfectly OK with LE but I get knots in my stomach thinking about my friend the insurance company if I ever have a need to extract cash from their wrinkly little hands.

I'm struggling with this because I too am in the market for a truck and every pickup seems to be sort of marginal for weight. I'm leaning to an HDT conversion for this reason. Taking on a class 8 truck scares me a bit but not as much as being pushed through the little Smart car in front of me in an emergency stop.

Also, notice how I cleverly disguised the DW weight by smurgling it in with me and my tiny little dogs . Don't want to make it too hot on the road.

[pbahlin]

OK, let me set this straight here, my DH is leading you astray about his dogs...big time....he has one on a diet and she wouldn't be little even after her diet....she's like a sherman tank..drags me on her leash!!!!! I just had to clear that up before this got too far!

Betty