truck?

[Montana_4561]

We are thinking about buying 2006 Montana fiver model 3500RL. But the problem is I was not sure if Ford truck F250 or Chevy 2500 has a capacity to tow Montana 3500RL? The gross dry weight for the model 3500RL is 11445 pound and 2440 pound carrying capacity so that add up to 13,885 pounds. Any advise would be great appreciated. thanks

[Dave e Victoria]

There are a lot of people on this forum towing all sorts of Montanas with 3/4 ton Ford, GM and Dodge trucks. The larger Montanas are all in the weight class you describe. Before our Cambridge, we pulled a 3295RK Big Sky with gross weight of 14,400 pounds. Our GMC 2500HD handled this trailer just fine. I'm sure others with your exact trailer will chime in here.

[sreigle]

Welcome aboard, Rock2! We're towing a 3295RK that scales at an actual weight of 14,360 lbs. and pinweight of 3300 lbs. (we're very heavily loaded) with a 3/4 ton Ford, F250, 6.0 powerstroke diesel and the truck does a terrific job. We towed this same Montana with a 1999 F350 V10 and a 2003 F350 6.0 diesel and all did great. As Dave said, there are members here towing heavy Montanas with all three brands in both 3/4 and 1 ton varieties and they all do a good job. You didn't mention diesel or gas but did mention Ford and Chevy. Both of those diesels (as well as the Dodge) will do a great job. On the gas side, either the Ford V10 or the Chevy 8.1L V8 will do a great job. So does the Dodge V10 but you'll have to go used to find one of those. The 3500RL has one of the lightest pinweights of any Montana so that's in your favor.

The above are just my opinions, for whatever that's worth. Good luck and welcome aboard.

[thook]

Hey Rock,

We are pulling a 2005 3400RL with an F250 Ford 7.3L PSD . Pulled great even before I added a chip, air box and 4" exhaust. Now it REALLY pulls!

I've never felt the 5er push or over steer in a turn. Seems to be plenty of truck regardless what the numbers might say.

[Montana Sky]

Rock2,
I tow my 3400RL with a 2500HD Silverado with the Duramax and Allison tranny. This has been a great truck for me and know it will tow the Montana you are thinking of with ease. My coach is right around 13,450lbs now and feel 100% safe with the truck and the way it tows. Best of luck on the truck decision.

[mallardjusted]

3/4 ton trucks will pull it fine, but you will be over the truck manufacturer's payload rating. You might consider going to the 1-ton for either ford or dodge (or gmc), as the price difference is fairly minimal.

[Montana_139]

I would suggest a 1 ton dually if you want to keep to the truck loading specifications. We have the GMC 1 ton dually and the 3295RK. We fulltime so we are really loaded with all of our possessions. When we weighed in on a truck scale we were over the limit for the truck.

Glenn

[Montana_4561]

I am still learning... do you mean 3/4 ton -- F-250 & 2500
while 1 ton --- F-350 and 3500?

[sreigle]

That's correct. F250 and 2500 are 3/4 ton and F350 and 3500 are 1 ton. That's true in Ford, GM, and Dodge. I've personally never felt the need or a dually but they do give you a higher payload rating. We've never felt any instability so long as the truck is riding level. Get a dually if that makes you more comfortable.

With some Montanas the 3/4 tons may need airbags or special shocks to avoid any rear end sag. But the 3500 has a pretty light pinweight so you'd very likely not need it and not be over the truck's payload rating with the 3500 pinweight. My 3/4 ton has a published payload rating of 2700 lbs. Even if your 3500 turns out to have pinweight more than the advertised 1880 lbs you likely will be well within the payload. Other models with heavier pinweights would be more of a concern in this area in my opinion. With our heavier pinweight we went with airbags to avoid a sag of just over an inch and now the truck rides level.

[Montana_4561]

In matter of fact I prefer 250 or 2500 series. Where do you find airbag that design for the truck? That is something new.

[mallardjusted]

Steve,

You're right that for the lower pin weight of the 3500RL it would probably be within payload ratings. I was thinking of the heavier pin weight of our unit, which gave us:

Pin weight 2200
Hitch weight 170
Driver/passenger 430+ (including our dog!)
Misc cargo 100+ (tools, extra oil, bed mats, etc)
________________________
minimum total 2900 (more if other stuff or additional passengers are carried)

That's when the additional payload of a 1-ton is nice. But for the 3500RL's lower pin weight, it's probably ok.

[Montana_139]

I am sorry if I offend anyone, but if you have to add airbags, in my opinion you are overloading the truck and are probably over the truck weight specifications. A 3/4 ton truck with equal engine, transmission and rear end will pull a larger TT than a 1 ton dually because the truck is lighter. A 5er is a different story because the pin weight is many times greater than a TT. You have to make sure that the truck can handle the pin weight. Remember that the advertised pin weight is with an empty trailer. You would be amazed just how much weight you will add when you load up the trailer.
I am afraid that being an engineer I am a stickler for specifications.

Glenn

[Montana Sky]

Here is the numbers for each truck for kingpin weight. The max kingpin weight for the 2500HD Silverado/Sierra is 3,000lbs. The max weight for a 3500 dually is 3,500lbs. Both the 2500HD and 3500 will tow off the receiver hitch is 12,000lbs. I have the 3400RL with one of the lightest kingpin weights on the fleet. I come in at approx 2,100lbs with my coach loaded to the hilt for spending 6 months at the lake a year, my truck hooked and ready squats approx 1.5" At this point I have not found a need for airbags, but one has to do what they feel is comfortable to them.

[Dave e Victoria]

With all due respect, there are a variety of reasons to add airbags. For instance. MontanaSky points out that their truck sags about 1.5 inches and they are well within the specification. If they loaded closer to spec the sag might be more like 2 inches. Air bags would level the truck. Among other things, this would level the headlights so low beams did not distract oncoming drivers. In addition, the dynamic behavior of airbags is better that iron springs thus providing a somewhat better ride. In this case, most of the load is still carried by the springs and damped by the shocks. Still, the load carried by the air helps bring the dynamic action closer to an ideal deadbeat response. So, even if you are within the specifications for the truck, airbags will help reduce stress and fatigue on the trucks frame and springs. If you move up a notch, the mid weight haulers offer airbag assists or even full air suspension as options

It would really be interesting to find a way to adjust specifications depending on modifications to the basic truck. For instance, what happens if one were to change tires and rims to F or G rating. Or how about some simple frame stiffening mods. Or how about putting in a rear end from a mid size truck. After all, the engine and tranny are identical for the GM 2500 all the way up through the 5500. Does anybody do this? It's getting late. Think I'll go to bed. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up dreaming.

[Montana_4561]

I see your point about the kingpin weight. I look up a Montana 2005 catalog. It says hitch is 1885 so I would suppose it means kingpin weight?

[Charlie]

rock2-
Here is a link for the Firestone Ride-Rite air bags. This is the same that I have on mine, helps quite a bit on leveling and stability.

http://www.ride-rite.com/

[Montana_4561]

Thanks Charlies

[mallardjusted]

I am curious, though. Let's say someone is buying a new truck to pull a 5th wheel (it sounded like that was the original question). I'll use the Ford as an example since that's what I'm familiar with. If you are marginal with the payload ratings for a F-250, why wouldn't you get a F-350 (same for Dodge or GMC)? The price difference is maybe 3% of the truck purchase??? I've had both a F-250 and a F-350, and I can't think of a reason why I would ever say "gee, I wish I'd bought the F-250 instead"?

If somebody already has a 3/4, I can understand why the logic would be different, but otherwise?

[Dave e Victoria]

Careful about load differences on 350(3500) vs 250(2500) The back of the manual for my truck (2003 GMC 2500HD duramax/allison) has identical GCWR for both 2500HD and 3500 Crew Cab trucks. The GCWR for both is 22,000 pounds.

The max trailer weight for the 2500HD is higher than the 3500. The 2500HD max is 15,400 pounds whie the max trailer weight for the 3500 is 400 pounds less at 15,000 pounds. It looks like The extra weight of the larger box takes away from trailer weight.

Where the 3500 is better is on maximum pin weight. The 2500HD comes in at 3000 pounds while the 3500 comes in at 3500 pounds.

Since ideal pin weight is 18 to 20% of trailer weight it seems like these trucks are equally up to the job of pulling most Montanas.

I, for one, much prefer the shortbox, non dually just because it is easier to park etc., etc. Having said that, I am researching what to do to properly haul the Cambridge. The option for me is to upgrade the GMC or move up to a Topkick(Kodiak) and then it is even more of a monster to park than the 3500.

[richfaa]

Do your homework and the proper TV that will suit your needs will jump out at you.Check out all the specs for the trucks and camper, take your time and the effort will pay off. It is, in my opinion, not a real good idea to ask a rv'er what kind of Truck you should buy( except for informational purposes) because he will in most cases favor the TV he is driving. Just like asking someone on this Montana forum what kind of camper you should buy...will you be surprised if they say...buy a Montana...