RAM options for towing 5th wheel - advice requested

[Tuesdak]

Lots of good info. Thank you. Been trying to avoid the long bed due to parking issues, but I do understand that it's better with a 5th wheel.

Long bed might come with an increase in payload capacity?

Bigger OEM fuel tank in a long bed.

Long beds do 90 degree turns to the 5th wheel without getting out or any other "compromises".

How long is the garage? Include any "support bars" on the garage door that can knock off 1-2" as the door comes down. Can you extend the garage? Again cost to extend the garage by moving A wall 2' may be cheaper than some automatic slider hitch options for a short bed. FWIW my 2018 crew cab long bed fits in my garage so I am not sure where your heartburn is. Did you forget and leave the tailgate down ???

Backup cameras make life easier with a long bed, but, with a crew cab it IS tighter used as a DD in parking lots designed for small cars you can just toss out of the way up into the bed. Even with a short bed the cab length TODAY gives you truck lengths equivalent to extended cab or 4 door long beds of yesterday. The rear seat room comfortable for adults justifies the length.

 

[SnoKing]

Bigger OEM fuel tank in a long bed.

When did RAM make that change?

 

[Wiredawg]

When did RAM make that change?

I've heard in posts here on the TDR Ram now offers a 55gal option for long beds. Pretty smart marketing making more money AND owner having OEM option right off the lot.

IMHO, I'd build a truck with EVERY towing option and never look back. Technology is awesome for the modern tow vehicle.

Cheers, Ron

 

[Cummins12V98]

Pucks are what the hitch in pic attaches too. They mount directly to the frame.

 

[pwr2tow]

Truck has to fit in my garage or it's a no go.

Is the 6'4" bed really out of the question for a 5th wheel?

Have not owned a long bed truck since 2006. Have never owned a slider hitch. A slider hitch would have been nicer the couple times I had to parallel park a fifth wheel inside a quonset between another camper and the wall. I have never been in that tight of a situation camping.

So the answer is no you do not need a long bed truck, a short bed will work just fine. Just pay a little more attention in extreme tight turns and backing in tight places. Most if not all modern 5th wheel campers have rounded off corners on the front cap to accommodate tighter turning with a short bed truck.

 

[Cummins12V98]

"So the answer is no you do not need a long bed truck a short bed will work just fine."

HA, that's what they all say until........

 

[pwr2tow]

"So the answer is no you do not need a long bed truck a short bed will work just fine."

HA, that's what they all say until........

I've heard that quote about guys dropping their fifth wheel on their pickup bed rails. Have you done that one yet?

 

[SnoKing]

Here are some numbers to think about.

CC 4x4 SB 238.8" OAL SRW Only
MC 4x4 SB 249.9 OAL and available in SRW or DRW
CC 4x4 LD 260.8 OAL and available in SRW or DRW

 

[pwr2tow]

Been Camping for 52 years in one form or another. Was even a campground host for 13 years at a U.S.A.C.E. campground.
I would guess the ratio is 20 short bed trucks for every 1 long bed truck.

As far as the bed length is concerned the only difference between a long bed and a short bed truck is a long bed can make a 90-degree turn without damage to the cab or camper. In all my years of camping I have never been in the situation where I needed to do a 90-degree turn. You're camping may vary.

 

[gsbrockman]

Get the factory pucks.

Don't neeeed no steeeeeenkin’ pux.......

 

[Cummins12V98]

I've heard that quote about guys dropping their fifth wheel on their pickup bed rails. Have you done that one yet?

Nope and NEVER will because I have a B&W hitch and know how to use it. NEVER do a pull test. I simply look to see the 1” thick machined jaws are around the kingpin. I also lock the parching handle closed. It simply cant fall.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Don't neeeed no steeeeeenkin’ pux.......
View attachment 117133

Yea but yer special.

 

[SnoKing]

I've heard in posts here on the TDR Ram now offers a 55gal option for long beds. Pretty smart marketing making more money AND owner having OEM option right off the lot.

IMHO, I'd build a truck with EVERY towing option and never look back. Technology is awesome for the modern tow vehicle.

Cheers, Ron

I just built a 2019 Laramie 3500 LB 4x4 and there was no option for a larger fuel tank.

 

[pwr2tow]

I just built a 2019 Laramie 3500 LB 4x4 and there was no option for a larger fuel tank.

The 50 gallon tank is coming for the later built 2020 models not early build, can't tell you why.
The 31 gallon tank will still be standard. The 50 gallon tank will have to be marked in options.

 

[RVTRKN]

New camera system with 12" touch screen you can zoom in on both the trailer ball and the 5ver hitch. Dont know about the 8.4 screen.

Well as I said it's useless IMHO as it focuses onthe tool box and everything behind is not so easy to see. So the kingpin you are trying to align is even smaller.

View attachment 117110

 

[Cummins2014]

"So the answer is no you do not need a long bed truck a short bed will work just fine."

HA, that's what they all say until........

Until what, been towing a 34-38' fifth wheel now since 1998, with a short bed. Please lets us know until what . Oh!! ya, you can drop a fifth wheel with the B&W .

 

[pwr2tow]

Nope and NEVER will because I have a B&W hitch and know how to use it. NEVER do a pull test. I simply look to see the 1” thick machined jaws are around the kingpin. I also lock the parching handle closed. It simply cant fall.

I've seen plenty never, HAPPEN.

 

[TCDiesel]

IMO, Limited SRW/LB Spring Ride, with Bags. Also I'm GN Puller , I left those ugly looking take up Your Bed 5th Hitch in the 90s, alone with a bunch of other bad habits .

 

[DesertRiders]

When your pin weight and passengers brings you close to your maximum payload capacity with the truck, aside from air bags to help level, what's the #1 thing to do to add a little more safety? Tires? Would tires be the weakest link, before axle? What about wheels?

 

[SnoKing]

When your pin weight and passengers brings you close to your maximum payload capacity with the truck, aside from air bags to help level, what's the #1 thing to do to add a little more safety? Tires? Would tires be the weakest link, before axle? What about wheels?

The RAM rear air covers suspension issues. You might install a set of 19.5" rims and tires when towing and put OEM wheels and tires back on for other times. As I posted on RV.net, the 19.5's have a higher minimum inflation. Maybe someone will come along and post about ride empty with them. You sure are rope-a-doping the issue.

Depending on you state you may have to license the truck for 14K.

Pin weight is the issue, not the trucks GVWR. Like I have responded a few times in your treads, I towed a 16K 5th wheel for to extended round trips to Az from NW Wa and did my homework choosing a 5th wheel with a 2435 lb dry pin weight(which I verified with Heartland). We had a Cardinal 29' for 11 years and found that only the smallest Cardinal and also Montana line up had light enough pin weights to match up the 2015 RAM Laramie CC 3500 4x4 SB truck we already had. Cedar Creek had a model that would have worked, however I did not like the interior.

We traveled heavy, full timing in the Big Horn for a year and a half. I knew going it that I could not add a washer/dryer and generator and stay under the truck's 7K rear axle rating. The LT275/70R18E tires along with the OEM 20's are rated to 3640 each, so there is NOT a lot of extra capacity there.

So, it boils down to that 2600 number that manufacturer is fuzzy on, and what you want to add to the trailer that will increase pin weight.

Given all if this, I have been in the same AZ RV resort for 12 winters now, I have seen lots of SRW truck arrive year after year that I know are well over their trucks manufacturers ratings and in a lot of cases over their tire ratings.

You can buy the trailer you want and set it all up the way you want it, and hit the scale. Then decide if you need 19.5 wheels and tires.

My recommendations:
Pucks
Aisin
Rear air
18" OEM wheels and tires

I would also add that we towed the Bighorn in very windy conditions several times without issue. DW decided that she was not comfortable traveling with the 39' foot fifth wheel back and forth to our AZ park model, so it became our Northern home and we bought a commuter trailer.