A question about our 2010 Cyclone model 3010

OldNewbie

Member
Hi, my wife and I recently purchased a 2010 Cyclone model 3010. Last Friday evening I took my truck with the hitch in it and had it weighed at our local truck scales and it came in a 8,020 lbs. Saturday morning we towed the trailer there and weighed the whole rig which had not much in it except the needed trailer accessories and about 10 gallons of gas in the fuel cell. The total weight was 20,940 lbs so with the truck weight subtracted it gives me a trailer weight of 12,920 lbs. That subtracted from the GVWR of 14,000 lbs that gives only 1,080 lbs of payload capacity. Which means I can't can't carry anything in the trailer other then basically a full tank of water. Am I missing something here or what can anyone help me out here? I would greatly appreciate it because this is very worrisome to me?
 

Ladiver

Well-known member
I am surprised you only have GVWR of 14K. I have a 3100 and it has a 15.5K GVWR. But you are correct, there is very little payload capacity once you have the necessities. I think they should have had 8K axles. That could have given another 2K of potential payload.
 
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OldNewbie

Member
Yeah me too it is very puzzling to know you can't put anything in your trailer and not be over the weight limit.
 
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porthole

Retired
You are correct on your math, can't carry much if you go by the label.
FWIW, newer Cyclones went back to the method of adding axle capacities and some of the pin box capacity together to get an increased GVWR.

The 15,500 rating is two axles, 7000 + 7000 and 1500 of the pin boxes 2500 rating.
Prior to the 2010 model year Cyclones, the rating was 3 6000 pound axles plus the full 2500 of the pin box for 20,500 trailer GVWR.
 
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OldNewbie

Member
Thank you for the reply. The tag on my door and above the tag outside says to not exceed 2,135 lbs payload. Which to me seems very doable. If I go by the payload capacity and use all of that if ever needed then with the weight of the trailer that will put me at my heaviest at 15,055 lbs. Would you say this is safe to do and go by?
 

porthole

Retired
If you decide to carry full water (we do many times), once you start loading your gear and the garage - say goodbye to trying to stay under the max rating.
 

OldNewbie

Member
Yes I could see it would be hard. But my question was would it be safe for me to use the 15,500 GVWR as you mentioned? If I used all of the payload capacity of 2,135 lbs that would put me at 15,055 lbs.
 

Ladiver

Well-known member
What is safe to do and what keeps you out of trouble sometimes can be two different things. Understand that the GVWR of 14,000 is what you will be expected to operate at. If you were involved in an accident, you will want to make sure you are not exceeding that. That will keep you out of trouble.

Now, what is safe? Let me start with this...I did not build the trailer not do I know all the details of construction. Take this piece of advise with a grain of salt. I am some anonymous web user and have no authority in the matter. On to the information. If your trailer has (2) 6,000 pound axles and tires to support that then you have 12,000 lb capacity. There will also be a certain amount of load shared with the truck/hitch (15-25% depending on how you have the weight distributed). Now, you can look at 12,000 + 1,800 (15%) to get you a "safe" 13,800. If you look at the higher side and you have (2) 7,000 pound axles and assume 25%, then you have 17,500.

Next, you need to consider the truck and payload capacity of it. You do not mention what the TV is. If you are using an older model 3/4 ton, you are severely limited on rear axle load capacity. If you have a new 1 ton drw, there is not much to worry about. In my two examples above, you have one with 1,800 lbs added to truck payload and the other with 3,500 lbs. As you can see, there is a pretty significant difference. Make sure that you are not overloading the trucks rear end. This is the most likely scenario for owners of toy haulers that are <40'. Too many think that a 3/4 ton or 1-ton srw truck will work just fine. I have a 1-ton srw and understand I am at the limits with my CY3100.

Unfortunately, these trailers are coming off the line very near their GVWR. As you saw, with very little loaded and 10 gallons of fuel you only had 1,080 lbs remaining. The 2,135 that is referenced does not take much into consideration. Just try to cut weight where you can and make sure your truck is up to it. We rarely travel with a full water tank. Try filling as close to your final destination as possible.

Remember, it is not what you can safely pull. It is what you can safely stop! Heck, a Tundra "pulled" the Space Shuttle!
 

porthole

Retired
No one is going to tell you it is safe to exceed the manufacturers labeled GVWR, including me.

I've made some changes that let me run my trailer the way I want comfortably. It is up to you to decide what you are comfortable with regarding labels and actual weights.

FWIW, there are many many RV'ers that overload their trailers and their trucks.
Landmark 365's and 3 axle toy-haulers are a good example.
 

OldNewbie

Member
Thank you for the reply and yes I understand what you are saying. I pretty much got it all figured out in talking with the factory and a couple more knowledgeable dealers. Thank you for your time.
 

OldNewbie

Member
Thank you Ladiver for the reply! I have a 2016 Ford Heavy F250 SRW Supercab 6.8' bed, 6.7 Diesel 4X4. Which gives me 60 lbs more payload then the base F350 and has the same towing capacity as the F350. I speced all the weights out before buying it and after talking to the factory and a couple good dealers I got it figured out. Being a newbie to the 5th wheel world I was just a little worried. But if I maxed all my weights out on all my payloads which I really don't see us doing that my calculations are this: I will be 800 lbs under my payload capacity, 825 lbs under my towing capacity and 500 lbs under my GCWR so I think I am good for now. We only have one local trip planned for our 2nd trip this year locally where we will need to haul some water but I won't be taking my bike so the weights will be about the same. Thank you for your time I appreciate it very much Sir.
 
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Ladiver

Well-known member
You are welcome.

I am a little surprised the F250 has more payload that the F350. As long as all the weights work out, you should be fine. Remember with full water and no weight in the garage, that % of trailer weight on the hitch will be increased. The truck should still ride close to level.

Jeff
 

OldNewbie

Member
Yes I was too Jeff but that was the reason I got the it. It has the what is called the 10,000 GCWR package which by Ford specs gives you that 60 more lbs then the base model F350, I would have had to go up a couple more GVWR packages on the F350 models to get any significant gains on payload. I was also surprised that the F250 and F350 have the same 5th wheel towing capacities. I will be getting airbags for stability and I think I will have to raise my pin box up to get the trailer level it sits about 1" to 2" high in the front but I really need a good level surface to measure that accurately. I have 8" of clearance to the trailer to the top rear of the truck bed so I have the room to lower the trailer a bit and get it level which I want to do. I will learn all this stuff, just like learning to get around in here!
 
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