A Fool-Proof Method for Judging your Tow Vehicle

[3rdjourney]

So I know my truck will pull it but I am going to be new to fifth wheels and what kind of hitch will I need? 2002 GMC Sierra 2500 hd diesel crew cab

 

[cmcallaster-FRF]

I was told by my RV dealer to buy a tow vehicle that has a 1,000 pounds more capacity than the Gross weight of the trailer you buy. It made sense to me to have excess capacity so I followed his advice. Just one opinion. The problem with this is if I ever want to trade up I will need a new tow vehicle.

 

[Herk7769]

So I know my truck will pull it but I am going to be new to fifth wheels and what kind of hitch will I need? 2002 GMC Sierra 2500 hd diesel crew cab

Much depends on whether it is a long bed or short bed and what kind of 5th wheel you buy.
If you have a long bed; any 5th wheel hitch rated to pull your camper will be fine.
With shorter beds you need to be careful as most 5th wheels are 8 foot wide or wider. The 5th wheel pin must be located within 3 inches of forward of the rear axle center for stability. That typically works out to be about 36 inches of clearance between the pin center and your back window.

Since half of 8 feet is 48 inches you will have a problem turning any great amount of degrees backing into tight spots. Some 5th wheels are "short bed friendly" with cut away sections in the aero-cap to help clear the cab; but you will still need a way to clear the cab when turning past about 70 degrees of turn.

Sidewinder has gotten great reviews here. With that hitch the pin box stays fixed front to back and does not turn in the bed. The camper pivots around a pivot point back by the camper.

I have, and LOVE, my Pullrite Superglide. It is an automatic slider that moved the king pin forward and backwards as needed to keep you clear of the cab. It has the best locking mechanism (in my opinion) since the locking area completely encloses the king pin. In an accident you will not be able to get out and move the hitch out of the way. With the Superglide the camper is moved automatically.

 

[cmcallaster-FRF]

I have a short bed Tundra but my 5th wheel has the Reese revolution system, so far so good.

 

[3rdjourney]

Our pickup has the short bed and we are finally deciding on the Forest River V-Cross 305VRET which I am hoping will take care of that turning radius...how about the problem with hitting the rails that I have heard people talk about?

 

[Chuckinca]

I was told by my RV dealer to buy a tow vehicle that has a 1,000 pounds more capacity than the Gross weight of the trailer you buy. It made sense to me to have excess capacity so I followed his advice. Just one opinion. The problem with this is if I ever want to trade up I will need a new tow vehicle.

My 2006 F150 5.4L had a max towing capacity of 8,900#; my Rockwood 2102W had a loaded capacity of near 7,000#: nearly 2,000# less than max towing capacity. With only a 4 spd tranny and no tow/haul the F150 was always searching for a gear even when I took it out of OD.

I really liked the F150 but it was too light to be used to haul a 7,000# TT.

.

 

[Fire Instructor]

First, my lawyer joke:
Q: Do you know why there are more toxic waste dumps in New Jersey than there are lawyers in New York?
A: New Jersey won the toss, and had first pick.

Now my question:

Researching new tow vehicles, and the differences between the 1/2, 3/4, and one ton Ford, Dodge (RAM), and GMC products is fairly clear. Besides gross weight, once you start getting into the 3/4 and 1-tons, you start to see better axle bearings, HD brake packages, transmission coolers, heavier frame materials, etc... The anomaly, in my research thus far, is the Toyota Tundra. Owners seem to love it's power, ride, towing ability, etc. In spec, it appears to fall in between a 1/2 ton and a 3/4 ton.

What have others discovered about the "other" features, such as axle bearings, brake packages, transmission coolers, frame materials, etc? How does the Tundra stand-up against the RAM or GMC 2500 or the Ford F250?

 

[oldbill]

I have a 11 f350 diesel srw extended cab long box with the camper pag. I'm looking at a columbus 320rs. my guestion is the srw adaquate.

 

[Maron]

I drove my brand new ( bought in November) Fully loaded Toyota Tundra attached to my brand new ( picked it up in January) Rockwood 8329, out to Arizona in February 2014. Yes the Tundra towed very well...and very importantly...was very comfortable. 5000 miles driven and still felt great in the seat.
However there are 2 drawbacks to the Tundra 1. A 26 gallon gas tank. 2. 8 miles to the gallon towing. Range with reserves was 160 miles.

 

[Walke]

Towing Guides are the only law

Great post, well said, I have always wanted to be "in compliance" with the towing guides for safety, but in the USA, an accident caused by someone pulling in front of me could be turned around by a lawyer if I am not within the towing guides. Well done !!!!

 

[Grayfox]

Changingears.com they (DO) know what they are talking about,read their info,all of it ,it is very helpful for towing and setup! Youroo!!

X-2... I always say do the math yourself and be informed. Changingears.com always recommended.

 

[Jim Keith Evans]

Maron..

Reading your post about the Tundra milage.. Less than 3MPG? Really? I have a 2004 Tundra 4.7 ltr towing a 2014 Tracer.. And get right at 10MPG at 55 MPH.. A little background.. We purchased the TT in Nov/13, our first trip was Houston > OKC and back over Thanksgiving. I almost had heart failure at the first fill up. 5.9 MPG.. Never got better the entire trip. We had several things wrong with the TT after the first trip, so I towed it to the dealer. One of the techs heard the brakes a squeaking when I pulled in. He mentioned it to him, and asked him to adjust the brakes. The next day the shop manager called and told me that the adjuster on one if the trailer brakes had come apart and tumbled inside the drum. Warranty covered all parts (drum, shoes, and adjuster). I realized that I must have had a brake dragging the entire trip.

You might want to get your trailer brakes checked, good luck.

Keith

 

[EricInColorado]

I live in Colorado, and by my estimation Colorado is second only to Michigan for automobile testing. The auto manufacturers love to bring their camouflaged test vehicles up to the I-70 corridor for high-altitude grade-A Rocky-Mountain road testing.
​

When they bring their next-generation tow vehicles here for testing, they hitch them to a contraption that looks a-lot like a flat-bed trailer full of iron weights and a solid wall at the front of the trailer to simulate wind drag. Then they parade these vehicles up and down the 6-7% grades of I-70 stopping only to buy gas, and fuel the drivers up on fast-food and gas-station fare. They go to all this trouble, because they want to know the question to a very important question before they give the answer to us, “Is it safe to tow with this vehicle?”
​

They then take their data back to where ever they came from and use it as a basis to publish their towing guide.​

​

I live in CO and have seen the exact contraption you speak of!

 

[OldCoot-FRF]

Maron..

Reading your post about the Tundra milage.. Less than 3MPG?...
Keith

You mis-read the post. #2 was 8mpg.

 

[Jim Keith Evans]

Yes I did, my apologies..

Keith

 

[Maron]

That "oldcoote" May be old...but he is still pretty sharp. Yeah Mr. Evans, there was a point 1 and a point 2. Next time I will try to be more clear. If it was only getting 2.8...I'd take it back to the dealer.
Your comment about inspecting the brakes is a good one. But this was the maiden voyage of the brand new 2014 TT so unlikely to be the brakes.
I did see a 33% increase in mpg when I shut off the tow button. And in a way the 8.2 I guess wasn't that bad because I consistently ran around 65 mph. I monitored the on board computer mpg numbers at 70, 65, 60 and 55 and was surprised at the variances.
The Tundra is a great personal vehicle with excellent comfort levels but Toyota has to increase the size of the tanks and if the ads on the Rams and other truck manufacturers is correct...they need to work on the mpg performance.
On the other side of the equation...I had to tow the 7800 lb TT out of an unlevel field in about 18" of blowing snow with big drifts. The truck was on a 1' snowy path. I put it in 4 wheel drive...said a quick prayer and touched the gas pedal. Within 2' I wanted to get out and applaud. No contest! So I love the truck...I'm not crazy about stopping every 3 hours for gas.

 

[Maron]

Well since you guys have me writing...Eric...the trip back from Arizona, we went over, around and through i70 7% grades. Our TT is 35' long and it was loaded. I did not enjoy the scenery. The Tundra did great...passing 18 wheelers going up hill, crossing the divide at over 11,300? And getting blown out of the way by the 18 wheelers coming down the other side. Both directions I down shifted cuz I don't like going down hill with 8000 lbs strapped to my a--.

 

[Jim Keith Evans]

Yes, Old Cout is pretty sharp. Once again, my apologies for reading it wrong. I agree on all your points about the Tundra.. They are fabulous trucks. Mine is a 2004 4.7 Liter 2WD pulling 6800 lb trailer.. I'm right at the tow limit, therefore I limit mine to 55 MPH. It was the maiden shake down trip that we had the dragging brake. Hope to see you on the road, you will know me when you see the 3 German Shepherds hanging out the windows. Happy Trails..

 

[Maron]

Thanks for the come back Keith. I bought a 2013 limited model demo loaded for towing. I was pretty nervous about towing so I wanted everything and got it with the 4x4, oversized battery, cooling for transmission and more. Even with all that I had white knuckles for the first 100 miles.
We are pulling a 35' Rockwood 8329 that, according to the truck scales in some State we just went through is .8400 lbs.
Hope to see you one day if you promise your German Shepards won't eat my 11 lb Papillion.

 

[Maron]

Oldcoot, is that a 55 or 56 Chevy? You are standing where I can't see the tail lights.