Soon to purchase Montana/towing question - Montana Owners Club

Montana_5541 · 03-20-2006, 03:21 AM

I just sold my motorhome and will purchase a Montana later this summer. I anticipate buying a 35'. I'd like to have 2 or 3 slides also. My plan is to pull it with a newer model 3/4 ton Dodge diesel. My question is this...Is a 3/4 ton enough to pull a Montana that size and what kind of tires do I need.

I'm brand new to 5th wheels, making the big leap from M.H. to 5th wheel is the right decision but I just need to know what I need to tow with.

Thanks

retired Sheriff from Wyoming

stiles watson · 03-20-2006, 03:52 AM

Well, Hammer,

You are going to get answers all over the board. Folks like me like their 3/4-ton trucks, but other folks got to go with a 1-ton unit. Some of us are satisfied with single rear wheels (SRW), but some want dually's. Some are satisfied with 4x2 others want 4x4 and on and on.

Whatever truck we have, we can justify the purchase to suit ourselves and believe we made the best choice. Why else would we have made that choice anyway. You will have to decide what your want and then enjoy the choice.

Welcome to the forum and happy RVing....

jrgwdenner · 03-20-2006, 04:40 AM

Welcome to the forum! Stiles has given you good advice. It appears that the 3/4 tons will pull just about any Montana. We chose a one ton dually for stability and are very happy with our Dodge Ram. You're on the right track and they've discussed this subject at length on the forum so try the search box and you'll get more info than you need.....or want!

Montana_5541 · 03-20-2006, 05:01 AM

Thanks all for your responses. Just looking around the RV park I'm in I see a majority of 3/4 ton 4x4's pulling larger 5th wheels. I've got some time so will certainly check out other posts in these forums.

Thanks again!!

BillyRay · 03-20-2006, 05:28 AM

the most important decision is solely based on towing capasity. then the opinions can kick in. we bought our camper first then the tow vehicle around it.

richfaa · 03-20-2006, 05:32 AM

I agree with BillyRay On deciding what Montana you will purchase THEN looking for the Truck that will best suit your needs.

Dano · 03-20-2006, 05:39 AM

We went with the 3500 dually so it would'nt limit us on any one model. Some might say it's an over kill, but we feel safe towing, and that works for us.

Wordsmith · 03-20-2006, 07:36 AM

What I am going to say is coming from a person with a 3/4 ton truck, but one piece of wise advice that was given to me when I was young is that you cannot have too much truck.

Just some food for thought…

Ishler · 03-20-2006, 10:49 AM

Some info to keep in mind is there is little difference in the construction between the 3/4 and 1T Dodge. The frame, transmission, rear end is the same, the major difference are the helper springs in the back. For the cost difference you get the "official" towing capacity of the 1 ton. When we were shopping the price difference was small between the two so we went with the 1T.

Mike

Montana Sky · 03-20-2006, 01:35 PM

I have been very happy with how my truck handles my 3400RL. As far as tire size goes, I run the stock size that came on my Chevy, they have served me well. The only thing to make sure you look at is going with a load range E tire if you are buying a used truck. Towing any of the Montana's will overload the tires if you are not running the proper load range with the correct carrying capacity on your truck. Just some thoughts...

ols1932 · 03-20-2006, 04:42 PM

We have a 3/4 ton 4x4 and I feel a little less confident than a lot of the folks. I will definitely go to a bigger truck when and if I have to. My gcvw exceeds the 20,000 lbs. My rig, loaded, weighs in a5 15,200. That's a little more than I should be pulling with this truck.

But, everyone goes with what they feel is best for them. Most of us had the truck when we bought the rig and are really not in a financial condition to buy another truck. It's cheaper to keep repairing the one we have. Like Johnny Cash said, "...a new vehicle, one piece at a time..." (my paraphrase).

Orv

Wrenchtraveller · 03-20-2006, 05:10 PM

The world is changing thanks to lawyers and it is not worth taking a chance pulling a large Fiver with a truck that is over it's GVWR. I have the baby Montana, a 2955RL and I have a SRW F350 Ford. In 05 Ford upped the GVWR on this truck to 11200 pounds. Incredible on a SRW truck and for years duallys were only 10000 pounds GVWR. The "little" 2955RL is the only model I would pull with my SRW. If I wanted any of the larger Montanas, I would have gone dually. That is my personal choice even though most Montana models would still be legal with my truck as I have over 3500 pound payload and that should handle the pin weight of most of the models.

Am I silly enough to think that my 05 SRW will be as stable as an older dually with 10000 LB GVWR

OF COURSE NOT !! a dually will always be more stable but I gave this example to convince you to stay legal. Nobody, not you or a team of Philadelphia lawyers can change a truck's GVWR.
After market stuff can improve your handling but not your LEGAL payload.

Insurance companies can void your coverage if you cause an accident with an overloaded vehicle.
The vehicle maker can void your warranty if you break down overweight.

Why would anybody want to chance that. RV ownership should be fun. Keep it that way.

Garin1 · 03-20-2006, 07:52 PM

Hammer, keep both in mind when shopping but I agree that you should decide on the 5vr first. You can always get the tow vehicle to match but not always visa-versa.

Good luck and welcome aboard

lightningjack11 · 03-21-2006, 04:27 AM

Hammer,

Since you are a retired Sheriff I know you will want to do this properly so learn the math envolved in a safe selection. Learn all the terms.

The max pin wt you want is the GVWR(Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) of the truck minus the actual truck wt as you intend to travel.

Pin wts will vary but a good general rule is 20 to 25 percent of loaded fully loaded trailer wt. (mine is 22.5 percent)

Then you have the GCWR which is the maximum combined wt allowed for both truck and trailer.

There are many more terms and you learn them all through the search functions.

Wagonmaster · 03-21-2006, 04:57 AM

I went to a F350 dually be cause knowing the wife I didn't know what we were going to end up with (still don't). I had a f250 and it did a reasonable job of pulling. Weight the numbers and then decide.. Jack

sreigle · 03-26-2006, 06:37 AM

GVWR on my 2005 Ford F250 3/4 ton is 10,000. Same as my 2003 Ford F350 1-ton was. GCWR on my 3/4 ton is 23,000. More than many 1 tons on the road (My 2003 was 20,000). Tow rating on my 3/4 ton is 15,400 (14,200 on my 2003 F350), also more than many 1 tons. I know the F350 1 ton ratings go as high as 19,200 for towing and 26,000 GCWR. That's for 2005 and 2006 models.

That all said, our 3295RK has just about the highest GVWR of any Montana, at 14,300. Ours scales at 14,360 actual. And the 3295RK has the highest pinweight. Ours is 3300 actual. I'm towing it with a Ford F250 3/4 ton rated to two 15,400. The truck was 17 months old yesterday and is less than 200 miles short of 50,000 miles. I'm absolutely sold this 3/4 ton is capable of towing any Montana on the road.

That said, had I been able to find an F350 with the equipment, colors, and cab configuration I wanted when we were looking, I would have bought that. But the 2005 Fords were brand new and selling like hotcakes. It was hard enough to find this F250. I am very happy with the way it handles this Montana. Now that I know the pinweight, the Ford F350 1-ton would be a better choice because of the higher payload. But this one is doing an excellent job and we'll keep it.

I've talked Ford because that's what I have and know. The other brands also do a good job. It's hard to go wrong, so long as you pay attention to the numbers.

mobilrvn · 03-27-2006, 06:02 PM

For what it is worth, our '99 F-350 dually crewcab powerstroke's transmission died and we tried twice to have it fixed in Mexico, but no joy. Traded it for a SRW '06 Chevy 2500HD Duramax with the new Allison six speed. Have already put over 2500 miles on it going down the Baja to La Paz to get the 5W and towing it back to Yuma. It is an awsome TV! The transmission is an absolute dream. It is basically just as stable as the dually and hauls a lot more. I wasn't sure it was the TV for me, but I am sold. It has way more acceleration than my '65 E Jaguar had. (Don't buy a beautiful used F-350 dually crewcab with blue flames on the fenders unless you want to put in a new transmission--loved that truck, but the new Mr. Truck is now my favorite.)

Montana Sky · 03-28-2006, 09:13 AM

mobilrvn,
Sorry to hear your Ford gave out on you, but have to say CONGRATS!! on your new Duramax. It will provide you many happy miles ahead... Enjoy the new truck.

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