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Anyone here towed a 44-50 foot enclosed car trailer?

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RSchwarzli

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Looking at towing a 2 car 44-50' enclosed car trailer (not sure exact length) with two cars in it across the country with the Mega cab.



First thought is driveline can do it, but I wish it were a dually!;)



Anyone here have any helpful advice? Anyone towed with a 2500 SRW with a trailer of this size? Can the truck handle it? I am not new to trailer towing at all. There was once a time I towed a 26 K lbs 44' with a 95 3500 V10. Did 100K miles with that set up.



But this is not that truck and times are different. My guess is the trailer will weigh in at 17-18 K lbs loaded. (8K trailer, 2 cars @ 4K each, other gear and junk 1-2 K).



Thanks!



Robert
 
I'm assuming at that length you are talking a Gooseneck, in which case you will have no problems whatsoever. Just make sure you have a good trailer brake controller. I've seen 2 car bumper pulls, in which case being a non dually the only problem might be some sway issues. If you have good tires with a stiff sidewalls on the trailer and a swaybar on your hitch, you'll be fine. "been there, done that" =)
 
Wow, that sounds like a lot of trailer to me. I've personally never towed or seen a 2500 to tow something that big.
I hope others with more experience chime in.
You should post that on the Towing Forum bellow. I'm hope HBarlow and Grizzly write what they think. They've always have offered great advice. Thank you, guys.
Ilian
 
I pulled a 50 ft 5th wheel 3 car hauler with 2 crewcab dodge 4x4's on it it wasn't across country but it pulled it with no problem total weight was 25,500 came from top of Nev (Elko ) to So Cal like said before as long as you have a good controller you will be fine
 
It's good to know it's doable, especially with a dually. I was not sure about a 2500. I know someone who has a 3 gen dually 3500 and has a 5th wheel car 3 car trailer. I don't know the specs of it, but he pulls it for living. Usually between San Francisco and L. A. It's a dually 2WD. He went through 2 NV5600 already, and engine work. He has close to 400000 miles on it. Bought it new and the trailer is on all the time. He says he's usually overloaded most of the times, that's why I think the transmissions did not hold well.
Thanks.
Ilian
 
I pulled several Weekend Warrier fifth wheel toy boxes that were 45' or longer with my '06 Ram QC dually. The truck handled them adequately but I hated towing them and the ones I pulled were new, dry, and empty.

I wouldn't even back under the kingpin of one with a 2500 Mega cab.

Gooseneck trailers carry a lot of their weight on the hitch. If the estimates are accurate you'll have at least 4500 lbs. added to your rear axle.

I don't know if you plan to pull them cross country Canada or US but a trailer and load like that may be assumed to be commercial to DOT law enforcement and you might be waved into scales or stopped and checked and have to prove you are not commercial . . . assuming you are not.
 
Yes. Would be gooseneck. Infact it would be my dads trailer, so no. Not comemrcial. He is considering getting a 2 car trailer and selling our single 26'.



Have wondered about DOT as well and how that would play into the whole scheme of things.



Harvey - Why did you not like pulling the 45' +?
 
The fact that your dad owns the trailer won't eliminate DOT concerns. You will own the truck and be the driver. DOT could (probably accurately) interpret that as hauling for hire with your dad as shipper.

Who owns the trailer and the cars in the trailer and why will you be transporting them is the question DOT will ask and want proof of.

Is your dad in the used car business? If you use his trailer to pick up or deliver cars bought or sold as part of his business you are commercial and subject to DOT rules.

Even if you buy or own the cars but they are not registered to you for personal use you are commercial.

If you borrow your dad's trailer and you own classic cars and haul them to car shows only for private display and then return them home that would be private and not subject to DOT. If your dad owns the classis cars but is riding with you that could be explained as you are going to the shows together. If your dad owns the cars but is not present you are commercial because you are hauling for him, even if he doesn't sell them. If you sell the cars at shows that is commercial. DOT rules are basic and straightforward. Commercial activity is subject to DOT rules. DOT rules are only made complex by the hundreds of ways the rest of us try to game the system to get around the obvious: all commercial transportation activity is subject to DOT rules.

With a big gooseneck trailer like that a DOT officer is likely to assume commercial purpose and check you. Any DOT officer knows your little SRW truck has a rear GAWR of about 6500# max and will know that a loaded gooseneck of that size has a hitch weight of at least 4500 #. Duhhh. Is he going to stop you? Yes.

My son-in-law is a very successful general contractor who builds and remodels commercial buildings. He purchased one fifth wheel travel trailer from me and had me locate and buy another for him. Both trailers are used as temporary housing for his job superintendents on remote worksites. My sil pays me to move and set them up when jobs start and end. That is commercial. I skirt the rules and don't comply with DOT because the trailers are not shiny new and they both display TX plates. I look like an ordinary RVer when I'm pulling them. But if I ever get stopped and looked at by a DOT LEO I'm not the registered owner of the trailer and could be subject to fines.

Even worse, my sil has a Corvette collection and a fancy enclosed car hauler trailer with his name and a big, bold, colorful logo painted on the trailer sides. I'm the "go-fer" when he buys them. I've pulled his trailer to NC, TN, KS, and OK picking up Corvettes he bought on eBay. I pretend to own the trailer and the Corvette inside on the backhaul and run the scales but if I'm ever pulled in and asked for registration I'm in trouble. I could lie to the DOT officer and claim I'm just doing it as a favor for my sil but real DOT cops aren't stupid (some ordinary LEO are) and I hope they don't think I look stupid enough to use my truck to pull my sil's trailer several thousand miles just because he's a good guy. Obviously I am compensated for my efforts and use of my truck.

I hated pulling the big Weekend Warriers because they were too heavy, too long, too tall, too hard on my truck, and required too much effort and attention on my part. Negotiating heavy LA freeway traffic or small city streets on the delivery end required very close attention to avoid getting into trouble. The tail end of those things seemed like it was a block behind me. Try backing one from a narrow city street into a narrow driveway on your blindside with oncoming traffic and traffic stopped impatiently behind you without a helper to help guide you or help with traffic control. Trailers that large overwhelm an ordinary little dually not to mention a SRW 2500 or 3500. Just towing them caused me to feel the stress being placed on the truck and worry about the possible consequences of a blown tire or failed seven pin connector (surprise, no brakes!) Simply not fun.

My own personal HH fifth wheel has a GVWR of 14,100# and weighs 14k# for vacation travel. My truck and the trailer are impeccable maintained using nothing but top quality Michelin tires. I would not want to own and pull a trailer that weighed even 14,500#. Sure, my ISB6. 7/Aisin cab and chassis can pull more but Dodge engineers are not stupid people. Their GCWR calculations make a lot of sense. IMO any trailer that creates a GCWR of one pound over Dodge's GCWR for that particular truck and drivetrain is in MDT territory.

Some will read this and think "Harvey's a sissy" or "... . an old man. " You are entitled to your opinion. I've done it for many thousands of miles and know what it's like. When I was transporting for a company in Fontana, CA I was dispatched to pick up a new Travel Supreme at a now defunct dealer over across greater LA in one of the coastal cities. I was to deliver it to the new owner in a high dollar restricted luxury RV park way out in Palm Desert. I drove all the way through LA traffic to the dealer and picked up the trailer. When I rolled away and tested the brakes I had NO brakes! . . . on a 20,000 lb. 45' Travel Supreme just purchased for about $150,000. I stopped and checked my seven pin receptacle and the trailer's harness. Both were fine. It was mid afternoon and I knew that dealer wouldn't be able to repair it that day and if I asked my haul would be terminated. So I made the obviously extremely risky decision to pull it w/o brakes. It was going to be set up permanently and never moved again anyway. I pulled that miserable monster approximately 180 miles across Los Angeles in afternoon traffic with no brakes whatsoever and set it up unscathed for the doctor and his wife in the luxury resort RV park. That trailer required a MDT IH 4400 or FL60, even with trailer brakes working.
 
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Harvey..... very good response! The last paragraph got my attention though. I couldn't imagine towing that heavy trailer with no brakes at all through stop and go traffic let alone, just trying to stop it in the campground with no brakes. I have my electronic controller set light when I'm in stop and go simply because the brakes are so grabby. If I forget to set up the controller... . which I have done... ... it has been an eye-opener when I need to stop later down the road!! Hence the reason I want to get that Max-Brake controller that I need to get... ... ... . very,very soon!!!



Alan
 
Thanks, Alan. Many won't understand or will be angry because they don't want to accept what I wrote but many of us who have had experience with large trailers know what I was talking about.

Yeah, pulling that Travel Supreme with no brakes was one of the dumber things I've ever done but I knew the dealer wouldn't fix it that day and wouldn't want me to leave with it without brakes. I didn't want to turn around and drive all the way back to a cheap motel in Rubideaux without a load after spending hours in LA traffic getting there and hooking up.

I was already aggravated because when the dealer handed the trailer paperwork and keys over to me it had been moved by their shop guys with a forklift. The front landing gear extensions were fully extended so it was impossible to lower it down onto my fifth wheel. I had to spend an hour using stacks of wood blocks and risk temporarily resting it on stacked blocks on my hitch hoping it wouldn't roll and slide off and drop the front overhang on my pickup bed and do major damage to the TS and my truck. When I finally got it hooked up I was in no mood for more delays or problems. You can be sure I was driving defensively when I was pulling the damned thing. One unexpected need for a panic stop could have been a disaster. I got away with it so I can look back and chuckle about it. The result could have been very different. I don't recommend anyone doing that.
 
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Wow, that sounds like a lot of trailer to me. I've personally never towed or seen a 2500 to tow something that big.

I hope others with more experience chime in.

You should post that on the Towing Forum bellow. I'm hope HBarlow and Grizzly write what they think. They've always have offered great advice. Thank you, guys.

Ilian







I don't have any words of wisdoms since I have never pulled anything that large and heavy, however I would never attempt to pull anything that big with any SRW truck, especially a 2500 megacab. A 4500 or a 5500 CC would be the best option for a tow vehicle.



Good words of wisdom Harvey.



george
 
Not a 6. 7 here but tow a 44' Pace Daytona Enclosed car trailer. The truck pulls the trailer great. Over a certified Cat scale with no driver in truck and only quarter tank of fuel and no fuel in cars I am 23,667lbs.



I have not been bothered by DOT in my travels but I keep all decals off trailer and only have "Not for Hire" on the trailer. I am sure my day will come.



Here is a old picture before the 19. 5's..... a raining morning about to head out.
 
Robert

I've towed my 53 foot 4 car wedge (without cars) with my 2500. I've only done it to get my trailer home when my GMC 6500 has broken down. It feels horrible, the springs and tires really squat and the trailer pushes the truck around. You will definately be overweight on your drive axle and tires. GET THAT CREW CAB FINISHED and pull the trailer with it.



Nigel
 
George

We don't have any 3500's left at the company I haul cars for, we had some issues with one aggressive cop so we limited the 3500s to no more than 3 cars at a time. All the guys have changed over to Dodge 5500's or used highway tractors. After they have driven the beefier trucks every one of them can't believe how much better the new truck handles and STOPS than the 3500 they replaced.



Robert may be young be he is not stupid. He was asking the question so he doesn't make the mistake of buying a trailer he can't tow.



I know where Harvey is coming from when he talks about the big trailers. You may be ok with the axle weights but the combination just feels scary.



Nigel



Nigel
 
IMO, 17K to 18K is too much for a 2500. I drove my work trailer around with my 2500 using the bumper hitch and it was way too much at a gross weight of 14K. Maybe with a dually I would drive it around local, but across the country..... pass.

Ken
 
The fact that your dad owns the trailer won't eliminate DOT concerns. You will own the truck and be the driver. DOT could (probably accurately) interpret that as hauling for hire with your dad as shipper.



Who owns the trailer and the cars in the trailer and why will you be transporting them is the question DOT will ask and want proof of.



Is your dad in the used car business? If you use his trailer to pick up or deliver cars bought or sold as part of his business you are commercial and subject to DOT rules.



Even if you buy or own the cars but they are not registered to you for personal use you are commercial.



If you borrow your dad's trailer and you own classic cars and haul them to car shows only for private display and then return them home that would be private and not subject to DOT. If your dad owns the classis cars but is riding with you that could be explained as you are going to the shows together. If your dad owns the cars but is not present you are commercial because you are hauling for him, even if he doesn't sell them. If you sell the cars at shows that is commercial. DOT rules are basic and straightforward. Commercial activity is subject to DOT rules. DOT rules are only made complex by the hundreds of ways the rest of us try to game the system to get around the obvious: all commercial transportation activity is subject to DOT rules.



With a big gooseneck trailer like that a DOT officer is likely to assume commercial purpose and check you. Any DOT officer knows your little SRW truck has a rear GAWR of about 6500# max and will know that a loaded gooseneck of that size has a hitch weight of at least 4500 #. Duhhh. Is he going to stop you? Yes.



My son-in-law is a very successful general contractor who builds and remodels commercial buildings. He purchased one fifth wheel travel trailer from me and had me locate and buy another for him. Both trailers are used as temporary housing for his job superintendents on remote worksites. My sil pays me to move and set them up when jobs start and end. That is commercial. I skirt the rules and don't comply with DOT because the trailers are not shiny new and they both display TX plates. I look like an ordinary RVer when I'm pulling them. But if I ever get stopped and looked at by a DOT LEO I'm not the registered owner of the trailer and could be subject to fines.



Even worse, my sil has a Corvette collection and a fancy enclosed car hauler trailer with his name and a big, bold, colorful logo painted on the trailer sides. I'm the "go-fer" when he buys them. I've pulled his trailer to NC, TN, KS, and OK picking up Corvettes he bought on eBay. I pretend to own the trailer and the Corvette inside on the backhaul and run the scales but if I'm ever pulled in and asked for registration I'm in trouble. I could lie to the DOT officer and claim I'm just doing it as a favor for my sil but real DOT cops aren't stupid (some ordinary LEO are) and I hope they don't think I look stupid enough to use my truck to pull my sil's trailer several thousand miles just because he's a good guy. Obviously I am compensated for my efforts and use of my truck.



I hated pulling the big Weekend Warriers because they were too heavy, too long, too tall, too hard on my truck, and required too much effort and attention on my part. Negotiating heavy LA freeway traffic or small city streets on the delivery end required very close attention to avoid getting into trouble. The tail end of those things seemed like it was a block behind me. Try backing one from a narrow city street into a narrow driveway on your blindside with oncoming traffic and traffic stopped impatiently behind you without a helper to help guide you or help with traffic control. Trailers that large overwhelm an ordinary little dually not to mention a SRW 2500 or 3500. Just towing them caused me to feel the stress being placed on the truck and worry about the possible consequences of a blown tire or failed seven pin connector (surprise, no brakes!) Simply not fun.



My own personal HH fifth wheel has a GVWR of 14,100# and weighs 14k# for vacation travel. My truck and the trailer are impeccable maintained using nothing but top quality Michelin tires. I would not want to own and pull a trailer that weighed even 14,500#. Sure, my ISB6. 7/Aisin cab and chassis can pull more but Dodge engineers are not stupid people. Their GCWR calculations make a lot of sense. IMO any trailer that creates a GCWR of one pound over Dodge's GCWR for that particular truck and drivetrain is in MDT territory.



Some will read this and think "Harvey's a sissy" or "... . an old man. " You are entitled to your opinion. I've done it for many thousands of miles and know what it's like. When I was transporting for a company in Fontana, CA I was dispatched to pick up a new Travel Supreme at a now defunct dealer over across greater LA in one of the coastal cities. I was to deliver it to the new owner in a high dollar restricted luxury RV park way out in Palm Desert. I drove all the way through LA traffic to the dealer and picked up the trailer. When I rolled away and tested the brakes I had NO brakes! . . . on a 20,000 lb. 45' Travel Supreme just purchased for about $150,000. I stopped and checked my seven pin receptacle and the trailer's harness. Both were fine. It was mid afternoon and I knew that dealer wouldn't be able to repair it that day and if I asked my haul would be terminated. So I made the obviously extremely risky decision to pull it w/o brakes. It was going to be set up permanently and never moved again anyway. I pulled that miserable monster approximately 180 miles across Los Angeles in afternoon traffic with no brakes whatsoever and set it up unscathed for the doctor and his wife in the luxury resort RV park. That trailer required a MDT IH 4400 or FL60, even with trailer brakes working.







Wow! Great info! DOT is less of a concern as it is all his cars when we go to shows and we are almost always together. The main concern was he sprang this idea on me again a few days ago and my first response was no, but told him I would ask around to further gather opinions.







Thanks, Alan. Many won't understand or will be angry because they don't want to accept what I wrote but many of us who have had experience with large trailers know what I was talking about.

.





Oh I completely understand and accept it. Facts are facts. A little bit of weight is one this, but 24K lbs on a 2500 seems a teeny bit much! ;)



Not a 6. 7 here but tow a 44' Pace Daytona Enclosed car trailer. The truck pulls the trailer great. Over a certified Cat scale with no driver in truck and only quarter tank of fuel and no fuel in cars I am 23,667lbs.



I have not been bothered by DOT in my travels but I keep all decals off trailer and only have "Not for Hire" on the trailer. I am sure my day will come.



Here is a old picture before the 19. 5's..... a raining morning about to head out.





VERY nice shot and beautiful rig! Oo. Love it! Would not mind seeing a few more shots! :)



Robert

I've towed my 53 foot 4 car wedge (without cars) with my 2500. I've only done it to get my trailer home when my GMC 6500 has broken down. It feels horrible, the springs and tires really squat and the trailer pushes the truck around. You will definately be overweight on your drive axle and tires. GET THAT CREW CAB FINISHED and pull the trailer with it.



Nigel



Nigel - Thanks for the info. That helps as well.



As for the crew, well :-laf. Yeah. Thats what my father said. In actual fact, ou have heard me say I built it with a very large trailer in mind. Well, this one is the one I was referring to. Dad and I spoke about it a few years ago and decided the crew would be the truck to tow it. I think dad is getting impatient judging by the fact that this conversation popped up again!



George

He was asking the question so he doesn't make the mistake of buying a trailer he can't tow.



I know where Harvey is coming from when he talks about the big trailers. You may be ok with the axle weights but the combination just feels scary.



Nigel



Nigel



I understand where harvey is coming from too. Dad is just old school. He is use to towing 34K lbs on a 3500 years ago.



For me, you are correct. I always do my homework before a purchase. Just makes more sense.
 
Well,... ... DOT can stop anybody at anytime for any reason. Doesnt matter if your commercial or not. Anything over 26,001 GVW falls under DOT anyhow. If your truck and trailer is not plastered with decals and such then they probably wont mess with you. BUT if you travel the same route over and over they will reconize you eventually and pull you over to question.
 
I have to ad that the Forest River Sierra Sport F40SPTS (16. 9K fully loaded)is the largest TH I have pulled or will pull. The pin weight is 2500lbs. (I got sucked in by the "bigger is better" crowd in 06')

I feel the truck, even with after market sway bar,Rancho 9000's at their highest setting, drilled/slotted rotors and HP disc pads is maxed out. I generally don't roll fully loaded because the P/U feels like its being pushed around by the 5th wheel.

I drive it like a g/grandpa and leave as much, if not more space/caution zone then the 40Ton big rigs do.

I would be way too puckered up to tow my rig with a SRW truck, 3500 or 2500.
As soon as the 5ver right side up $ wise , this 5vr is going away for something a bit lighter so the safety factor gets even with the truck.

Hbarlow has been around the block a few times and i generally heed his advice
which comes from experience. .
 
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