Looking for input on my potential truck/5th wheel combo. A little background first. I have had trailers, but this would be my first 5th wheel. As I am opening this up to the weight police, I am looking for honest opinions and I donโt want to make a costly mistake. With that said, my opinion (as an automotive engineer) is that Iโm a rule follower (regarding GVWR, etc) but I have no problem being close to the limit as I know there is a significant safety factor already built into those numbers. With that said โ here is what I am looking at:
Tow vehicle
2023/4 Ford F250 4x4 7.3l gas short bed well optioned (maybe King Ranch)
From what I have found on the internet
Rear GAWR 6,340
Front GAWR 5,600
Tow Capacity 16,500
Payload 3,923
GVWR 10,500
Curb Weight 6,480 โ 6550 (I see different amounts depending on what site I go to)
So โ my math says 10,500 GVWR โ 7100 Truck (added 550lbs for people/etc) โ 200lbs for hitch (may need a slider) leaves 3,200 for pin weight. Assuming a 22% pin weight puts me at 14,500lb max 5th wheel.
Iโm looking at a Cougar 290RLS
Dry Wt 10,124 lbs
Hitch 1,805
GVWR 12,200
Length 33โ8โ
I know many will say just get the F350, but the truck will be used 95% as a daily driver and 5% towing. Seems like I have a reasonable margin. ~4,000 lbs on tow capacity, ~500 lbs cargo capacity/GVWR assuming trailer is loaded to GVWR.
Does anyone see flaws in my logic before a spend a small fortune on these toys? Is the Curb weight of 6,550 for a short wb 4x4 7.3l crew seem right? I looked up all the specs for this particular truck and it seems consistent in that range, but comments on other posts look like the truck weight could be more. Also โ any comments on the Cougar 290RLS?
