Hey all, I'm thinking about selling my TT Toy Hauler and moving up to a fifth wheel toy hauler. As you know the toy haulers have a lot of pin weight. How much pin weight can I put in my 2500.

Im only looking at fifth wheels up to about 33ft or so, but most have about 1900 to 2500 hitch weight.

Is there any way to add any kind of extra leaf spring to get a little more weight on the truck.

Thanks

 

To find out how much pin weight your truck can handle, you need to do the following:

Detailed Method:
1. Weigh your truck with full fuel tank, passengers, and normal loadout for your RV trips. Let's say you do this and your truck weighs 8,000#.
2. Subtract that number from your truck's GVWR. I think yours would be around 9200#, so that leaves 1200#.
3. Compare that number to your axle rating and make sure it does not exceed the rating.
4. 1200# would be the max pin weight your truck can handle for this example.

Gross method:
1. Get the shipping weight for your truck. Should be available from the dealer who sold it to you.
2. Add weight for a full tank of fuel, passengers, and cargo.
3. Subtract that number from your truck's GVWR. I think yours would be around 9200#, so that leaves 1200#.
3. Compare that number to your axle rating and make sure it does not exceed the rating.
4. 1200# would be the max pin weight your truck can handle for this example.


You generally cannot tow a 5th wheel toyhauler with a 2500 series truck and stay within GVWR for the truck. If you choose to disregard the rating and stick with axle rating and GCVWR, that's your choice. Many people choose to do that also.

 

So with a 2500 you can only have 1200lbs in the bed. Now that freaking suck. My old 1500 chev could take more than that but i could not tow as much though.

 

You can have more than 1200 pound pin weight. When you cross a scale they dont look at your GVW at all, they look at what your tires are rated for. Now a stock 245/75/16 load range E tire has a weight rating of 3040 pounds each now double that and it gives you a legal weight of 6,080 pounds on the back axle alone. I haul trailers for a living and have crossed many scales, my front axle weighs in around 4,000 pounds and have weighed as much as 6,200 on the back axle of the truck and 9,100 on the trailer axles, and never been told once I was over weight. Also being commercial I am Legally licenced and insured to 20,000 pounds. GVW and GCWR are FACTORY recomendations. If you think you are over,, go talk to the scale cops and they will explain it all to you. Plus remember some states and provinces require special licence for trailers over 10,000 pounds.

 

If you have the camper package with the added overload leaves, do not worry about it. As long as you are within the tire capacity, you are good. The truck will well handle anything that you can get a tire for. I ran over 5000 pin weight regularly for over 300,000 miles. 2500 pin weight is a light load for the suspension.

An example.... A wedge car hauler puts the front vehicle directly on the pin, with a custom van (Southern Comfort) in all three spaces, you have over 5000 of pin weight. Forget the numbers in the manual, they do not count legally. Only the numbers on the door jamb.

 

Your 2500 is rated at 9000 GVWR. I'll bet your truck weighs 7500lbs +/- 200lbs, that leaves 1500lbs for payload.
The guys above talking tire rateing are Rite-on. About the best tire rateing you'll find in a 17" is 3195lbs, you go to a 19.5 you'll get LOTS more.
So if you have E rated tires at 3195 ea thats 6400lbs+/- for the rear axle. My 3500 rear axle weighs 3040lbs, yours will be very close to mine.
I think you can handle a PW of 2000lbs easy. The bad part is the weight police will be on you like stink on dog doodoo in a heart beat for running a trailer that size with a 2500. Not that it stops me

 

Oh Ya.....add a set of Airbags too. You'll need them to get the truck back to level with a PW around 2500lbs

 

Ive had 2500 pounds of corn(burn it to heat the house) in the box of my truck several times and it only squated a couple inches, maybe 3 at most. It was just enough to make it ride level and real nice. Rode better than most 1/2 tons like that. I would not be afraid to put 2500 pounds on a pin at all.

 

If you feel that you need air bags for a 2500 pound pin weight, you better look to see what is weak on your suspension.

 

thanks so much for all the info guys, thats good stuff.

I'm looking at a KZ Sportsmen Sport fifth wheel, does anyone have any good or bad about them.

Hey JuzPlaneKrazy, do you like your KZ. I'm looking at the Sportsmen Sport model, somethin a little smaller. What is the pin weight on your unit. I looked at their web site and I don't see a 38 SBx3 listed?

Thanks

 

Our New Vision Rocks.......we are real happy with our KZ product, and we have been using this thing allmost twice a month. KZ only lists our model as a 38sbx2, the x2 stands for the standard 2 slideouts, if you add the optional 3rd bedroom slide, it becomes a x3. My PW is about 2900lbs to 3000lbs.
There's other good trailer's out there too, but you can't go wrong with KZ either.
My truck's setup.
500lbs +/- over GVWR
1000lbs under GCWR
200lbs +/- under Rear GAWR

+/- =100lbs, it all depends on how much beer I'm carrying

 

I am looking at a 5th wheel, but have some concerns as well (from inexperience) I have done the Michilin recall and ended with 285 BFG "D" rating, my p\w is listed at 1,950#, the 5th Wheel GVWR is listed at 11900#.
Concerns for my '06 2500 T\D
1) Are the tires under matched?
2) What is the difference with "D" v "E" in load ratings, they state the same.
3) How close am I to being totally overloaded?
4) Are there any simple upgrades, I can do to help to with the load.
5) Anything else I need to be aware off.

Thanks
Liam

 

we have the same truck. my hitch weight is 2160. no air bags, i took them off. trailer weighs right at 10000. i have the same tires haven't had a problem yet.