Looking at a 40' 5th wheel, how is the 6.4 going to do?

[mwallin]

Keep good tires at least 50% , Keep Brakes in top shape when in doubt replace,Drive like your not an idiot and you will have no problems.Pull a 39 ft Conastoga 16,700 empty.Truck and trailer 32,000#.No problems no hassels. Ps Keep it under 70 mph no need to destroy a good truck. Common sense is the biggest factor in any situation. I have put about 20-25k towing this way.IMOP if you are gonna tow every day and go coast to coast and can afford it go with a bigger truck.If trips are under 300-400 miles just take it easy and enjoy life.

[SmokeyWren]

Originally Posted by Shinny

Smokey,
Your post about GVWR/GCWR above is the easiest I've ever seen or heard it explained.

Thanx for the flowers, Shinny. It's really quite simple.

1. Weigh the wet and loaded tow vehicle.

2. Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded tow vehicle from the GCWR of the tow vehicle to get the max trailer weight you can tow without being overloaded over the GCWR of the tow vehicle.

3. Subtract the weight of the wet and loaded tow vehicle from the GVWR of the tow vehicle to get the max hitch weight you can have without being overloaded over the GVWR of the tow vehicle.

4. Ford says you should never exceed either the GCWR or the GVWR of the tow vehicle. If you get on a CAT scale with the wet and loaded rig and the scale shows you have exceeded either the GVWR or the GCWR, then you're overloaded.

The GVWR is usually the limiter on an SRW pickup. IOW, you will usually bump up against the GVWR before you get close to the GCWR with a fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer.

Trying to guess the trailer weight usually results in underestimating the weight of the trailer. Best is to use the GVWR of the trailer as the wet and loaded weight. Then use 18 percent of the GVWR of the gooseneck or 5er trailer to determine approximate hitch weight. But realize that using a percent is still a WAG. Actual percentage varies from about 16 percent to over 20 percent. And some gooseneck trailers have a hitch weight of around 24 percent. So the only sure way to tell your wet and loaded weight is to get on the CAT scale and find our for sure.

Example: My '99.5 F-250 PSD has a GVWR of 8,800 pounds and a GCWR of 20,000 pounds. Without the trailer tied on, my wet and loaded tow vehicle weighs around 8,000 pounds. My wet and loaded 5er weighs almost 8,000 pounds (Trailer GVWR is 7,980). So my gross combined weight of an 8,000 pound truck towing an 8,000 pound trailer is 15,960 pounds per the CAT scale. I don't have anywhere near the 20,000 pounds gross combined weight I'm allowed, so I'm nowhere near overloaded, right?

Wrong. The CAT scale shows I'm grossing a bit less than 16,000 pounds, but I have 9,620 pounds on the 4 truck tires plus another 6,340 pounds on the trailer tires. Oops! Overloaded over the GVWR of the tow vehicle, even though I'm grossing only 15,960 pounds.

So for towing a fifth wheel trailer, my limit is the GVWR of the tow vehicle. The GCWR is meaningless because I can't get there with a 5er without exceeding the GVWR of the tow vehicle.

[havasudiesel]

I am in the same situation, I tow a 40' also with no problem. I know I am over loaded and illegal but it does tow fine. I also heard that ford lowers the tow capacity just protect there butt.

[smotrs]

Originally Posted by havasudiesel

I am in the same situation, I tow a 40' also with no problem. I know I am over loaded and illegal but it does tow fine. I also heard that ford lowers the tow capacity just protect there butt.

I don't blame them? Re-read your second sentence.

[davydee]

Well, a little late to this party, but my $0.02 - We just pulled a 38 ft fiver at 17,500 lbs with an F450 from Virginia to West Yellowstone, MT. Your 6.4 will do fine. The truck itself, well Smokey's right. How will your SRW handle winds? I caravan'd out here with a couple in a 38 ft motorhome. They fault the wind all across SD, WY, and MT. DW drove 98% of the time across those states. She noticed the winds once. Her comment: "It drives so, so much better than our old F250 with the 27ft travel trailer. I could (and she did) drive this rig all day." So, not driving in those states? Well, I've seen 18 wheelers flipped by non tornado or trpoical storm winds just south of Quantico, VA on I-95. Ya never, never know! Good luck!! David

[shooters]

I have the 6.4L dually with the 4.10 rear end. Pulls my Raptor 3812TS like a champ. When heading to Mammoth last year, there was one particular steep grade I was a little concerned with, but, wasn't really an issue and it did just fine. I had the 05, 6.0 prior to buying the dually.....That I can honestly say was unsafe. The bed sagged and was sloshy as hell, and if you hit a substantial grade you may as well get out a deck of cards cuz it won't climb any faster than about 3-5 mph. Very happy with the pulling and stability of the new truck.

[Rajun Kajun]

My rig was hard on my 03 dually, 40' toy hauler. The 450 with the 430 rear end was a better match. I cant imagine a srw truck with a rig like this. good luck!

[muntu]

gross vehicle,gross combined,front axle,rear axle and tire ratings....all with maximum limits. now some states will allow you to buy various gross vehicle weights..the more you pay the higher you can go.
now you get stopped by the highway patrol....do they look at your gross vehicle weight rating....uh no....they will check your tire ratings and your axle ratings.they have deemed that if any axle or tire rating is exceeded you are compromising safety ...if your truck has a 8800lb gcwr and you weigh in at 9400lbs and the axle or tire ratings have not been exceeded and you get a citation...i'll pay your fine .if on the other hand your pin weight is such that your C or D rated tires are overloaded [because ..officer i never heard of E rated tires] or your 6100lb rear axle weighs in at 7000lbs i will not pay your fine ....there is a big history of accidents and their causes [mechanical]...common sense dictates...err..but not if you are a CPA.

[jss35lksa]

Originally Posted by havasudiesel

I am in the same situation, I tow a 40' also with no problem. I know I am over loaded and illegal but it does tow fine. I also heard that ford lowers the tow capacity just protect there butt.

I get pains in my gut when I hear that line. Oh it will pull it fine. Just the truck wasn't designed for that load. And stopping it will be an entirely exciting adventure for you, don't even think about stopping it in an emergency. what about the safety of those driving around you?

[mwallin]

Weight police have found this site like RV.net was infiltrated.Fact of the matter use the grey matter between ears no matter how big the truck many people have no buisness pullin a jet ski.Can call Mr Peabody and have him fire up the wayback machine ,rember seeing people pullin 5 horse slants with 1/2 tons.Now we see people pullin 2 horse bumper pulls with 450s.I think people know there limits with in the first mile

[djen223]

i have the 362 fuzion and love it, have towed several thousand miles with it. no problems, the 6.4 is a towing machine.

[Candrew]

I tow my 39" 17.5k fiver with my 08 F450 dually. Wonderful tow machine with absolutely no issues. I towed the same fiver with 06 F350 dually with 6.0 and felt underpowered and unsafe. My GCVW is 28,800 lbs.

[jss35lksa]

Originally Posted by mwallin

Weight police have found this site like RV.net was infiltrated.Fact of the matter use the grey matter between ears no matter how big the truck many people have no buisness pullin a jet ski.Can call Mr Peabody and have him fire up the wayback machine ,rember seeing people pullin 5 horse slants with 1/2 tons.Now we see people pullin 2 horse bumper pulls with 450s.I think people know there limits with in the first mile

now i remember why i stopped visiting this site a long time ago.

i don't consider myself the weight police. simply someone who is concerned about the safety and well being of myself and my family. if i'm towing 17K pounds i sure as heck want to be able to stop 17K pounds. y'all can pull whatever you want with whatever you want. doesn't matter to me.

i have been a member of this site since 1999 albeit under a different screen name (that is an entirely different story). i consider Smokey one of the most knowledgable people i have ever met online. i certainly don't consider him the weight police.

[havasudiesel]

Just to clarify, My 40' gvwr is 16,129lbs. I never max out and last time I weighed it(cat scale) my truck and trailer came in at just over 22,000lbs. I am under the 23,000lbs. can I be over weight? yes! Will the truck pull it? YES! The truck stops fine with that much weight also.

Remember with the proper brake system your trailer should stop itself. I set up the controller to actually pull my truck back slightly when the brake is applied.

[djen223]

I cleared this post as I was incorrect in my comment about gcwr