Just joined! 2021 368MBI

[flybouy]

While you may label some as "safety gus", I think a more accurate discription would be "people with common sense". Ironic how sensitive to constructive criticism some folks are and how it can traumatize others, and yet throw out labels freely. I think this thread has about reached it's usefulness and is sliding into a useless argument that adds no value to the discussion.

 

[wiredgeorge]

If I make some statement that is blatantly wrong and someone calls me out and provides the correct information, I have a choice. This is especially true when I am a novice seeking the wisdom of the experienced. Either listen or stick my head in the sand and disappear? Seems the OP has made his choice. Will the OP suffer for this choice? I see to many 3/4 ton trucks in campgrounds with HUGE 5th wheels next to them to believe that there will always be trouble being overloaded but if there is an accident, I know the insurance investigator or perhaps law enforcement will take note and perhaps there will be negative consequences at this point.

I personally have had a camper that FAR EXCEEDED the payload of my little F150 and after noticing the car tires bulging to the point of scary (I did swap them) started doing a little research and found out that my truck camper was more likely designed for a one ton truck and got rid of it. I bought a 3/4 ton truck (too old to have a payload sticker and I was too dumb to figure out what the payload actually was) and bought a small bumper pull and was lucky to never kill myself or my wife or my pups who travel with us. I then found that when driving my 1996 F250 through canyons that had SEVERE elevation changes that my drum brakes (on the rear) could be smelled burning that a more modern one ton was in order. This was with a 23' Sunnybrook.

Hope the OP lurks and begins to understand that the advice he received was not intended to hurt his feeling or was being given maliciously but was given in the spirit of safe RVing from one camper to another. I have often had the urge to tell fellow campers within a campground that they are seriously over payload with their 3/4 ton truck and 40' 5th wheel but think it is inappropriate as it would just lead to an argument but on a message forum? Hmmm not so much when a new camper comes on asking for advice.

 

[flybouy]

The OP logged off about 1/2 hr after Chuck's comment in post #2. If he thought that comment was too harsh then I would think that would be an over reaction. JMHO, YMMV

 

[DanoND]

You’d all be (apparently) surprised how hard it is to hurt my feelings. I’ve been on forums likely longer than most of the trailer police have been driving with a license.

I’m not here to debate whether I’m at a limit. I know I am from a rear leaf standpoint and it works for me because I’m not an idiot. The crabby guys here are used to people who can’t build, weld, tow, paint, fly, drive or use their head. I get that. I’m a crabby sob too. You can eat my exhaust while I take my sweet time towing this gigantic camper with this teeny weeny unsafe death truck.

I bought it well out of state for a steal. Had to yank it home in the wind and snow. I’ve driven tractor trailer for a LTL carrier before I flew, and pulling this was nothing aside from the annoyingly spongy 3/4 ton rear leafs, which airbags pretty much fix.

I know some of y’all want to keep people safe because they get in over their heads. I appreciate that. I hope you keep it up.

That’s not me. Calm down. I’m not going anywhere and I expect this forum to be an asset for me, and others. I’m here to help whether you like it or not.

Edit: I haven’t been on because I get married (again) on Saturday. There’s been a few things going on and a camper (according to my future wife) doesn’t end up more important than remembering to get my unlicensed mom a ride to the rehearsal dinner. Which I forgot to do.

 

[Notanlines]

Dano, the group here is probably not as rough as you think. Since you have a veritable cornucopia full of forum experience you already know it takes many different personalities to make it a success. Most members here don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s all small stuff …..until the discussion brings out the retired tire engineers! Then God help us!

 

[Rhagfo]

Just bought a 2021 368MBI and am excited to use it this spring. It'll need tires and a few small fixes but is in otherwise great shape. Pull it with a 2019 F250 crew on bags.

We have a bunch of kids ages 16 to 24 who are also looking forward to a camping season with enough room. I also have an old 1999 Coachmen 29 footer with a single slide I co-owned with a buddy. Was not sufficient as we usually end up being the center of activities everywhere we camp. Way too small.

Looking forward to learning something instead of facepalming my way through Facebook groups!

--
Dan

That trailer is well within the towing and payload spec, and with 40 lbs in the airbags is more stable than a 1 ton without. I've had it cross country and through the mountains with ease. As with everything, I don't speed, I take my time around corners, I don't drive in high winds, etc. Easy.

I'm also a pilot. I understand equipment and personal limits quite well.

Well maybe we have a troll. Just bought, and have had it cross country and through the mountains????

 

[DutchmenSport]

...

Edit: I haven’t been on because I get married (again) on Saturday. .....

Congratulations! I hope you have many, many, many happy years together.

For what it's worth, when my wife and I got married (39 years and 9 months ago), I made some serious "overlooks" with my mother too. Boy did we catch hell from her when we came back form the honeymoon!

I hope your experience was much better. Mother's and mother-in-laws can be a real pain in the .... (you know where!) But, they are still "mom!"

Congrats!

 

[DanoND]

Well maybe we have a troll. Just bought, and have had it cross country and through the mountains????

You should read my posts. I bought it out of state.

 

[DanoND]

Congratulations! I hope you have many, many, many happy years together.

For what it's worth, when my wife and I got married (39 years and 9 months ago), I made some serious "overlooks" with my mother too. Boy did we catch hell from her when we came back form the honeymoon!

I hope your experience was much better. Mother's and mother-in-laws can be a real pain in the .... (you know where!) But, they are still "mom!"

Congrats!

Thanks. I got married in my early 20s to my high school girlfriend. She is an awesome person, but after kids we weren’t the right fit.

Wife-to-be is amazing. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[DanoND]

Dano, the group here is probably not as rough as you think. Since you have a veritable cornucopia full of forum experience you already know it takes many different personalities to make it a success. Most members here don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s all small stuff …..until the discussion brings out the retired tire engineers! Then God help us!

I can turn into the old codger engineer at times, too. Not everybody likes it but sometimes we all gotta say what needs to be said.

Totally get it and prefer to surround myself with people of strong opinions.

 

[Gkri]

I can turn into the old codger engineer at times, too. Not everybody likes it but sometimes we all gotta say what needs to be said.

Totally get it and prefer to surround myself with people of strong opinions.

Congrats on the upcoming marriage! And I really hope you patch things up with your mom! Last, I think I am already the "old codger engineer (retired)"!
Have a great day Saturday!

 

[DanoND]

I'm not sure you're correct in this statement.... Read his FIRST POST, last sentence: "Looking forward to learning something instead of facepalming my way through Facebook groups!"

Looks to me that he opened the door with that last sentence and members are "trying to instruct" or "teach him what he apparently doesn't know or has overlooked, rather than facepalming through Facebook groups...

But hey, if anyone chooses to ignore the obvious, well, that's certainly their prerogative... What is also true is that other members who feel differently also have the ability to exercise their prerogative and "say something".... As usual, YMMV.

Im not solid on the point you’re making, but we’ve all tried Facebook groups, and the barrier of entry to join a forum (or apparently even post in the new member area) is just high enough to filter out the chaff who ruin Facebook groups.

Forums have better controls and aren’t as casual. Definitely my preference.

 

[jasin1]

You’d all be (apparently) surprised how hard it is to hurt my feelings. I’ve been on forums likely longer than most of the trailer police have been driving with a license.

I’m not here to debate whether I’m at a limit. I know I am from a rear leaf standpoint and it works for me because I’m not an idiot. The crabby guys here are used to people who can’t build, weld, tow, paint, fly, drive or use their head. I get that. I’m a crabby sob too. You can eat my exhaust while I take my sweet time towing this gigantic camper with this teeny weeny unsafe death truck.

I bought it well out of state for a steal. Had to yank it home in the wind and snow. I’ve driven tractor trailer for a LTL carrier before I flew, and pulling this was nothing aside from the annoyingly spongy 3/4 ton rear leafs, which airbags pretty much fix.

I know some of y’all want to keep people safe because they get in over their heads. I appreciate that. I hope you keep it up.

That’s not me. Calm down. I’m not going anywhere and I expect this forum to be an asset for me, and others. I’m here to help whether you like it or not.

Edit: I haven’t been on because I get married (again) on Saturday. There’s been a few things going on and a camper (according to my future wife) doesn’t end up more important than remembering to get my unlicensed mom a ride to the rehearsal dinner. Which I forgot to do.

Welcome to the forum!… I switched from a ram 2500 diesel with 2100 lbs of payload to a ram dually and my trailer is smaller than yours. I was over weight and after it was pointed out i made the decision to buy a new truck…( once you know your over your trucks limit it is hard to forget and enjoy the drive).
i bought a dually to future proof myself but thinking of keeping a smaller fifth wheel and srw for next truck as long as all my numbers are good
As a pilot do you respect the weight and loading considerations for the plane your flying? I imagine if you ignore those you could end up in a scary situation..causing the plane to handle differently and performance and safety would be compromised...driving down the highway in traffic should be just as important in my mind…Your on the ragged edge of safety and handling and one tire blowout or air bag failure and things could go south quickly

Are people on airplane forums bragging about flying overloaded? …I imagine that kind of talk would be challenged just as fast

Good luck and stay safe…

 

[Larrys-5TH]

Welcome!

I have been a member for several years and gotten some great information. I pulled a 2017 359MBI for several years with a 2016 Silverado 2500 gasser, truck gvw was 9500. I was within manufacturer specs and never had an issue, but was pretty close to max values. When prices spiked I sold it and found a 333mks in Nevada and bought that. The 359 was gross 14,200 and 333 grosses 12,500. It was a much more comfortable ride with smaller trailer. I then found a 22 Silverado 2500 in Michigan, gvw 10,550 with a larger gas engine and it is more comfy (and pulls hills easier). It sounds like you drive like me (65ish on the highway) and easy on the throttle. So, if you’re in specs you are, but I do like a bit more margin with the better ratio I have with my current rig. Just completed a 2 month 5K trip with no problems. Sounds to me like you already weighed your rig and know where you stand, so I’ll see you out there.

 

[DanoND]

Sounds to me like you already weighed your rig and know where you stand, so I’ll see you out there.

Thanks. I have, and yeah it’s close to max but I’m inside the numbers and with the airbags it’s stable.

I’ll upgrade the truck in the future. For now it’s fine. I’m never in a hurry anyway so it doesn’t really matter much. I’m at 60 or 65 max. Any faster and the 60 feet gets pretty hard to think ahead of with lane and traffic changes and I do not like getting behind what I’m piloting.

I’ll be keeping my eyes on all the towing police. Y’all better stay perfect. Cut corners and ol’ Dan is gonna be there waggling my armchair internet expert finger.

 

[Blueswede]

I'll post some real world thoughts....we have the exact same 5th wheel. I originally was towing it with a 2011 F350 SRW diesel. It towed just fine in my opinion....until I started reading about the true numbers and the posts regarding the legal responsibility in the event of any type of accident. Then I starting reading all of the fine print regarding tongue weight, payload, tow capacity, etc.....I came to the conclusion that as much as I liked my truck, in the regards of payload, I was over the limit. No way to get around that. Yes, I'm a careful slow driver.....but there are a lot of folks on the highways that aren't. The idea of having to deal with a true nightmare bothered me.......I started looking around at Ford duallys knowing that having the extra set of rear wheels and the additional payload would be nothing but a benefit. I ended up finding an immaculate 2011 F450 dually at a small dealership in No Cal. We ended up making a deal, he drove it down to me and drove my 350 back up north. I have never had a regret with the trade. The peace of mind is worth everything. And I love the truck.
At the end of the day, you have to decide if you can live with any and all of the potential legal ramifications of any choice you make....and the peace of mind whenever you take your rig out.
And just so you know....we absolutely love our Cougar. It's our forever trailer.

 

[wiredgeorge]

I'll post some real world thoughts....we have the exact same 5th wheel. I originally was towing it with a 2011 F350 SRW diesel. It towed just fine in my opinion....until I started reading about the true numbers and the posts regarding the legal responsibility in the event of any type of accident. Then I starting reading all of the fine print regarding tongue weight, payload, tow capacity, etc.....I came to the conclusion that as much as I liked my truck, in the regards of payload, I was over the limit. No way to get around that. Yes, I'm a careful slow driver.....but there are a lot of folks on the highways that aren't. The idea of having to deal with a true nightmare bothered me.......I started looking around at Ford duallys knowing that having the extra set of rear wheels and the additional payload would be nothing but a benefit. I ended up finding an immaculate 2011 F450 dually at a small dealership in No Cal. We ended up making a deal, he drove it down to me and drove my 350 back up north. I have never had a regret with the trade. The peace of mind is worth everything. And I love the truck.
At the end of the day, you have to decide if you can live with any and all of the potential legal ramifications of any choice you make....and the peace of mind whenever you take your rig out.
And just so you know....we absolutely love our Cougar. It's our forever trailer.

Steve, What was the payload of your previous SRW F350? Just curious.

 

[Blueswede]

Just a bit over 3,000 lbs. if i recall correctly.

 

[chico99645]

Think about the consequences of the collective knowledge of this forum saying everything is fine, go ahead and exceed payload. Do we have any liability for not providing honest answers? What about our conscience if we read that an overloaded truck/trailer combo got pushed through a traffic signal and killed innocent people? Or toppled over in high winds? It looks like I just upset a new member with honesty in another post. Should we just ignore safety, hide our heads in the sand? But what if someone we did not advise honestly is on the road with me or you and there is an accident? One that just maybe we could have prevented by explaining tow rating verses cargo rating?

As a new guy, I personally joined this week to learn and ask questions. Learning from the school of hard Knox is costly in many ways. Why not learn from those whom have experienced what you want to learn. Political correctness is not my forte' although I have softened over the years. LOL One thing I have learned in my lifetime is no one knows everything, and anyone can learn from someone. When you stop believing that is when you can get in trouble really quick. I 100 % agree that if you have knowledge on something and not share it and something happens that your could have possibility prevented, it will weigh hard on your conscience/heart.

I will say that as soon as he said he was a pilot, I kinda saw something coming. LOL I also work in aviation in the Arctic and I've had the most experienced pilots with no Arctic experience eat a few slices of humble pie over the years. They were better pilots after eating that slice. Those slices have made us best of friends. I'll leave it at that.

Thanks in advance for anyone that gives me advise and I learn from it.

Mark

 

[spicercars]

Welcome from northern MN.