The wife and went down to the R/V show in Dallas this weekend, and we have decided to purchase a fifth wheel camper. The 5er we both realy like is the 37RL4 (38' 4" long) New Vision made by K-Z. I have a couple of question regarding the 5er and my current rig (see sig).

1.) The unloaded weight of this thing is 12,730 pounds and GVWR is 15,400 poumds is this over the capablities of my ride?

2.) How can I find the pin weight? Broucher only listed dry hitch weight of 2,420 pounds seems like that could be a problem for my 2500.

3.) I know a dully would be more stable pulling this 5er, but a new truck is out of the question at this time. So some ideas on Mods that would help my 2500 handle the load better would be great. Already planning on an ATS trans.

4.) Anyone that has had owned a trailer made by K-Z or specificly the New Vision what are your thoughts about the units they make. Are they junk or good quality?


Bryan

 

It's going to be kinda hard on the 2500. I would imagine it will pull it, but.... a 3500 dually is what you need. You would have to beef up the suspension, change gears, trans cooler, but the brakes are still 2500 stuff, the frame is 2500, The tires might have to be load range F or so unless you convert it to a dually. I would reccommend upgrading the truck.

 

K-Z trailers? Never heard of them. Since you say a new truck is out of the question. How about lookin for a lighter/smaller/different brand of 5er. See if some of the other manufactures make the same floor plan, Thats what we did. We have found the floor plan we want and found a lighter version/manufacture. Remember you havent bought the trailer yet, but you do have the truck. Just a thought.

 

Not enough truck for that rig. Pin weight will be your biggest issue. Count on it being as much as 25% of the trailer GVWR, although it is typically 20%. Which amounts to at least 3000 pounds for the trailer you are looking at. Pick something smaller.

Casey

 

I really like the K-Z Sportster line of toyhauling 5th wheels. Their stuff seems to be fairly well built.

In my opinion, though, towing that 37RL4 safely would require a dually. Remember to count the weight of the hitch, the wife, and everything else in the truck, plus the pin weight... which would put you way over capacity.

 

Way too much 5th wheel for a 2500 - see signature.

Rusty

 

Bryan...
The wife and I have been looking and 5ers for quite some time. Decided to get the truck first and 5er as the next purchase. We looked at some real nice 5ers and really liked a Cedar Creek unit that our 2500 could handle, but decided that we're going to go much smaller to begin with (25-27 foot) and go used to boot. If we wind up using it a lot and really get into it, then we can migrate to the larger, heavier and more expensive unit. We figure gettin' our feet wet with a smaller camper is the way to go, at least for us. If we absolutely hate it, I still got me one heck of a great truck. If we really love it, we can always trade up!
Good luck!

 

That 5er does seem a bit much for a 2500, but it should be able to handle something slighty smaller. After reading many threads here on the subject and doing other research, here's what I've found you get extra with a 3500 SRW:

- rear helper springs
- a set of ugly little lights that tend to leak (optional on 2500s)
- slighty thicker front brake rotors (4X4s only)
- "3"s instead of "2"s on the front doors
- a little sticker that says 9900# GVWR instead of 9000# GVWR
- a bill for $500

Add a pair of air springs to your 2500 and you have the same truck! I would not hesitate to load a 2500 right to its limit (9000# GVWR) because of this. Just be careful not to exceed it to avoid a legal peeing contest if something happens. Hope this helps!

 

bhoeffner:

Can you legally tow it? Probably not. Can you safely tow it? Well, a lot of that depends on you. You will be able to get that much weight moving, but the bigger question is can you stop it? Does the rig you are looking at have hydraulic assist disc brakes? That would make a big difference. If it doesn't, they are available as aftermarket. I would highly recommend it. Do you have 4:10 gears in your differentials? If not, you won't be happy towing with any taller gears. (Does the 2004 only come with 3:73's?) My camping buddy has a 38' Jayco Legacy that is the approximate size and weight of the rig you are looking at. He has a 2001.5 2500 that is bone stock with the 4:10's, except for an Edge EZ . He tows it quite successfully, but has about 20 years experience towing fivers.

Good luck with your decision, sounds like a nice rig!

DeWain

DeWain

 

I have to disagree with pretty much everybody here. A 2500 will tow that trailer with no problem whatsoever.

A 2500 is IDENTICAL to a 3500 in every way (frame, suspension). The only differences are helper leaf springs and a badge on the doors. The only difference between the 3500 SRW and DRW are the extra two wheels. Same goes for the 2nd gens.

Granted, the axle ratings are different (6800 vs 9350), but if you add up the tire ratings, that's where those numbers come from. Make sure you're within the tire's abilities, or get a better tire (e.g. Rickson 19.5's) and you're set.

I do recommend airbags and good shocks (Bilsteins or Ranchos) for towing such a big trailer, but that's smart no matter what.

With some knowledge and common sense, I see absolutely no problems here.

Rob

 

Do you think that just maybe there's a message here???

Rusty

 

Ya, The 2500 can do the job all you have to do is ??!!??%%$$$$$$ and it will work just fine or run the 3500 out of the box.

 

Thanks for all the information guy's. It sounds as if the 3500 DRW would be the perfered truck, however I could do some supension mods, ATS trans (exhaust brake capible) and still be o.k. I have had some experence driving semi-trucks with some pretty heavy loads so the actual towing does not bother me. However, I have never pulled anything that heavy with a pick-up truck, and really have no idea how to would act on the road. Looks like the best thing to do is a little of both; lighter 5er and still do the trans up grade so I can have a exhaust brake. Again thanks for all the input.

Bryan

 

Bryan... I too have recent experience pulling driving an 18 wheeler and used my jake quite a bit in order to save the wheel brakes. One thing that would concern me, and I think it got mentioned earlier, is that if you pull a heavier trailer than what your truck is rated for and get in an accident, your insurance may not cover it due to the fact you "overpulled", even though the truck handled it with no problem...

 

Yeah,

Have thought about that as well. Wonder how that would work though. Just because you are over the payload weight, that may not put you over the GCVWR of 20K? The truck weights in at 6,480 pounds empty add 400 pounds for fuel, and people Net weight of truck is around 6,880 pounds. Empty weight of trailer is 12,700 and 300 pounds for lugage. Total combined weight would be around 19,880. Not personally would not be comfertable running that close to the GCVWR of 20K, however you are not over the rating of the truck. The axle rating would be close as well to the max of 6,800 pounds on a 4X2 with the 11.5 LS rear end, but I wounder if it would be exceeded. If not then you would be legal even though you are right at the ragged edge of things.