Lifted 3/4 Ton and 3500RL

[chilidog]

Hey campers, I have been reading many posts regarding towing with a 3/4 ton truck and its frowned upon, but its an 09 and we are still making payment so it will have to "do work" According to the specs we can pull 15,300# and the 3500RL weighs 12180# dry. I think we will be maxed out, but am i missing anything? Also, It appears Im a double 5er sinner because my truck has a 6" lift too I am nervous of low bridges and overpasses being that the trailer (per the specs) already sits 12'1" anyone out there pulling a similar trailer with a similar truck?

My wife and I would appreciate any input... also, for you seasoned pros is anyone having trouble with the length of their 5er? The 3500RL is 38' :| but the wife loves this trailer. Is it considered a "35 footer" because its a 5er?

 

[cookie]

Chilidog, I pull a similar trailer with a 2500. I have added air bags and bigger tires that have more load carrying capacity. I feel comfortable doing so and I have had no problems. I'm not saying this is the way to go or that it is the right thing to do. But that's what I do.
Personally I don't think a 6" lift is a good ideal. Ideally you want to travel with a level trailer. That would be tough to achieve in your situation.
For me it wouldn't matter if the trailer was 35 or 40 feet long. My thoughts are that in any trailer like these big 5ers a few feet one way or another don't matter.

Peace
Dave

 

[6.7powerstroke]

Well, there are a couple of things working against you. The first is that you are way overloaded. I have posted a few other times, but the tow ratings mean nothing, they are marketing fluff. They are for the lightest configuration available for that truck which is 2wd, regular cab, no power options, gas burner. I am going to make an assumption that you have a 4wd because you have a lift. That alone will add several hundred pounds to the truck weight, which in turn pulls several hundred pounds away from the weight capacity. I don't know if you have a Ford, GM or Dodge, but I know the Fords and will work from there. Ford F250 will have 10K GVWR, which is higher than either the Chevy/GMC (which I believe is 9200) or the Dodge. If your truck is a diesel and has things like power windows, crew cab, etc, it is going to weigh 7500 pounds easy, before you put people or gear in it. The tongue weight is roughly 20% of the trailer, so you are looking at 2500 pounds easy. That puts you at the max before you put a single loaf of bread in there or anything else. Figure 1500 for gear is about average, it adds up. At the end of the day, you could easily be pushing 1000 pounds overweight.

The other issue is the lift. 6" is just too much for a 5er. You have to maintain at least 5" between your bed height and the bottom of the trailer. This means you will have to lift the trailer, which is just a bad idea for about 500 different reasons. I would be less worried about hitting a bridge and more worried about controlling an overweighted truck with a 6" lift kit on it. These things can be an adventure in high winds with a normal height dually, let alone what you are looking to drive with. You are correct about the length, but that is the least of your worries. With a 6" lift, you are going to have to modify the trailer suspension to get the truck to have the right amount of clearance. You are probably going to hear on here as a rule of thumb if your truck is too high to tow, you need to lower the truck, not raise the camper. Good luck!

 

[SJH]

Hello Chilidog and welcome to the forum! I sent you a PM with some information to peruse!

Best Wishes!

 

[caissiel]

I have been pulling our unit with the F250 in the signiture. Its a well suited TV to pull our unit. But everything depends on the driving experience. I prefer the SRW F250 because its lower and more stable then the F350 SRW.
No way I would pull this trailer with a lifted truck.

 

[hoefler]

Another thing that needs to be consider in the equation, with lifted trucks, is they have over sized tires as well. This will raise the gear ratio significantly, thus LOWERING your towing capacity.

 

[Birchwood]

A 3/4 ton for the Big Horn will haul the trailer but you will always be watching your weight and you can do that.
I don't know how you plan on towing your fifth wheel level with a lift kit on your truck and also damage may occur
when backing in tight spots.I have seen a few fifth wheels being towed with lifted trucks here in Florida so it can be done.
Can't comment on length of trailer because I have only towed a 39 ft unit.Just have to be more consious of the rear swing
on a 39 ft compared to a 35 ft model.Good Luck

 

[chilidog]

Well... My wife and I finally purchased and brought home our Big Country 3500RL We are very happy with it and would definitely recommend this unit to anyone interested! We love it! Just wanted to update my original question for anyone who may be interested or have a similar situation...

The 6" lift on my 2009 Silverado 2500 HD Measures about 63" tall and I have no problem with the hookup and driving. The unit sits nearly perfectly level and I don't see any issues in the future So, for those of you out there with the same worries; don't worry! (BTW I also contacted the Heartland Rep for Southern California and he also confirmed there is no issues with the setup).

As for the 3500RL being towed by a 3/4 ton truck... so far so good. We had about an hour drive home from the dealer with some fairly decent uphill grades and didnt have a problem, but im sure we will always need to keep an eye on how much we load the trailer down. We have a trip to Lake Tahoe planned for July and that will be our TRUE test Long trip with massive elevation gain... we will keep you posted.

 

[caissiel]

We have the same model trailer and it realy is an easy pulling trailer. My F250 handles it very well. But for stability I added a reinforcing to main ply spring leaf on each side.

My last 2500 GM had more carrying capacity then the F250, so I do believe you, that your truck is carrying it well. But you are empty and you will possibly have 3500 lbs more when loaded. I never pulled my trailer unloaded so I cannot tell you the difference.