GVWR and max towing for 2500 Auto

[ikold]

I have an 01 automatic 2500 LWB. I am considering the purchase of a travel supreme 5th wheel (40 feet). The GVWR of the 5th wheel is 19k lbs. The empty weight of the trailer is 14,950 lbs, and the king ping weight is roughly 2500 pounds.



My question for the group is can the truck reliably handle a load this heavy ?



I plan on replacing the Valve body and Torque converter with DTT units (unless anyone knows of anything better) I also plan on upgrading the injectors, exhaust, and a chip.





With the modifications will I be able to comfortably tow a rig of that size, or do I need to move up to a medium duty truck?





Thanks for your help! This group is great

 

[RustyJC]

Considering that we couldn't tow that trailer with our "max tow" 3500 without exceeding our GVWR and GCVWR by a bunch (our GVWR is 10,500 and GCVWR is 21,500), if it were me I'd start looking at MDT's.



By the way, you might want to take another look at that kingpin weight. 5vers normally have about 20% of their total weight on the kingpin, and our 13,500 lb 5ver's kingpin weight is over 2,500 lbs.



Rusty

 

[LSMITH]

Your truck will pull it no problem. Your 2500 will support 2500 pounds pin weight no problem. What would scare me is the weight on the single rear tires and the thought of stopping that mammoth trailer. For safety you should have dual rear wheels with a trailer that heavy and no matter what you do you will not have the brakes for that setup IMO, it would be nearly 26K pounds for the whole rig I would consider a 3500 minimum and a medium duty truck would be much more suited to the job.

 

[ikold]

Medium duty trucks

I have found a fantastic deal on a 1996 Freightliner (Big RIG) with a detroit series 60 and the truck seems to have been very well maintained. This will most certainly pull that load! My question is, how hard is it to convert the tail section of something like this to accomodate an RV 5th wheel ? Are tractor trailer 5th wheels and RV 5th wheels compatible ?



The other question is has anyone done this ?



Can it be classed as an RV if it has a 48" sleeper, I will only be using the rig to pull my RV.





Thanks...



Used big rigs are so affordable right now, its down right weird.

 

[RustyJC]

Take a look in the Truck and Bus Conversion section over at iRV2.com. There's a guy there who has converted a Class 8 Volvo to an RV puller - it's registered as a motorhome. The Class 8 5th wheel hitch can be used to pull a 5ver - the pins are the same dimensions, believe it or not.



Rusty

 

[Snow man]

ikold,good move with the big Freightliner,you would never be happy with the way the 2500 pulled that monster,the big rig will yank in style,those series 60's really run great too,how much hp is it?You definetely need to reregister it,you dont need the DOT hassles witht freightliner.

 

[ikold]

Use of a Class 8

I think you guys are right, the Freightliner is the better way to go.

It's got 360hp 1585lb/ft and gets about 7-9mpg with a 9 speed transmission.



I'm just worried that it will be difficult to insure, and difficult re-title as an RV and not a commercial tractor trailer.



I looked on the IRV2.com website, and saw what that guy had done so I know it is possible to do it, but I'd like to talk with someone who has done it and get some insight into how hard it was.



Does anyone know of a good shop (affordable) to shorten the frame and remove an axel (I'm in Washington DC, but will travel a reasonable distance).