5th Wheel with 4x4

[coffesnob]

Hello All,

I've been a stalker on this forum for a little bit, but we are inching closer to a 2022 KEYSTONE COUGAR 29RKS

My concern is pulling a 5th wheel with a 4x4.

I have a 2002 F350, 4door, short bed, 7.3PSD.

All of the weight math works out and says I can pull this 5th wheel. I have read that I should upgrade the transmission cooler for a bigger one or the one for a 6.0. That is reasonable. Additionally, since it is a short bed, I suspect that a sliding hitch is in order to make the tighter turns.

We have pulled other travel trailers in the past but now it is time to look at remote office and move to Florida.

What pieces of wisdom and education can this body of knowledge bring?

Thanks.

[chuckster57]

Welcome to the forum

First off take the “towing” number and toss it in the trash. Your concern is how much weight is IN the truck. Take everything/ everyone that would be in the truck when your headed down the road and get it weighed at a CAT scale.

Take that weight and subtract it from the truck GVWR, that will tell you how much weight you can legally carry in the truck.

Take 23% of the trailers GVWR as a decent guess at the kingpin weight. Hitch will weigh about 100-150 pounds so include it in the math.

Do the numbers still jive? Or are you overloaded?

[foldbak]

Originally Posted by coffesnob

Hello All,

I've been a stalker on this forum for a little bit, but we are inching closer to a 2022 KEYSTONE COUGAR 29RKS

My concern is pulling a 5th wheel with a 4x4.

I have a 2002 F350, 4door, short bed, 7.3PSD.

All of the weight math works out and says I can pull this 5th wheel. I have read that I should upgrade the transmission cooler for a bigger one or the one for a 6.0. That is reasonable. Additionally, since it is a short bed, I suspect that a sliding hitch is in order to make the tighter turns.

We have pulled other travel trailers in the past but now it is time to look at remote office and move to Florida.

What pieces of wisdom and education can this body of knowledge bring?

Thanks.

Welcome stalker. If your truck has a tow package which I assume it does you'll be fine pulling just about any fifth wheel. I can't find your unit on the Keystone site but all of the Cougar 29 foot FW's are just over 12K gross. You'll give up a bit of fuel mileage but that's about it. As far as the hitch, I have a short bed and even with the new (max turn front cap design) I prefer to be safer then sorry using an auto slide but it's not necessary.

[coffesnob]

Thank you @chuckster57. I am just doing napkin math right now to get an idea. I will certainly do actual weight. I am more concerned that this is a 4x4 and not sure the usability.

[chuckster57]

I see lots of 4X4’s towing fivers. Depending of height of bed, you can adjust the trailer suspension.

[Camping family]

Originally Posted by coffesnob

Hello All,

I've been a stalker on this forum for a little bit, but we are inching closer to a 2022 KEYSTONE COUGAR 29RKS

My concern is pulling a 5th wheel with a 4x4.

I have a 2002 F350, 4door, short bed, 7.3PSD.

All of the weight math works out and says I can pull this 5th wheel. I have read that I should upgrade the transmission cooler for a bigger one or the one for a 6.0. That is reasonable. Additionally, since it is a short bed, I suspect that a sliding hitch is in order to make the tighter turns.

We have pulled other travel trailers in the past but now it is time to look at remote office and move to Florida.

What pieces of wisdom and education can this body of knowledge bring?

Thanks.

Have the same camper. Started with a 2018 f250 short bed 4x4 and a slider had no problems. Recently changed to a 2022 f350 short bed with the slider. No problems with either truck. Only reason for going to f350 when purchased new there was no difference in price for me. I also went with the larger motor and gas. Loving both. Do I need the slider not sure but it gives me the piece of mind when turning.

[NH_Bulldog]

I don’t see any handling related issues between 4x4 and 4x2. Two major items impact your capacity though;; engine and drivetrain. The capacity of your truck is specific to your truck and is shown on the yellow, white and red Tire and Loading Information sticker on the door jamb. The 7.3L PSD is well over 900 lbs and about 400 lbs heavier than the 7.3L gas. and a 4x4 is about 500lbs heavier than a 4x2.

[jsb5717]

Welcome aboard! Glad you found us.

I towed 5ers for many years with a 2000 Ford F-250 7.3 diesel 4x4. My 5er was a little smaller and lighter than yours but with your F350 you could be just fine. The 4x4 was never an issue, and is quite common in tow vehicles. I also never had any cooling problems. As stated, I would assume that yours is set up for towing with correct cooling.

Also, as stated, run the numbers to make sure your truck is comfortably rated to tow that trailer.

[sourdough]

I tow with a 4x4 truck exclusively and they present no issues. BUT, my 4x4s are all OE and not lifted, oversized tires etc., those go on the "play" 4x4s and are not conducive to good towing. I also tow with a short bed truck and use an Andersen hitch so I don't have to worry about the weight or complications. Keystone/Lippert will not honor the factory frame warranty if you use the Andersen nowadays and since you are looking at a new trailer it probably wouldn't work for you.

[hankaye]

coffeesnob, Howdy;

Originally Posted by coffesnob

Hello All,

I've been a stalker on this forum for a little bit, but we are inching closer to a 2022 KEYSTONE COUGAR 29RKS

My concern is pulling a 5th wheel with a 4x4.

I have a 2002 F350, 4door, short bed, 7.3PSD.

All of the weight math works out and says I can pull this 5th wheel. I have read that I should upgrade the transmission cooler for a bigger one or the one for a 6.0. That is reasonable. Additionally, since it is a short bed, I suspect that a sliding hitch is in order to make the tighter turns.

We have pulled other travel trailers in the past but now it is time to look at remote office and move to Florida.

What pieces of wisdom and education can this body of knowledge bring?

Thanks.

Read my Signature.

Still using the same rig.

Have a happy trip and enjoy the road.

hank

[MandK]

I personally do not know anyone who owns a 4x2 pickup, and I thought I heard somewhere that Ford will be offering 4x4 as standard equipment on XLT and above trim levels for ‘23.

[Camp CA]

Originally Posted by coffesnob

.......I have a 2002 F350, 4door, short bed, 7.3............I can pull this 5th wheel. I have read that I should upgrade the transmission cooler for a bigger one...........

I towed a 14,000 lb fifth wheel trailer for 15 years with a 2002 F250 4 door, short bed 7.3 L diesel and after many years the transmission would overheat on every uphill climb, which required me pull over to cool it down multiple times on each climb. I replaced it to mitigate the issue and got a much better tow tow vehicle.

[wiredgeorge]

The OP mentioned a 5th wheel that has a 10,400 lb GROSS WEIGHT. 23 percent of that is about 2500 lbs so he should be fine unless his tow vehicle is really degraded by time. I have a 2006 and tow a 28' 5th wheel easily and towed the same 5th wheel with a 96 F250 crew cab/short bed clunker with the gas save 460 cid engine (twin gas tanks required). Had no problem there either other than drum brakes on the rear of my truck got HOT driving in the canyons on twisties. Disk brakes all around now on my 2006 clunker and have not smelled them once in the canyons of the Texas Hill Country.

Since owning my truck in order to improve the ride I have changed to quality Monroe shocks and much better Cooper tires. I use an Anderson Ultimate hitch as warranty of my Lippert frame isn't an issue and love that hitch.

[Pull Toy]

I’m towing with a ‘16, 6.7 CCSB 4x4, and only need the slider once in all my towing with it, but still worth having.

If you have the tow package, you should be okay for engine and tranny temps. If not, check with Ford. You may need to allow for your bed height, but no big problem. Just allow at least 6 inch minimum between camper and bed gunnels and you should be fine.

Good luck,

[wiredgeorge]

You might want to explain the concern about your truck being a 4x4. My F350 is a 4x4 but unless I get out and lock the front hubs and shift to 4x4 it is essentially a 4x2. I have only used 4x4 a couple times; last winter in February I thin it was, we had a very uncharacteristic snow storm that left us buried in snow for days and no power. I was the only one that could get up my hill (in 4x4) out of the folks who live near me.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

I don’t see any handling related issues between 4x4 and 4x2. Two major items impact your capacity though;; engine and drivetrain. The capacity of your truck is specific to your truck and is shown on the yellow, white and red Tire and Loading Information sticker on the door jamb. The 7.3L PSD is well over 900 lbs and about 400 lbs heavier than the 7.3L gas. and a 4x4 is about 500lbs heavier than a 4x2.

The OP’s tow vehicle is a 2002, about four years before the yellow payload sticker became standard.
The only way the OP can know his numbers is to take the truck a scale and weigh it. Then do the math of subtracting the current weight from GVWR to see what remaining payload is available.
To all that state they tow 5th wheels with a 3/4 just fine, yea I was one of those. It is the possible legal ramifications of carrying more weight than the VIN sticker states.
In 2002 many SRW one tons had a max GVWR of 10,500#, just something to check out.
OP should be fine with a 2002 F350 and a 10,050# 5th wheel.

[Fish-a-Palooza]

I tow and launch boats as well as tow on steep gravel roads. I would never even consider a full time 4x2. Not sure what your concern is with 4x4 but as already stated, until you put it in 4x4 it is just a 4x2.
Also, I was towing my 29RKS with my 2019 F250 4x4 short bed and an Anderson hitch saw no need for a slider.

[chuckster57]

I’ve never owned not do I plan on purchasing a 4X4. To each their own, have never needed it and don’t anticipate the need in the future.

[Thoremilly]

[QUOTE=coffesnob;521850]Hello All,

I've been a stalker on this forum for a little bit, but we are inching closer to a 2022 KEYSTONE COUGAR 29RKS

My concern is pulling a 5th wheel with a 4x4.

I have a 2002 F350, 4door, short bed, 7.3PSD.

All of the weight math works out and says I can pull this 5th wheel. I have read that I should upgrade the transmission cooler for a bigger one or the one for a 6.0. That is reasonable. Additionally, since it is a short bed, I suspect that a sliding hitch is in order to make the tighter turns.

We have pulled other travel trailers in the past but now it is time to look at remote office and move to Florida.

What pieces of wisdom and education can this body of knowledge bring?

Thanks.[/QUOTE I have a 2016 Laramie 6.4 hemi sb cc and a 351rki cougar 5er and absolutely no issues towing stack set up from ram. 29” tires cooper at3, trailer I put Goodyear endurance on big difference . Good luck

[Sparky61]

Could you tell me more Sourdough about the Keystone/Lippert warranty issue if you use a Anderson Hitch. Is it unsafe?