Nitro 28dk5 towing loaded vs unloaded?

[Fallon]

We currently have a 35' Carbon bumper pull. It has excessive tongue weight without a toy in the back by several hundred pounds due to leverage. It doesn't pull great with a toy in there with a WDH & proper weights everywhere according to Cat scales. I should have gotten a 5th wheel.

Cue us looking to replace it & especially at a Nitro 28dk5. It's pretty much the smallest toy hauler I can find, other than the XLR boosts, which might be a bit small for us. It blows my mind how big most of the monster toy haulers are. My 2014 F350 SWR with a powerstroke doesn't have close to the trailer weight, more more limiting, payload to pull most of those. Only me, the wife, the dog & cat, so we don't need 8-12 beds.

As I'm a bit gun shy about how well they tow, can anybody speak to how loading a side by side or other 1,500lbs load affects the towing on a 28dk5? About half our trips will be within Colorado or Utah going camping with the toy. Maybe half our trips will be longer runs from Colorado to Oregon, Indiana & Florida to visit friends & family.

[Karl907]

I have a 21 F350 and a 28dk5 camper I picked up last year. Whether it’s loaded or unloaded I don’t even notice it behind me. I had a 22 Jayco sl222 and I noticed it way more than this 5th wheel.

Living in AK we have some sketchy roads but the tounge weight has never seamed heavy to me.

[Fallon]

Good to hear, thanks.

I know 5th wheels pull much better than bumper pull, bur have yet to personally pull a 5th wheel or gooseneck. Unfortunately dealers around here won't let you do a test drive or test pull, so I can't verify things for myself. Very irritating as my brain works best researching then actually testing. It's driving me nuts not being able to prove to myself it's going to be worth it upgrading from a heavy bumper pull to a 5th.

[Fallon]

And note to self, or for others later...

https://www.jayco.com/rvs/toy-hauler...uper-lite/222/
5.5k lbs dry
8k max weight
800lbs tongue weight

A Nitro 28dk5
11k lbs dry
2.1k lbs pin weight

Not quite double the trailer depending on how you look at it & it tows way better...

[Karl907]

Originally Posted by Fallon

Good to hear, thanks.

I know 5th wheels pull much better than bumper pull, bur have yet to personally pull a 5th wheel or gooseneck. Unfortunately dealers around here won't let you do a test drive or test pull, so I can't verify things for myself. Very irritating as my brain works best researching then actually testing. It's driving me nuts not being able to prove to myself it's going to be worth it upgrading from a heavy bumper pull to a 5th.

Road-trip to AK you can test drive mine. It really is a night and day difference. The 5th wheel has no sway, easier to backup in tight spots. I’d probably put cameras on mine if I lived anywhere other than AK as it is a big trailer but there’s not enough traffic where I go to need a camera.

[Karl907]

Oh I’ll add this was my first 5th wheel as well and didn’t believe the hype that they tow so much better. They really do tow that much better I am always amazed by it when I hook up.

[llr]

Originally Posted by Fallon

We currently have a 35' Carbon bumper pull. It has excessive tongue weight without a toy in the back by several hundred pounds due to leverage. It doesn't pull great with a toy in there with a WDH & proper weights everywhere according to Cat scales.

What is your tongue weight with the toy loaded? It sound like you a light, at least for that trailer.

Is it possible to pull the toy in farther and/or back it in to get the weight farther forward?

If you water tank is in front of the axles filling it may help.

[Fallon]

Originally Posted by llr

What is your tongue weight with the toy loaded? It sound like you a light, at least for that trailer.



Is it possible to pull the toy in farther and/or back it in to get the weight farther forward?



If you water tank is in front of the axles filling it may help.

1,500lbs tongue weight with the toy in. 1,900lbs tongue weight with the toy out. Weights were off my WeighSafe hitch I use for a flatbed trailer & my tractor. Have a Blue Ox WDH when towing the Carbon.

I dont remember if I had water in the tanks when i weighed the tongue. But at 12,240 at a cat scale when isubtract a pass with just the truck from truck + trailer. It had a full load of water then. Thats 12%, right in the proper 10-15% tongue weight for a bumper pull. Hitch is rated at 1,500 with a WDH, so im good with the toy, but overloaded without.

2" at best free room to move the toy forward or back. So no help there.

It pulls okish up to 65, but over that it gets a bit nervous & close to sway. Even with the WHD propery setup the truck is a little light up front. Its just to much weight & length for a bumper pull. Looking for something a little shorter 5th wheel (crrent unit is 39' bumper to tongue, 35' or less trailer behind me would be nicer thanks to the 5th wheel overhang). The F350 is rated to 15900 & I have 2,600lbs, maybe 2,800lbs tops of payload left with my toolbox, passengers & usual junk. That bascally that means a unit with no dedicated garage. No desire for a bigger truck & even if I had one I dont want a giant trailer.

[JB23]

Fallon- go to a 5th wheel and you’ll never look back. I have a f350 std bed with a 6.7. Tow a 38’ XLR Boost. Normally carry a Kawasaki 2 bench mule diesel with Curtis cab. 2000 lbs w/o cab. Anyway your truck will pull it about anywhere you need to go. Mine says 10600 empty. You have a lot more leeway.

[Fallon]

We were going to go for a new 28dk5, but a barely used 2022 showed up.

It towed well on a test ride to the cat scales about an hour each way. Good on the freeway. Briefly kicked it up to 80 & everything but the MPG was in great shape. Orders of magnitude better than the bumper pull. Not perfect, but plenty good enough to avoid white knuckling it like with the bumper pull.

Haven't towed it wet or with the toy in it, but weights are good. A bit pin heavy empty, but I expect a toy or possibly some water may help. But even pin heavy we have 700lbs of rear axle capacity left. Camper was mostly packed, but may have been missing 300lbs of dog & random camping gear in the bed.

http://towingplanner.com/ActualWeigh...5260&w2da=3760