Need some advice on a tow vehicle

[letourno]

Unless you are a commercial hauler there is no LEGAL weight involved! If there was you would be directed into the weigh stations like the long haulers. Your insurance company is the problem there and some may question, most will not!

Depends on State or Province regulations. Here in Quebec you will be fined $700 if overweight (the rig, not the driver... ). And the insurance Claims Adjuster will definitely have a good time when investigating a claim... I know 'cause I used to be one of them!

 

[Hockster]

Re: Need some advise on a tow vehicle

Interesting pulling a 16,000# 5er with an F250.
If you look at what the factory tow rating is, you are overloaded.
You may have all kinds of modifications, but if you are in a wreck, the lawyers and insurance company don't care about all your modifications. The only thing they will be looking at is what Ford Motor Co. rated that truck to haul.
That is your legal limit.
You will probably be cited for hauling overloaded and be held responsible for the accident.
I know a lot of people are hauling overloaded, but that's not the smart thing to do.

 

[GOTTOYS]

Re: Need some advise on a tow vehicle

Interesting pulling a 16,000# 5er with an F250.
If you look at what the factory tow rating is, you are overloaded.
You may have all kinds of modifications, but if you are in a wreck, the lawyers and insurance company don't care about all your modifications. The only thing they will be looking at is what Ford Motor Co. rated that truck to haul.
That is your legal limit.
You will probably be cited for hauling overloaded and be held responsible for the accident.
I know a lot of people are hauling overloaded, but that's not the smart thing to do.

Lots of talk on the internet about this. Haven't been able to find one case where this has happened...Not saying it's a good idea but I think this is way overblown...Don

 

[lwmcguir]

Re: Need some advise on a tow vehicle

At some point in time the weights will be enforced as they are for the farm and commercial trucks. We have to buy the correct weight tags for the TV's and trailers as we are randomly checked. It may be a while yet but it will happen. That is when you won't be able to buy a tag (weight ) for more than the TV is rated for.

 

[caissiel]

Re: Need some advise on a tow vehicle

What happens if my TV is registered for 13200Lbs (6000KG)
And in my province I cannot register it for less. I surely would not.
My friends have F350's before 2005 that have them registerd for much less.

 

[Birchwood]

Re: Need some advise on a tow vehicle

Interesting pulling a 16,000# 5er with an F250.
If you look at what the factory tow rating is, you are overloaded.
You may have all kinds of modifications, but if you are in a wreck, the lawyers and insurance company don't care about all your modifications. The only thing they will be looking at is what Ford Motor Co. rated that truck to haul.
That is your legal limit.
You will probably be cited for hauling overloaded and be held responsible for the accident.
I know a lot of people are hauling overloaded, but that's not the smart thing to do.

I totally agree with your comments about overloading and RVers that exceed the GVWR of their tow vehicle
are not being responsible and in time will cause problems for other recreational users.Upgrades to tow vehicles
will not hold in a court for law.Somewhere it was stated that 70% of tow vehicles are overweight so I guess it
must be ok?I don't think so!!

 

[Donthervdude]

Now that I have decided to purchase a 2009 3670, I have ordered a new 2012 F350 Crew, 4WD, 8' Bed, Diesel Tow Vehicle. I have gone back and forth re DRW vs SRW AND 355 Rear End Gear Ratio. The Truck is not going to be delivered for 4 weeks. Not too late to change something.So now that I have decided on the exact fifth wheel, I hould appreciate any comments and suggestions you have on the "proposed" Tow Vehicle. I'm a newbee to Fifth Wheel Towing. Thanks for your comments

 

[codycarver]

Now that I have decided to purchase a 2009 3670, I have ordered a new 2012 F350 Crew, 4WD, 8' Bed, Diesel Tow Vehicle. I have gone back and forth re DRW vs SRW AND 355 Rear End Gear Ratio. The Truck is not going to be delivered for 4 weeks. Not too late to change something.So now that I have decided on the exact fifth wheel, I hould appreciate any comments and suggestions you have on the "proposed" Tow Vehicle. I'm a newbee to Fifth Wheel Towing. Thanks for your comments

Welcome!! I have towed our 3670 with both a SRW and DRW and prefer the DRW. That being said your Ford will come with trailer sway control (not available on our Dodge) and that may make all the difference. I wasn't taking any chances so went with the dually. Good luck with your new outfit. Give some thought to joining the Heartland Owners Club and attending some rallies.

 

[Hockster]

Re: Need some advise on a tow vehicle

I agree with Dave.
I've towed with a Ford F250 SRW,
I now have a 2011 F350 Lariat Crew Cab Diesel 4x4 DRW with an 8ft box.
I went with the DRW 6 months after I purchased my 2011 Big Country 3450TS.
You would not believe how much more stable this rig is. You feel more confident towing with the DRW.
I won't go back to a SRW for towing a larger 5th wheel.
I would recommend the 3:73 gears which only come with the F350 DRW, well in 2011 they did.
I also have the under bed 5th wheel setup from Ford. That is really nice.
Hockster

 

[lwmcguir]

Re: Need some advise on a tow vehicle

We have no issues with the SRW and 20 inch tires and wheels. Almost as stable as towing with the F550. The 3.55 gearing seems to be perfect when towing light loads such as the Augusta.

 

[mmomega]

Re: Need some advise on a tow vehicle

Summer of 2010 towing with my 2007 F350 SRW with 20" rims and I had BOTH rear tires blow out within 3 hrs on an extremely hot TX day. Tire pressure was good, Goodyear Wrangler ATS and they didn't have more than 8,000 miles on the tires. Only time ever that I had even 1 blowout on the truck while towing, have had a couple on the trailers I've owned, but both was too many. I vowed then that my next truck towing a large 5'r would be a dually.

I made 3 other trips with the SRW after that but they were only within 2hrs from home until I bought the new truck.

 

[Tool958]

Re: Need some advise on a tow vehicle

Summer of 2010 towing with my 2007 F350 SRW with 20" rims and I had BOTH rear tires blow out within 3 hrs on an extremely hot TX day. Tire pressure was good, Goodyear Wrangler ATS and they didn't have more than 8,000 miles on the tires. Only time ever that I had even 1 blowout on the truck while towing, have had a couple on the trailers I've owned, but both was too many. I vowed then that my next truck towing a large 5'r would be a dually.

I made 3 other trips with the SRW after that but they were only within 2hrs from home until I bought the new truck.

I'd be willing to bet it was the Goodyears that caused the blowouts. I had two different trucks that had the AT's on them from the factory. The first truck I had to replace them with less than 20,000 miles on them. I replaced them one at a time and every one of them had the belts seperate on them. After the fourth I went to Michelins. There was a huge difference between the two tires. They were much quieter and rode better too. Had the same thing happen on the next truck, only they lasted for less than 15,000 miles. Same problem with belt seperation. I learned my lesson with Goodyears and will never own another vehicle with them on.

 

[rick_debbie_gallant]

I have also pulled our 3670 with both dodge 2500 srw and a dodge 3500 with drw. I prefer the 3500 simply because I like the security of having 4 tires on the rear of my tv rather than 2.

 

[lwmcguir]

We are transitioning our HD trucks to Super Singles as are many other owners. Less maintenance and overall cost. Watch on the hiway and you will see them become more popular. Having said that I like duallys for HD jobs, however pulling a 16000 pound camper don't qualify for that. There is nothing wrong with having the two extra tires on the rear and over the years we have driven with one of them flat until we got to a repair facility. If you are going to run Singles I like Michelin or HD All steel tires such as the G114's. I have blown out many AT's as well and don't run them on TV of any size. Most of you that had failures probalby had the tires loaded to the max. Any tire needs a bit of safety margin when you are running hot/fast. For our TV on the road we just don't the extra width for the running around so we went with the F350 SRW and it fits the need perfectly.

 

[boatto5er]

When you load a Landmark with a washer/dryer and a generator and all the "stuff" in the closet you quickly exceed the rated payoad (pin weight) capacity (11,000lbs) of the SRW F350. That's why we went with the dually (13,300lbs). That being said, we pulled the Landmark with an F250 with upgraded springs for almost a year with no problems whatsover. I would say your comfort level is a major factor in determining what to pull with.

 

[codycarver]

I would say your comfort level is a major factor in determining what to pull with.

It's Not only what your comfortable with but what the better half's comfort level is. Amy towed our 3670 with the Dodge once about 20 miles on the interstate, pulled over and stated "never again". With the new truck on a windy interstate 25 between Cheyenne and Casper she was completely comfortable saying it wasn't a lot different than driving her car. She still wont do town or heavy traffic towing and that is fine with me.

 

[lwmcguir]

When you load a Landmark with a washer/dryer and a generator and all the "stuff" in the closet you quickly exceed the rated payoad (pin weight) capacity (11,000lbs) of the SRW F350. That's why we went with the dually (13,300lbs). That being said, we pulled the Landmark with an F250 with upgraded springs for almost a year with no problems whatsover. I would say your comfort level is a major factor in determining what to pull with.

Ours is 11,500 which we chose to add to help out but you are right about loading heavy. If you are going to load it up then you might as well go for a F550 and do it right. We have to keep the load managed or we can get to heavy on the pin. I don't like to push the margin on the tires so we are confortable traveling lighter. We towed with a F250 as well with no issues. If you want to the 19.5 tire upgrade is what some folks have done to get the tire loading but that dont make the axle any heavier.

All said and done you have to have a lot of truck if you are taking the house along. Many full timers may find themselves in this situation.

 

[mmomega]

Well I had towed with that SRW 350 with 20" GY ATS for over 3 years with a trailer heavier than the Landmark with zero problems. Just that one trip did them in.

Also as for the comment above this one, I haven't weighed my Landmarked since I picked it up brand new from the dealer, even then empty it was over 13k and a new F350 Dually is rated at 21,500 fifth wheel or 30,000 GCWR. I doubt any of use with a Heartland trailer will touch 20,000lbs packed to the gills(trailer only).

I may have added a couple hundred lbs to my trailer since new but no way I've added a half-ton and it's packed when we go.

 

[Tool958]

Well I had towed with that SRW 350 with 20" GY ATS for over 3 years with a trailer heavier than the Landmark with zero problems. Just that one trip did them in.

Also as for the comment above this one, I haven't weighed my Landmarked since I picked it up brand new from the dealer, even then empty it was over 13k and a new F350 Dually is rated at 21,500 fifth wheel or 30,000 GCWR. I doubt any of use with a Heartland trailer will touch 20,000lbs packed to the gills(trailer only).

I may have added a couple hundred lbs to my trailer since new but no way I've added a half-ton and it's packed when we go.

The one thing that was different than yours in my case was the tires were on half ton vehicles. The most weight they ever had on them were pop-ups so I know they weren't overloaded. I've just never had good luck with what Goodyear tires I've owned over the years.