Seeking advice on towing vehicle

[upmm019]

Seeking advice on a towing vehicle for a 5th wheel camper.

I am looking at a 2019 Heartland Road Warrior 413RW

I've only ever owned a small travel trailer that was 21' so my SUV was able to tow.

As given, with the fifth wheel I need to upgrade to a pickup but I am not well versed in pickups.

I would have to buy used and not sure what size I should look for or if I should look for it to be gas or diesel, etc.

Thx.

[Cummins12V98]

rhagfo wrote:

upmm019 wrote:
I don't know much about trucks but I found today a trailer and truck package for sale in my area:

2012 Ram 3500 4x4 dually diesel crew cab 8ft bed B&W hitch, 102k miles

with

2014 Evergreen Tesla 3950 43 1/2 ft toyhauler

Asking $58k for the package.

2012 Ram 3500 DRW only had a GVWR of 12,300# if it was a 2013 the GVWR would be 14,000#.

My 11 HO DRW was also 12,300 GVWR. I’m sure I was well over that with a 4,500# pin weight. Licensed it for 14k. Truck handled the weight with zero issues. Combined was 29k.

[ford_truck_guy]

FORD has a fifth wheel rating up to 22,800 on the F350 SRW depending on equipment..

that rating above is a 6.7 - 3.55 - 4x2 142" WB 8' Box - Supercab - - 22,800(4)/19,200(3,4)


BUT... there is an ** next to that... the rating is maxed at 18,000 if using the Optional Ford offered hitch, which is rated at 18k

1-18" All-Season Tires. 2-18" and 20" All-Terrain Tires. 3-Optional 10,000-lb. GVWR Package (68D). 4-Gooseneck tow rating shown. 5th-wheel tow rating limited to 5th-wheel hitch rating of 18,000 lbs. 5-17" Tires. 6-Tremor Off-Road Package (17Y). 7-Optional 11,400-lb. GVWR Package (68L).

2020 FORD TOW GUIDE


*** AND *** You can forget that high number, in reality you never get close due to the RAWR and the Tires....

Notes: • Calculated with SAE J2807® method.
• Trailer tongue (trailer king pin for 5th-wheel towing) load weight should be 10% (15% for 5th-wheel towing) of total loaded
trailer weight. Make sure vehicle payload (reduce by option weight) will accommodate trailer tongue (trailer king pin for 5th-wheel towing) load weight and weight of passengers and cargo added to towing vehicle. Addition of trailer tongue (trailer king pin for 5th-wheel towing) load weight and weight of passengers and cargo must not cause vehicle weights to exceed rear GAWR or GVWR. These ratings can be found on the vehicle Safety Compliance Certification Label.

[justme]

neal10a wrote:
Ford must build one hell of a strong truck. A 2015 F250 with airbags pulled into our campground pulling 20k GVW Designer Suites. The owner claims it pulls well and has pulled that trailer for thousands of miles with no problem and never felt unsafe. I don't condone that combination, but it does show that newer trucks are robust pullers.

Wow that trailer far exceeds the factory carrying capacity and combined weight capacity. The add-on airbags make it near equivalent to an F350 SRW. and that still exceeds the factory specs for an F350 SRW. However the 2020 F350 would be better, but Ford claims not to exceed 18K GVW for a 5th wheel for some reason-- probably because the factory supplied hitch is 18K rated. Saying all that Ford is the king of the hill for 2020 trucks..

[neal10a]

Ford must build one hell of a strong truck. A 2015 F250 with airbags pulled into our campground pulling 20k GVW Designer Suites. The owner claims it pulls well and has pulled that trailer for thousands of miles with no problem and never felt unsafe. I don't condone that combination, but it does show that newer trucks are robust pullers.

[rhagfo]

upmm019 wrote:
I don't know much about trucks but I found today a trailer and truck package for sale in my area:

2012 Ram 3500 4x4 dually diesel crew cab 8ft bed B&W hitch, 102k miles

with

2014 Evergreen Tesla 3950 43 1/2 ft toyhauler

Asking $58k for the package.

2012 Ram 3500 DRW only had a GVWR of 12,300# if it was a 2013 the GVWR would be 14,000#.

[upmm019]

I don't know much about trucks but I found today a trailer and truck package for sale in my area:

2012 Ram 3500 4x4 dually diesel crew cab 8ft bed B&W hitch, 102k miles

with

2014 Evergreen Tesla 3950 43 1/2 ft toyhauler

Asking $58k for the package.

[ferndaleflyer]

You never have "to much truck". That being said the dually will have 50% more tire on the ground just for starters. Don't matter how much go power you have if you can't get it stopped.

[laknox]

upmm019 wrote:
Seeking advice on a towing vehicle for a 5th wheel camper.

I am looking at a 2019 Heartland Road Warrior 413RW

I've only ever owned a small travel trailer that was 21' so my SUV was able to tow.

As given, with the fifth wheel I need to upgrade to a pickup but I am not well versed in pickups.

I would have to buy used and not sure what size I should look for or if I should look for it to be gas or diesel, etc.

Thx.

20,000 GVW is =solidly= in dually territory, and no more than 5-6 years old. Diesel by preference, though a gasser would work in more flat country.

Lyle

[justme]

The truck ratings are important and should be adheard for, but the trailer suspension is probably more of a concern. Most trailer mfg's put minimal suspension .

[Cummins12V98]

ford truck guy wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"These new generation SRW's are beasts.... 5'er tow rating of 21k..."

Is that a fifth wheel rating? If so one must understand that would be a triple axle unit with 15% pin weight no doubt.

That is the fifth wheel tow rating..... and agreed

Thanks!

[valhalla360]

upmm019 wrote:
Thanks for sharing the details... We are not head set any given RV.

We are empty nesters with two dogs and are exploring our options if we go the RV route vs. finding a cabin somewhere, etc.

We would like to find something that has a space for hauling a Dirt bike or Four wheeler and doubles as a space for dogs if needed.

We've often considered a toyhauler but the problem is to get a descent size living area and a garage, you wind up with a monster rig. So far, it simply hasn't been worth the hassle.

Our 29ft 5er has a living area as big as our friends Road Warrior but tops out at 12,000lb GVWR. But we can easily stay within ratings using a 3/4ton truck.

Another option to consider if just a dirt bike or 4 wheeler, get a bumper pull and putting the toy in the pickup bed. Bumper pull trailers only have 12-15% hitch weight and without needing a dedicated garage, you can drop down to a 28-32ft trailer. Now 3/4ton trucks become viable options (still checking the ratings but a 200lb dirt bike isn't the same kind of deal killer that a 4000lb hitch weight is)

[valhalla360]

ford truck guy wrote:

These new generation SRW's are beasts.... 5'er tow rating of 21k... payload of 4500#... but still have to worry about the rear axle capacity, and tires..

Couple, 2 dogs and the hitch likely will eat up more than 500lb of payload if you take nothing else in the truck.

20% of 20,000 is 4000lb.

This is really a rig that calls for a dually.

[ford_truck_guy]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"These new generation SRW's are beasts.... 5'er tow rating of 21k..."

Is that a fifth wheel rating? If so one must understand that would be a triple axle unit with 15% pin weight no doubt.

That is the fifth wheel tow rating..... and agreed

[Lwiddis]

Twenty thousand pounds of RV absolutely needs a one ton DRW, and at 43 feet you aren't going down any dirt roads that you haven't scouted before. Why the big change?