Camper/travel trailer brands:

Many....and I mean a LOT of RV dealers/sales people will out and out tell you....."Your truck.....that thing will pull anything I have at the dealership...You'll be just fine"!!! In my opinion, there are two very profound reasons for that. FIRST and foremost is that they don't care and they just want the commission check after you buy it. Secondly, many of them don't really know how to put together the critical numbers in order to calculate whether or not a truck/trailer combination is suitable and within all the towing and load capacity numbers for that combination.....so they default to my first point......That truck will pull anything here. And quite honestly, it's not really THEIR job to make that decision on mating a truck and trailer, but PLEASE....don't just default to the truck will tow anything answer. In my opinion, the person that is buying the trailer should be the person that knows how to calculate and KNOW that they are choosing something that will work with their tow vehicle. But, there are lazy folks out there that have zero interest in learning/knowing how to do that, so they just ask the dealer/sales person.....or their Brother in Law who is an "expert" because he towed a fishing boat one time behind his Chevy S10....or co-workers or <<<fill in the blanks>>>. Making a good decision about getting it right involves a bit of work and learning....or at the minimum, gathering all your numbers for both the truck and trailer and then plugging them into an online towing calculator. It's not rocket science, but it IS one of those things that if you get it wrong, it may end up being a really bad experience involving many of the things that can go wrong when towing. Get it correct, and it then becomes a very good experience.

 

The payload issue with 3/4 tons is purely to do with the truck makers dodging GVWR stipulations and nothing to do with actual towing ability of the truck. Of course, unless you want to some how apply your rational thinking and try explaining how a 2018 Ram 2500 with the exact same drive train and gearing can only haul part of what a 2018 Ram 3500 SRW can.

You're making it sound like it's a comparison between a Chevy S-10 and a 1 ton dually here.

 

This 100%.

My ‘03 3500 long box SRW was rated at 9900 GVWR to keep it below the 10k DOT trigger.

My ‘01 2500 short box was 8800. It squatted noticeably less when the 5th wheel was dropped on it.

Both axle and tire ratings identical.

 

Like I said in my post....it's NOT the towing capability....it's the ability to haul the weight being put on the truck from the pin of the 5ver....plus the weight of the 5ver hitch itself, plus the toolbox that you put in the bed of the truck with all of it's contents, plus the extra fuel you might be hauling via cans or an aux. fuel tank, plus the passenger or passengers, and basically anything and everything that goes in/on the truck that wasn't there when the truck was built. And the bottom line is this...if you are involved in a serious accident or a fatality when towing, and you are knowingly over ANY of the listed towing and/or weight capacities of the truck and/or trailer, you are setting yourself up for a very expensive civil suit that you are very likely to Lose.

And there are many factor that go into the weight rating numbers assigned to a truck from the manufacturer......axle size, frame strength, springs and suspension components, brakes, engine/transmission capability, tire load capacity, and probably some other things I'm not thinking of right now. And actually, there are starting to be some states that actually will do roadside inspections on trucks and trailers (RV type stuff, not just commercial) and if they are found to be overloaded, they will be cited and the RV will be grounded until a proper tow vehicle can tow it away safely. So, bottom line is do what you think you can get away with and/or have the money to pay for anything and everything that might come you way if something happens.

 

Show me the difference in the example I used.

 

Show yourself the differences....look up ALL the components that comprise the two trucks......springs, tires, wheels, brakes, frame, axle sizes, including the axle components themselves, bearings, etc, etc. And just so you know, I don't totally disagree with some of the stuff you stated, but the bottom line is the manufacturer's, required by law safety stickers on each and every vehicle made. And if you feel like exceeding those ratings and numbers and are involved in an accident like I described above.....just be prepared to face whatever comes you way with being sued, risking, with almost 100% certainty that your insurance will drop you after they pay the claim, and maybe having to live with consequences that you knowingly caused a serious or fatal accident. It's totally up to you what you decide.....

 

Dodge Ram 2500 and 3500 use the exact same components, including the spring stack. 3500 has a couple overloads on it, but the base spring stack is...

 

I'm not familiar with Dodge or Ram or whatever they call them now, but does the 2500 series have coil springs and the 3500 series have leaf springs?

 

What part of



Would make you think one had coil overs and one had leafs?

 

If we’re talking 2014 and up Rams, the 2500 has rear coils and the 3500 has leaf springs.

 

That's what I thought, but wasn't sure of the years involved.....and I didn't want to say for sure because I'm not a Dodge/Ram kind of guy. Thanks for the info.

 

I haven't even heard of or seen of a horror story about someone getting sued because their tow rig was just over on payload capacity. Like I said, it's a BS number. If you really think a modern 3/4 ton diesel truck is truly incapable of towing a modest 5th wheel or bigger bumper pull, well, I guess you fall into the category of those that think you need a dually to pull a 5x8 utility trailer.

 

I’m kinda the anti-Broome. They stopped making trucks in 2007.

 

You might try re-reading all my posts and then tell me where I said what you think I said in the bolded section above. You clearly either didn't read what I wrote or you have some reading comprehension problems....or you are just making shit up....I really don't know.

There are many tow behind trailers that an F250/2500 size truck can tow very well....I know, I had a 2011 F250 diesel and towed a 34 1/2' tow behind Toy Hauler with it. It did just fine and I never had any payload issues until I decided I wanted to add an aux. diesel tank to the bed of the truck and then I was right on the ragged edge of my payload capacity. I ended up buying a Dually because I had plans for upgrading the Toy Hauler from a tow behind to the one pictured in one of the above posts.....44' long, triple axle, 20,000 lb GVWR and puts down around 4000 lbs of pin weigh on my truck. As far as a 3/4 ton truck hauling a 5th wheel camping trailer, yes, it can be done safely, just as long as the 5ver's loaded pin weight and everything else that goes in/on the truck doesn't exceed any of the truck's rated capacities....including the payload number that is on the actual truck...and not some brochure or spec sheet that talks about "Maximum Payload" numbers. Those come from a stripped down, 2 wheel drive, no optioned, gas engine....work type truck

 

Not sure why you would say that. In almost all of the new trucks they have increased horsepower, torque, and GVWRs and payload capacity numbers. Added safety features like built in camera systems, TPMS, lane change avoidance, and other items to assist drivers when towing....engine braking, Tow haul mode, etc. I can clearly remember a day when a Dually truck had less payload capacity than some of the newer SRW trucks that are out there now.

 

Because I like to put diesel fuel in my truck, not diesel fuel plus a tank full of piss, and watch the fuel efficiency hit the shitter when the DPF goes into regen, and having some retarded sensor put my truck into limp mode, or worse...

Plus I actually enjoy driving, so tow/haul mode is whatever gear I push the clutch pedal down and select, I know how to drive between the ditches, and if you can’t back up with your mirrors you’ve got no business driving a truck!

 

I'd agree with your decision to get a dually but I also am of the general line of thought that any trailer that's a triple axle is dually territory.

Do you feel adding an aux tank on your old 3/4 ton would have caused your setup to no longer be safe to tow? A 40 gallon tank would add roughly what, 300 pounds? Would you tell a "big and tall" friend they couldn't ride with you because their 300lb ass would put you over the payload of your truck?

My entire point is that you are living and dying by the payload number and refuse to acknowledge the well known fact that all makers scale back their payload numbers on their 3/4 tons for DOT weight reasons. That's it.

 

I'm not a fan of the DEF either, but I guess with a lot of the cars/trucks/motorcycles and the advance in technology, some of the stuff is just unavoidable. The regen cycle on my Ford Dually 6.7 diesel only last about 10 miles and I've never seen the mileage drop more than 2 mpg.....and for as short of a time period that it's doing the regen, it's mostly a non-issue for me. I might change my mind on that when/if the DPF needs to be replaced and some of the more expensive parts, but for the time being.... I actually like having the tow hauling mode and engine braking, but mine is an automatic transmission, so it just makes it easier to maintain speeds on the downhill sides of a mountain....and it obviously downshifts automatically. I still drive a manual transmission car (Nissan 370Z) and I enjoy it a lot, but I'm certainly happy with the auto trans when towing heavy. And just so you know, I don't have a camera system on the RV, but I do on the truck, as it came with a federally mandated back up camera.

 

And my point is that I've worked way too hard my entire life (just retired a year ago at age 65) to end up in an accident that causes a civil suit against me and risking loosing everything that I've work so hard for in my lifetime. Is it "likely" to happen.....probably not. Is it "possible" to happen....yes it could.

And as far as adding the aux. tank, the 42 gallons of diesel fuel was just under three hundred pounds. The empty tank was 105 lbs or so, then the pump/piping/fuel filter was another 30 lbs or so. The total of the tongue weight of that Toy Hauler, plus all the other stuff did put me over payload on that truck, and between that, and planning for the larger Toy Hauler (the big 5ver pictured), I felt it was time to move up to something bigger. I know that the F250 likely would have done OK, but as I've stated previously, I'm not going to set myself up for issues and give some hot shot lawyer a good chance at my ass and everything I've worked for. YMMV

 

Easy. Easy. Why you gotta stab my setup with a 3 ft screw driver?