Can a 2015 Chevy 2500HD Handle a Keystone Montana 377FL?

[jsb5717]

You're getting mostly good advice. This is always the challenge when upgrading a 5er with an existing truck. You need to look at the stickers inside your driver's door to see what your published cargo capacity it. Your issue won't be tow weight, it will be pin weight. Your truck has a max cargo rating...that's your available payload (or how much weight you can load ONTO your truck). Adding loaded pin weight of the trailer to passengers, hitch, and other gear will give you a weight that your truck's suspension must be able to safely handle. Adding air bags does NOT add payload. There are ways to beef up suspension and get a certified upgraded payload rating, as Mike has done, but most people would rather just get more truck than spend the dollars on all of that. To each his own...either way you get adequate capacity.

If you're a "safety first" kind of guy then you'll need to seriously consider getting more truck. There's likely no way that your 2500 has the payload rating to cover all you're going to load on it.

If you post pics of the stickers inside your truck driver door we can help make sense of it.

 

[Dfb]

You will be way over your GAWR ON THE REAR. Over your payload. So no..

 

[Captl27]

You can always alter the suspension to make it work to a certain degree but that does not make it Legal.

 

[Dfb]

You can always alter the suspension to make it work to a certain degree but that does not make it Legal.

True

 

[Michael.shafer]

This is a 2018 374FL (which was the earlier model without the loft of the 377fl) being towed by a 2001 Dodge 2500 with a V10. There isn't that much of a sag and the truck was able to tow it but when you only get 10mpg to start and it drops in half it wasn't cost effective so I bought a 2019 Ram 3500 and the only reason I went with the 3500 was I wanted the assin transmission and it only came in the 3500 that year. I thought I'd throw this out just for comparison.

 

[hotsocket]

Yes…17,900 is workable for my truck…we don’t load much in it since it’s at a permanent site for now..but eventually will be traveling with it…I sure it will pull it fine …just wondering about the the squating

I had a 2016 -2500 and it pulled my 42’ 3781 fine but I put tembrins under it for the squat.

 

[jsb5717]

We have to be careful in giving good advice to folks who come here looking for it. There's a difference between what I "can" do and what I "should" do. Towing safety is never about what someone else got away with. It's always about the numbers. The truck has a cargo, or payload, capacity on a sticker inside the driver's door specific to that truck. That's the only number you need to know for your truck's capability and should be the first number you check before throwing a 40' 5er on it. Being able to tow a trailer is very different than being able to safely carry the weight on the truck's limited, OEM spec'd suspension. There's absolutely no way that any 250/2500 truck can safely handle a Montana 3781 with a GVWR of over 16,500lbs. The pin weight alone is likely over 3300lbs. The hitch, gear, and passengers add significantly more weight. That truck is badly under rated for that haul. Timbrens, air bags, etc, do not add to the truck's payload capacity. It's simply not a safe match up and should not be emulated by anyone looking for good towing advice. Getting away with it is not the same as being safe.

People genuinely looking for helpful advice on safe towing should never listen to people who's only help is "I did it so you can too". The posted weight capacity exists for a reason and should not be ignored just because "she pulls just fine".

If you care about safety then do the math on all of the numbers and make a wise choice. If you are willing to put your family, and others on the road, at risk then roll the dice and do what you want. Just don't offer that up as good advice.

 

[Ragingun]

We have to be careful in giving good advice to folks who come here looking for it. There's a difference between what I "can" do and what I "should" do. Towing safety is never about what someone else got away with. It's always about the numbers. The truck has a cargo, or payload, capacity on a sticker inside the driver's door specific to that truck. That's the only number you need to know for your truck's capability and should be the first number you check before throwing a 40' 5er on it. Being able to tow a trailer is very different than being able to safely carry the weight on the truck's limited and OEM spec'd suspension. There's absolutely no way that any 250/2500 truck can safely handle a Montana 3781 with a GVWR of over 16,500lbs. The pin weight alone is likely over 3300lbs. The hitch, gear, and passengers add significantly more weight. That truck is badly under rated for that haul. Timbrens, air bags, etc, do not add to the truck's payload capacity. It's simply not a safe match up and should not be emulated by anyone looking for good towing advice. Getting away with it is not the same as being safe.

People genuinely looking for helpful advice on safe towing should never listen to people who's only help is "I did it so you can too". The posted weight capacity exists for a reason and should not be ignored just because "she pulls just fine".

If you care about safety then do the math on all of the numbers and make a wise choice. If you are willing to put your family, and others on the road, at risk then roll the dice and do what you want. Just don't offer that up as good advice.

I agree. Many do not understand how to calculate the towing capacity correctly and simply look at advertised tow "capacity". As a whole it takes way more truck than most understand to pull a good size trailer let alone a 5er. No one ever thinks about the weight added to the truck prior to the trailer.

You have to truly be able to evaluate what the restrictions/limitations are. As you mentioned, payload capacity is almost always the first number to be hit followed by the rear axle and neither one of those capacities align anywhere close to the tow capacity number.

 

[PSFORD99]

Yes…17,900 is workable for my truck…we don’t load much in it since it’s at a permanent site for now..but eventually will be traveling with it…I sure it will pull it fine …just wondering about the the squating

You got some good advice here , but I always wonder why ask , you are going to tow that fifth wheel anyway. To put it simply you are over loaded . Sure it's doable , you can tow it ,but you sure can't haul it safely . Good luck .

 

[PSFORD99]

We have to be careful in giving good advice to folks who come here looking for it. There's a difference between what I "can" do and what I "should" do. Towing safety is never about what someone else got away with. It's always about the numbers. The truck has a cargo, or payload, capacity on a sticker inside the driver's door specific to that truck. That's the only number you need to know for your truck's capability and should be the first number you check before throwing a 40' 5er on it. Being able to tow a trailer is very different than being able to safely carry the weight on the truck's limited, OEM spec'd suspension. There's absolutely no way that any 250/2500 truck can safely handle a Montana 3781 with a GVWR of over 16,500lbs. The pin weight alone is likely over 3300lbs. The hitch, gear, and passengers add significantly more weight. That truck is badly under rated for that haul. Timbrens, air bags, etc, do not add to the truck's payload capacity. It's simply not a safe match up and should not be emulated by anyone looking for good towing advice. Getting away with it is not the same as being safe.

People genuinely looking for helpful advice on safe towing should never listen to people who's only help is "I did it so you can too". The posted weight capacity exists for a reason and should not be ignored just because "she pulls just fine".

If you care about safety then do the math on all of the numbers and make a wise choice. If you are willing to put your family, and others on the road, at risk then roll the dice and do what you want. Just don't offer that up as good advice.

Couldn't have said it better . I just always wonder as said ,why even ask ,they are going to buy , and tow that fifth wheel anyway .

 

[LeftOverParts]

Here’s a short section from an answer when you google about the dynamic load on the pin and truck when going over bumps. If correct, the numbers get pretty significant if you start with say, a 700lb-1000lb overloaded truck.

 

[Rthrush]

We had a smaller Montana but looking to purchase a 2026 Keystone Montana High Country 377FL , I have a 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax Diesel and I am sure it will tow it but was wondering with the weight how much it would squash the back end down and if I would need air bags or anything?

I am sure that a 2500 will not safely pull this 377FL. Your payload is way under capacity for the safe hauling this would require. Here is a very easy to understand video that explains everything about capacity and ratings.

Also, consider a gooseneck hitch, it can add up to 1000 lbs of payload capacity to your truck

 

[Dfb]

Always use the right tool for the job.