question about hitch weights

I presently have 2500 D/A GMC towing a 26E31DS Glendale Titanium. It is starting to get old and I have been looking at the Bighorns for some time. Hopefully there will be more Bighorn Ti floorplans soon. My observation is this. While constantly reading and following forums on this and most other rv sites two items seem to be very prevalent. One is about the height of the overpasses we encounter and the other even more popular is the pro's and con's of hitch weights i.e. overweight or not.
It is my understanding that most trucks do not have any issues with the GCVW however all that changes when you factor in the Hitch Weight.
1) is there any reason why an RV manufacturer cannot make the hitch weights to be in the 1500# range not in the 2000#+ range as most Big Horns are, which forces us to look at a larger truck if we want to stay within our GVW range.
2) why must the height be 12' 11" causing us constant overpass concern. Would it make sense to have a height of 12'7" - 12'9" and save drivers a lot of overpass grief.
I do realize those features are available in the lower end 5ers but I feel there are a lot of us that have reach a point in our lives where we want the luxury and quality. Just some items for discussion in the "cold" pre camping season.food for thought.

1) The pin weight for 5th wheel needs to be at least 18 - 20% of the total weight for towing stability.

2) There are high-end mid-profile 5th wheels out there. Heartland might even make one :angel:

I just looked at the Landmark and the Sundance. The Sundance is listed as a mid profile, and it is 13' 2" while the Landmark is 12'11". Interesting.

kb0zke said:

I just looked at the Landmark and the Sundance. The Sundance is listed as a mid profile, and it is 13' 2" while the Landmark is 12'11". Interesting.

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Very Interesting........where did you find that info?
I raised my Sundance up 3 1/2" and it's 12' 1" tall.

kb0zke said:

I just looked at the Landmark and the Sundance. The Sundance is listed as a mid profile, and it is 13' 2" while the Landmark is 12'11". Interesting.

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I saw one Sundance floorplan with 13'2" as the listed height. Most models are under 12' 7"

branson4020 said:

1) The pin weight for 5th wheel needs to be at least 18 - 20% of the total weight for towing stability.

2) There are high-end mid-profile 5th wheels out there. Heartland might even make one :angel:

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is the 18 -20% an actual engineering design spec or is it just what we have been told ie if you look at the specs for the 3410RE the dry hitch weight is apprx 15.5% while some other units such as the 3410RL are as high as 21%. This would cause me to think there may be room for creative designing and layouts

obviously the Bighorn is not in the same luxury class as the Landmark, however it does come with considerable more features than say the Sundance and all the specs that I see on the website is that virtually all Bighorns are 12'11"

westxsrt10 said:

Very Interesting........where did you find that info?
I raised my Sundance up 3 1/2" and it's 12' 1" tall.

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http://heartlandrvs.com/index.php?p=35&c=midprofile&sc=SD&i=SD+2900BL&view=floorplans&fcmd=showfplan

One thing to remember is the advertised pin weight is with the unit empty, my 3055 Bighorn pin weight is 3100 lbs and I think the advertised weight was less than 2000 lbs.. and I do not have much extra gear loaded. The other thing is I'm not sure where you are traveling and maybe some big rig drivers can comment but I believe the overpasses are normally 14'6" which is what I thought was the truck normal height regulations but I am just the son of a trucker and may have it wrong. What I can say is I have the Bighorn with 12'6" and have never had a problem even on smaller road tunnels. There are of course some roads with less than 12' clearance but it has been very easy to avoid these.

13'6" is max legal for trucks in most states. A few western states allow 14'6".

A 12'11" camper is 7" shorter than the average semi pulling a van or reefer.

Avoidance of problem areas starts with careful trip planning and continues with reading and heeding the signs posted on the side of the highway as well as every overpass. There are plenty of resources out there to plan for low clearance locations along a planned route.

If you have encountered low clearances or are just concerned load the www.lowclearances.com POI onto your GPS. On Garmin you can set the distance from which the warning will appear. That should resolve the concern.

I will say in 30 years of rving we have never had a problem but we don't travel many of the minor roads with our rv attached.

Your over pass concerns are not as concerning as you make it out to be. All over passes on all interstates are 14'+. Dot requires this as any rig over 13'6" is required by law to have a over sized permit and must have a route planned out and can not deviate from it. My Landmark is at 13'3", while on the interstate and 99% of the highways, I don't concern myself with it. If you get on the back roads and into some city internal streets, yes you have a major concern! Use a GPS and have the Low clearance POI's loaded on it and go enjoy the RV lifestyle.

The style of the fifth wheel and goose neck trailers allow more of the trailer weight to be placed on the tow vehicle for safer loading, maneuverability, and handling. Not to mention the head room in the bedroom area.

If the height and weight of the fifth wheel are something that is going to cause that much concern and not allow you to enjoy the advantages, you might consider getting a upper end TT.