Considering 5th Wheel...Max Pin Wgt?

[chris199]

DW and I are considering upgrading to a 5th wheel.

Tow vehicle is 12 GMC Sierra 3500HD crew cab...long bed...SRW. Payload is 3905 lb. Duramax

That enough to handle a pin wgt of 3000 lb or so of a 5th wheel?

What do you recommend as max pin wgt.

I know on my TT the hitch wgt per brochure vs actual was different by several hundred pounds. Same hold true on 5th wheels...greater or lesser extent on 5th wheels?

[hankpage]

If you have a payload of 4600 ... 3000 pin weight should be no problem. Leaving 1600 lbs. for passengers and "stuff" should be more than enough. (unless my DW helps you load :D )

[chris199]

Just confirmed payload spec is 4200+but door tag says 3905 lb.

[Javi]

Just confirmed payload spec is 4200+but door tag says 3905 lb.

Door tag is the one that counts until you actually weigh the truck ready to travel.

[chris199]

How much will a pin wgt of a 5th wheel vary between "published" vs. "actual"?

[chuckster57]

King pin and trailer weight are before battery(s) and propane. It has been reported on this forum that published weights are a bit light.

King pin weight can be affected by placement of cargo and water.

[chuckster57]

Door tag is the one that counts until you actually weigh the truck ready to travel.


Yup! Load your truck with everything it would have headed to the campground, including people, pets, equipment, and a full tank of fuel. Take it to the scales. Now take the actual weight on the rear axle and subtract that from the number on the door tag. Subtract another 100 pounds for the hitch and that's what you have left legally. Can you go over? Sure, but that's another thread.

[bsmith0404]

How much will a pin wgt of a 5th wheel vary between "published" vs. "actual"?

Depends on how you load it. Our basement storage is huge (I call it the mother-in-law room). We have it loaded pretty well. Plus my DW takes everything, but the kitchen sink (I need to check the front storage, the sink may be in there). Our pin weight is about 800 lbs heavier than Keystone advertised weight.

[gearhead]

I'm running about 800# over the advertised Keystone number.
3900# payload on a Chevy 3500 SRW. wow

[therink]

With 3900 payload, iI recommend choosing a fifth wheel loaded pin of 2800 or under. To estimate unknown loaded pin weight, take the mmanufacturer Gvwr of a fiver you are interested in and multiply by 20%. The optimal pin weight for most fivers is 20%. That should let you know the loaded pin weight potential for that fifth wheel.