REDDOG7571
Member
What brand/type tires are best when towing a 5th wheel with a 2500 HD Silverado?
Tires?
- Thread starter REDDOG7571
- Start date
REDDOG7571
Member
Cookie,
No, I'm simply trying to make sure I have suitable tires on my truck to pull a 5th wheel with. The truck is a 2014 2500HD Duramax. I'm also wondering about the 20" chrome wheels that I have on the truck. I've read where they can crack under the pressure of pulling a 5th wheel. The 5th wheel will be new, so hopefully the tires will be good on it.
No, I'm simply trying to make sure I have suitable tires on my truck to pull a 5th wheel with. The truck is a 2014 2500HD Duramax. I'm also wondering about the 20" chrome wheels that I have on the truck. I've read where they can crack under the pressure of pulling a 5th wheel. The 5th wheel will be new, so hopefully the tires will be good on it.
REDDOG7571
Member
Cookie,
Sorry, I didn't answer all of your questions. Big Country 3450TS, GVW 12,974 lbs.
Sorry, I didn't answer all of your questions. Big Country 3450TS, GVW 12,974 lbs.
I have the same floor plan in my Bighorn. Although we have a washer and dryer, the pin weight is 3,500 pounds. So take away the weight of the washer and dryer the pin weight would be about 3,200 loaded for travel.
So you need to know the curb weight of your truck, the weight of the hitch and anything else you carry in the truck and add that to the pin weight of 3,000 - 3,200 pounds.
These weights should not exceed your GVWR.
Check out Fifth Wheel St.
Peace
Dave
So you need to know the curb weight of your truck, the weight of the hitch and anything else you carry in the truck and add that to the pin weight of 3,000 - 3,200 pounds.
These weights should not exceed your GVWR.
Check out Fifth Wheel St.
Peace
Dave
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
IMHO, the rim capacity is dictated by the number of lugs. As far as tires are concerned, go to TireRack.com. They have all the tires that will fit your make and model, choose one and go to the specs tab for the tire model. There you can see the load ratings of the different sizes.
I really like the Firestone Transforce in both the 18 and 20 inch. I tow with a Ram 3500 SRW and I have a payload of 4300 lbs, with those tires.
REDDOG7571
Member
Thanks for your information! I will look into that, but the whole weight thing is very confusing! You mention that your payload is 4300 Lbs. What exactly does that mean? Are you talking pin weight? Or pin weight and what ever is in your truck, ex. your body weight along with whomever is riding with you and possible tools generator, air compressor... Then you have the weight of your unit, which lets say is 13,000 lbs dry weight. Why would you load up extra water weight if you were going on a trip? would it always be dry weight, with the exception of clothes, kitchen items, bath items, etc....? Help me make sense of all of this, please.
danemayer
Well-known member
Thanks for your information! I will look into that, but the whole weight thing is very confusing! You mention that your payload is 4300 Lbs. What exactly does that mean? Are you talking pin weight? Or pin weight and what ever is in your truck, ex. your body weight along with whomever is riding with you and possible tools generator, air compressor... Then you have the weight of your unit, which lets say is 13,000 lbs dry weight. Why would you load up extra water weight if you were going on a trip? would it always be dry weight, with the exception of clothes, kitchen items, bath items, etc....? Help me make sense of all of this, please.
Payload is the weight that your truck is rated to carry. There's usually a label inside your drivers door that gives you that number. So lets say the payload is 4,300 lbs. The next question is what actual weight are you putting into the truck. That would include actual pin weight of the trailer, weight of the hitch that you installed, weight of the bed liner and bed cover if you have those. Weight of tools, firewood, pets, passengers and anything else you put in the truck all have to be added in.
Now, when you look at the trailer being towed, most people don't know the actual weight of the trailer, or the actual pin weight, until after they buy it and take it somewhere to get weighed. So that raises the question of how to estimate those weights. Should you use empty or dry weight? One problem is that manufacturer specs on dry weight may not be very close to actual weight of the trailer as it leaves the factory floor. There are various reasons for this, but just note that on some of the larger rigs, the actual weight can be 1,000 lbs more than the spec. Then you add your clothes, gear, pots and pans and dishware, games, trailer accessories and an amazing collection of stuff that everyone puts in their trailers on day 2, if not on day 1. Most people are much closer to the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) that's on the trailer placard than they are to the dry or empty weight spec.
So GVWR is a much safer weight number to use for planning purposes.
How do you estimate pin weight so you can add that to the payload calculation? You're probably safe to use 20% of GVWR as a planning number.
So if you're looking at a trailer with 16,000 lb GVWR, you should plan on pin weight of 3,200.
By the time you add the rest of the weight that goes into the truck in addition to the 3,200 pin weight, it's pretty easy to get over 4,000 lbs.
Hope this is clear.
REDDOG7571
Member
That definitely helps! So if I'm looking at a 3450 TS Big Country @ 12,750 lbs, will the 2500HD Silverado Diesel be large enough to handle it is the $100,000.00 question? I guess it depends on who I ask. I've been told both ways, but like you mentioned you don't really know until you hook up to it, right??
danemayer
Well-known member
12,750 is not the weight you'll be dealing with. Use the GVWR of 15,500. For planning purposes, use 3,100 as the likely pin weight.
I'd expect most recent 2500HD Silverado Diesels to be able to pull that weight, but you're almost certain to be exceeding your payload spec. This could cause handling problems that will be of most concern when road conditions are bad. It could also cause excess wear on your truck. And pulling that weight and stopping that weight are two different things.
No doubt you'll hear from people who will say they pull something like that Big Country with their 2500 and they've had no problems.
Now you've got the information and you get to decide.
Jim.Allison
Well-known member
Thanks for your information! I will look into that, but the whole weight thing is very confusing! You mention that your payload is 4300 Lbs. What exactly does that mean? Are you talking pin weight? Or pin weight and what ever is in your truck, ex. your body weight along with whomever is riding with you and possible tools generator, air compressor... Then you have the weight of your unit, which lets say is 13,000 lbs dry weight. Why would you load up extra water weight if you were going on a trip? would it always be dry weight, with the exception of clothes, kitchen items, bath items, etc....? Help me make sense of all of this, please.
As mentioned earlier your payload is the pin weight of your trailer, and all the stuff you put in your tow vehicle, including passengers. However anything you put in the passenger compartment is not necessarily pound for pound, the weight added there is split according to its position between the front and rear axle
The rule of thumb is 20 to 25% of the GVWR of the rig, in my case it is 23% (I have a generator and two huge house batteries and an inverter in and near the garage position). In order to facilitate loading, I have marked off the % contribution to pin weight at different locations between the pin and the center of the tandem axles. Ex. if you load above the pin, the load is pound for pound contribution to pin load, if I load at the garage the weight on the pin is 70% of the actual weight loaded in the garage, At the basement it ranges between 55 and 65%, and of course weight loaded over the tandem is 0% added to the pin, and that loaded aft of the pin results in taking weight off the pin. I carry tools aft of the tandem to get them out of the basement and garage.
The guys that say you MUST weigh your rig to actually know what is going on (IMHO), are correct. The first time I weighed my rig, I was VERY surprised as to what I found. But armed with that information I was able to avoid buying a dually, and I have a SWR that is fully capable of towing my loaded (no washer/dryer) BC3650RL.
REDDOG7571
Member
LOL, OK guys, you're getting me there! Your reference to a garage and a basement?? Did I mention that I was very new to this? I'm guessing you are talking about the compartment towards the front of your 5th wheel being the garage, and the basement is the storage under the front bedroom?? I've bought the 2500HD Duramax Silverado with the thought that it would be plenty strong enough to handle most anything we would want. We were never interested in a toy hauler, or anything huge, so I thought I had plenty of truck. We really love the Big Country 3450 TS, and of course I want to be safe! And, just like you mentioned, I've traded stories at the gas pumps, and I've never been told that my truck wouldn't/couldn't handle a 38' unit. Of course the dealers all say I'm good, but they're selling a product, right?? I really don't see a problem towing it, just getting it stopped when I want to might give me fits... Thanks again for you wisdom, and information!!
- - - Updated - - -
Also,
What is an SWR??
- - - Updated - - -
Also,
What is an SWR??
I have towed my same floor plan Bighorn a lot of miles with a 2007 GMC Duramax. I'm not saying right or wrong, but never had an issue.
Your 2014 model Silverado has a higher GVWR than the 9,200 if my GMC.
As far as stopping, the trailer has brakes.
I think you will be fine. Personal opinion.
SRW = Single, Rear, Wheel
Peace
Dave
Your 2014 model Silverado has a higher GVWR than the 9,200 if my GMC.
As far as stopping, the trailer has brakes.
I think you will be fine. Personal opinion.
SRW = Single, Rear, Wheel
Peace
Dave
danemayer
Well-known member
LOL, OK guys, you're getting me there! Your reference to a garage and a basement??
Also,
What is an SWR??
Basement = pass through storage with cargo doors on each side.
Front Compartment = front storage area under the pinbox with a cargo door
Garage = On toy haulers, the multipurpose room at the back.
Underbelly = The area above the corrugated plastic (coroplast) with plumbing and wiring runs, and holding tanks.
SRW = Single rear wheel truck (one rear wheel on each side) as opposed to dually or Dual Rear Wheel (DRW).
esscobra
Well-known member
so I too have a 2016 srw 2500 duramax- I have spent the last 6 months going over every weight consideration/model there is- I narrowed it down to a jayco pinnacle an bigorn- really the 3760 el - then went back and forth like you with all the weight considerations and considered smaller trailers but the feature/plans I wanted were in the bighorn/landmark a 16-16.5 or greater range-and searched this and all the other forums about srw trucks- bottom line - yes the truck will pull anything- I see srw trucks pulling heavier trailers- landmarks and toyhaulers all the time- and even talked to several srw guys with 3/4 chevys towin 18k+ plus fifths- the only difference in a chevy srw 2500 and 3500 is the rear springs- I felt the landmarks were too heavy for my srw - even tough ive seen plenty ( and talked to two owners of landmarks that pull with srw - 1 ford 1 chevy- he had dealer change the springs to the 1 ton units-) and and would be too far over gcvw put after talking to a customer of mine who is a large trailer manufacturer -he said with airbags no worries( which i had on previous truck ( 03 srw 2500 9.5 lift and 40" tires pullig 32ft tt @ 11k )and the numbers of a loaded 3760el just being at top of tuck rating - I ordered my 3760el in dec and am awaiting its arriva later this month- I could not find a smaller lighter unit that I was really happy with- I did order the larger axle/brake upgrade tough. texas law has a % over allowance so as long as I don't grossly over load the trailer - I will still be legal and pushing the 26000 limit for std lic in texas but I have been pulling long and heavy race car trailers for 30 years- and after much deliberation I will be comfortable wit the combo of 2500 srw and 3760el . bottom line you need to decide what is acceptable for you- I was not comfortable being 2k overloaded with a landmark- and liked the features/layout bighorn better better -eventhough yes i could tow it
REDDOG7571
Member
Guys,
I can't begin to thank you all enough! I think I'm going to get the 3450TS, and maybe this month. I just need to get the dealer I'm talking with to come down a little more! I'll probably add air bags, and see where that gets me. Thanks Again!!
I can't begin to thank you all enough! I think I'm going to get the 3450TS, and maybe this month. I just need to get the dealer I'm talking with to come down a little more!
I'll probably add air bags, and see where that gets me. Thanks Again!!