Towing small 5th wheel with new AT4

[AlaskaErik]

On 9/23/2019 at 8:27 AM, bshort said:

You'll run out of payload.  

^^^This.  Pin weight on a fiver is much heavier than tongue weight on a travel trailer.  Unscrupulous RV dealers advertise 5th wheel trailers as half ton towable, but very few can do so with exceeding payload capacity.  You can special order an F-150 with max tow and max payload and tow a fiver, but your basic GM 1500 won't have the payload capacity for it.  Me, my wife, the dog, generators and other junk  will eat up 600 to 700 lbs of my 1910 lb payload capacity.  The remaining 1200 to 1300 lbs remaining is not enough for the pin weight of a fiver.

[AlaskaErik]

On 9/24/2019 at 4:18 PM, BB&Chiveon said:

if hauling 1-2hrs away i would use 1\2 ton but longer than that they suck . i have 20ft enclosed and dealer let me use 1\2 ton at for 800 mile round trip till my new 2020 hd came in and it sucked trailering for that long 

I pulled my 19 ft travel trailer from Arizona to Alaska with my 2016 Silverado 5.3 and it wasn't that bad.  But that trip did convince me to upgrade to a 6.2L with Max Trailering package.  More payload and more oomph going uphill.

[AlaskaErik]

On 9/23/2019 at 4:34 PM, Remington92 said:

I know it’s their job to sell me a pickup but I stopped at my local dealer they didn’t seem to worried bout a half Ton 5th wheel combo. Even have a used 15 with 5.3 and bw turnover they are letting me borrow to see how a half ton handles my camper. 

Most vehicle dealers know nothing about RVs and just want to sell you something on their lot while most RV dealers know very little about tow vehicles and just want to sell you something on their lot.

[AlaskaErik]

On 9/24/2019 at 6:58 PM, bshort said:

Ok, this will attract the weight police, but whatever.  

 

Buy the AT4, add load E tires and a set of air bags.  All will be perfectly fine.  It will pull fine, track fine, and ride better than a 2500.  Also pull better than a 2500 gasser.   

E load tires and air bags will do nothing to increase payload or tow capacity.  Those numbers are set in stone by the manufacturer.

[AlaskaErik]

19 hours ago, FiatDale said:

May be a stupid question, but with a 5.5’ bed vs 6.5’ bed on a 2500, will the trailer be too close to the cab? Isn’t that something that may be an issue if hauling over uneven terrain?

Can you even get a 5.5' bed on an HD?  I know you can't on the new 2020 models.  6.5' and 8' are your only options.  Regardless, towing a fiver with a 5.5' bed is not recommended.

Edited September 26, 2019 by AlaskaErik

[FiatDale]

No you cannot get a 5.5’ in a 2500. 6.5 or 8

[bshort]

5 hours ago, AlaskaErik said:

E load tires and air bags will do nothing to increase payload or tow capacity.  Those numbers are set in stone by the manufacturer.

This is correct, but it will work just fine.  The truck will be level and will pull the load with ease.  (found the weight police).  For some strange reason, people think you need an F550 diesel to pull a 17' aluminum bass boat... 

[Cpl_Punishment]

6 hours ago, AlaskaErik said:

^^^This.  Pin weight on a fiver is much heavier than tongue weight on a travel trailer.  Unscrupulous RV dealers advertise 5th wheel trailers as half ton towable, but very few can do so with exceeding payload capacity.  You can special order an F-150 with max tow and max payload and tow a fiver, but your basic GM 1500 won't have the payload capacity for it.  Me, my wife, the dog, generators and other junk  will eat up 600 to 700 lbs of my 1910 lb payload capacity.  The remaining 1200 to 1300 lbs remaining is not enough for the pin weight of a fiver.

What's the payload of a max tow F150 vs an NHT GM 1500?

[AlaskaErik]

5 hours ago, bshort said:

This is correct, but it will work just fine.  The truck will be level and will pull the load with ease.  (found the weight police).  For some strange reason, people think you need an F550 diesel to pull a 17' aluminum bass boat... 

An F-450 should handle that just fine.

[AlaskaErik]

5 hours ago, Cpl_Punishment said:

What's the payload of a max tow F150 vs an NHT GM 1500?

You can special order an F-150 with max tow AND max payload.  I'm not a Ford guy, but I have heard of payload capacity approaching 3000 lbs, but at the very least, well into 2k territory.  GM has no max payload option.   My 2019 has a GCWR of 17,800 lbs and a 1910 lb payload capacity.  While 1910 lbs isn't that impressive, it's 338 more lbs over my 2016 Silverado LTZ that didn't have max tow. 

[Remington92]

What is the limiting factor on these pickups for payload? Springs, axles, tires? In HD series it’s not uncommon to see airbags added to help with sag but doesn’t seem to happen as much with half tons. Also is gear ratio and springs the main thing that sets max tow apart? Reading it sounds like 6.2s still have the 9.75 axles just a higher ratio. 

[Remington92]

Alright reviving this thread from the dead. I ended up taking a company daily driver pickup, selling the duramax, and buying a 2001 2500 cummins. Its a nice clean old man truck but dang that dodge is rough to drive. You have to heard it down the highway and the headlights are bout as good as candles. Also even with a modest chip towing power is just so so. 

 

With that said im really missing towing with a newer rig, and back to the drawing board of giving up my company paid pickup and taking the stipend. 

 

Ive got more or less x options im looking at

gm crew cab half ton 6.2 with NHT, and 6.5' bed

gm crew cab 2500, 6.6 gas, 6.5' bed (why gm didnt  put a 10spd in this......)

F250 crew cab 7.3 6.5' bed 

Nissan titan xd (only reason im considering is deep discounts on 19s and 5/100 warranty)

 

With the camper and cargo trailer i have would the NHT be enough? Also i pulled my loaded cargo trailer with my work pickup (11 F150 6.2) and asides from having to drive in manual mode cause the transmission wouldn't think for itself it pulled great 

[Wintersun]

It is not the tow weight but the load on the rear axle that should be considered with a 5th wheel trailer. With a 7,000 lb trailer the weight added to the rear axle will be about 1400 lbs and that is in addition to anything else in the bed of the truck. I doubt that there will be a problem with the axle but the factory tires on a 1500 may not be adequate with their load capacity.

 

Check in the glove boxes of 1500 trucks on the dealers' lots and see what the payload rating is for the different models. Be aware that the manufacturers add 150 lbs of load for each passenger seat so a crew cab truck will be rated 450 lbs lower for payload than a regular cab truck that is otherwise identical.

[redwngr]

On 9/26/2019 at 2:37 AM, AlaskaErik said:

Can you even get a 5.5' bed on an HD?  I know you can't on the new 2020 models.  6.5' and 8' are your only options.  Regardless, towing a fiver with a 5.5' bed is not recommended.

The only configuration for a 5.5' box is a 1500 crew. (it's never been available in any other configuration)

6.5' box is available on 15/25/35 crew/double 

8' box is available on 15/25/35 reg, 25/35 double/crew

All duallies are 8'; dually is available as reg/double/crew

[Remington92]

I guess I should also ask theres been no whispers of a 10speed making its way behind the 6.6 gas any time soon? Or we looking at 2022 for that at the soonest?