Hi,
I just purchased a new Open Road 5th wheel and found out the sales guy lied about my truck being able to haul it. From what I have found out the 2000 2500 quad with the 5.9l cummings, automatic, and 3.5X rear end can only tow a 9900 lb. trailer. Does anybody know if this is correct, and if the dealer is liable for selling a 5th wheel I can't tow?

Thanks

-Pete

 

i think that if they actually hooked it up to your truck and let you drive off with it then you can most likely squeeze them. if you let them deliver it to you place your most likely screwed.

 

Weigh your truck without the trailer and with a full load of fuel and with everthing you will have in the truck when trailering. Check the data plate inside the drivers door for the combined gross vehicle weight rating. On my '97 it was 18,800 lb. with 4.11 rear end. Yours is probably 18,000. Subtract the weight of your truck and you will have the max. for the trailer.

Keep in mind also that you do not want to exceed the trucks gross weight or the axle weight. I had to be careful of the trucks weight rating as my trailers pin weight could easly exceed the weight that was allowed. Never came close to exceeding the axle gross weight.

The way I liked to weigh the truck with the trailer loaded, was to weigh the front axle of the truck, then both axles of the truck, and then just the trailer. By adding or subtracting I could determine the weight of the rear axle or the intire rig.

My '97 could handle a trailer loaded to 11,000 lb. with a pin weight of 1800 lb.

You have the quad cab and it is heaver that a standard cab which will reduce the weight you can add to the truck. I would be more concened with the pin weight of the trailer as to the total weight.

I do not think the dealer is liable if the trailer exceeds the rating of your truck. I think they should be concerned and a good dealer will mention this to a buyer but they cannot control what you will be towing it with.

Good luck and enjoy your truck and trailer.

 

I am going to talk to the dealer today. I asked two different sales men and the service manager if my truck would handle the rig and they all said it would not be a problem. Bottom line is that I should not have believed them, but I did.
Another question. Assuming I am totally screwed and I must make the rig work with my truck it appears the weak point is my automatic transmission. If I replace it with an ATS tranny will that up the size of a trailer I can haul??

Thanks

 

If you weigh your truck like papaduck advised, note that weight as the LCW (laden curb weight). Then your maximum trailer weights can be determined by the following two (2) equations:

Truck GCWR - truck LCW = maximum allowable total weight of loaded trailer

Truck GVWR - truck LCW = maximum allowable pin/hitch weight of loaded trailer

If you don't have actual loaded trailer weights, a conservative approach in initial sizing is to use the trailer's GVWR for the trailer loaded weight and 20% (5th wheel) or 12% (conventional) of the trailer's GVWR for loaded pin/hitch weight.

As a Moderator on iRV2.com, I've seen more people get in trouble with the "manufacturer's trailer tow rating" than you would ever believe. That number is pure marketing fantasy!

Rusty

 

Javaman,

Fill out your signature so we know exactly what you have, how much does your new trailer actually weigh?

 

Sorry,
The dry weight is 10900 and pin weight is 2100

 

What's the trailer's GVWR?

Rusty

 

14100 Gross

 

Well, let's assume the laden curb weight (LCW) of your truck is 7500 lbs (mine is 7680 lbs). Being a 2000 2500, I believe your truck's GVWR is 8800 lbs. I'm not sure about the GCWR, but let's assume it's 16,000 lbs.

16,000 lbs GCWR - 7,500 lbs LCW = 8,500 lbs maximum allowable loaded trailer weight

8,800 lbs GVWR - 7,500 lbs LCW = 1,300 lbs maximum allowable pin weight of loaded trailer

If your trailer were loaded up to its GVWR of 14,100 lbs, you would be over your GCWR by 14,100 lbs - 8,500 lbs = 5,600 lbs

If 20% of your loaded trailer's weight were pin weight (a very typical number), that would be 14,100 x 20% = 2,820 lbs. With a pin weight of 2,820 lbs, you would be over your GVWR by 2,820 lbs - 1,300 lbs = 1,520 lbs.

If I'm wrong in any of my assumptions for GCWR and GVWR, you can plug the correct data in the formulas above and come up with actual results.

Hope this helps.

Rusty

 

Oh, and just to use our rig as an illustration: We tow a 2000 Jayco Designer XL 3610RLTS - a 36' triple slide 5th wheel. This 5ver weighs 13,500 lbs with 10,800 lbs on the axles and 2,700 lbs (20% of total weight) on the pin. Our truck has a laden curb weight of 7,680 lbs.

Loaded and on the road, our weights (according to certified truck scales) are:

10,380 lbs GVW (10,500 lbs GVWR)

21,180 lbs GCW (21,500 lbs GCWR)

The problem with 3/4 ton (and even with SRW 1 ton) trucks when towing heavy 5th wheels is, due to the higher percentage of the trailer's weight carried by the truck as pin weight, the 3/4 ton and SRW 1 ton trucks will almost always run out of GVWR before they run out of GCWR.

Rusty

 

Thanks for the info. I am more worried about destroying my automatic at this point. I can play with the pin weight by loading more stuff in the rear of the 5th wheel than in the front but if my tranny can't handle it I am still screwed :-(

-Pete

 

Yep, my understanding is that the 47RE is the reason GCWR was rated as low as 16,000 lbs on these trucks. Maybe those numbers will at least give you a basis for a "heart to heart" discussion with your RV dealer, should you elect to do so.

Rusty

 

If you do not abuse the tranny it will serve you well. Don't try to use all the power of the diesel except as really needed. Let the torque converter lock up as soon as possible by not excellerating with full throttle. Get a temp gauge and keep a close watch on it while towing. You should be OK.

My 97 had 80K miles much of it towing my fiver and I was at the max weights for pin and combined. I had the tranny serviced twice and the last time was just before I traded and was told it was in very good shape. The only reason I traded was for the quad cab and an excellant deal from my dealer.

Just as .RustyJC stated, I still have to watch the pin weight of the trailer on my 3500 srw but am nowhere near the 23,000 of the gcwr.

 

Thanks all for your help. The dealer basically said they are not liable for anything their people say and it's my responsibility to verify my truck can pull the load, which is true. In the end I will most likely be putting in an ATS transmission and not have to worry about it. Odds are if there is a failure it will be while I am 2 thousand miles from home and Goober in Mayberry is the only one available to fix it ;-)

Thanks again

-Pete