That 2385 is empty with nothing in it and not loaded ready to camp, Most of the storage in your 5er is forward of the axles which causes the pin weight to climb with every pound you load. Towing planner puts that at 3085 read to camp. That 17,000 towing rating is at a pin weight percentage of 15% and a stripped down truck you 5er could easy be 22 to 24 percent loaded ready to camp. This would be my advice because stubby pencil weights are not that accurate. I would stop by truck stop CAT scale and check out your weight ratings and make sure you're comfortable with the amount of weight you are going to be over your payload rating. You got some bad advice on your first RV and I think you got some bad advice again. Keep your family safe and the only way to know spends 11 dollars to make sure. You could even be over the tire ratings you never know till you weight it.
Niffty Hitch took more than the difference between 2385 and 2500 payload so you are over payload.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RegardingEverything
Greetings! We are excited to find this community and look forward to the support and wisdom of experienced RV’ers as well as stories and advice from newbies like us.
While we are new to 5th wheels, we are not new to RV-ing. Nearly ten years ago, we had a toy-hauler trailer and miraculously survived a wreck along an area in AZ known as “The B-Line.” This pass is known to have bad gusts, and our trailer swayed itself around and into a cemi truck in the lane beside it. Thankfully, the driver saw what was happening and accelerated out of the way as the truck/trailer spun into both guardrails. Truck and trailer were totaled, but nothing flipped and no serious injuries. We were ill-researched and ill-prepared... perhaps a bit ill-informed... we did not have sway bars. Must have sway bars.
We are recent empty-nesters... and we are in the process of selling our Arizona home to make this a full time adventure! We decided on a 5th wheel, excited for towing stability. We recently purchased the Laredo 380MB and are towing with a ‘ 18 Ram 2500 Diesel short-bed. Got the nifty sliding hitch to boot. Our first venture was a 12 hour trip up to Colorado, and the truck towed beautifully and we barely noticed the wind gusts.
Now, to learn how to park the dang thing....  |