F350 SRW / 3912 Cyclone

[breid]

New member here. I am days away from signing for a new 09 3912 Cyclone. We are very excited, but after reading a lot on this and other forums I have growing concerns about my current TV.

I have a 2003 F350 7.3, auto, 4x4, crew cab, long bed, 3.73 and just paid the thing off!!! With the suggestion of the dealer I will be adding firestone airbags along with the hitch. I gather a dually in either F350 or F450 would be preferred by most over the SRW for stability. We have no intention of traveling cross country and the furthest we might venture out would be around 300 miles from home. Am I off in thinking my truck will do the job.

All things considered, I realize this is one of the heaviest TH's out there unloaded, but I am not prepared to go out and but a new rig just to pull it around.

Any thoughts???

 

[N9MB]

Breid,

I would have a hand full with my TV pulling that 3912 with a GVWR of 18,000# and a dry hitch weight of almost 2900#. Make sure your TV tires can handle the weight, for example a LT235/85R16 load range E tire has a capacity of 3,042 pounds giving the axle a maximum capacity of 6,084 pounds. The first thing I would do is take the rig to a scale and weigh it and the truck and then the truck separately to see what you have to work with.

Good luck,

 

[mr8118]

03 F350

The SRW would not be the limiting factor with your truck, the increase in stability for a dually is reduced when pulling a fifth wheel over a trailer.

I pull an 08 3912 with 2008 F350 SRW with no problem, and I am within my weights. Even so, I added Firestone AirSprings, which improved the pull alot. I highly recommend them. The 7.3 has plenty of power to pull the 3912, but make sure that the brakes are ready and that you have a good brake controller for the fifth wheel. Get the airbags before you pull it home, you may find out that you will control it enough for your comfort level. There are many upgrades for your truck out there and with enough money you can make it do pretty much whatever you want (within reason).

TrailerLife's website has a document that details various tow vehicles and the respective towing capacities of most. Check out your manufacturers recommended limits.

 

[jmgratz]

Hi Breid,
Congratulations on your decision to purchase a Heartland product. I have been towing 5ers and boats with my 99 F350 SRW 8 foot bed crew cab almost since I purchased it new in 1999. I have the 7.3 with 3.73 rear end also. Right now the truck is just getting broken in with 207000 miles LOL. Right after purchasing I had the complete Banks power pak system installed including an Banks exhaust brake. I use a Prodigy brake controller. I began towing a Pop-up camper, then a 40 foot Alfa Gold, and now I have a 07 Landmark Golden Gate. We have travelled all over the country from "Sea to shining sea" without incident. As others have said, the DRW gives you more stability however we even towed the Alfa to Key West Florida with a 25 mph cross wind and even on the 7 mile bridge had no problem. We have had blow-outs on the Pop-up, the Alfa, and the Landmark as well as flats on the truck and we were able to control everything with not problems. I do have the Doran tire pressure monitoring system on the Landmark and the truck and recommend some type of TPMS for safety and piece of mind. We just returned from a 4500 mile trip from Texas to Wyoming in the mountains and on flatlands without problems (other than a flat caused by an 18 wheeler dropping debris). I have had the units weighed and recommend you do that. I have changed out the tires on the Landmark and have the Goodyear 614 "G" rated on the Landmark. I run Michelin "E" rated tires on the truck. I have changed several sets of tires on the truck (just did) and I get between 60000 to 75000 miles per set. I run the tires both the truck on RV at the max recommend inflation on the tire sidewalls - 80 on the truck, 110 on the RV. I also have the Firestone Air Bags on the truck. I have the Mor-Ryde IS suspension with disc brakes on the Landmark. Although we are not full-timers we are "any-timers" as we go anytime for anytime. (still have a house we use as a home base. Nice to have a place to come back to) I hope this helps you put your mind at ease. Enjoy your BH and hey ... Lets Go Go Go RVing.....

 

[jmgratz]

Oh, I forgot, I would also recommend you get some type of Road Service policy just in case. We use the Good Sam ERS and have be highly satisfied with it.

 

[breid]

Well, its here... concerned about tires

We picked up our new 3912 a little over a week ago. The tow home was 40 miles or so and other than the initial learning curve when turning tight corners everything went fairly smooth. I was surprised how sluggish my stock 7.3 felt like getting it on speed. Once on speed it maintained it with no problems.

I promptly dropped my truck off and dumped around 3K into it. I added an intake, new exhaust, edge attitude, over sized tranny pan, and a inter cooler fan to the existing airbags I purchased with the Cyclone. What an enormous difference in performance and fuel mileage!! I now feel more confident and safer towing this heavy pig.

In fact, I thought I had it made until I got out to dump at the service station and heard some air leaking out of one of my rear TH tires. Sure enough, less than 100 miles under my belt and I caught a nail right down the center of the tread.

Long story short, I got on-line to do a search on my new mission tires and I have yet to read one thing positive about them. Why is it that the flagship of THs do not come with a better tire? I didn't even consider this at the time of purchase because I didn't feel that I should have to worry about the one thing that would keep me off the road. I now want to replace them, but can't really justify changing them when they have no obvious defects.

I want to eventually swap them with some Goodyear G rated tires but am unsure if my existing wheels are compatible. Has anyone upgrade to G tires without purchasing new wheels?

Thanks in advance

 

[cdbMidland]

Crawl underneath and examine the inner wheel. There should be a weight rating of 3,750# if it will accept a G-rated tire. It may also state 110 psi. The last wheels that I received only had the 3,750# on it, but I was assured by Tredit that the these were indeed 110 psi wheels.

There is also a model number, but my unit is back in storage, so I don't remember what it is. There should be an "H" meaning heavy duty if it doesn't have the 110 psi# on it.

Of course, you would need steel valve stems.

If it is not a wheel that can handle a G-rated tire, I would just get a good E-rated tire, like a Michelin (I think thery are called X-ribs). Otherwise, the Goodyear can only hadnle just over 3.000# at 80 psi.

 

[breid]

Thanks Chuck, I'll take a look.

 

[jmgratz]

You might also check your axle rating. If I am correct the Cyclone has 3 axles on it so it probably has 6000 lbs axles which will handle one E rated tires and not G rated. The 7000 axles have G rated tires and those units only have 2 axles such as the Landmark. So check the rating of your axle also. Your dealer or Heartland Customer service should be able to tell you which axles you have. The Al-Co axles have an identification plate on the center of the axle and it states what the rating is. I believe all this info is correct.

 

[breid]

I crawled under there and sure enough the wheels are only rated to just over 3K, so E tires it is. I'll have lots of time to work towards new rubber during my extended off season. Thanks for the help.