I currently own a '06 Montana 32' with two slides and we are looking to buy a 4-slide 5er without having to give up our Dodge Ram 2500 which has no issues pulling my current 5er. I love Montana and I'm considering the option of the High Country but I have not shopped in 6 years. I know manu's are making lighter units. Any advice for a size upgrade from any manufacturer with-out changing tow vehicle? This upgrade could be retirement traveling condo in 6 yearss
The limiter for any 2500 series truck is the amount it can CARRY! I have said that Generally if the pin weight is over 2100# the total weight will exceed the GVWR. The GCWR for the 3/4T & 1T is generally the same since they usually share the same drive train.
You need to weigh the truck empty with the hitch in it, full fuel and whatever else you would be carrying before the pin is loaded in. Then you will know what you can CARRY.
I have found that anything over 30' is too much for a 3/4T or 1T pickup SRW. For a DRW 1T we are in a different "ballgame". There ARE exceptions, so don't come back telling me how wrong I am.
Frank
2011 Palomino Maverick 1000SLLB on a 2004 Dodge Quadcab CTD Ram3500 SRW long bed equipped with Timbren springs, Stable Load bump stops, Rickson 19.5" wheels/"G" range tires and a Helwig "Big Wig" rear anti sway bar.
My Brother has a 37 foot Montana with 3 slides and weights in at 9700 dry weight. He pulls it with his 05 ford f250 PSD with no problems. I pulled a 40 ft Open Road 13.1k home from Bend Or. to Eureka CA with my 99 PSD with no problems, except for pulling the hill out of Crescent City. Could only pull it at 37 mph. My F250 is rated the same as a F350
You are probably close or even over your 2500 payload capacity with your current fiver.
I don't know of ANY 4-slider that would not overload your truck.
PAYLOAD, not TOWING CAPACITY is usually the issue.
Get the actual weights for your truck so you know what you have to play with.
And DON'T use "dry" weights for the fiver, they are totally misleading.
Keith J.
1999 Sunnybrook 27RKFS Fiver.
2005 GMC Sierra 2500HD CC/SB/DA 2WD, LBZ air cleaner, 52 gal Titan tank, Bilsteins, Line-X, Westin steps, Prodigy, Retrax cover, 16K Superglide, 5th-Airborne pin-box, Multi-vex mirrors, TST TPMS.
I disagree. See our sig. 4 slides, 37', <=13500 when loaded. We are within specs on all numbers and have towed the rig with great success through most of the lower 48. You will need airbags and should already have the exhaust brake installed. The only difference between my truck and yours, other than the spring pack, is probably lack of 4x4. Saves us a few hundred pounds. plus the short bed saves a few dozen more.
Do note that running at the limits will put additional stress on components so you will need to be religious on maintenance.
Over on your GVWR... Probly close, but how about the GAWR? I am over about 400lbs on my GVWR, but not even close on my GAWR... something to think about.
Lets look at some of the numbers AGAIN, as this has been done this many times on this forum. The truck has a GVWR of 9000 pounds. RGAWR is 6010 pounds. Curb weight is at 6862 to 6905 depending on model. So figure around 7400 pounds ready to tow!
So you have 1600 pounds of carrying capacity before you go over GVWR. Some states let you license more weight or require one to license at a higher number that the manufacturers GVWR. My Dodge has a 8800 GVWR and is licensed to 12,000.
Then came the RGVWR of 6010 pounds, which was set by the manufacturer based on two OEM rear tires rated to 3005 pounds each, as the axle a much higher limit of 10-11.5k.
So, if your truck has a rear axle weight of around 3000 pound ready to tow, you have around 3000 pounds of carrying capacity before going over the rear axle/tire rating.
Now the problem! The springs on the rear of the 2500 with 3000 pounds on the bed will cause a lot of rear truck sag. Air bags or after market overload springs will level the truck.
Look at your registration and see what weight the state licensed your truck at. It most likely will be more than 9K.
Do not overload your rear axle/tire rating as that is dangerous and not legal. There are also wheel/tire combinations that carry more weight than the OEM tires.
Somewhere in a Fifth Wheel - Where it does not Snow
tsetsaf wrote: I disagree. See our sig. 4 slides, 37', <=13500 when loaded. We are within specs on all numbers and have towed the rig with great success through most of the lower 48. You will need airbags and should already have the exhaust brake installed. The only difference between my truck and yours, other than the spring pack, is probably lack of 4x4. Saves us a few hundred pounds. plus the short bed saves a few dozen more.
Do note that running at the limits will put additional stress on components so you will need to be religious on maintenance.
Two things in your favor:
- a 1-ton truck
- a fiver with a lower than average pin ratio of 16.1% (If I found the right 34SAQ trailer here.)
Your fiver, with a typical load of passengers/fuel/hitch/stuff in the truck would put the OPs truck well over GVWR, but maybe not GAWR.
He needs to choose a fiver VERY carefully or his weight on the truck could be way more than that.
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