Tow rig for a 5th wheel

BigClay

Knower of useless ZJ things
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Location
Winston-Salem
So we have all talked about that there is no reason to have a 1 ton dually tow rig to tow a samurai to URE; but I have a new question.

For a 5th wheel camper what tow rig should you have? Can a 3/4 ton handle it or should it be a 1 ton or a dually? For discussion sake, lets just say it is a diesel, so that is not a concern.

Thoughts, opinions?
 
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My dad towed a ~38 ft dual slide 5er all over the country with a 3/4 dura max.

He traded out of a b&w hitch to get some igh dollar set up that pivoted to make turning into spots easier.

It's all going to depend though on size of camper....
 
He is looking for at least 30'
 
Can probably pull most anything shorter than 35ft with an SRW, but might need air bags and possibly uprated drive axle tires to do it.

You need to know what the pin weight is, though. And the actual fawking wet and loaded pin weight... not the camper manufacturer's word that it weighs "about 12k, and 25% of that is on the pin".

Also, you can do it with a SWB truck with extended necks and sliding pin boxes and all that stuff... or you can just buy a LWB truck and save yourself a grand or two.

Oh, and if it's a fifth wheel (not a gooseneck), it'll probably feel a hell of a lot more stable with a DRW. Goosenecks pivot left/right, so they don't transfer crosswinds and stuff to the tow vehicle the same way a kingpin will.
 
Shawn, when you say LWB are you referring to just the bed size, or would a crew cab short bed count? Also for the tires, E load range would not be enough?
 
Shawn, when you say LWB are you referring to just the bed size, or would a crew cab short bed count? Also for the tires, E load range would not be enough?

No, eight foot box, so you can turn without the camper hitting the cab. You can get special fifth wheel pin boxes that slide to let you turn tightly, and you can put an extended neck on the trailer, but those things cost money... And generally, long box and short box trucks cost about the same.

And no, "most" load range e tires might not have enough load capacity. For one thing, "load range" covers a pretty wide swath of ratings... Anywhere from about 3100 pounds each to about 3750 pounds each. So it really depends on pin weight, tire size, then looking to see what he can actually haul with what he has.
 
No, eight foot box, so you can turn without the camper hitting the cab. You can get special fifth wheel pin boxes that slide to let you turn tightly, and you can put an extended neck on the trailer, but those things cost money... And generally, long box and short box trucks cost about the same.

And no, "most" load range e tires might not have enough load capacity. For one thing, "load range" covers a pretty wide swath of ratings... Anywhere from about 3100 pounds each to about 3750 pounds each. So it really depends on pin weight, tire size, then looking to see what he can actually haul with what he has.
Alot of times you can find a better deal on a long bed....
 
When I purchase my new truck last year I tried everything that I could to stay away from another dually but with the 5th Wheel that we were looking at or the size range there was just no way. Now if you stay under 2,000lbs of pin weght, maybe. IMO it would still be close. Just do the numbers and figure it out. I have asked a few people while camping that are using SRW to tow a 5th wheel (5'ver) that I know has over 3,000lbs of pin weight that isn't that a lot for a SRW. The answer is always the same, Oh I just put air bags on it. Well that doesn't do a thing to change your "cargo" capacity of your truck, not to mention the weight rating on the rear axels. I have always had a dually since I had a 5th wheel and when I mentioned something to a friend of mine who owns a RV Dealership, he told me I would hate towing a 5th wheel with a SRW. Like I said, just do the math and don't overload the truck. I hope this helps, cause I did a lot of research.
 
If it's a 2500HD or 3500 dually from GM, it'll have an AAM 11.5. Great axle and a big ol' mofo! However, it uses the same hubs, bearings, spindles, and hub seals as a regular ol' 10.5" 14 bolt. I'm sure it's stronger though, just food for thought.

I'd personally rather have a dually....or something with 19.5" rims, which will probably be a dually too :D
 
If it's a 2500HD or 3500 dually from GM, it'll have an AAM 11.5. Great axle and a big ol' mofo! However, it uses the same hubs, bearings, spindles, and hub seals as a regular ol' 10.5" 14 bolt. I'm sure it's stronger though, just food for thought.

I'd personally rather have a dually....or something with 19.5" rims, which will probably be a dually too :D

This. The 2500, 3500, and 3500 DRW Dodges are all identical, except for the springs and the number of tires on the rear axle. Mine's got 3500# on the pin, and it did all right without the bags, but they stiffen the ride up pretty nicely if you put about 30psi (loaded) in them.

I think a big part of it, though, is that mine is a gooseneck. So when a crosswind hits the trailer and it wants to lean over, it can't transmit that movement down to the truck. A 5th wheel is typically locked in the side/side direction, so a crosswind against the trailer would make the truck sway, too. That's where the extra footprint afforded by a DRW makes a difference. That's my theory, anyway.

That said, my next truck would probably be a dually. I don't know if it would tow any 'better'... but one place it might make a real difference is in the lifespan of the rear tires.
 
I can agree with that, certainly! You're spreading the load across 4 tires instead of making two of them strain. Blowing a tire while you're loaded is no fun, nor is it safe.

Sure, dually trucks are a little more of a pain to keep tires on, but it's probably worth it. The truck probably wouldn't be driven much without a trailer behind it anyway, right?
 
That said, my next truck would probably be a dually. I don't know if it would tow any 'better'... but one place it might make a real difference is in the lifespan of the rear tires.
From what I've seen on my dads work trucks, they'll last about 5% longer than SRW, but you'll have to buy twice as many, so it still costs about twice as much!
 
Sure, dually trucks are a little more of a pain to keep tires on, but it's probably worth it. The truck probably wouldn't be driven much without a trailer behind it anyway, right?

Once it's got dually fenders on it, no.

The truck I have now gets driven a fair bit, though.
From what I've seen on my dads work trucks, they'll last about 5% longer than SRW, but you'll have to buy twice as many, so it still costs about twice as much!


I'm burning rears a lot faster than fronts. Like... somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 to 2x as fast.
 
I'm burning rears a lot faster than fronts. Like... somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.5 to 2x as fast.
I believe he gets about the same mileage out of his SRW rear tires as his DRW, though he carries a lot more weight on the DRW's. But its really more of a safety thing in my opinion, so the extra $4-500 every tire change buys a lot of peace of mind.

And that pedal on the far right can help alot with tire wear, depending on how you use it. Mine is extremely helpful, I never knew I could wear out tires so fast till I put the PPE programmer on it!
 
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