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Old 09-20-2018, 04:37 PM   #41
sourdough
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What gears are you running. I owned a 2010 F150 5.4 3.73 and it was doggy. I now own a 2018 2500 6.4 4.10. It's got more snap than the 5.4 ever had. With 7300 lbs behind the 5.4 it struggled. I currently tow 9300 lbs behind the 6.4 and off the line it's way crisper than the 5.4 was. Out in the real world of 5%-6% grades they feel equal.
Mine has 3.73. I wanted 4.10 but had to search hi and lo for a 2500 that had anything close to what I wanted....and it came with 3.73. I will be looking (am looking) for a 3500 with the 6.4 and 4.10s if I don't go diesel. The 2 1500s I had (2012/13) had 3.55/3.92 respectively.
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Old 11-03-2018, 01:30 PM   #42
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Although this was previously mentioned, I do not know anyone who would travel with all three tanks full - maybe one (fresh water). I have found that I travel with all three empty, only filling the fresh water at or very near where I’ll be camping. Why would anyone travel with more than fresh water (except maybe to the nearest dump station upon packing up). That being said I believe the “Best” information a Poster might need is “actual” (from first hand experience) Pin weight of his/her example 5er loaded for travel (with Battery, Full LP Tanks, and Normal Gear and Supplies. If possible add the Pin weight with just fresh water tank full. It gets kind of old hearing the nay sayers keep referencing Trailer GVWR when I expect NOBODY actually travels with their trailers at that point. I have a 3/4 Ton Cummins Ram (by the way having the Cummins is a mixed blessing, you have ample power but the weight of the diesel reduces available Pin Weight) and I figure my next 5er will be really close on Pin weight. Something else I have found is that Manufacturer Stated Available Pin weight (door sticker) might be conservative, and not enforced by DMV. It is the GAWRs (front and Rear) and the trucks GVWR that you will be held to legally. In most referenced cases people have found they had more GAWR than Stated Loading Capacity. Yes it is safer the less you Load/Pull, but most of us use our trucks daily and a DRW One Ton Truck is expensive and tiresome for that purpose. I say stay within your weights (GAWRs and GVWR) and your skill and Safe Zones but get a Trailer you will enjoy, in some cases that may be close. If you plan on being a more mobile than stationary 5er you might want to be more conservative in your approach though.
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Old 06-09-2019, 08:18 AM   #43
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Does anyone know how to jack my 26SAB Cougar with the MORyde CRE3000 suspension system to change a flat out on the open road?
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Old 06-09-2019, 08:31 AM   #44
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I use a 4 ton bottle jack from Harbor Freight with a short block of 2x4 under the spring hanger. Don't jack on the axle beam, just under the spring hanger. Been doing this for almost 50 years with no damage to any axle, ever.
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Old 06-09-2019, 10:51 AM   #45
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B4Dark on our 26sab, with the CRE3000 suspension system, we do as JRTJH does but it has only been for 40 + years that we’ve been doing it. Lol

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Old 06-09-2019, 04:46 PM   #46
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That's 90 years between us. Now if a couple more have about the same length of time, we'll have been jacking axles on RV's longer than cars and trucks have been around. I guess we could call them "almost original covered wagons".....
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Old 06-09-2019, 05:44 PM   #47
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I've got 60+ years experience if jacking up hay wagons count.
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Old 06-10-2019, 04:25 AM   #48
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Originally Posted by alpo View Post
Although this was previously mentioned, I do not know anyone who would travel with all three tanks full - maybe one (fresh water). I have found that I travel with all three empty, only filling the fresh water at or very near where I’ll be camping. Why would anyone travel with more than fresh water (except maybe to the nearest dump station upon packing up). That being said I believe the “Best” information a Poster might need is “actual” (from first hand experience) Pin weight of his/her example 5er loaded for travel (with Battery, Full LP Tanks, and Normal Gear and Supplies. If possible add the Pin weight with just fresh water tank full. It gets kind of old hearing the nay sayers keep referencing Trailer GVWR when I expect NOBODY actually travels with their trailers at that point. I have a 3/4 Ton Cummins Ram (by the way having the Cummins is a mixed blessing, you have ample power but the weight of the diesel reduces available Pin Weight) and I figure my next 5er will be really close on Pin weight. Something else I have found is that Manufacturer Stated Available Pin weight (door sticker) might be conservative, and not enforced by DMV. It is the GAWRs (front and Rear) and the trucks GVWR that you will be held to legally. In most referenced cases people have found they had more GAWR than Stated Loading Capacity. Yes it is safer the less you Load/Pull, but most of us use our trucks daily and a DRW One Ton Truck is expensive and tiresome for that purpose. I say stay within your weights (GAWRs and GVWR) and your skill and Safe Zones but get a Trailer you will enjoy, in some cases that may be close. If you plan on being a more mobile than stationary 5er you might want to be more conservative in your approach though.
Well I have four tanks 1 FW, 2 Grey, and 1 black, I have traveled with three of the four near full as it was over 20 miles in the wrong direction to the nearest dump station, and needed to go over a mountain pass on the way home.

Well the "Nay Sayers" have a good point, to a point. Some trailers have HUGE payloads for their size, BUT others have extremely SMALL Payloads for their size. One must look at all the numbers Dry, GVWR and Possible Pin weight.
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Old 06-10-2019, 05:03 AM   #49
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I've been pulling a Laredo 265SRL with a half ton truck since 2016 and getting down the road just fine.
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Old 06-10-2019, 05:40 AM   #50
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JRTJH, when you say jack under the 'spring hanger' are you referring to where the U-bolts are around the axle tube or somewhere else like on the CRE3000 spring connection?
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Old 06-10-2019, 06:11 AM   #51
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JRTJH, when you say jack under the 'spring hanger' are you referring to where the U-bolts are around the axle tube or somewhere else like on the CRE3000 spring connection?
I put the 2x4 block under the U-Bolt and put the jack head on the 2x4 and lift the axle with pressure on the U-Bolt. Invariably, after using the same 2x4 scrap a couple of times, it's got an indentation and fits the U-Bolt "perfectly"....
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Old 06-10-2019, 03:18 PM   #52
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Pin/tongue weights are listed dry (nothing in the trailer). For instance my TT has a dry tongue of 550# yet when loaded for camping it comes in at 880#.
As you can see dry weights are a bit misleading.
I would not pull a 5er with a 1/2 ton truck.YMMV
Amen to that! When manufactures and dealers claim Half Ton you better think about three day old fish at the ocean. In other words it doesn't pass the Smell test.
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Old 06-10-2019, 05:51 PM   #53
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I'll jump in with jacking axles. Back in 1972 we bought a new 22' Triple EEE TT (great TT and very well built by Mennonites in Steinbach MB). Had a flat and did the block under the spring hanger. So 2019 - 1972 = 47 years.
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Old 06-11-2019, 06:59 AM   #54
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I personally would never jack an axle on a TT without first jacking up the frame, and supporting that. Then you can jack the axles. I use a "Safe Jack" https://safejacks.com/ along with a 6 X 6 to support it.
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Old 06-11-2019, 03:15 PM   #55
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amoussenior,

I understand your reasoning on towing a "1/2 ton towable 5th. wheel". I will share my experiences with you, towing my Keystone Cougar 244 RLSWE 5th. wheel. with my Toyota Tundra. I have a 2016 Cougar 244RLSWE the dry weight on it is 10000 even, my pin weight from factory is 1270, but in reality was 1315. So, my Tundra was( I now have a 3500 silverado) very similar in towing capacity as your Ram. My numbers were very close to max without anything loaded on my camper. So, prior to me starting to tow my 5th wheel I did some mods on my Tundra, I added an extra leaf spring on the rear, I upgraded my shocks from bilsteins 5100 to 5160(dual reservoir) and installed Timbren suspension enhancer bumpers(better than air bags IMHO). So, with all this I started towing my 5th. wheel. It did ok in flat roads, however going up hills was very slow and the truck worked very hard. After 6 months of doing that i noticed a lot of wear in my truck that was more than usual. Going up hills with camper loaded was very painful and frustrating. Just my experience. Good luck.
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Old 06-12-2019, 05:53 AM   #56
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amoussenior,

I understand your reasoning on towing a "1/2 ton towable 5th. wheel". I will share my experiences with you, towing my Keystone Cougar 244 RLSWE 5th. wheel. with my Toyota Tundra. I have a 2016 Cougar 244RLSWE the dry weight on it is 10000 even, my pin weight from factory is 1270, but in reality was 1315. So, my Tundra was( I now have a 3500 silverado) very similar in towing capacity as your Ram. My numbers were very close to max without anything loaded on my camper. So, prior to me starting to tow my 5th wheel I did some mods on my Tundra, I added an extra leaf spring on the rear, I upgraded my shocks from bilsteins 5100 to 5160(dual reservoir) and installed Timbren suspension enhancer bumpers(better than air bags IMHO). So, with all this I started towing my 5th. wheel. It did ok in flat roads, however going up hills was very slow and the truck worked very hard. After 6 months of doing that i noticed a lot of wear in my truck that was more than usual. Going up hills with camper loaded was very painful and frustrating. Just my experience. Good luck.
Remember that adding all that stuff does not change the GVRW at all. It may and probably does improve ride, but it has no bearing on the amount of weight the truck can tow.
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Old 06-12-2019, 08:06 AM   #57
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Remember that adding all that stuff does not change the GVRW at all. It may and probably does improve ride, but it has no bearing on the amount of weight the truck can tow.
Actually, it reduces the amount of weight the truck can tow (pound for pound) based on the weight added by those "extra improvements" as they're installed. In other words, add a leaf spring, air bags and bumper stocks weighing 100 pounds and the payload goes down by that 100 pounds.....
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Old 06-12-2019, 08:17 AM   #58
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Actually, it reduces the amount of weight the truck can tow (pound for pound) based on the weight added by those "extra improvements" as they're installed. In other words, add a leaf spring, air bags and bumper stocks weighing 100 pounds and the payload goes down by that 100 pounds.....
Yes, exactly! You really achieve nothing as far as towing goes, and can actually end up losing.
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Old 06-16-2019, 05:18 AM   #59
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I'm just going to say it and yes, I may be sorry but I purchased a 2018 Ford F-150 with the towing package to tow a half ton towable 25RES. It's just me (150 lbs) and my 15 pound dog. I don't have a lot of gear and am very mindful of that. I plan to full time next year and spending this year getting used to everything. I previously towed a 19' TT with a Chevy Trailblazer, so this is an adjustment. I purchased the Cougar in Delaware and drove it back to Ohio with my truck. It did a good job even going through parts of the Allegheny Mtns. I did need the flashers as the big rigs did on some of the grades but the trucks have gotten more sophisticated in "tow mode" to make the adjustments. The Rocky Mtns may be another story but I am very cautious and will pull over if I need to cool down the truck. I have a friend that traveled the entire country in a F-150 towing a 27' Cougar and he had no issues. It was his advice that led me down this path. Hopefully we'll stay friends after I start my journey! )
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Old 06-16-2019, 06:25 PM   #60
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I wish to never hear what the base or dry weight of a trailer is. That is as meaningless as the surface of mars! Your trailer is never at that weight. The only figure that matters is gross weight. Also the listed pin or tongue weight is equally meaningless. It will be much higher. If it's a 5th wheel it comes in at around 20% of the trailers gross weight.
Example my Laredo 265rl lists pin weight at 1375 lbs. When I put it on the CAT scale it was 2000 lbs. That figure varies some according to how the trailer is loaded.


It also amazes me how many people go by the listed weights and never actually weigh their truck and trailer. It's cheap and easy to do. I beleave many don't want to know what it all actually weighs. After all ignorance is bliss.


Another point about 1/2 ton towing. Even if it seems to be doing the job the truck is wearing out much faster than a heavy duty truck. The rear axle is much lighter duty with half as many bearings supporting the axles. Smaller pinion and ring gears in the differential. Usually a lighter duty transmission and a lighter frame. It may be pulling the weight but it's taking more of a beating doing it. The fact that the truck is also at least a couple thousand pounds less than a heavy duty means the trailers weight can push it around more and have a greater effect on handling.
IMHO.
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