Quote:
Originally Posted by GlampingFun510
Hi! We joined the Keystone family over the weekend and couldnt be more excited.
We went from a 22ft shockwave bumper tow to an Impact 311 5er.
In the process of getting it all setup and cant wait for its first trip!
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Welcome to the forum, and congrats on your new to you 5er. Sorry you had so many jump on you right out of the gate about your truck and weights. Most are truly trying to help, but many can be quite harsh.
I did the same as you, thinking a 2500 diesel would tow a 41’ 5er with no problem, and it does, it just won’t CARRY that weight. There are options which I will private message you.
Best thing to do is take your 5er to a CAT scale. Weigh your truck fully loaded with fuel and whatever you normally carry in the truck when camping, including the wife, pets, kids. Then weigh again with the 5er attached fully loaded as you would normally travel. Take the rear axle weight of the truck alone and subtract it from your payload rating off your yellow sticker. That gives you your remaining payload. Take the truck rear axle weight with the 5er attached and subtract from your yellow payload sticker rating. That will tell you how much overweight you are. Airbags do carry some weight however they can and do fail, so airbags cannot be used for payload calculations. Subtract the rear axle weights to get your actual pin weight of the 5er fully loaded. NEVER go over your rear Gross Axle Weight Rating, which is probably somewhere between 6k and 7K pounds. You and I really need a 3500 or F350 diesel. I have been looking for months and they are just not available. I could order a new one that will take about 6 months to get at an unaffordable price. My modified 2500 is working fine but will go to a 3500 when I can. Make sure your truck tires can carry your weight as well. You will likely be close to your max weight on the tires, or over. If over you definitely need to replace the tires with the next higher load rating. It won’t be a matter of if you have a blowout, but when. Also check the load rating of the tires on your 5er. They should be a “G” rated, 14 ply tire. I had to switch my tires as the factory installed underrated E tires. It now has G rated. I would recommend you search the forum about this subject for your own information and education. Safe travels and happy camping!