Hello Fellas, Sorry if I am posting this in the wrong place I can a need some answers ASAP.

I have an 07 5.9 diesel, I went to the Hershey PA RV show this past weekend, and I am in the process of purchasing a 5th wheel rv, I got wrapped up in the moment and thinking my dodge diesle can handle what I am looking at. but I am now wondering if my truck can handle the weight. here is the spec of the trailer: ( by the way it is a 5th wheel)
Dry Weight: 9741
GVWR: 12380
Carrying Capacity: 2639
Hitch Weight: 1980

Let me know if you think my truck can handle this weight.

Are any of you guys towing anything like this, if so how does it handle.

Trailer is about 34 ft long.

Thanks

 

going up some steep grades, you may need to shift out of overdrive;;

 

It's a Cummins....... Heck yeah it can handle it!!!

Just make sure you have the correct additions such as a GOOD trailer brake, etc and you will be fine. Like above just watch it in the bigger hills. Flat land and you will hardly notice it is even there. And some airbags will greatly improve the handling too with that pin weight.

 

I did post my question in 2 places because I expect a phone call this morning for the final go ahead for the rv and I wanted to make sure. My truck is a 2500, I believe i have the 3.73 gears. I also found this site that was helpful. and according to it, this will be the max for the truck.
http://www.dodge.com/towing/D/home.html

 

Being a 2500 your biggest limiting factor will be the tires. Make sure you have a GOOD set of tires and properly inflated.

 

Should have no problem. I have a fifthwheel that is around 13.5K loaded pull it with my Ram in my signature. I do have a 6 speed manual, jake brake, programmer, AFE intake and south bend clutch. I have pulled the trailer from coast to coast several times. From Oregon to Virginia. Going up some steep grades, you really should have gauges to read your egts, and boost. Take your time and move to the left lane. Your Ram "might not always win the race but will always finish it"!!! RVing is a great way to see our country!!! Have fun..

 

The only real differance in the 2500 and 3500 srw is the 3500 has overload springs. You probably should add some air bags for the load on the hitch. I would not increase the tire size above stock due to the 3.73 diff gearing and make sure they are load range E.

 

The only way you will know for sure is to weigh your truck and trailer.
Any published dry weight for any trailer is to be ignored. Just go by the GVWR of the trailer.

Since your truck is only a 2500 & this is a big 5th wheel, you will most likely be over the truck's GVWR. Hopefully not by much.
This is very common for any Dodge, Ford or GM 2500 towing a large 5th wheels. In fact many SRW 3500's are over their GVWR rating also with a big 5th wheel.

As was mentioned, the big 5th wheel's pin weight will cause the rear of your 2500 to sag.
Air bags, Timbrens or some type of suspension upgrade will be necessary to level out the truck.

With a trailer that big & if you are towing in the mountains, you should install gauges, a sliding 5th wheel hitch if your truck is a short box plus I highly recommend a exhaust brake.

If you are towing just on the flat prairies or just short w/end trips you can, and many do, get away without any upgrades..

 

Reelay is right on. I have a similar rig and here are my scaled weights. My dry trlr wt is: 12,300, so my guess is your trailer will be less (around 11-12,000 loaded).

GVW: Rated: 9,900/Loaded 10,120 (over by 220lbs)
Ax Wt (front) Rated:4,750/Loaded 4,460 (under by 220lbs)
Ax Wt (rear): Rated 6,150/Actual 5,660 (under by 490lbs)
GCWR: 19,000/Actual 21,000 (over by 2,000lbs)
Trailer Axle Wt: 10,880lbs
Trailer Wt: 13,480lbs
Tongue Wt: 2,600lbs (19.3% of trailer wt)

Your weights will probably slightly lowerr, so the mods Reelay described and in my signature will help w/control and give you the ability to tow comfortably.

I drive by EGTs. Downshift up grades to keep them under 1150 and let the Pakbarke do the work on the way down. May not be the first to the top but I know what I'm subjecting the engine to and barely touch the brakes on 6-7 degree downgrades...good luck.

 

I have the same trailer basically, but I pull it with an 05 2500.. I put a set of Timbrens on the back and hit helped the sag in the rear immensely.. Just as other have said, watch your RPM's in the hills, and drive safe.. you won't notice it's there hardly... except from a dead stop.. then it'll feel like someone chained your truck to the wall.. haha...

 

I tow a similiar 5th wheel to the one your looking at. It is 39' and has almost exactly the same weights, off by literaly a few pounds. You will have absolutley no problem towing it. With that being said however, make sure you really good tires (I have a tire with a 3750lb load capacity) and i would heartily recommend airbags. Does it need it? No, but it makes it much more comfortable on long trips. I just made a trip from Southern Texas to Eastern maryland and had no issues at all. Towed like a dream.

 

Put on airbags to compensate for the lack of OLs. My 97 3/4T was rated 10500 (towing) with the 3.54s and 12500 with 4.10s. You could switch to 4.10 if you want it to tow a LOT better and make all the truck weight capacities good. You wouldn't be sorry! Craig