2012 F-350 CC 4X4 6.7L V8 TD SRW 3.55 axle...which Heartland Products are in play?

[Bucksmoke]

All,

Hello. I've been eyeing Heartland RV products for over 5 years, but am soon (within the next year) to get serious about a purchase. I purchased my 2012 F-350 CC 4X4 6.7L V8 TD SRW several years ago with the intent of multi-use and not wanting to run a dually, so I fully realize the limitations involved with my decision (hey, I love this truck - just want to marry it with a reasonable Heartland partner). My question for you experienced 5ers is what are the Heartland lines realistically in play for me, to maintain safety with this particular TV? I realize that though the Ford towing guide indicates a 3.55 axle ratio for my F-350 allowing for maximum trailer loads of 15,700 for 5th wheel towing and a GCWR of 23,500 lbs, these numbers can be extremely deceptive/overstated when factoring actual pin weights against my TV. My GVWR is 11,500, and my T&L sticker indicates combined passenger/cargo weight tolerance of 3,184 lbs. I haven't weighed the pickup with full fuel/pax yet, but have seen others with similar equipped F-350 report in the neighbor of 8,500lbs. Pin weight will obviously eat up a lot of the pax/cargo capacity.

Just trying to adjust my expectations accordingly. In particular, I have my eyes on the Elkridge and Sundance product lines. Any suggestions/advice is welcome. I'll keep reading threads while I await any comments that might be out there. Thank you for your time!

-Mike

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Bucksmoke,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I'm sure you will get lots of suggestions and advice from our other members, so hang in there.

Enjoy the forum and hope to see you in a Heartland unit on the road.

Jim M

 

[lwmcguire]

We tow an Augusta with absolutely no issues through the mountains and across the plains. We did order the GVW pkg and 20 inch tires/wheels to handle the pin weight.

 

[Bucksmoke]

We tow an Augusta with absolutely no issues through the mountains and across the plains. We did order the GVW pkg and 20 inch tires/wheels to handle the pin weight.

Ah, thanks. I have the camper package and 5th wheel package, but the original stock LT275/70R18E OWL AT tires. Basically timing my purchase to coincide with paying off my pickup, at which time I imagine I'll be due for a wheel/tire upgrade. Thanks for your input!

 

[justafordguy]

Your F350 will safely pull any Heartland 5er but to stay within the manufacturers ratings (if that's important to you) you will want to stay with a max 5er GVWR of 15.5k. Our Gateway 3650BH has a 15.5k GVWR, 2020 lbs pin, and 41' length. I've towed it many times with my old F250 and was under all Mfg ratings (except 15 lbs over truck gvwr of 10K lbs) and it towed like a dream.

 

[Bucksmoke]

Your F350 will safely pull any Heartland 5er but to stay within the manufacturers ratings (if that's important to you) you will want to stay with a max 5er GVWR of 15.5k. Our Gateway 3650BH has a 15.5k GVWR, 2020 lbs pin, and 41' length. I've towed it many times with my old F250 and was under all Mfg ratings (except 15 lbs over truck gvwr of 10K lbs) and it towed like a dream.

Excellent - thank you for the feedback. All input helps. Thanks!

 

[crors7]

I have a 16' 6.7 ccsb 4×4 3.55 and a 17' Torque 325, pulls great ,stops great even at 22,700 combined. I have air bags and on board compresser to keep things level. It does great in the mountains, no problems going up and the engine brake keeps everything in check on the way down.

 

[MTPockets]

You really need to know the pin weight after fully loaded; probably not doable if you're still looking, but I would suggest taking the GVWR of the trailer times 25%. Our Big Horn is 14,000 lbs GVWR, but our pin weight is 3400 lbs fully loaded for full time travel.. We have the 5500 Onan generator, and everything else that adds to the pin is in the basement storage, closet, and under the bed storage... Stuff adds up. We were surprised first time we weighed, but it is what it is. Ours is 24% of GVWR. You also add to your payload passengers, fuel, any other tools, cargo you may have in the truck.

 

[Tundra2084]

We towed a 2012 Sundance 3200re with the exact truck you have (see our signature ) and never had a problem with this setup. We added airbags for Comfort not to jack up the weight capacity which realistically can't be done. Our Sundance was 34 feet long with 3 slides and our weight was 12,800 ready to roll and a pin of just over 2000lbs. We carried water but not in the tanks, bottled water in cases, and empty tanks when possible.
We are now owners of SOB and its GVWR is 15,910lbs and it's 40 feet long with 3 large slides BUT it's a rear kitchen which helps keep the pin weight down. . We weighed it (trailer ready for a week of camping) and we were at 11,500lbs and had a pin weight of 2040lbs total rv weight was 13,540lbs. We have learned over the years that putting the heavy things in the back of the trailer keeps the pin weight lower and our GVWR of the truck right at the sticker limits. We are under our RAWR by 720lbs and under our FAWR by 440lbs. We are 60lbs under our GVWR. Our tires are are rated for 3490 and are 18 inch upgraded from the factory 17 inch. So you could realistically pull a Sundance or even a bighorn as long as your careful where you load things and pack accordingly.

 

[Geodude]

We have that truck in a 2011, pulling a Bighorn 3585. We've had the whole shootin' match on the scales and we're under all our numbers except for one - we're over the truck GVWR by 300 lbs. To the truck I've added airbags, lower overload spring bump stops and Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks.

We have 18,000 kms on the Bighorn and the truck and trailer tow very well.

 

[codycarver]

Welcome! You are likely to get a lot of the same advice here that you will at your local RV sales lot (you can pull anything we have on this lot). If you are interested in learning what you can safely tow check out 5th Wheel st. It is a site set up by David Gray. A Heartland owner who after buying a toy hauler learned the hard (and expensive) way that free advise is worth the cost charged. Best of luck in your search.

 

[rhodies1]

All,

Hello. I've been eyeing Heartland RV products for over 5 years, but am soon (within the next year) to get serious about a purchase. I purchased my 2012 F-350 CC 4X4 6.7L V8 TD SRW several years ago with the intent of multi-use and not wanting to run a dually, so I fully realize the limitations involved with my decision (hey, I love this truck - just want to marry it with a reasonable Heartland partner). My question for you experienced 5ers is what are the Heartland lines realistically in play for me, to maintain safety with this particular TV? I realize that though the Ford towing guide indicates a 3.55 axle ratio for my F-350 allowing for maximum trailer loads of 15,700 for 5th wheel towing and a GCWR of 23,500 lbs, these numbers can be extremely deceptive/overstated when factoring actual pin weights against my TV. My GVWR is 11,500, and my T&L sticker indicates combined passenger/cargo weight tolerance of 3,184 lbs. I haven't weighed the pickup with full fuel/pax yet, but have seen others with similar equipped F-350 report in the neighbor of 8,500lbs. Pin weight will obviously eat up a lot of the pax/cargo capacity.

Just trying to adjust my expectations accordingly. In particular, I have my eyes on the Elkridge and Sundance product lines. Any suggestions/advice is welcome. I'll keep reading threads while I await any comments that might be out there. Thank you for your time!

-Mike

I have the same truck and specs,same. Year and I tow a 2012 Bighorn 3455 model and have NO issues, it tows great and I'm getting between 12 and 13 mpg .My tongue weight is 2480 dry and truck hardly squats.Most Bighorns shouldn't be an issue,the front bath unit might put you at your limit but most are ok.

 

[TravelTiger]

Welcome! You are likely to get a lot of the same advice here that you will at your local RV sales lot (you can pull anything we have on this lot). If you are interested in learning what you can safely tow check out 5th Wheel st. It is a site set up by David Gray. A Heartland owner who after buying a toy hauler learned the hard (and expensive) way that free advise is worth the cost charged. Best of luck in your search.

Public opinion is nice but you really gotta do the math. If 100 people said they jump off a cliff -- no problem, does that make it safe for you?

Visit www.fifthwheelst.com and understand the math of towing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gasman]

Mike, we have the same truck in a 2011. We tow a 2015 Big Country 3150RL. I weighed it(properly) while on the road and we are a little under every where except the truck rear axle. I am about 250# over on that. My wife says I could toss out 500# of junk and never miss it. Just not sure which pair of her shoes to start with!

 

[JohnD]

Check out the Heartland Prowler 5th-wheel line . . .

Most of the floor plans are the same as the Elkridge and Sundance models, but are lighter weight.

We already had our new truck and when we decided to upgrade our bumper pull TT, we saw an Elkridge 5th-wheel and decided that was the one we wanted.

But it was too heavy for our truck . . .

Then we ran across the Sundance with the same floor plan . . . still too heavy!

Just as we were about to just keep our 2 1/2 year old Heartland Trail Runner, I stumbled upon the Prowler page at the Heartland website, and low and behold . . . there it was . . . the Prowler P292!

Same floor plan as the other two and it was well within the spec of our truck!

And after an internet search, we found the only two Prowler P292's west of the Mississippi at a dealership only 40 miles from our house.

One of those two 2015 Heartland Prowler P292's is parked next to our garage as I type this.

 

[Bucksmoke]

Appreciate all the input. Everything being said is meshing well with what I'm coming to to understand. Anybody know what the advertised Heartland pin ("hitch") weights are derived from, exactly? They seem to be based on the basic unit's dry weight, and I assume the swings in advertised hitch/pin weights that people experience are due to options added onto the base unit, along with whatever cargo weight (liquid and dry) is thrown in and especially where the weight is ultimately distributed. This would explain why different models with similar GVWRs often have different hitch weights (different configurations/layouts shift the weights around).

I'm glad there are others in similar circumstances willing to share their experiences, so I can make a better informed decision - thank you all.

 

[danemayer]

Appreciate all the input. Everything being said is meshing well with what I'm coming to to understand. Anybody know what the advertised Heartland pin ("hitch") weights are derived from, exactly? They seem to be based on the basic unit's dry weight, and I assume the swings in advertised hitch/pin weights that people experience are due to options added onto the base unit, along with whatever cargo weight (liquid and dry) is thrown in and especially where the weight is ultimately distributed. This would explain why different models with similar GVWRs often have different hitch weights (different configurations/layouts shift the weights around).

I'm glad there are others in similar circumstances willing to share their experiences, so I can make a better informed decision - thank you all.

Since none of us work in Heartland engineering or manufacturing, all we can do is provide educated guesses as to exactly how the numbers are derived.

A better way to approach this might be to use the trailer GVWR and plan for a pin weight that's 20% of the GVWR. When you're loaded for travel, it may turn out to be a bit less or a bit more.

A trailer with GVWR of 16,000 lbs will likely consume your 3,184 lbs of payload, leaving you overweight when you add passengers, pets, hitch, bed liner, bed cover, wood, tools and other things to the truck.

Will the truck pull the trailer? Based on experience from many people, there's no doubt it will.

Will there be excess wear on the truck? Maybe.

Will the truck be able to control your speed if you're coming down a long, steep mountain descent? Possibly.

Will it be safe in crosswinds or other bad weather conditions? Hard to say.

You can decide based on the specifications, or you can collect anecdotal information on what others have done. If you go with the anecdotal, don't assume that "I've never had a problem" includes all the driving situations you may face.

 

[avvidclif]

Very good and logical response Dan, about the best I've seen.

 

[Gaffer]

Check the sticker on the door of your truck. See what the rear axle rating is. Weigh your truck with full fuel, passengers and stuff you might carry in the bed. Add the weight of a hitch if you don't have one already. Add 3,000 pounds for loaded hitch weight. If the loaded truck rear axle weight added to 3000 pounds pin weight exceeds the sticker, you may want to look at the lighter 5ers.

 

[Carleen]

I imagine you are okay with the majority of Hearland products out there- I have a 2011 F-350 Crew Cab 6.7L SRW with Camper Package and same axle ratio. GVWR is 11,500 lbs, but weighed in at 8,500 on scale loaded with fuel and family. I tow a Big Horn 3585RL that is just under 40' with no issues. GVWR on fifth wheel is 16K, but I am sure we are much closer to 15K loaded (close to the 23,500 GCWR). We don't have a generator, but do have a washer combo in the nose of the trailer. We just did a trip out to Nebraska and the truck did great. I haven't gone over any passes, but am confident it will perform like it should. I don't plan on hauling any water in the tanks- it's too hard on the tank and takes up too much weight. We always fill when we get there and dump before we leave for that reason.

Good luck!