Will this 5er combination work

[Gotmutt]

Hello all, my wife and I are new to the RV world, so we’re trying to learn all term and formulas everyone else seems to know so well.
My truck is a 2002 GMC 2500HD, extended (not crew) cab, 4wd, 8.1, Allison, 8ft bed, 4.10. The sticker on the door lists the GVWR as 9200 LB. from what I can gather on the internet, the curb weight on this truck is between 5126-6,023 lbs. my wife and I are looking at the keystone hideout 315rdts which has a dry weight of 9420 and a pin weight of 1720. Does this look safe? If not, how much lighter should the hitch weight be.

[flybouy]

The camper's dry weight exceeds the truck's GVWR so no it's not safe.

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum :wlcm:
It’s not often people ask first and buy later, your to be applauded for that.

Best thing to do is to put everything in your truck that you would have if you were headed to the campground. Go to the nearest CAT scale and weigh it. Curb weight can change based on model and options so don’t guess...know.

Take that weight and subtract it from the GVWR and you’ll have the legal amount you can put in the truck. Depending on hitch, you can add another 40-200 pounds. The other number you want to watch is the RAWR (rear axle weight rating). Pin weight is BEFORE a battery, and propane are added. Then whatever cargo you put in the basement adds weight.

Lots of things to look at, and only YOU can decide What your going to do. Don’t rely on the salesman, weigh your truck and look at the certification label of THE UNIT your interested in, it will have the UVW ( unladen vehicle weight) and the GVWR. In the case of the fifth wheel you can have 20% of that weight on the pin so plan on that number not the dry weight. Some states are starting to do what LEO does out here. They will stop you and stick a portable scale under your rear axle, be over and you get to unhook right there. Can’t have it back until you show up with a truck rated for that weight.

Lots of information and I’m sure others will chime in and add to the confusion. Good luck in your search.

[chuckster57]

The camper's dry weight exceeds the truck's GVWR so no it's not safe.

Dry weight isn’t an issue. My truck weighs roughly 7200 pounds, my trailer is 7985 dry, so by your statement I’m not safe.. my PIN is 1295, well within the GVWR (10,000 pounds)and RAWR of my truck.

[sourdough]

You need to get numbers as Chuckster advised. My thought is that the trailer is more than your truck should carry.

[xrated]

The first thing I would do is to take your truck to a CAT scale or some other scale that you trust for an accurate weighing and find out exactly what your truck does weigh. Subtract that number from the truck GVWR of 9200 lbs and you now have a pretty good idea of what you have left for payload. The trailer you mention has a GVWR of approx 12,000 lbs and that is the number that I would use to calculate the estimated pin weight of the trailer. So 12,000 lbs times 20% is going to come in at 2400 lbs of pin weight. Add another 175 to 200 lbs for the 5ver hitch (unless your truck alread has a hitch in it when you do the truck weight at a CAT scale. Now you are at approx. 2600 lb of pin and hitch. Next thing to consider is how much "stuff" are you going to be putting in the truck......passenger(s) weight, tools, firewood, grill, toolbox, etc. Anything and everything that goes in or on the truck counts against the available payload. And remember.....those numbers are looking at a brand new tip top shape truck with everything new. A 2002 truck has some miles on it and the wear and tear of that many miles.....so make sure that whatever you come up with weight wise, that all of the truck components are in very good shape...tires, springs, shocks, drive train, brakes, etc. You probably need to find out what your rear and front axle weight rating is also, to make sure that you aren't overloading it..or getting close to capacity, especially with a truck that may have lots and lots of miles. You are the only one that knows the condition of your truck, so err towards caution if you are approaching the available payload

[Gotmutt]

The tag shows the gawr frt as 4670 and the gawr of the rear as 6084. Yes, I do want to be safe and I do want to be informed, which is why I’m searching the threads on this forum. A trip to the cat scales willbe in order in the next few days. I appreciate all the response I have received thus far.

[Gotmutt]

Also, the truck only has a little over 48,000 miles. When I acquired the truck I had my mechanic look it over and he found nothing wrong. We eventually plan to buy a one ton if we continue camping.

[Hansel]

As already stated, you need to get too a CAT scale, and then you will know exactly what you can carry for pin weight.