Questions about 5th vs TT towing

[TheDiGs]

My TV is a 2009 Chevy 2500HD, 4WD, Crew Cab, standard bed, 3.73, gas

My towing capability according to the owner's manual:

TRAILERING
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 5000 lbs
Dead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 500 lbs
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt. 9800 lbs
Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt. 1470 lbs
Maximum Trailering Capacity 13000 lbs

I am considering a Crusader 5th wheel, 30BH:
Ship weight: 8519
Carrying Capacity: 1365
Hitch Weight: 1143

I am clueless about 5th wheels...can my truck safely tow this? If so, are there hitches that are easily removed to give me my truck bed back when I'm not towing???

Anyone who has switched from a TT to 5er...do you regret losing your bed? We are concerned we will hate losing the truck bed, and we'll have to deal with getting our topper cross country somehow during our move.

[B and B]

Hello,

A couple answers to help. We traded from a TT to a Fifth Wheel. I did hate to loose the bed at first. Found the basement storage adequate. As far as getting the bed back when not towing I have a Reese Elite hitch with under bed puck system. The hitch is removed and plugs block the holes.

As far as specs, go to see everything you have here. You need the Cargo Carrying Capacity from the yellow sticker on the drivers door post, also rear axle weight. With out them you are guessing.

You have a 3/4 ton truck and it should tow what you are suggesting. Need the stickers to confirm. The Gas engine might scream a bit on towing hills but will move it fine. Get the stickers CCC and rear axle and we can confirm.

Brian

[TheDiGs]

Hopefully these are the right stickers...unless you mean the ones on the 5th wheel?

[TheDiGs]

Brain is saying I need the info off the trailer...from the Primetime site, CCC is 1551lbs. Doesn't have axle weight (tho I vaguely recall looking at a sticker on the 5th with that info), I'll have to call the dealer for that tomorrow.

[B and B]

Looking at your capacity on the Truck you have enough capacity. Just keep the weight down in the truck bed.Your Pin weight would most likely hit 1600- 1700 pounds, As long as the occupants and gear are under 1000 lbs you are within capacity. Bunch of kids and the adults count, I don't think I would worry about the dog, cats or Parrot

The key figure is the 2975 from the Truck. The Trailer weight figures are fine.

http://www.trailerlife.com/wp-conten...Guide-2009.pdf

The tow guide is a good place as well for some information as well.

I tow a 8289 Rockwood loaded close to 9,200 lbs wet. Calculated pin weight is 1700-1800 pounds. I tow this with a F 250 and Diesel. As I mentioned the Gas Engine may have high RPMs at times and get poor miles per gallon. Just the cost of RV travel.

Best of luck with your search, You seem to have al the numbers, maybe a visit to Chev dealer to confirm truck options and tow package capabilities.

[Dan'l Boone]

I have a Ford equivalent of your truck; a 2013 F250 Crew Cab 4x4 6.2l gas w/ 3.73 gears and towing a similar RV with a Shasta Phoenix 28BH. So my set-up seems relatively equal to what you're asking about, although I'm not sure about comparing the engines from different years. I also switched from a bumper pull last year. I've only had a couple of occasions when I regretted having the 5er in the bed; however, I could pull pins and remove it leaving only the rails, which I haven't gotten to the point where I felt I needed to do yet. My truck tows very well, even up hills, but I'm in West Texas. I haven't had any complaints with my set-up or regrets in switching from the TT to the 5er. Very pleased with my decision.

[trbomax]

The only thing I can help with is "loseing the box to a 5th wheel hitch". We too had owned horse trailers ,includeing large LQ units.We already had a drop in ball for our goosenecks so it was a simple requirement that the new "5er" be equiped with a Reese Goose Ball coupler.These units are approved by Lippert (actually built by lippert) and feature 5th airborne air ride technology. From experience I can tell you that chucking is non existant and there is no sway from semis or busses. And we still have our full bed use.

[ependydad]

Who says you lose your truck bed?



I don't necessarily recommend this as I was nervous about my emergency breakaway cable getting yanked by something in a turn.

But, you mentioned a topper/cap- I'm not sure how to tell you to handle that.

[Crusadernoob]

We went from a TT to a Crusader 285RET just about the same weight as what you are talking about. We have an 06 2500HD but a diesel, the truck will handle that fiver just fine, as far as losing bed space, I don't mind, I didn't use it with the TT anyway, the fiver pulls soooooo much better. I think you'll be happy.

[B and B]

Forgot that part, thanks Doug.

I have a 4 KW Generator, waste water hauler, 20 lbs propane for Campfire in the Can, a gas can, soon 10 l of DEF fluid, bags of firewood..

[trbomax]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Who says you lose your truck bed?

Attachment 79782

I don't necessarily recommend this as I was nervous about my emergency breakaway cable getting yanked by something in a turn.

But, you mentioned a topper/cap- I'm not sure how to tell you to handle that.

I interpreted it to mean that the OP wanted full use of the bed when not towing,which my set up provides.

[rana]

He's got 2975 ccc.. minus 1150 or so on the pin. Subtract the weight of the hitch itself, fuel, 3 passengers... moderate cargo.. that ends doable.

8500 dry on the rig.. 1400 cargo capacity.. within spec on the tow capacity... Yeah. It's doable.

The only thing is that the 5er you're looking at doesn't have much cargo capacity. I mean.. that's really thin. It would do fine lightly loaded with living essentials and personal items for a warm weather 3 to 5 day vacation, but it's not a "hauler".

You're within specs on both ends so you should do just fine. Be prepared for "mileage shock" though. :-)

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by trbomax

I interpreted it to mean that the OP wanted full use of the bed when not towing,which my set up provides.

You could be right; I guessed while towing based on the comment about the topper/cap.

Different approach, but same empty bed when the hitch is out- my B&W Turnover Ball and Fifth Wheel Companion hitch. The new ones are really nice- tool-less install. (Not that mine is much work; loosening a couple of nuts and taking one bolt out.)

[sail2liv]

GCWR should be around 16k.......keep that in mind

[drelec]

I tow a Prime Time Crusader 270RET with a 2010 Ford F150 HD. I have a B&W goose neck hitch installed and use their Companion fifth wheel hitch. The Companion hitch can be removed in two pieces when not needed, leaving a flat cargo bed. The Companion hitch has a 18K rating. We have been to Alaska, California, Florida and Maine with only one issue. There is a small piston on the Companion hitch for upto 5 degrees of lateral tilt. After the Alaska trip and Top of the World highway I found the piston rod had failed. Called B&W and had a new part in three days! No charge.

[CincyED]

I think it depends how far you are planning on traveling. I went from a 32' TT double slide to a 35 FW toy hauler single slide. Towing is night and day I could only go 5-6 hours a day towing TT with out being exhausted, I have towed FW 8-11 hours with no problem don't even feel it most of the time. As far as bed space most 5th wheel hitches come out leaving just rails like my curt q20 some nicer only leave pucks. I only take my hitch out during winter and opted for a 5x10 open utility trailer with ramp when I need to haul bigger stuff. Lower and easier to load plus 10 long instead of my 6.5 truck bed.

[CincyED]

Forgot to mention if you go 5th wheel make sure you use safe hitching technique, I like several others dropped 5th on tailgate, a $ 1500 mistake. Ouch!

[lazyjj]

I pull my 5vr with a 1999 F250 7.3 3.73 gear. Mine is not quite that heavy. I use my gooseneck ball. My current gooseneck adapter I purchased and installed myself. The one the dealer installed was very rigid and I was worrying myself that it may cause frame to stress and crack. I n purchased my current one off Ebay. It is manufactured by a company named RMH industries. It has a polymer cushion that made a world of difference on the first trip.we took. I have a 2012 Palomino Puma 253 FBS. New tires on trailer new shocks on truck.and tires on truck have about 10000 miles n on them. Ready to roll all summer. Hope all have safe travels.

[D. J. Schuler]

Looking good - max trailer 13,000, 5r total 9,884, good margin. Total passengers and bed stuff 2,975, 5r approximately 1,143, 1,832 left over for people and stuff. Best to hit the scales to get the real figures.

[Thekipkers]

We just switched from a 30TT to a 42' 5er. So far I have no regrets of storage with the bed and use a curt 16k hitch on a rail system. Although it is heavy it simply removes with 4 pins. I have a long bed, so storage isn't really an issue besides where the bikes will go, looking into options on that.....


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