*Truck and Towing thread........ask your questions here.*

Well the trip home was a little better after I adjusted the brakes the 5er, but just west of Tallahassee the bolts that hold the fuel cooler down broke again (had this happen last year) made it home ok just was loosen boost and power on the hills. This happening again really has me ready to get the Pete set up to pull the 5er.

I did averge 6.25 mpg down and back home,
 
Today’s question. After some 37 years of having some 6 motor home, I am going to a large (43 foot) 5th wheel pushing close to 17,000 lbs.

I am not a Diesel engine fan, but not completely closed to the idea. I am looking a two different Dodge 3/4 ton trucks that are capable of towing this rig. One has the 6.4 heavy duty HEMI and the other the 6.9 Cummings. Now I have heard all the usual, you need a diesel for the torque and better fuel mileage, blah, blah... I currently have a 38’ motor home, that I put a 350 lb motorcycle on the back, towing a 4 door Dodge Dakota with a golf cart in the rear, powered by the Triton V10 and I am well within its combined gross weight. I am not trying to run a race and if it lugs some in the mountains, so what.
The real question I have is what kind of realistic fuel mileage will I get on gas verses diesel so I can honestly figure if a diesel is worth the extra cost of the diesel truck, considering the price of diesel along with the DEF fluid.
 


My 5er is 42ft and grosses at 15k. Truck and trailer scales at 22,500 combined. Not sure what your MHs weighed. I pull it with a diesel F350 dually. If I keep it around 70, I get 9.5-10.

I’ve towed at and over truck ratings. You will be much happier with a 1 ton. The price isn’t much more than a 3/4 ton. I also wouldn’t consider towing my 5er with a single rear wheel. Not enough stability for that much pin weight.

Pulling big long 5th wheels is a different animal than driving a 40 ft MH.

j
 
Today’s question. After some 37 years of having some 6 motor home, I am going to a large (43 foot) 5th wheel pushing close to 17,000 lbs.

I am not a Diesel engine fan, but not completely closed to the idea. I am looking a two different Dodge 3/4 ton trucks that are capable of towing this rig. One has the 6.4 heavy duty HEMI and the other the 6.9 Cummings. Now I have heard all the usual, you need a diesel for the torque and better fuel mileage, blah, blah... I currently have a 38’ motor home, that I put a 350 lb motorcycle on the back, towing a 4 door Dodge Dakota with a golf cart in the rear, powered by the Triton V10 and I am well within its combined gross weight. I am not trying to run a race and if it lugs some in the mountains, so what.
The real question I have is what kind of realistic fuel mileage will I get on gas verses diesel so I can honestly figure if a diesel is worth the extra cost of the diesel truck, considering the price of diesel along with the DEF fluid.

Will it pull it? Yes

Is it rated to pull it is the more important question. At 17,000#, what is the pin weight and look up both trucks towing capacity and see where you line up. If you're within range , then, to be honest, it's in the eye of the beholder as far as going gas or diesel.

Personally, with my family in the truck, I wouldn't touch greater than 15,000# in a SRW truck. You got 17,000# bearing down on you and blow a tire without another tire to back it up is what's on my mind.

DEF fluid cost is negligible. About 5 gallons per oil change at about $16 from Wal Mart is nothing.
 


Going from 3/4 to 1 ton has a cost of roughly $1,200 on a Ford. The DRW adds another $1,700. So, from a 3/4 SRW to a 1 ton dually is about 3 grand.
Are those "real" dollars or MSRP differences? Trucks have a huge profit margin and there is usually a lot of room for negotiating.

j
 
Today’s question. After some 37 years of having some 6 motor home, I am going to a large (43 foot) 5th wheel pushing close to 17,000 lbs.

I am not a Diesel engine fan, but not completely closed to the idea. I am looking a two different Dodge 3/4 ton trucks that are capable of towing this rig. One has the 6.4 heavy duty HEMI and the other the 6.9 Cummings. Now I have heard all the usual, you need a diesel for the torque and better fuel mileage, blah, blah... I currently have a 38’ motor home, that I put a 350 lb motorcycle on the back, towing a 4 door Dodge Dakota with a golf cart in the rear, powered by the Triton V10 and I am well within its combined gross weight. I am not trying to run a race and if it lugs some in the mountains, so what.
The real question I have is what kind of realistic fuel mileage will I get on gas verses diesel so I can honestly figure if a diesel is worth the extra cost of the diesel truck, considering the price of diesel along with the DEF fluid.

The big question is the cargo capacity of the truck and the pin weight. What is the weight rating of the tires on the SRW ? Will it tow it, yes. Will it stop it, that is the true question and not one you want to find the answer to either in the middle of an intersection or the back of someone's car. I mean they towed the space shuttle with a toyota tundra thru LA.
That big a trailer and truck combination, I would hazard a guess of about 4 maybe 5 mpg.
 
The resent picture of the F350 is not the truck the other poster was talking about. He was talking about 2 different Dodge 2500's, a gasser and a diesel.

I totally agree with you PaHunter that the truth lies in the cargo carrying capacity. A 2500, whether it be a Dodge, Ford, or Chevy is going to be hard pressed to accommodate the pin weight of a 17K FW and especially if you add the additional weight of diesel engine and transmission.

Case in point: My 2015 Silverado 2500HD, Crew Cab, 4WD has a CCC of 2723lbs. The pin weight of a 17K lb. FW is going to be north of 3400lbs. That's assuming the 17K FW at full load and 20% of that load being on the pin.
 
The resent picture of the F350 is not the truck the other poster was talking about. He was talking about 2 different Dodge 2500's, a gasser and a diesel.

I totally agree with you PaHunter that the truth lies in the cargo carrying capacity. A 2500, whether it be a Dodge, Ford, or Chevy is going to be hard pressed to accommodate the pin weight of a 17K FW and especially if you add the additional weight of diesel engine and transmission.

Case in point: My 2015 Silverado 2500HD, Crew Cab, 4WD has a CCC of 2723lbs. The pin weight of a 17K lb. FW is going to be north of 3400lbs. That's assuming the 17K FW at full load and 20% of that load being on the pin.

My 3500 4x4 crew cab dually has a CCC of just over 5000lbs, by the time I get my pin weight on, us in the vehicle, the dog, and if I fill the 100 gal aux tank, I am getting pretty close to max on mine. We have actually talked about a bigger truck, just to up our safety margin, DW is very slowly coming around to the idea, very slowly.
 
We have a 2017 Dodge 2500 diesel. Frank (DH) says he would definitely want a dually diesel to pull & stop a 17,000 lb 5er.
 
I’m with the others on you will need a 1 ton for the pin weight. I pull a 38 ft 5th wheel with a diesel ram 2500. My camper weighs about 11,000, so fully loaded truck puts us up near the limits. I added rear bags to help the springs and a bigger sway bar. The other problem I see is if you went with a gas engine I don’t know where you would fill up with something that long. Truck lanes are straight through and diesel only.
 
Going from 3/4 to 1 ton has a cost of roughly $1,200 on a Ford. The DRW adds another $1,700. So, from a 3/4 SRW to a 1 ton dually is about 3 grand.

That's MSRP. Timing, model, access to deals, etc... all play a role in the net price, so no way to tell on that. This just gives a sense of the general gap between options.
 
nice, I mean for a Ford....:duck:

Chris, Please... :) Thanks man. I like the truck too.

My 2011 F250 had around 2100 CCC per truck weight and the vehicle sticker. I know it was overloaded with landscaping materials from time to time. It never had a problem with the 3600 pounds of dirt in the back going or stopping. The 2016 F350 has a similar drive train. Same engine, trans and gearing combo. However the suspension and braking is different as well as the truck driving feel. The brakes were upgraded in size by nearly an inch over the older truck. The rear suspension is upped by almost an additional 1000 pounds in the load. The new truck was rated at 4000 pounds of CCC. That's not bad in my book. However it's sick to think a DRW 1 ton that has 5-6K CCC load rating is being pushed limit wise with some of the new 5ers on the market. These are not cheap trucks. Is the 450/550 class going to be the new standard to pull the larger trailers?
 
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Chris, Please... :) Thanks man. I like the truck too.

My 2011 F250 had around 2100 CCC per truck weight and the vehicle sticker. I know it was overloaded with landscaping materials from time to time. It never had a problem with the 36 pounds of dirt in the back going or stopping. The 2016 F350 has a similar drive train. Same engine, trans and gearing combo. However the suspension and braking is different as well as the truck driving feel. The brakes were upgraded in size by nearly an inch over the older truck. The rear suspension is upped by almost an additional 1000 pounds in the load. The new truck was rated at 4000 pounds of CCC. That's not bad in my book. However it's sick to think a DRW 1 ton that has 5-6K CCC load rating is being pushed limit wise with some of the new 5ers on the market. These are not cheap trucks. Is the 450/550 class going to be the new standard to pull the larger trailers?

Actually the 450/550 are definitely better but for that kind of money you could get a MDT, again most being a price point of 6 figures. I see more people going the route of the HDT, including us. Since you can get a used truck for less than a new one ton. They down side is they are big, and for most people not a daily driver. Unfortunately if people keep towing over the limit of their trucks eventually the government will get involved, like having to stop and be weighed like commercial trucks. Hope not, but keep hearing stories. Like this past week a couple pulled in to their first campground with a 2500 series truck, a 44 ft toy hauler with Harleys in the back, for their maiden voyage.
 

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