Towing with a 2500

[Texas Diesel]

I see your point, 8800 - 7300 leaves 1500 (hence the 2500 or 3/4 ton rating). No I dont know the empty weight but assuming 7300 that is 1500 for extras. If the tongue weight of the trailer is 10-20% of the trailer weight than rounding it off to tongue weight of 15% than the trailer weight shouldnt exceed 10,000#'s. 10000 x . 15 = 1500 (tongue weght).



Said in reverse, a 10,000# trailer with 15% tongue weight would yield 1500#'s in the bed and a towed weight of 10,000#'s or 5 tons, easily in the rating of my E range tires and 3. 55 axle.



However, with a 4. 11 axle the towed max weight goes up from my 12,400#'s, so the driveline ability is a factor to be figured in.



Am I missing something here?

 

[RustyJC]

Originally posted by 2ndgen2500

please tell me that you guys have seen "GRAMPS" in his 2500 long box, rolling down the road pulling a 28' 5er! i drive up and down 95 ALL the time. its the funniest thing, obviously its not a cost issue, i think they are just stubborn...

I've seen "Gramps" running down the road pulling a 20,000+ lb GVWR 43' Teton 5ver with a 2500, but that doesn't make it right. IMHO, stuff like this is what's going to bring the DOT and state license and weight folks down on RVers in the not-too-distant future.



Rusty

 

[Snow man]

My travel trailer has 12% tongue weight 930 on the hitch and 7500 ish empty. Most 5ers and goosenecks have closer to 20% + on the pin when loaded. My buddy tows a 32ft 5th wheel,it is 11000lbs loaded with his 2500,the pin weight is 2200-2400 lbs,hes over the 8800 by almost a 1000 lbs.

 

[KMeek]

I sometimes question the trailer weights some of you toss around. My 26' 5th wheel Jayco (no slides) and truck fully loaded with a family of five weighs a little over 14,100 as weighed at truck scales. My truck pulls this trailer without much effort. I just don't see how a 27' toy hauler can possibly weigh 14,000 pounds--almost twice as much as my Jayco, especially considering that the toy hauler has all that empty space. I am not saying anyone is lieing--that is not the point. My point is simply that it seems to me a lot of people exaggerate the weight of their trailers to make it sound like their truck is a real stud (or that they are, too).



Looking at the Weekend Warrior site it looks to me like those trailers, even the 36' model, weigh less than 7,000 pounds before options and water. Water can't weigh more than an additional 1,000 pounds if it holds 120 gallons. I can't imagine you could ever get a 36' Warrior to 14,000 pounds. You would have to load lead in the back to get to that weight--another 6,000 pounds of lead (240 bags of lead shotgun shot) beyond being full with water. Just a peeve of mine. I will dismount the soapbox now.

 

[RustyJC]

RV - 2000 Jayco Designer XL 3610RLTS. 36' triple slide. 13,500 lbs.



Truck - 2002 3500 4x2 ETH/DEE QC/LB. 7,680 lbs.



That puts us on the road at 10,380 lbs GVW (10,500 lbs GVWR) and 21,180 lbs GCW (21,500 lbs GCWR).



Above weights from certified truck scales. No bragging. Just fact.



Rusty

 

[KMeek]

RustyJC that is exactly my point--a 36' triple slide weighs that much. But a 27' toyhauler with all that empty space can't possibly weigh as much as your trailer unless someone intentionally tried to load it to that level. I raise this issue only because I think inexperienced truck owners might be misled as to what their outfits weigh and how much they can safely tow. Our trucks can tow a 27' toy hauler all day and probably be well under the weight limits for the truck. If I just blindly accepted all that I read here I might think that a 26' Jayco may be too much for my truck if a 27' toy hauler weighed 14,000 pounds.

 

[Snow man]

my traileri s a Sunnybrook 3310,it has aluminum construction. if it werent itd be aheavy sucker too. As it is its light weight is 7500 with 930 on the tongue,loaded for the road with supplies for 5 people,it weighes about 8500-9000lbs usually.

 

[DPelletier]

My Kit Companion 23JT weighed 6,500 lbs loaded, heck I expect my 16' cargo trailer weighs in at about 5,000 lbs loaded and ready to camp. Will weigh soon to find out for sure on the cargo trailer.



Dave

 

[DPelletier]

KMeek, I'm not saying anything about the 27' pull trailer, but looking at the WW site, the 36' LE3505 isn't less than 7,000 lbs. The AXLE weight is 6988. Dry weight is 9,000 lbs. With water, propane, food, clothes, etc you can add another 2,000 lbs minimum. This would put it at about 11,000 lbs before you add any "toys". FWIW.



Dave

 

[jadoca]

for an example, a 24 foot toy hauler can weight approx. 25 to 30 percent more, dry, to a comparable sized travel trailer.



regards,

 

[JHudson]

I found this thread very curious, so I thought I would throw my 2 cents in. I have pulled my 2000 Jayco fiver over 30,000 miles without one problem. It is a 285BHS with a dry weight of 7350 pounds. Yes I have weighed my total rig with wife, two kids, dog and full fuel. Camper was loaded with 1/3 tank of water and all supplies as we were in CO at the time.



Here are the results: Axle #1 4340 (front axle truck) Axle #2 4200 (rear axle truck) Axle #3 7420 (camper axles) Total for total rig 15960 pounds which is right at my trucks GCVW of 16000 pounds.



I wish I had unhitched and just weighed my truck but I didn't, next time... . I guess that my 99 4x4 quad Long bed must be the lightest one out there..... right because I am still able to load almost another 300 pounds in the bed of the truck, but wait that will exceed my total combined gross limit of 16000 pounds and the truck cannot pull this load safely? I am seeing this correctly? Oh by the way, the trailers GVW is 10,000 pounds.



I am figuring that the truck weighs around 6800 pounds, which according to other members must be light. Camper must be around 8600 pounds wet and a pin weight of 1700 pounds.



The truck weight and pin weight are calculated numbers based on the average 20% pin weight of fivers. I understand that this number may be +/- some..... so I guess to know for sure I will be off to the scale with truck, wife, kids and dog.

 

[Cumminpwr11]

A few things



Safety first.



If I were to get a 3500 rear axle, and run 19. 5 and do a regear to what would turn out to 4:10's I have slightly larger tires, and Airbaged the back, would a 14-15K lb fifthwheel toybox be to much.



yes by law I know that I am over,



Is there a way that the DMV would reclass my truck?



For the doubters.



27ft weekend warrior wet. 100 fresh and 36 gal of fuel in pump station. = 11900 dealers printout.



6 quads 400lb each with a full tank



food and gear 400lb



11900

2400 6 quads

_+_400__

14700 lb



just trying to not get rid of my truck.



thanks for the help

 

[Jumbo Jet]

LOCK ME UP and THROW AWAY the KEYS!



Back in the 60's I hauled 50 bushels of peaches - approx. 55 lbs. each - in a 1964 Dodge D100 LWB 225ci Slant 6 for thousands of miles. Some days I made 3 trips - 50 miles one way.



I never had tire, brake, engine, frame, or bed problems.



Someone please tell me that the mighty Dodge/Cummins can't safely handle more than 1500 lbs. !

 

[bmoeller]

My dually rides like a Caddy with a 3000# pallet of seed in the bed.

 

[DPelletier]

Calm down guys,

nobody said the wheels would fall off at 1 lb over GVWR. Fact is the truck will handle much more. Illegal as hell but can handle it.

JHudson,

My '01. 5 2500 quadcab LWB 4x4 auto with me and a full tank of diesel = 6950 lbs. I figure my '03 3500 dually 6spd will weigh in at several hundred pounds more.



Dave

 

[mberry]

I think some of you are missing a vital point. My opinion, so take it for what you paid for it:



It's not "towing or pulling" the weight that is the real concern. The Cummins can and has pulled much much more than even the highest GCVWR.



The real concern and safety issue is STOPPING the weight being towed, which is truly the limiting factor in our trucks.



Stopping the load safely is the most important thing to me while towing. That's my $0. 02 worth. Send me a penny back as change!

 

[Steve M]

I tow our 10,400 lb high profile 5th wheel with our 2500 long bed standard output 47RE 4. 10 with no problem. It doesn't sway or wander. Our '01. 5 2500 also pulled it without an trouble. Our '98 short bed made me nervous of tight spots. Dodge came out with the "perfect size" quad cab in '03 so we bought one.

A DTT transmission giving up the ghost at 70,000 miles? Does the 100,000 mile DTT transmission warranty cover rebuilds within that warranty period?

 

[JRS]

I tow a 32 foot gooseneck enclosed race car trailer with my '97 3/4 ton without any problems. The guy I bought the trailer from said he had never hauled it with anything less than his Chevy gasoline dually. I politely told him he had purchased the wrong truck! Then I got the trailer home and the guy who runs my trailer storage lot told me he would also use a dually. Dang, did these guys know each other? Then I posted in this forum asking the same question. Everyone was kind enough to calm my fears. I towed my race car, three level tool box (about 500 lbs. ), 6kw generator, air compressor, racing/generator fuel, 14 tires and wheels, half-way across country. No problems, including going through some areas of my state known for cross-winds. Braking was fine, but I will get an exhaust brake for that extra margin of safety. Oh, and my mileage went from a normal of 21 mpg highway (empty) to about 10 mpg in the hills. (4:10 rearend) wonder what kind of mileage that Chevy gasser got?

 

[KMeek]

Maybe someone can help me out with this. I am trying to find a toyhauler as described by Cumminpwr11. I can't seem to locate a 27' Weekend Warrior 5th wheel that can handle weight over 14,000 pounds including 6 quads. I can't find a Weekend Warrior that is 27'. Even the 32' Weekend Warrior 5th wheel is not wide enough inside to hold three quads abreast based on an average small width of @ 39". The 32' Weekend Warrior has a 16 foot space to hold toys but that would not be long enough to hold 6 quads in three rows of two since the average small quad would be @ 67" long with larger quads being over 80" long. If the 32' lacks the room for 6 quads I am wondering how I will get 6 quads into a 27' model! Even 3 small quads that are only 67" long stored in three rows of two will take up almost 17' of the 27' model! This also has to be a trailer that can hold 100 gallons of fresh water and 36 gallons of fuel. Even the 29' model SL28 only holds 60 gallons of water and 18 gallons of fuel and has a GVWR of 9,000 lbs. Where can I find this 27' model?

 

[amillstream]

I know someone that has scaled 46,000 in a 3500 and have a friend that is frequently over 30,000. I've been with my friend with some of these loads and he is very particular about the brakes on his rig and has no problem getting stopped. Not saying that it is safe, just that these trucks can and will handle way above what they are rated for. Single wheel trucks get a little scary with much trailer weight but the duallys seem to handle these weights fairly well. Still not saying that its safe but it happens.