Question about vehicle max towing capacity.

[sonofcy]

Originally Posted by danvanvb

Greetings. My wife and I are THINKING of upgrading to a 5th wheel. We currently have a 2016 Passport 31RE and a 2021 F-250 7.3 TT with a GCWR of 21,800# and a max towing of 14,700#.

My question is what is the maximum GVWR 5th wheel would you purchase? Most trailers with a UVW of 12,500# seem to be about 15,000# GVWR. Am I pushing it at this weight or am I figuring about right for the TT?

GCWR - Truck GVWR is the trailer GVWR. probably around 12,000 lbs, but then you have to calculate the pin weight and most 250 class trucks fail that test.
Upgrade to a 1 ton dually and tow anything you want.
Ignore max towing, it's just a marketing thing.

[falcondan95705]

Go to the Scale with your truck ready to tow.. You , wife , Dog , hitch... If the truck weight is 10,000 and the GCWR is 21000 this will leave you with a Maximum Traier weight of 11000.. Not much.Your trailer can have a gVWR of 16000 lbs as long as the trailer weight while towing is not over 11000...Meaning the trailer stopped can weigh 16000 but not weighing over 11000 towing... Keep the truck and get a smaller 5ver, like those light ones... Or Get a Bigger truck to get a 5ver you want... Bigger Rv will require a dually... even tho many use a 3/4 or 1 ton Srw...

[madams144]

Originally Posted by danvanvb

The truck is 2 weeks old and I wanted to know the weight before I had anything in it except a full tank of gas. I stepped off the scale also.

Dan, I feel your pain dude. Got a similar community response in a similar thread earlier this year here. We ordered a 2020 f250 in July, even ordered it 2wd to get us another xtra 400# in payload. However when the truck arrived the 400# didn’t show up in the yellow “payload” sticker as anticipated.

Adding insult to injury wife changed mind on 5th wheel we wanted from a cougar half ton model to the full 368mbi unit.

Dealership was very understanding and allowed us the swap to another unit on their lot. (more expensive of course). Bit the bullet and bought a 350 dually stx. Only $3600 more than the 2wd we ordered. Now we can tow anything we can afford.

I know the anxiety you’re going through.. lived it first hand .. but lucky for us we were in a position to correct. Do yourself a favor .. search for YouTube’s on payload capacities, there are some really good vids even a few with calculators that really put things into perspective.

Good luck!

[Rocketsled]

Originally Posted by danvanvb

If my GVWR is 10000# (per door sticker) and the CAT weight is 6600# the delta of 3400# is the number I'm looking for? The manufacture of the 5th wheel has the hitch weight at 2315# plus the 150# for the hitch I would assume I'm good at 2465#. Don't worry about any other weights?

There's a yellow sticker in the door jamb that lists payload...THAT is the total weight of passengers, fuel, and pinweight you can carry. It'll be the number that dictates as everything else will be higher. It accounts for added features that the vehicle has (4x4, sunroof, power seats) that take away from legal towing capacity.

[travelin texans]

Originally Posted by falcondan95705

Go to the Scale with your truck ready to tow.. You , wife , Dog , hitch... If the truck weight is 10,000 and the GCWR is 21000 this will leave you with a Maximum Traier weight of 11000.. Not much.Your trailer can have a gVWR of 16000 lbs as long as the trailer weight while towing is not over 11000...Meaning the trailer stopped can weigh 16000 but not weighing over 11000 towing... Keep the truck and get a smaller 5ver, like those light ones... Or Get a Bigger truck to get a 5ver you want... Bigger Rv will require a dually... even tho many use a 3/4 or 1 ton Srw...

I may have misinterpreted your comments, but just to be clear, if your rv weighs 16k it weighs that whether it's being towed or parked.
When calculations are being made ALWAYS use the GVWR of YOUR rv & the payload from YOUR truck, numbers from any other source will be generic & typically run on the lightweight side.
Those that say "we'll only travel XX miles" or "we'll never load it that heavy" are only fooling themselves! I quarntee if you use the rv regularly you'll be traveling further & things go in that never seem to come out, it WILL be loaded heavy in the blink of an eye. BTDT!
Just a reminder of what's been said countless times on EVERY rv forum;
the max tow weight of any truck & the dry weight of any rv are totally useless numbers to EVERYONE except the salesman!!!!!!

[BP68]

Dan -

We tow our 2018 Cougar 359MBI with a 2020 F250 CC FX4 7.3L with no problem. Previous TV was a 2017 F250 CC FX4 6.7L. We have no problem handling the load, no problem stopping, and no problem with being over loaded.

We upgraded RVs from 2 previous hitch pulls to the 5th wheel and haven’t looked back.

I highly recommend adding air bags on the rear to level the load - this adds stability and is a must have for me.

Happy camping,
BP

[CaptnJohn]

Only one more page to go! Hopefully OP lives and plans to stay out of any mountain areas with a 12K 5er.

[jimborokz]

Originally Posted by danvanvb

I will definitely look into the lighter 5th wheeler. Thanks for your advice on the Cougar models.

You have enough truck to tow a 5th wheel, just not a 40' heavy luxury one like a 16K Montana.

The specs on mine give a pin weight that is 20% of dry weight. Now we know the dry weight is not real and you go by gross weight. Well, when I hit the scales my pin weight comes in at just 20% of trailer weight so I feel safe going by that mark.

If you've weighed yours and you have 3400# available you should have plenty of trailers that will work. If you figure 1000# for hitch and people and camping weight that leaves you enough load to get into the 12K trailer area.

Just looking online at a Cougar 316RLS. I've always had a soft spot for the Cougars. I think they are a well made quality trailer. I don't think you need to go to a half ton unit and I wouldn't because they are lightened up and I would not want to give up any structural fortitude.

Anyway, I think that is one example that your truck can tow just fine. There are other floorplans and lengths and weights.

Don't give up on your dream. You are doing this the right way, asking the right questions and moving ahead safely. Don't let anyone rain on your parade.

[Ken / Claudia]

Maybe by the 4 page the real trucks payload rating will be given.