New to a 5er

[Cableguy]

Kind of downsized from a 39' Forrest River Berkshire class A to a 40.5' Fifth wheel.
Just didn't use the Diesel enough to warrant the extra expense of it.

We went with a 2019 3851RD and converted the fifth wheel hitch to a GenY gooseneck, to tow with a 2021 Ram 2500 Diesel,
We have a Gooseneck trailer for work and would really be a pain in the Butt to pull the fifth wheel out all the time.

Well, we are out of Reddick Fl and glad to be on your page, Look forward to reading, Posting and asking for help

John N Patti Vetter

[jsb5717]

Welcome aboard! Glad you're here. I think you're going to discover that your tow vehicle isn't even close to enough truck to safely pull that beast. She's a beauty, but a heavy one. With a GVWR of 16,500 lbs your loaded pin weight will be in the neighborhood of 3750 lbs. Add hitch, gear, and people and your truck will need a payload of well over 4000 lbs to be safe.

Just something to consider as you begin a new phase of RVing. Stay safe

[Cableguy]

Thanks for your reply sir,
But the 2021 Ram Diesel 6.5 bed has a tow capacity of 19,900
And a payload capacity of 4940.
The Camper GVWR is 13840
I’m definitely way in range.
But I did think the same, but called the Ram Dealership and when the Ram my vin that’s the specs they gave me….
TIA
John

[workinonit]

Imma get my popcorn and beer and wait patiently. Brace yourself Cableguy.

[workinonit]

Oh, BTW, welcome to the forum.

[jsb5717]

True, this is an often discussed topic. I'm glad you have thought about it. The real number for the payload rating of your truck is on the yellow sticker inside the driver's door. Publications are typically just the max rating for a truck but not necessarily specific to any particular truck.

The 13840 is your dry weight. Your trailer will never weigh that. That's the weight as it comes off it the manufacturer's floor...without batteries, propane, or anything that you will load into it. Dishwasher? Generator? Those just make it heavier before you load it. 16500 is your published GVWR.

Look at your truck's sticker. It will say something like "Cargo and Passengers not to exceed X lbs". X = your truck's payload. That should tell you if you're OK or not.

Here's the one for my dually showing a payload of 5462 lbs.

[Roper46]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your fifth wheel.

[notanlines]

Canleguy, you have been given some bum information from your dealership. “ 2021 Ram 2500 Diesel” payload will not be close to 4940, a far cry from it. If you follow up with JBS’s recommendation you will see that the figure will be about 2400, far too little to safely tow your rig.
I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but now you can look further into your situation and deal with it.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by Cableguy

Thanks for your reply sir,
But the 2021 Ram Diesel 6.5 bed has a tow capacity of 19,900
And a payload capacity of 4940.
The Camper GVWR is 13840
I’m definitely way in range.
But I did think the same, but called the Ram Dealership and when the Ram my vin that’s the specs they gave me….
TIA
John

I believe that the payload capacity you stated is a bit high. Likely about 2,500# overstated.
That is a big heavy 5th wheel, and the pin weight will easily be in the 3,500+ range. The last thing you want is too little truck and too much trailer.

[dutchmensport]

Welcome to the forums and congrats on getting your new camper.

I hope everything works out well for you and you have many wonderful miles of happy camping.

[spicercars]

Welcome from northern MN.

[jasin1]

My 2020 ram 1 ton dually has 5125 lbs of payload……welcome to the forum

[NH_Bulldog]

Welcome and congratulations from the only Henniker on earth.

While I understand the OP posted twice on this thread and has not been seen since, hopefully he will return, or another person in shopping mode might see these responses and make a safer choice.

As others have noted, that 5th wheel (with a realistic pin weight of about 3,800 lbs.) is WAY over the capability of ANY 3/4 ton truck, gas or especially diesel, and that doesn't even factor passengers and gear in the truck. Keep in mind the tow rating has zero bearing on towing your 5th wheel. An electric F150 can pull a freight train, a Toyota Tundra can pull the space shuttle, so yes your truck can pull that Alpine, but it cannot carry the weight of the pin in the bed of your truck. I would encourage you to rethink that your truck is suitable to tow your Alpine.

[Raptor Dave]

Originally Posted by Cableguy

Kind of downsized from a 39' Forrest River Berkshire class A to a 40.5' Fifth wheel.
Just didn't use the Diesel enough to warrant the extra expense of it.

We went with a 2019 3851RD and converted the fifth wheel hitch to a GenY gooseneck, to tow with a 2021 Ram 2500 Diesel,
We have a Gooseneck trailer for work and would really be a pain in the Butt to pull the fifth wheel out all the time.

Well, we are out of Reddick Fl and glad to be on your page, Look forward to reading, Posting and asking for help

John N Patti Vetter

Not only the pin weight being...well understated/overstated, whatever is stated. Your truck tires will not last long with all that going on in the bed.
Hate to dogpile on but it needs to be rethought.
I too thought it would work with a SRW truck.....NOT!

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by jsb5717

Welcome aboard! Glad you're here. I think you're going to discover that your tow vehicle isn't even close to enough truck to safely pull that beast. She's a beauty, but a heavy one. With a GVWR of 16,500 lbs your loaded pin weight will be in the neighborhood of 3750 lbs. Add hitch, gear, and people and your truck will need a payload of well over 4000 lbs to be safe.

Just something to consider as you begin a new phase of RVing. Stay safe

Well the issue isn’t PULLING, it is CARRYING. The 6.7 CTD diesel will do a fine job of pulling that 5th wheel. The issue is the springs and tires on that 2500, being strong enough to carry the pin weight.

[jsb5717]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

Well the issue isn’t PULLING, it is CARRYING. The 6.7 CTD diesel will do a fine job of pulling that 5th wheel. The issue is the springs and tires on that 2500, being strong enough to carry the pin weight.

Agreed...that's almost always the issue

[Raptor Dave]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

Well the issue isn’t PULLING, it is CARRYING. The 6.7 CTD diesel will do a fine job of pulling that 5th wheel. The issue is the springs and tires on that 2500, being strong enough to carry the pin weight.

Definitely the lesson I learned. We picked up the Raptor in Mich with an F250 SRW, which after my limited amount of research found it was quite capable of pulling the weight.....BUT
We usually trade off driving when we're on the road, bless her abilities and willingness to participate.
However, for the long ride home when she asked if I wanted her to drive I just kept refusing and said nope I'm fine. The reason being that 40 ft TH pulled a lot different than the 36ft 5th we left in Mich and we weren't any where close to being fully loaded.
The reality was I was trying to figure out a way to explain when we got home we were going to have to do some truck shopping.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Raptor Dave

Definitely the lesson I learned. We picked up the Raptor in Mich with an F250 SRW, which after my limited amount of research found it was quite capable of pulling the weight.....BUT
We usually trade off driving when we're on the road, bless her abilities and willingness to participate.
However, for the long ride home when she asked if I wanted her to drive I just kept refusing and said nope I'm fine. The reason being that 40 ft TH pulled a lot different than the 36ft 5th we left in Mich and we weren't any where close to being fully loaded.
The reality was I was trying to figure out a way to explain when we got home we were going to have to do some truck shopping.

A few trailers back I was overloaded. Towed overloaded and knew it. Not a huge amount (2-300lbs) but I knew it and it ate on me constantly. DW doesn't drive when while towing BUT she trusts me implicitly, 100%, to take care of us and I knowingly wasn't doing that to the best of my ability. She would be her happy, sweet self just talking along to me or reading and I'm sitting there feeling that trailer "talk" to me every mile. We were about 1/2 way back home (1500 miles) and I told her the truck wasn't up to the job and we would have a new truck when we got home - and we did within a week. It wasn't the first time I pulled overweight but it was the first time with a big RV and for any distance. It was the first trip with that truck/trailer combo and the last. Those things can seem inconsequential but in a bad moment those "who cares" kind of decisions could really come back to harm you and those you care about. Getting too old to throw caution to the wind and have karma chasing around after me trying to get even.

[Raptor Dave]

Getting too old to throw caution to the wind and have karma chasing around after me trying to get even.

Haha...
There really shouldn't be an age limit to do so, BUT......at a younger place in our lives it always seemed a lot easier to do so.

[jsb5717]

For many of my younger years I was completely oblivious to tow weights, payload, etc. Safety was more about being a good driver. I was ignorant of the different ways that overloading can be harmful.

So, is ignorance "Bliss"? or is it dangerous?

We were fortunate that we didn't have any mishaps. We also weren't towing the much heavier rigs that are out there now. But still, once you know this stuff you can't get it out of your head and responsible safety demands that we pay attention to it.

I think the OP went away...choosing dangerous ignorance over safety. Too bad. With a rig that big and heavy, it could cost him.