3950 Cyclone Weight-Wow

PUG

Pug
I recently purchased a new 3950 and have pulled it 3 or 4 thousand miles so far. I pull it with a 3/4 ton chev duramax short box and 265 tires. I recently weighed it and found it weighed more than I thought. With nothing in the garage, 30 gallons of fresh water, nothing in grey or black tanks, a few clothes, some groceries, pots, pans, etc. I weighed 17,000 and had 7400 pounds on the rear axle. The 265 tires (up from 245 factory) 10 ply tires are rated at 6,800 lbs. I am exceeding the tire and axle weights. I pulled some weight out of my toolbox and moved a few things from the storage area to the rear of the garage. I will now only carry 20 gallons of water or so (maybe none). I will be putting about 600 lbs in the garage (motorcycle) to help "lift the front end up". I have installed a Hypertech tuning module and am running it on Module 1 (+76 HP) If I install a pyrometer to meter the turbo heat I can run on Module 2 (+94 hp) or if very careful watching temps on module 3 (+113 hp). Pulling this size of trl you should really think about at least a 1 ton or larger with dual tires on rear.
 

tbsimmons

Member
I agree on the dually. I ahd an 04 F350 SRW that was not stock. Power was fine, but it did not like that much tongue weight in the mountians. The new 450 is great. It holds the weight a lot better and is much more stable.
 

sporlan

Member
I have a 3950 and tow it with a F350 SRW with an Edge Juice with no problems. I carry a RZR , quads and all my stuff. Tows great. Do you guys have much experience with towing other trailers that are not 5th wheels. I do, and the 5th wheel tows great. It is a lot more stable than a regular trailer.
 

fjspinelli

Common Sense Jake
I kind of figured the weight of this thing was a little more than advertised (empty). My DRW Ford is getting some airbags in the not to distant future.
 
Too much weight

I just sold my 05 Raptor 3612 and was looking at new toy haulers. After looking at what felt like 1000 trailers my wife and I found the cyclone 3950 and we both fell in love with it until I read the specs. My wife doesn't understand all the weight' involved and what you can and can not tow but I do. I have a 05 chevy duramax which pulled my Raptor (12,500 lds) with no problem and she thinks that means I can pull anything anywhere. We both love the trailer so much that she almost had me talked into going against my better judgement until I read this forum. You guy's have snapped me back to reality. The post from PUG really made me think about this weight issue. I am pretty sure your 6800 lb rating is per tire so I believe you need to divide your 7400 toung weight by two. Unfortunatley even the 3912 and 3795 all weigh pretty much the same. It looks like I would need to upgrade to a 1 ton if I want to buy any of the cyclone's.
 

Oldlthrneck

Just an Old Jarhead
The 6800 lb rating is for both tires. The 245's are rated at 3042 lbs a piece and the 265's , IIRC are rated at 3412 each. The 245's are stock and squat just a bit when loaded. I will need tires before I leave here, when this project is done, so will be upgrading to the 265's.
Fred
 

PUG

Pug
265s under the 3950 Cyclone

Yes the per tire rating is 3412 which means 6824 lbs on both. My rear axle was at 7400 so by dropping weight off the fifth wheel and putting weight in the rear should help. One problem a person should realize is if you go with dualies like on the one tons then they aren't real dandy in the snow or ice but who wants to pull one of these things when it is slick? I asked Schwab Tire co if I should go to 285s that would put me right at the 7400 lb capacity. They said I would have to jack the truck up for wheel clearance inside the fenders which puts the front U joints at a higher angle aka extra wear. They also said the stock rims on my Chev 02 Duramax 3/4 ton are narrower than what they would recommend to use with the 285s. I then asked two different shop managers at two different Schwab Stores what they would do, stay with 265s or go to 285s and they both said stay with the 265s. Yes duallies are more stable pulling a trl but I don't pull a trailer all the time and I do go to the snow country to snowmachine so I am staying with single tires.
 

slasa

Member
Has anybody taken any real weight readings on these (3950) trailers? Empty and ready for travel. Just wondering how close to the posted brochure weight they really are
 

Driver

Member
I asked Schwab Tire co if I should go to 285s that would put me right at the 7400 lb capacity. They said I would have to jack the truck up for wheel clearance inside the fenders which puts the front U joints at a higher angle aka extra wear. They also said the stock rims on my Chev 02 Duramax 3/4 ton are narrower than what they would recommend to use with the 285s. I then asked two different shop managers at two different Schwab Stores what they would do, stay with 265s or go to 285s and they both said stay with the 265s.


You need to talk to other people other then Schwab Stores. If you look under your truck you will see the U joint does not move when you change tire size the drive axle moves. So, get as far away from this so called tire shop as possible. They have no clue what they are talking about.
If you have doubts about what I am telling you look on the 4x4 web sites. Or this link http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/showthread.php?t=91242
It will give you alot of tire informaton.
 

Country

Well-known member
They said I would have to jack the truck up for wheel clearance inside the fenders which puts the front U joints at a higher angle aka extra wear.
Driver, the tire store was telling him he needed a lift to clear the 285's. So they're spot on with the drive line angle change. You're totally right though if he was just going to add the taller tires, but I guess they won't fit without the suspension lift. How about a body lift though Pug? No drive angle change there.
 

Driver

Member
The only thing he needs to do is one of two things on the front only:

1. Tightening the torsion bars to raise the front end. Draw back makes the front end ride a little rough but, not bad and the cost is cheap - front end aliment

2. Get a cognito kit for the front end. This will leave the torsion bars at basically stock and give a better ride. Cost not to bad but, better way to go.

And as far as the drive angle change, if you look under the truck you will see a drive axle with cv's not u-joints. This is what I was talking about. When you do ether 1. or 2. this does not hurt the truck since they told him it would.

They said I would have to jack the truck up for wheel clearance inside the fenders which puts the front U joints at a higher angle aka extra wear.
 

Country

Well-known member
Why would you only lift the front of the truck and have an unlevel ride??? Common sense would have you lift the rear as well and that would increase the drive shaft angle. Thus increasing wear. (Probably not much though) Not to mention making the camper ride unlevel from the increased TV ride height...
 

Driver

Member
The Chevy trucks ride a little high in the rear and you need to raise the front to make the truck level for the larger tire to fit. That is why Cognito makes a level kit for the front only.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Country and Driver, if you would let me interject something here. In my experience with Chevy trucks (45 years a GM tech) raising of the vehicle by installing taller tires DOES NOT change the drive shaft angle nor does raising the front of the truck. At our dealer we have lots of 3/4 tn trucks running 285's and 1 tn SRW trucks come standard with 265's. In all the ones with 285's I have not seen a clearance problem front or rear. A 285 tire is about maybe an 1" taller than a 245. So split that in 1/2 and that would be the total height difference. Also remember the front end, the frame, drive shaft and differental of a 3/4 and 1 tn truck is exactly the same. The only thing that is different is 2 extra wheels and tires, 1 leaf spring, 1/4 fenders and the frame is about 18" longer, Thats all. So go measure a 265 height and width and a 285 so you can see the difference. BTW, I dont remember what year your truck is, but you ALWAYS have to recalibrate the ECM, TCM, and ECBM modules to the new tire size. Just thought I would pass this information on. Good luck Bob:D:D:eek:
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Driver and PUG, I did some research yesterday for you at work. I talked to our front end tech about your question. He suggested to install the 285's and make sure you do not have a rubbing problem on tight turns with the front end. You might have to raise the front end and the cognito upgrade is cheap and works better the just turning up the torsion bars. Let me stress that the other suggestions were good but maybe not really needed. You might know someone that has that tire already mounted that you could install on the front and check the clearances. I also am not sure about a rougher ride just by raising the front of the truck but the 285's will run at a higher air pressure that can cause a stiffer ride. Just for tire size information, the biggest tire size that the truck computor will accept is a 33". As you know by going to a bigger tire your rear end ratio is now higher and a bigger tire affects braking. If you need any more informatiom just PM me and I will find out the answer. Bob:D
 

gpshemi

Well-known member
I posted in another thread, but I'm wonder what that genset weighs. Might be able to remove it and save the pin weight. Not sure. We never dry camp.
 

Rockerga

Full-time WANNABE
Driver and PUG, I did some research yesterday for you at work. I talked to our front end tech about your question. He suggested to install the 285's and make sure you do not have a rubbing problem on tight turns with the front end. You might have to raise the front end and the cognito upgrade is cheap and works better the just turning up the torsion bars. Let me stress that the other suggestions were good but maybe not really needed. You might know someone that has that tire already mounted that you could install on the front and check the clearances. I also am not sure about a rougher ride just by raising the front of the truck but the 285's will run at a higher air pressure that can cause a stiffer ride. Just for tire size information, the biggest tire size that the truck computor will accept is a 33". As you know by going to a bigger tire your rear end ratio is now higher and a bigger tire affects braking. If you need any more informatiom just PM me and I will find out the answer. Bob:D

Bob,

So if I have an 08 Duramax/Allison 2500HD and I need more haul capacity (PIN) I can upgrade my tires and be within parameters? Does that "Legally" and effectively "actually" raise my trucks GVWR?

GVWR: A 3500 is 11,400# and my 2500 is 9200# so by upgrading to the proper tires (Among those other things you discussed) I can just put some money into my 2500 versus having to buy a 3500?

Your input and assistance is greatly appreciated!
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
It is very hard to upgrade your GVWR. The sticker the factory puts on it is pretty much what your stuck with. I think you would be better off putting your money into a bigger truck. Remember part whats goes into the GVWR is the springs, frame, brakes, axle, etc.
 
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