Will a 1/2 Ton PU tow a Elkridge Extreme Lite E285 ?

b4631c

Member
Purchased a Elkridge Extreme Lite E285 in November 2014. It is still on the lot until April. Has anyone pulled an extreme lite with a 1/2 ton pickup? The weight on the door sticker is a shade under #6500. I am planning to pull it with a Silverado 1500 with #9500 rating and a beefed up rear end.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
b4631c, what is the Gross Weight Rating (GWR) of the ER?? Forget the empty weight as it has no bearing if your truck can "SAFELY" tow that trailer."beefed up rear end"??? What do you mean by that. There is no such thing as a beefed up rear end unless someone is going to install a 2500-3500 rear end in the truck. Adding springs does not make the rear end beefed up. Its still a 10" rear end. What engine does the truck have 4.8...5.3...6.0...or 6.2?? What gear ratio and trans. How big are the brakes and rotors. BTW, no mods to the truck will make it "legal" to tow anything over what its rated for on the door weight data sticker.
 

pegmikef

Well-known member
GVWR of that trailer is 10,750 according to the Heartland site and that assumes you are not overloaded. That's 1,250 pounds over the rating for your TV.
 

dghofstee

Loud Mouthed Member
Just my $.02.

I would caution you on towing over your TV rating. In California (i know) the Highway Patrol has a division specifically for commercial vehicle enforcement. Since 99% of the pickup trucks on the road out here are registered as a commercial vehicle, they will stop, weigh and inspect a clearly overloaded RV as well. They wont care that you swapped your rear end, added air bags and a computer chip to eek out a little more HP and torque. They base it on the door sticker. Its a huge fine, not to mention you may get your entire rig impounded. Worse yet, if you get in an accident, your insurance company may not cover you at all, due to the overload.
 

Bohemian

Well-known member
Just my $.02.

I would caution you on towing over your TV rating. In California (i know) the Highway Patrol has a division specifically for commercial vehicle enforcement. Since 99% of the pickup trucks on the road out here are registered as a commercial vehicle, they will stop, weigh and inspect a clearly overloaded RV as well. They wont care that you swapped your rear end, added air bags and a computer chip to eek out a little more HP and torque. They base it on the door sticker. Its a huge fine, not to mention you may get your entire rig impounded. Worse yet, if you get in an accident, your insurance company may not cover you at all, due to the overload.



The really short answer is NO. There are no 5th wheel trailers that can be towed by any 1/2 ton tow truck.


The F150 used to have the capacity to tow the lightest 3 5th wheel trailers if they had no water or fuel in them. Alas, is has been shown that the F150 specs were based on a number of unmentioned factors. like no bumpers or truck bed.
 
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Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Why not get a GM 2500HD D/A truck. This way you wont have to buy a new truck if you move up in trailer size.
 
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