My truck is a 2005 F350 Longbed 4x4 6.0L PSD, all stock, stock tires. The only modification I have are the airbags and hitch. The GVWR for my truck is 11500lbs. I'm looking to get this trailer, and would like to know if I could haul it around reliably without any immediate damage to my truck. I have the certification on my license here in california which is equivalent to the non com class A license. What recommendations, if any, would one suggest, that wouldnt void any engine warranties etc. I'm thinking I might need to look at my transmission and beef it up a bit so it could handle the stress. I was also thinking about 4:30 gears, which I may or may not need. I don;t see myself pulling any long and steep grades, so the 3:73's may be fine since I'm running factory spec tire diameter. Here is the link with the weights on this trailer. I don't have toys to put in it either, just 3 ornery teenagers.
I deleted the link as I'm not sure if its ok to link to other sites...here is the weight data:
SPECIFICATIONS
GENERAL
Length: 39 ft. 11 in.
Unloaded Vehicle Wt.: 12,206 lbs.
Gross Vehicle Wt. Rating: 17,500 lbs.
Cargo Carrying Cap.: 5,420 lbs.
Fresh Water Cap.: 120 gal.
Grey Water Cap.: 80 gal.
Black Water Cap.: 40 gal.
Propane Tank Cap.: 60 lbs.
Check to see what is the gcwr of your truck. If your truck weighs 8000 lbs, and the trailer is fully loaded to its max gvwr of 17500, then you will need gcwr of 25500lbs. I don't think that the pin weight will be a problem, since you have 11500 gvwr.
If you are planning to carry less than the max gvwr on the trailer, then remember that water weighs 8 lbs per gallon, so the 120 gal of fresh water would weigh 960 lbs plus the gray and black water.
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2001 F350 XLT 4X4, shift on the fly, 38 gal fuel tank, running boards, sliding rear window, black, crew cab, long bed, 4.10, automatic transmission, 11,500 gvwr, 20,000 gcwr, 7500 gvw, dual rear wheels, 7.3l turbo diesel, completely stock, 114,00 miles when purchased, now has 125,000 miles, repairs so far: starter, batteries, cps.
2005 Nomad Rampage toyhauler made by Skyline. 11,500lb gvwr.
You will not be a speed deamond with it, but it will do it.
Weak link will be the transmission. it will not like that weight, but no auto will do well with that weight.
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1996 F-250 extended cab long box five speed. Home made Tymar, 203 Stat, 60 gal in bed fuel cell, 315/75's, no cat, no muffler, ebpv welded open 3" to 3" DP, Babies. 255K, still chugging, and still smoking when cold.
UPDATED 8/1/08 Replace so far. 1 LUK flywheel+clutch, 2 thermostats, 2 set of brakes, 1 set of calipers, 5 CPS, 3 sets of tires, 2 Transfer pumps, 1 Injector modual, 1 Computer, 2 Alt, 2 sets of batteries, 1 Water pump, 6 Belts, 1 PS hose, 2 Sets ball joints, 2 set u-joints, 2 carrier bearing, 2 Speed sensors, 1 oil pres sender, 1 temp sender, 4 sets of e-break cables, 1 front fuel tank, 2 rear fuel tanks, 2 set of glow plugs, 6 Glow plug relays, Oil galley o-rings, Turbo pedistal o-rings, EBPV o-rings, 3 sets of Injector O-rings, 1 Vac-pump, 1 new carpet.Total $$$ in repairs v/s miles driven = 3.0 cents per mile. Add fuel to that it jumps to 14.8 cents per mile over the life of the truck.
I believe my GCWR is 23,500 lbs. What would be a good transmission upgrade to help prolong the reliability and life?
To pull that trailer 'wet' you need the F350 with the F550 upgrade
Unfortunately your single rear wheel F350 is way short. Even a 350 DRW is not sufficient for the combined weight.
You need a truck that can handle the pin weight (it will be a lot more than you quoted - a good working assumption is 20% of the trailer GVWR or about 3400 lbs) so the truck loaded with fuel and passengers and gear and hitch will be in excess of 8000lbs plus 3400) and a truck that can handle the GCVWR. Your F350 fails both these numbers and no upgrades will increase the truck's rating.
I have read that CA is one state where the police do look for overweight situations.
Seriously, there are a couple fo questions to ask yourself. How long do you plan to have it, and how long will your teenagers want to go RVing with you? That size of 5thwheel is very hard to resell due to its size and weight.
You would be better off with a more mainstream fifthwheel (say 34 ft and under 15000lbs -3 or 4 slides). That will be easier to resell.
Most 5thwheels are designed for couples with occasional guests. . .not for family camping. Yes there are bunkhouse models, but again, what is the resale market?
For family camping, travel trailers are more popular and therefor may be easier to resell later.
I hope these comments help you make a safe and financially sound decision.
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John
99 F350 PSD CC DRW, BD Tranny, Fan driven tranny cooler, exhaust brake, tranny temp gauge
Titanium 29/34 Fifthwheel
HiJack 21k 4way hitch
Last edited by hiljoball : 07-01-2008 at 03:09 PM.
Reason: adding more throghts
I pull an Alfa 40' allmost the same what your looking at and my 05 pulls it just fine. If you have the air bags allready you should be go to go. Do you have the tow command system ? If you do even better.
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O5 F-250 SuperDuty CC SWR 4x4 Lariat
8' box 6.0 PSD Tow Comand new 04/05
2001 40' Alfa Toyhouse
Pulls better stock than my 01 with a programmer
New engine at 42k . Hope my luck with this 6.0 is changed .
If you load up the trailer to its maximum gvwr, then you will be about 2,000 lbs overweight. If you keep the load light in the trailer, then you should be OK.
I would recommend that you give John Wood a call (760-356-9421) to see what modifications he would recommend to make your transmission last a long time with that load. Here is a link to his web site. John Wood Automotive - Home
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2001 F350 XLT 4X4, shift on the fly, 38 gal fuel tank, running boards, sliding rear window, black, crew cab, long bed, 4.10, automatic transmission, 11,500 gvwr, 20,000 gcwr, 7500 gvw, dual rear wheels, 7.3l turbo diesel, completely stock, 114,00 miles when purchased, now has 125,000 miles, repairs so far: starter, batteries, cps.
2005 Nomad Rampage toyhauler made by Skyline. 11,500lb gvwr.
Seriously, there are a couple fo questions to ask yourself. How long do you plan to have it, and how long will your teenagers want to go RVing with you? That size of 5thwheel is very hard to resell due to its size and weight.
Most 5thwheels are designed for couples with occasional guests. . .not for family camping. Yes there are bunkhouse models, but again, what is the resale market?
For family camping, travel trailers are more popular and therefor may be easier to resell later.
I hope these comments help you make a safe and financially sound decision.
I have been Fifth wheel camping since 1989. Started with 21', then 28'- 1 slide, and now 33'- 2 slides. I can agree that it is a HARD resell for anything that big. I would disagree that TT's are more popular, I see more 5er's. My opinion FWIW I have found that you will be LIMITED in the choices of campgrounds, I have not been able to camp in some prefered spots cause of the length limit, Lots of USFS grounds in CA are 28'-31' max. I allways thought bigger was better, but I am thinking different now.
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1994 F-350 7.3 IDI Turbo, crew cab,LB, Dually,
ATS Turbo upgrades, 3" DP with 3" exhaust Magnaflow XL muffler
1997 Jayco fifth wheel 323RKS, Robins 16K dual axis hitch
Apillar pod with: Autometer C2 Series gauges: pyro,trans, boost
Hypermax Cowl induction
Flex-A-Lite 26K tranny cooler w/fan
K&N air filter (we'll see in a million miles)
Tekonsha "prodigy" brake control
I'll give John Woods a call and see what he says. This is more of a full time deal for me rather than just an occasional camping trip. Of all the trailers I have looked at, this one actually has the lowest dry weight. I've looked at just about every toyhauler thats worth looking at too. Bottom line tho is that if I'm going to tear my truck up, then it makes no sense to go this route. Buying a new truck is out of the question at this point. The trailer is a 2008 Fleetwood Formula 395.
Assume your sweetheart will load the trailer to the gills. You can help some by emptying the holding tanks before you highway, and by hauling only enough fresh water to get you where you're going - then fill up with fresh water after you get there. But for discussion purposes, assume your wet and loaded trailer will weigh 17,000 pounds.
Your 2005 F-350 SRW longbed PSD has a GVWR of 11,500 and a GCWR of 23,000 pounds.
Your wet and loaded tow vehicle is going to weigh at least 8,000 ppunds, probably 8,500, and lots of them weigh 9,000. So let's say 8,500 until you can get a good scale ticket.
8,500 tow vehicle plus 17k trailer = 25,500 pounds. 2,500 pounds over your GCWR. You will not be a happy camper if you have to cross the Rockies on I-70 or I-90. And I-40 and I-80 will be no picnic. Don't plan on climbing "The Grapevine" in SoCal, or other similar grades. For most other interstate towing, you can probably "make do". If you have to cross the rockies with that rig, that's why God made I-10.
Count on 18 percent hitch weight, or 3,060 pounds. 8,500 tow vehicle plus 3,060 hitch weight is 11,560 pounds. Barely overloaded. I'd want air bags to keep the headlights down to earth when towing at night, but otherwise you'll be in decent shape as far as your GVWR is concerned - provided your tow vehicle weighs only 8,500 pounds before you tie onto the trailer. So for every pound of tools and jacks and fluids and whatever you have in the truck that makes it exceed 8,500 pounds, you'll need to reduce the weight in the trailer by about 5 pounds.
No, you can't have your cake and eat it too.
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My Sierra Blanca is a '99.5 PSD CrewCab hot-rod Towing Machine! BTS tranny; TurboRamAir intake and 4" stainless turbo-back exhaust; DP-Tuner tunes flashed into an Edge Evolution tuner; ISSPRO EV gauges and TTM; AIC. I special-ordered it new and plan to drive it until it quits.
Last edited by SmokeyWren : 07-07-2008 at 08:34 PM.
I stopped at one of the CAT certified scales and got my weight. I was 21750lbs with a full load of diesel, 15 gallons of unleaded for my generator and about 10 gallons on H20 in the tank for the potty. I had 65 psi in my bags and the truck didnt squat at all. I didn't get the weight of the truck by itself because there was a trucker behind me and I figured he had more important things to do than me. I don't even intend on hauling with a full load of 100gl of water and 30 gallons of fuel in the trailer, and I went from Phoenix back to California with a horrible horrible head wind, but nonetheless I was very very satisfied with the performance of my truck. For what it's worth, I did get the endorsement on my license to pull heavy, but more importantly I always try use use my best judgment in every situation. I feel comfortable with the load on that trailer, but thats not to say that the unexpected can come and bite my backside. You know tho, all I could keep thinking is "Dang...thats a big dang trailer" Thanks for your input on this thread folks, it is greatly appreciated.
I have a 31ft Sunnybrook Titan fifth wheel that weighs 10,800 dry and pulled it loaded with a 850 bike on a swivel wheel trailer that I pulled from Louisiana thru Colorada and back on a 4K trip last September. I have a 01 Supercab with air bags auto and 373 gears. I averaged 11.6 on the trip. Even went through Wolfcreek pass,with no problem's. My freind pulled the same load with a crew cab 6.0 with no problems. Just keep you brakes adjusted on you trailer and hit the hill at 2K and drive cautious for the load you have.
Last edited by brotherxb : 07-10-2008 at 01:03 AM.
(No Auto 4x4 Here) Lariat Loaded, Leather, DVD player, Audiophile sound system, Memory seats, power extend mirrors, tow command system, tailgate step, bed extender, Rancho 4" lift 
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