Towing 5th wheel w/ half ton
- Thread starter Benicia
- Start date
jimtoo
Moderator
Hi Benicia,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.
I have seen some half tons towing some 5th wheels, but I cannot give you an opinion because I never did it. I would think that as long as you stay with in your rated limits you would be fine.
I'm sure some others will jump in and give their opinions also, so in the mean time enjoy the forum. Pick out a Heartland and make some memories.
Jim M
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of people here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge if needed.
I have seen some half tons towing some 5th wheels, but I cannot give you an opinion because I never did it. I would think that as long as you stay with in your rated limits you would be fine.
I'm sure some others will jump in and give their opinions also, so in the mean time enjoy the forum. Pick out a Heartland and make some memories.
Jim M
Our "FAMILY" is a family of TT's & 5ers. Recently, Toyota and Nissan have made some rather aggresive claims as far as towing capabilities are concerned. Consequentilally GMC (& others) has matched their claims. Some of the younger members of our clan are convinced the 1/2 ton models can do it... The more conservative and more experienced (i.e. grey haired old farts) are not so convinced... I would only tow a medium weight 5th. wheel with a 3/4 ton truck. I would only tow a "heavy" (i.e. Big Rig) with a 1 ton truck... Remember, you'll get away with cheating right up to the accident, just before the lawyer starts asking all those silly questions... JMO. Tom
Therein lies the problem with half ton trucks, and even 3/4 ton trucks and 5th wheels. I have seen half ton trucks towing 5th wheels and stay away. It is almost impossible to tow a modern 5th wheel RV with any half ton and stay under the trucks' rear axle rating and GVWR. There are exceptions, but generally do not attempt.
Example: half ton truck with 1500 pounds of payload. Some have more, some have less.
Half ton towable 5th wheel RV, 7500 pounds dry.
You needx at least a 150 pound hitch in the bed, so payload is down to 1350 pounds. Auto sliders for short bed trucks are up to 250 pounds.
You, wife, kids, 400 pounds in the truck. Down to 950 pounds of payload available for the trailer pin weight.
5th wheels tow best with 15%-25% pin weight. But the exact placement of the axles will determine that with most in the 20-25% range. So that 7500 pound dry 5er will swell to 8500 pounds with options and camping supplies. Even if you found one with a minimum 15% pin weight and you loaded nothing in the basement storage (isn't that one of the best features of a 5er?) and nothing in the bedroom over the pin, that is 1275 pounds, already 325 pounds over the truck's GVWR. But most people pack front heavy on any RV because that is where the larger storage areas are. So 8500 pounds loaded, 20
% pin weight, that's 1700 pounds, plus the light hitch and people and now you need more like 2250 pounds of payload to pull one of the ultralite half ton towable 5ers.
Now you can imagine how a 3/4 ton truck gets quickly overloaded with it's mere 2500-3000 pounds of payload. A modest 10k pound 5er, 2000 pounds on the pin, a family of 4, the hitch, and you're at the GVWR, despite having 700+lb-ft of torque to move it.
Now there are some half tons that have had up to 3k pounds of payload over the last 10 years. No 2010 models, though. If you want a crew cab half ton, think 1900 pounds tops, and that is the 2010 F-150 with Max Tow Package. As mentioned, not all are equal. There exist some half ton pickups with door stickers showing payload less than 800 pounds, which is lower than my little Jeep and my minivan.
I highly recommend a 1-ton with at least 4500 pounds of payload for people considering 5ers. 3/4 ton is good for the largest TTs. The little half tons (I have one and plan to get another) should carefully choose their lightweight TT.
Nabo
Southeast Region Director-Retired
We pulled a 24' 5th wheel (about 7500 lbs) with an 04 1/2 truck for about 4 months and threw in the towel and traded for a 3/4 diesel. It was just too light of a truck for the rig plus the transmission, even in tow haul, keep trying to down shift all the time. I wouldn't try it ever again.
Hello Benicia,
You can take a look at thread: //heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...eel-with-1-2-ton-Silverado-Z71-with-410-gears for details on weights etc...
It really depends of the type of 1/2 tons you are talking about. I pull a North Trail 28BH with a GMC 1/2 ton, 5.3l and 3.73 rear axle ratio. I am satisfied with it, never had any issues and it pulls fine.
I already had the brand new 1/2 ton and didnt want to change it right away. If i was to buy a new truck there is no doubt i would go with a 3/4 tons.
I also have the shorth box and i never had to use my slider hitch yet because of the cap design.
I have installed Firestone Airbags and changed the rear tire and usually tow at ~100km/h.
I regularly travel ~750miles with this setup and never had any issues.
S.
You can take a look at thread: //heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...eel-with-1-2-ton-Silverado-Z71-with-410-gears for details on weights etc...
It really depends of the type of 1/2 tons you are talking about. I pull a North Trail 28BH with a GMC 1/2 ton, 5.3l and 3.73 rear axle ratio. I am satisfied with it, never had any issues and it pulls fine.
I already had the brand new 1/2 ton and didnt want to change it right away. If i was to buy a new truck there is no doubt i would go with a 3/4 tons.
I also have the shorth box and i never had to use my slider hitch yet because of the cap design.
I have installed Firestone Airbags and changed the rear tire and usually tow at ~100km/h.
I regularly travel ~750miles with this setup and never had any issues.
S.
applaud!
branson4020
Icantre Member
Just like an F-150 towing 11,300 pounds, a 3/4 ton towing 16k pound 5er is practically impossible, well to stay under the trucks's GVWR and probably rear GAWR. 16k pounds, 20%, 3200 pounds in the bed, plus the 150 pounds hitch at least one driver. One Ton minimum.
I have an F-150 w/ max tow package and a Sundance XLT. While this is a half-ton pullable trailer, this is about the only half ton that will do it. Even with that, we have to be judicious with what goes in the basement. I am thouroghly satisfied with the performance and towing, but we need to be careful with how much is over the rear axle like has been mentioned. This setup works for us with how little we actually tow and how we use the 5ver, but I will also be the first to admit that it will be an unuseable combination for many do ONLY to the RAWR. All of the other specs are well within range.
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