Cyclone 3950 and a GMC 2500HD

[joeyB99]

I am looking to buy a 2010 Cyclone 3950 Toy Hauler and the listed dry trailer weight is 14,050 with a pin weight of 3150. I know that is a bit heavy for my 2500 but I understand that if you add weight to the toy garage, it reduces the weight on the hitch. We take about 8 trips a year that are about 80 miles and one longer trip every 3 years. Would my truck be able to handle this camper or am I crazy to even consider?

It is not the laws that I am concerned with as much as safety.

2008 GMC 2500HD CC/SRW Duramax 6.6/6-SPD Allison
HD RR Auto Lock Diff
HD Trailering Package

 

[crazybanshee]

This issue has been discussed on this and many other forums. My opinion is that the 3950 is way to heavy for a 3/4T truck but many say that they do it safely. Everyone has a different idea what safely means.
Doug

 

[joeyB99]

Thanks Doug. I have checked several forums and could not find this question addressed. Sorry for the repeat. The main reason that I am considering this combo is that my wife loves the cyclone 3952 and we found a 2010 that has 0 miles except for the delivery from MI to MO and is been setting on the pad for 16 months. The price that we are getting it for is incredibly cheap but a dually is not in the budget at the moment. Like I mentioned we dont travel that many miles so if it makes since the we have to pull the trigger on this like new camper.
Maybe in a couple of years we can upgrade to a dually or if I have a rich uncle that passes maybe a semi like you.

It seems that over on the Duramax forum the majority of opinions from my question is to upgrade tires, leaf springs and shocks and it will be "ok" to run the rig. I think we are going to go for it. Just too good of a deal to pass up.

Thanks For the Response,
Ray

 

[mickmey]

Our concern is liability in towing a 5er the truck is not rated for. We're concerned that could be a big issue in any accident. Anyone have an issue with that?

 

[Bob&Patty]

Joey and Mickmey, your 2500 is over loaded. At the empty weight you are over loaded. My 07 2500 HD classic is rated at 14K gross. I don't know about MO. But in California if you are pulled over and they check your GCVW and you are over, you have drop the trailer and get someone with a big enough truck to come get it. You will get a ticket. Also you better check with your DMV and see if you have to have any extra endorsements on your drivers license to pull that much weight. You also could be in BIG trouble if you where in an accident and were over weight...your insurance might not cover you. Just things to think about. Good luck. Bob

 

[Gaffer]

You might want to think twice about towing with the 3/4 ton. If you ever have an accident your insurance company may be reluctant to pay if you were knowingly overloaded.

 

[mickmey]

Our old truck would be overloaded (a F350 DRW, though, not a 2500)...a 2011 F350 DRW can tow 21,300 from the 5th wheel hitch as per the Ford towing guide. GCVW checks out. That's why we're buying it...for the very reasons you mention.

 

[beasleyrl]

a 2010 Cyclone 3950 Toy Hauler and the listed dry trailer weight is 14,050 with a pin weight of 3150.

You actually have 2 issues - 1 you note - the pin weight, and yes, adding weight to the rear helps this. However, looking at the 2008 Trailerlife towing guide, you should be able to tow between 13-15K depending on your specific truck configuration. While the dry weight is 14K (close to the specs on my 3912), my actual weight is about 3K more on the rig WITHOUT a toy in the back. Remember, the dry weight doesn't include any options on the Cyclone. Bottom line, you will be over on PIN and WAY OVER on your total weight. Not to mention you have to add weight for options on the truck, people, and fuel. I had an 07 Silverado 3500 and frankly didn't feel comfortable with that. The issue for me was 2 fold - transmission ran hot and stopping the rig. I would never try this in a 2500.

 

[lwmcguir]

We travel mostly in the summer months when the roads are busy. We upgraded from a F250 to a 2011 F350 to be legal towing our Augusta. With insurance getting higher and regulations getting stricter it just wasn't worth the risk of towing knowing that we were over on the Pin and Total weight. We could unload and get by but couldn't carry our normal gear/food/clothing and so on. On another note we gained about 3-4 mpg as well. With fuel now near $4 that alone is going to pay off in a few years as we travel a lot of miles.

 

[PUG]

I have a 09 3950 and pulled it from idaho to az twice with a three quarter ton chev duramax. the chev was an o2 and i had put oversize tires on it along with air spring helpers and a 75 hp boost. it worked it quite hard and i didn;t feel safe with the single rear tires even though they were oversized. I bought a Ram one ton dually and have pulled it down here to arizona last year and again now. What a difference, you hardly know it is back there and the power is much better. I wss always afraid if i blew a tire all **** would cut loose. I have added a TST TPMS tire senser system and really gives you a much better sense of security knowing what the tires are all doing.

Your present confifguration is pushing your luck. I would try to go to a dually oneton if anyway possible.

 

[6.7powerstroke]

Sorry, not enough truck to do it safely. You will probably be close to 2000 pounds overloaded with that. We looked at a 3950 too and loved it. When I thought about towing it with my F350 SRW, didn't make me comfortable, even though the sales guy SWORE you could go 90 mph with a F250 and I would be fine. LOL My truck would have probably about 2300 pounds more of weight capacity being a one ton and it was right at the edge. Personally I think if it has three axles in the back it needs something with 6 wheels pulling it. Hopefully the dually will find its way into your life sooner and make all of this go away!

 

[joeyB99]

My findings today:
Trailer:
Dry Weight: 14,500
Hitch Weight 3,300
Capacity Weight 18,000


Truck:
My Truck, 2500HD GMC Duramax CC SB SRW
Max Hitch weight Payload: 2,792
Max Trailer: 16,700

3500HD GMC Duramax CC SB SRW
Max Hitch weight Payload: 4,085
Max Trailer: 17,000

Dually, 3500HD Duramax CC LB DRW
Max Hitch weight Payload: 5,122
Max Trailer: 19,400


So clearly the dually is the best fit, however, I have an option. I can put the 3500 leaf springs, shocks and tires on my 2500 and in essence it will become a 3500 SWR. According to the GMC dealer the only difference between my truck and a 3500 is the springs, shocks and tires. So, if I am careful about loading it and keep it under 17,000 then I think I should be good to go… at least for a year or two until I can trade for a dually. Does this make sense or am I being naïve?

One thing is we don’t go very far, usually about 150 miles and only about 8 times a year.

Thanks for all of the input to all of you guys!
Ray

 

[6.7powerstroke]

I can't speak for the GM products, but there are quite a bit more differences in the F250 and the F350. Yes, the tires and leaf springs are different, but in the Ford so is the rear end and the entire braking system. I would check with another dealer about that or go to the Duramax blog, someone will know. However, even if you change all of that, you are still overloaded according to the law.

As for the posted weights, they are ALWAYS low. As was posted here before, that includes no options and nothing like propane, batteries, etc etc. In addition, that 4085 weight you mentioned is total capacity for the truck, which will include people, hitch, gear, family dog, etc. More than likely you are going to be right at the limit if not above it before you even begin to put people in the truck, gear, etc. You really need a dually to safely pull something that big. Will the truck pull it? Sure, but could and should are not always the same thing. For whatever it is worth, I went through this exact process 2 months ago before I bought my toy hauler. We actually were looking at a 2009 3950 and really wanted it. The Ford has a little more payload capacity than the 3500, but at the end of the day, I didn't want to take the risk. There is no way I would try with a 3/4 ton, no matter what upgrades were done. Lots riding on your ability to be able to stop and control that thing. I feel your pain, been there. Best of luck.

 

[porthole]

You didn't say what year your truck is. But for the same year GMC the difference is the added leaf in the spring pack. Everything else is the same (SRW).
For our Cyclone 3010 I added air bags, that solved the loading issue. I changed the tires and that only helped with the loading. Once I finally weighed the trailer I found out I was over on capacity of the tires by 200 pounds each. I was over on truck max weight by quite a bit.

My truck with 4" turbo back exhaust, tuner and air intake, along with Mag Hytec differential cover, trans pan and shift kit, all filled with synthetic was still way overworked.

I pulled the Cyclone for 8000 miles without any issues. I weighed the truck & trailer last June (still think the scale was wrong). The last 3000 miles I pulled knowingly being way over weight and not comfortable.

Then I sold the truck. In the end I would have been better off putting the money invested into the truck into a new one. No regrest though, the new Ford is just too nice, glad I waited.

If your truck is a short bed, I have an excellent SuperGlide 18K hitch and rails for sale, TrailAir pinbox TriGLide too.

 

[DW_Gray]

No matter how you may modify the 2500, that will never change the official certification label. You will be way overweight and illegal per most state's vehicle code. Been there, done that. I had trade in my new 2500 for a new 3500. Dealers lie about what your truck can tow.