Half-ton trucks towing 5th wheels?

[caissiel]

But my brakes always work when I need them. Why should I invest in $2000 or more for uncontrollable brakes. Like I said earlier I would not have disc brakes without antilock brakes system.
Draging wheels are not very effective in stopping my unit.
When my brakes were contaminated wit grease I had 3 wheels locking up when I applied the brakes and the trailer hardly slowed down it just created smoke.

 

[mmomega]

I know some folks have limited $$$ but it's safety that I think about, I have seen accidents with one ton dual wheel trucks towing tow haulers that are demolished in a single vehicle accident. It was coming home from Florida two years ago and scared me - I don't know the particular's of the accident but you don't forget it. We just hoped no one was hurt.

It's sad but these are the things that finally got me thinking more. I was the one with a F350 SRW towing a toy hauler that was too big for the truck and it wasn't until we had a close call ONE TIME to open my eyes.
I later went and got a DRW and a smaller RV and from the first hook-up I could just feel how much more in control the truck felt than before. Even though I'm aware an accident can still happen, I feel better doing as much as I can to avoid those close calls from now on, even if it's in my own mind that my family and the other families driving around me are better off now than they were before.... either way, off my soap-box tonight. Ya'll be safe out there.

 

[JohnD]

It's sad but these are the things that finally got me thinking more. I was the one with a F350 SRW towing a toy hauler that was too big for the truck and it wasn't until we had a close call ONE TIME to open my eyes.
I later went and got a DRW and a smaller RV and from the first hook-up I could just feel how much more in control the truck felt than before. Even though I'm aware an accident can still happen, I feel better doing as much as I can to avoid those close calls from now on, even if it's in my own mind that my family and the other families driving around me are better off now than they were before.... either way, off my soap-box tonight. Ya'll be safe out there.

We had our close call last summer as well . . .

Two weeks later we replaced our 1500 with a 2500HD!

It seems that a lot of people only worry about what their truck can pull . . . and don't consider what their truck can stop!

 

[JanAndBill]

We had our close call last summer as well . . .

Two weeks later we replaced our 1500 with a 2500HD!

It seems that a lot of people only worry about what their truck can pull . . . and don't consider what their truck can stop!

All of my over the road drivers were certified to check and adjust their brakes if necessary. Air brakes, even the self adjusters required regular monitoring, and our drivers were always cautioned that "you will be the FIRST TO KNOW YOUR BRAKES HAVE FAILED". I never questioned a repair ticket to adjust the brakes if for whatever reason the driver chose not to adjust his own brakes. On the other hand, if a driver got a ticket for a brake out of adjustment, not only did they pay the fine for the ticket, their safety bonus got dinged as well. I realize our rigs are nowhere near as heavy as the truck/trailer combinations we ran, but the braking ability is no less as important.

 

['Lil Guy']

I made the mistake of buying my TV 1st. Didn't want a DRW so went with the Ram 2500 CTD. RV and car dealer said i would tow anything on the lot. With a PL of 2315 and max tow of 17,150. After reading up on it and including the articles on this site, there wasn't a safe way to tow the rig of my dreams. I weas then shopping for something to fit my truck. I opted for the Elkridge E289 which fits the capacity of my truck. At max PL, my max tow dropped to 14,835. My big concern was max PL. I'm right at max with our current setup but I'm comfortable with it.
With that said, from a 2012 1500 to a 2014 2500 to upgrade our RV was an expensive upside down. Looking to retire and get the RV I really want next year and going to take another big hit. This is whats called moving up 1 foot at a time.lol
Anyone looking for a new truck to tow their toys needs to look at the big picture down the road and get the right truck the 1st time. You'll save a lot of money and it never hurts to have to much truck.