Towing - pull behind or 5th wheel?

[KeithTaylor]

I am in the process of buying a toyhauler to carry my sandrail in and I have a couple of questions for you guys that tow regularly. I know that the owners manual says 17K GVW, but I have seen numerous posts where guys are pulling 20 to 25K lbs with their first gen. I have never owned a fifth wheel, always had pull behinds - do the fifth wheels pull a lot better? Are they worth the extra $$$ ? Right now, I have a 16' pull behind that probably weighs 7k lbs loaded, am looking at a fifth wheel that would be more like 13k lbs loaded. I will be adding a 4" exhaust and POD's in the near future to help pull the load. Any comments regarding this would be appreciated! Any recommendations on toyhaulers by those of you who own them?



Thanks,



Keith

 

[1stgen4evr]

towing/ toteing

The big advantage with the fifth wheel or gooseneck and ball is the way the load is carried. If you go toward the limit of capacity you will like the in bed hitch. Towing, you get the load at the rear in such a way that the truck can become less stable as the load increases.



With moderate loads, I prefer the tow hitch. Heavier loads I go with the gooseneck. I have both.



The 25k is a limit imposed by the DOT. The truck will handle a good bit more than that. If you go over 25k, you are required to have a CDL.



As to toy hauling, I can't help you there. My toys don't haul.



1stgen4evr

James

 

[Case500D]

Keith,



A gooseneck trailer handles larger loads better than a bumper drag trailer. I pull a 33' flatbed. Truck and trailer together weigh 14020 lbs with a full tank of fuel. I put up to 10K on the trailer and it does well. I generally only try to haul 6-8K. The truck has the power and handles the load well, but the braking capacity is the limiting factor. I think your truck would be okay pulling up to 13K.



Jeremy



BTW, I have the PODs but they aren't in yet.

 

[tugboatphil]

Keith,



I have rail mounted toolboxes, so a tow hitch is the only option for me. But having driven goosenecks, you also have more forgiveness if your backing skills leave something to be desired.

 

[bflood]

I now haul with a 14K Gooseneck (used to use a tag-a-long). It has better load distribution, especially in sharing the load over the truck's rear wheels. The Pull is more stable and braking is much better. As already mentioned you can pull heavier loads than with a tag trailer.



Hauling a 5th wheel or gooseneck requires more "heads up" driving on turns. The trailer cuts corners, like a tractor trailer, and you have to remember to swing wide! swing wide! swing wide!



If need be, you can also make tighter turns with the gooseneck. You can turn back so sharply as to make the trailer backup while your truck is going forward (kinda rough on the trailer tires if you're loaded).



Good Luck

Bruce



PS: Whats a sandrail?

 

[KeithTaylor]

Thanks to all of you for your input! Bflood, a sandrail is a tube frame lightweight dune buggy used for running in the desert or in my case, the sand dunes in Southern California. At 1150 lbs and 160 horsepower, it really scoots!!



Keith

 

[GerryDrake]

Having switched from a ball trailer to a 5'er, I much prefer towing the 5'er... No sway when passing or being passed by a semi is one factor, but the biggest is that when you go over a bump, railroad crossing, speed bump, or any bump, the front of the trailer goes up at the same time as the rear of the trailer, and at the same point. One pivot. With the bumper pull, when your trucks rear axle goes over a bump, it pitches the front of the trailer up, kind of on a lever (the length from the rear axle to the ball) and accentuates it. I had been being told by friends that the 5'er would pull much better, and assumed they were talking about going around corners. That is smoother, but the 'over a bump' difference is considerable... . . just my opinion/experience... Gerry

 

[dpuckett]

Going from a tag along to a 5th wheel/ GN is like going from a big block V8 to a BOMBed CTD- no comparison, and you'll not want to go back. If you have the cash, go for the heavier axles- 10-15K tandem duals- they increase stability, the trailer will wear and last longer, normally have better brakes, and it helps resale value. Plus, you never know when you may have something a 14K GVW trailer may or may not be able to handle. Do a search on brake controllers- there are a lot out there, and each one has its merits and downfalls. I've towed up to a GCVW of 25K with a 93 D350 C&C (one ton w/ 14 leafs or so), and had no problems. Coming from Bazine KS to Calhan CO, I never had to drop out of 4th, and only dropped to 4th to control EGTs. Stock H1C, stock injectors, NOT stock pump settings.



Daniel

 

[sparks57]

I love the goosenecks. Personally, I don't like towing bumper-pulls... they just don't handle well. The goosenecks have the upper hand on weight distribution for sure. The bumper pulls tend to take weight off the front axle and make the truck hard to drive.

 

[Greenleaf]

One item not yet addressed is EGT's.

When you begin to pull loads with the big sticks you'll face increased exhaust temps.



There ARE methods used to remedy this;

Larger/more efficient Turbo and or exhaust housing

Larger IC

Ported/polished cy head

High flow exhaust manifold

Larger exhaust pipes or remove the kinks in the three inch system.



Then there is the block of wood placed strategically under the go peddle



You will need to cool off that cylinder head when towing with the big sticks under constant heavy loads my friend.



What we do to hot rod our rigs on the streets is a bit different compared to towing out on the interstates.



My . 02



Did I fergit anythang guys?



Scott

 

[dpuckett]

Good point Greenleaf; there are guys that have towed with their PODs, and kept EGTs under control. BUT, and I hate to plug here, so maybe I'll just recommend an injector with a finer spray pattern. Better atomization equals cooler burn with less smoke, etc. With that 4" exhaust, may as well get a 16 cm housing, and get your turbo upgraded. I hear PDR can modify your stock H1C the same way they do the HX35s. PM the Pastor for details. And High Tech turbo has upgrade kits, if you feel comfortable teraing into it.



AND, get a BHAF, or some other big filter. I'll post a pic in a bit that will send you running away from a type of "high performance" air filter. I have gotten basically nothing from the company, and want to show the newbies that you may as well skip the airfilter altogether..... You still get improved flow, with about the same filtering.



Daniel

 

[tugboatphil]

Almost forgot, don't skimp on tires! My stepdad's dump trailer is a twin axle, with single wheels. I was pulling gravel down the interstate and never felt a thing. Started noticing a little bit of smoke, even though I hadn't been on the brakes for a while.



Pulled over once I topped the next hill. Just as I realized that I had lost the left rear wheel, a couple of guys pulled over to tell me that it was in the middle ditch about 3 miles back.



The remaining tire on the left side was so loaded down, the sides were smoking as they rubbed the road. Went back to get the wheel/tire after dropping the trailer. Starting where my black mark was on the road, to where we found the wheel, it rolled downhill almost a mile. Thank God it didn't cause someone else to wreck.



Lesson learned: check lug nuts and tire pressure often. He also told me that he had ordered radials rather than bias ply when he got the trailer. Good choice.



The tire that held the load was so messed up it had to be replaced, along with the hub and wheel on the rear. The strangest thing was that I didn't even feel a tug or pull out of the ordinary, after it tore off.

 

[KeithTaylor]

I know that the EGT's can be a problem when towing; I have Autometer boost and pyro guages - just need to get the time to install them. I all ready installed the BHAF, used a Fleetguard filter. I really wanted the Powerwagen or 185 injectors, but when Bosch made the price up around the $800 mark, I went for the POD's instead. I have been looking around for a F&%$ Powerj*#& intercooler as they are quite a bit larger than the stock intercooler - figured that would help keep the EGT's down a little bit. Thanks for all of your input!