question on 333mks

[fvstringpicker]

How well will a 3/4 ton (2500hd) diesel handle this rig?

[JRTJH]

There is a LOT of difference in a 89 model 2500 and a 2015 model 2500. What are the specs on your truck? GVW? Weight? Front axle weight? Rear axle weight? GCWR? Max payload?

Once those figures are stated, you can get more information about "YOUR" truck. There is just too many variables in models to make a "blanket statement"....

Keep in mind that a couple of 3/4 ton diesel owners traded up to one ton DRW trucks after buying a MKS333. So, you may not like what you hear.

[fvstringpicker]

I have a 2007 duramax. I'm good on the rear axles @6,000+. The loaded weight of the truck (me, wife, tool box. misc junk, and 200 lb allowance for the hitch) give me just shy of 2,000 lbs of "official" cargo weight to work with and a GCWR of 22,000lbs. I've got 600+ torque and 346 HP at the rear wheels (tow tuned). If I can handle the pin weight, going to a 1 ton would not give me any more "pulling" juice and no more stability on single rear wheels than I now have given that the drive train is the same.
The advertised pin weight is 1655 but my concern is most folks say this is well understated and I need to figure 20-25%. I realize even if the advertised pin weight is correct, I'm still adding to it when I load the camper.
At any rate, I think this unit may put me right at or slightly over the cargo rate weight rating. I've had a pallet of sod in the bed several times (~2,500 lbs) and towed 12,000 of steel, but not hundred of miles at the time. I'm wondering what kind of experience other have had.

[larry337]

I can tell you I bought a Cougar 337. My advertised pin weight was 2165, my loaded and scaled pin weight was 2350. Pulled it 2700 miles round trip with a 2010 short bed F250. I was a couple hundred pounds over my payload rating. It pulled just fine without issue. I bought the dually more because I just wanted it then because I needed it. I was in the mood for a new truck. The choice is yours but you would be in better shape then I was. I was a couple hundred pounds over and I think you'll be a couple hundred pounds under.

[fvstringpicker]

Thanks Larry. Unless I add a second A/C unit, I don't think I'd be adding much over a couple of hundred pounds to the pin when loading which would keep me within the door sticker specs. This is based on what I added to the tongue weight of my current 32 ft TT. It seems that the weight of stuff added to the front basement is distributed roughly 50/50 to pin and trailer wheels. If the advertised pin weight is close (1650) and a cargo capacity of the trailer is 1,760 lbs, (20% =352 lbs to the pin) would put me less than 100 lbs over specs. Adding a washer and dryer is out of the question.

[Tim-Rhonda]

We purchased our 2015 333MKS back in March and pull it with the Tradesman model 13 Ram 2500 6.7 Cummins 4x4 short bed with absolutely no issues. The payload on the vin # is 2595 lbs. The reason I mentioned the model is the fancier the truck with the more add-ons the more it could reduce payload. The only issue I have had was I put 2/3 water in the water tank for a trip and won't do that again. We had a lot of chucking on our trip. No water in tank on the way home and had no chucking. Going from a 7200lb TT to a this 5th Wheel you know its there but the truck has no issues.

I air bagged the truck but the rv dealership that installed the 5th wheel stated from what he has saw out of the big 3 is that the rams just don't squat that much. So I just leave 22 lbs in the bags. Truck has no issues with stopping, I believe a duelly would be more stable as all would agree I believe. Haven't been to the scales yet and need to do that. I'm confident I am within the rear axle weight rating.

[fvstringpicker]

I know air bags don't increase GVWR but they make hauling a load easier by leveling it out. Probably the most weight I've had in the bed was a yard of sand at about 2,700- 2,800 lbs, with a backhoe attached. I went less then 20 miles but didn't have any trouble with it. Engine and transmission temperature, EGT were within normal range, even pulling a 10% grade coming out of Warm Springs Georgia and stopping was not a problem. I made sure I wasn't tail gating anybody though.

[larry337]

I had air bags but I'm not sure I'll ever add them again. It seems they will definitely level the vehicle but getting the ride comfortable is very tricky. The truck's natural suspension does what it's supposed to do. If it didn't squat under load it would be too stiff empty. So it squats until it hits the stiffer springs designed into it for that purpose. Air bags seem to keep it off it's normal suspension and the bags take over. It takes the perfect air setting to get it right. If you add too much air the rides gets very stiff and bouncey and the chucking gets worse. So the right air pressure for a good ride is likely to still leave some squatting. If you can live with the squat it actually rides pretty decent. The squat seems to be more of a vanity issue then a ride issue. The truck is designed to carry a load and squatting is part of it, squatting doesn't mean handling goes away. You have plenty of GCVWR left over, plenty of power, and you are right there on payload, which is common with a 3/4 ton. You will get some chucking and some bounce on expansion joints and bumps in the road but that's just part of it. I had a TT before this and even though it was far from the payload limit the fiver rode and handles ten times better, even though it was at or over the payload limit. If you still think you want air bags you may want to get the on board compressor to tweek the ride on the fly, which I didnt have. By the time you spend that much money you are close to an air ride pin box which I also didn't have but from reading forums they really smooth out the ride much better. If you're under or at your payload then you're using the truck for it's designed purpose and you should be fine with the stock setup. My dually is designed to carry 4700 lbs and my 2300lbs of fiver squats it also, but it rides great.

[concours]

We tow a 331MKS with a GMC 3500 SRW Long Box Duramax which does a great job but is getting close to max weight when we head south for the winter If we had a 2500 there would be no Aux Fuel tank, just one more thing to consider.

[Javi]

Alrighty... When I bought the 333MKS I owned a '12 F250 diesel (10K GVWR) with Firestone air bags and with the trailer empty it pulled great.

Power isn't the issue with any of the big 3's diesel pickups, load capacity and stability is the issue. Depending on how much and what you load expect that 1650 pin weight to grow to 2300 - 2400 pretty darn quickly.. Remember that with the 333MKS almost all of the storage is in front of the axles and very little is behind the axles except the couch, TV, water tank, and fireplace with assorted small cabinetry.

After a couple of road trips, I sat down with the DW and we decided on a dually.... During the first trip with the dually my DW said to me.. "It really does tow better doesn't it? I can feel the difference." and all this from the passenger seat, she has never driven with the trailer attached and most likely never will..

One note... I drove duallys for years pulling equipment trailers and only tried SRW 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton after I got out of that business..

As long as I tow 5'ers over 10K I will own a DUALLY... there is no comparison in the stability.

[larry337]

As long as I tow 5'ers over 10K I will own a DUALLY... there is no comparison in the stability.
I agree 100%. I was just trying to answer his question about his 3/4 ton. I didn't have the dually first, which you did, so I felt my F250 was "okay", I knew it could be better. It was definitely better then the TT, which was shorter, lighter, and a lower pin weight. I drive a tractor/trailer for a living. My empty weight is 35k and my limit is 80k. I can weigh anything in between. Some loads ride great, some just suck, even though they are legal. You cannot make a truck handle the same way for all conditions. That's why I say air bags aren't all they're cracked up to be on a pickup. A pickup is designed to do a certain job with compromises built in for empty vs loaded. Squat is part of the engineering built in by the manufacturer. Trying to eliminate it with air bags doesn't always make the ride or the handling any better. No question his trailer would handle better with a 1 ton. SRW or DRW. But if he's legal with a 3/4 ton then the choice is his.

[fvstringpicker]

It appears that if I'm careful, I can stay within +(-)100 pounds of the payload capacity sticker with this rig. All I've done so far is look at it and liked what I saw. But I don't like it enough to trade my truck for a 1 ton dually. I don't think I'd gain a hell of a lot by going to a 1 ton SRW. I've researched it nine way of Sunday and in the only difference in my 2500 and a 3500 is the rear springs. The other parts of the drive train, (motor, transmission, axles, brakes) are the even same part number.
I've always heard that a fifth wheel, even if heavier than a TT, is more stable. We have a 32 ft TT with a tongue weight near 2/3 of the advertised pin weight of the Cougar. The truck pulls it like nobody's business and doesn't sway when a big truck goes by me. So I thought since this fifth wheel is not but a couple of thousand pounds heavier overall and adding 700 pounds to the bed, I'd have at least as much stability with the fifth wheel configuration. If putting weight in the bed near, at, or even slightly over the cargo rating is going to cause an unsafe stability situation, maybe I need to stay out of the fifth wheel business. The so called "lite" models seem too cheaply made and the floor plans are not appealing.
I appreciate the input and its been fun dreaming about it.

[5mary6]

On another note, my state (CA) requires additional endorsement for the 333MKS due to weight. Make sure you look in to that at your local department of motor vehicles. Mine is a Class A restricted license for 5th wheel between 10k to 15k GVWR.