Well i may buy a 1987 Gulfstream fifth wheel. IT is 40 feet long and weighs about 9500 lbs (Triple axle) Would realistically my truck be able to handle this???(Specs in the sig) I know its big but i can steal it 2500.00 bucks. I know the engine can take it but is the 3/4 ton srw enough?

wayne

 

well thats assuming i get my truck back this week from the shop.

wayne

 

no info? I know this will put me over my combined limit but i have read about others pulling this and more with a 250 srw without an issue.

wayne

 

i just used a stock d250 to pull a 32ft 8000# 5th wheel 1,000 miles. on the hardest mountain i hit 53 but that's the slowest it went the whole trip. trailer is an 86, i heard that the older ones have more tonge weight, but the truck handled it better than i could have hoped. just make sure it has good bakes. the one i pulled did, and it made the trip easy.

 

Does it have any slide outs? You need to find out what the pin weight is.Not that I'm the weight police, but I traded in my 3/4 for a 1 ton dually to be legal with my tripple slide 32' 5vr. Slides really add to the weight of the trailer. Mine weights 12,000 lbs loaded & I'm grossing 20,000.
My 3/4 pulled it fine & stoped good with an exhaust brake. But I wasn't willing to risk if I ever had a wreck even if I wasn't at fault, some smart lawyer turning things against me because i was overtowing.

 

did they really do slide outs in 87? just wondering, i'm just getting into the whole camper thing.

 

I don't think they did now that I think about it. But the older trailers were heavy.

 

I think i read max trailer weight was 14000, but that seems high perhapse it was total weight. I dont have the truck here to look at it. Which sounds right?

wayne

 

my ex father inlaw had a 92 drw ex cab and towed a 40' 5er with 2 slide outs GCVW was 22,450 full timed RVed and was in everystate in the USA it was a auto trans. only mod was a HD trans cooler under the bed with electric fans(dealer installed)

 

I just pulled an old 42' NU-WA back from BC about 2 months ago. Stopped and weighed it and it was 10,500#(no genset and tanks were dry). Truck and load handled fine(I have airbags), was a bit slow on some hills(50mph) and ran hot, but then my truck always seems to run hot when towing. It was fine for a one time trip but I would step up to a dually if I was going to make a habit of it.

 

Combined.

My truck at 6060# and my 5er at 7600# comes in just under that.

Sure, your truck will pull it (once you get a decent torque converter & vb), but the big trick in towing is getting stopped without running over something.

With poor braking on these trucks, especially the rears, and no way to put in an exhaust brake, you'd best take care which hills you climb.

Regards, DBF

PS: The Towing/Hauling/RV section of this board has a lot of guys with towing experience.

 

That's why the trailer has brakes! I can probably stop that 42' 5th wheel just as quickly using its brakes and the truck's brakes as I can with the truck empty.

BTW my 42' NU-WAY is a 1978 model and has a slideout.

 

And if they fail for some reason? Fuse blows out, whatever?

I went over a particularly rough railroad crossing and the trailer plug actually came out of the socket (I probably hadn't banged it all the way in that morning). At the next light, that **** trailer pushed me straight out into the intersection. Thankfully, no one was coming through it at the time.

Let me know the next time you hit the road & where you're going.

Tx, DBF

 

There is an indicator light on my brake controler that tells me if there is a short or problem with the trailer brake wiring. My trucks brakes have actually been upgraded and have the 1 ton shoes(NAPA Premiums) and wheel cylinders. I could have brought that load to a stop if needed with just the truck brakes given adequate room but I seriously doubt that any truck hauling any kind of sizeable 5th wheel trailer would be able to do an emergency stop with just the truck brakes without jack knifing. Thats why trailers have brakes and why they need to be checked regularly and kept in good condition.

Sounds like maybe you should look into that 1ton upgrade for the next time your trailer brakes fail.

 

that is a whole lotta trailer for a srw of any model

dragging the weight is only half the job, what will you do when you blow a rear tire doing 65

i don't know the specs on your truck but the newer 2500s have a payload of like 1800, my 26 ft, 05 keystone, 5er, has 1700 pounds of pin weight

that 40 footer is going to be way over your payload capacity

not enough truck imho