Newbie here. Towing capacity questions.

[PilgrimSoul]

We are going to buy a fifth wheel at the end of next month. Our towing vehicle will be our 2002 F350 extended cab dualie. All the dealers at the RV shows say we can pull anything but I think we're only legal to pull up to 14,000. At the Last RV show we fell in love with a 2012 Forest River Sierra 365SAQ but it's around 12,000 lbs just in dry weight and we're afraid once fully loaded it will exceed the 14,000 lbs we can tow. Any thoughts? My husband is really concerned about the weight issue and it's making him think we should look into lighter weight fifth wheels. His choice, if we can't get a Sierra, would be a new Keystone Montana High Country 333DB. I've only seen it in pictures but the bunk room looks to be cramped & it doesn't have a king bed option . It is about 2,000 lbs lighter though.

Approx. How many pounds of stuff do you generally carry for long trips? We will be spending a month or more at a time in our RV.

Do you often get pulled over & weighed? If so, what happens when you are over weight?
What are you all allowed to tow & how heavy is your trailer?

[Terier]

Run the numbers on paper and see where they fall. Experienced members here can help compute the math and offer feedback on this setup. Some of the numbers needed will be the GVWR of the RV and truck. With towing other factors can come into play as well.

Often stuff can add up more than one would think in weight so having a good size buffer will be helpful prevent a problem.

On my way up the mountain I have seen some RVs pulled over by law enforcement to check brakes and weight. I have no idea what happens afterward if there's a problem. I haven't been up the mountain with my trailer yet because I'm not ready to mountain drive while towing yet.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by PilgrimSoul

We are going to buy a fifth wheel at the end of next month. Our towing vehicle will be our 2002 F350 extended cab dualie. All the dealers at the RV shows say we can pull anything but I think we're only legal to pull up to 14,000. At the Last RV show we fell in love with a 2012 Forest River Sierra 365SAQ but it's around 12,000 lbs just in dry weight and we're afraid once fully loaded it will exceed the 14,000 lbs we can tow. Any thoughts? My husband is really concerned about the weight issue and it's making him think we should look into lighter weight fifth wheels. His choice, if we can't get a Sierra, would be a new Keystone Montana High Country 333DB. I've only seen it in pictures but the bunk room looks to be cramped & it doesn't have a king bed option . It is about 2,000 lbs lighter though.

Approx. How many pounds of stuff do you generally carry for long trips? We will be spending a month or more at a time in our RV.

Do you often get pulled over & weighed? If so, what happens when you are over weight?
What are you all allowed to tow & how heavy is your trailer?

go to the faq section and see the post i put on about fifth wheels and and general towing
here>>>>>>>>>>>> http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...els-20015.html

[lbrjet]

I doubt you even have a 14K tow rating. Go to trailer life magazine online, click on tow guides, scroll down to 2002 and look up your truck. Engine, 4X4 (or not), gear ratio as well as F350 DRW Crew Cab will get you to right number. I looked and no configuation was 14K.

I would choose the lighter trailer.

[Triguy]

After reading through the introduction to fifth wheels, I suggest that you also play around with this fifth wheel calculator before you buy.

[EdJunior]

I think lbrjet may be right. Here's the link to the towing guides on Trailer Life:
Trailer Towing Guides | Trailer Life Magazine

Looks like you are going to top out at around 13,500 pounds, depending on the engine, transmission, rear-end, etc. You need to get the exact specs for your truck and look it up in the guide there.

I think you need to look for a lighter trailer as well. You can probably pack lighter and keep the bigger trailer under the weight, but it could be tough depending on what kind of camping you do (extended trips, carry fresh water, etc.).