Tow Vehicle for 2105 Landmark Newport? Advice needed

[owheaton]

i recently purchased a 2015 Newport and I'm currently looking to purchase a tow vehicle. The GVWR on the fifth wheel is 17,500 LBS. when i check the tow ratings on a ford f350 , it shows approx 16,000. i was really hoping to avid going the dually route as i will be using this vehicle daily so I'm wondering if there is any single wheel option that can tow this size/weight of a fifth wheel. Any suggestions and commentary gratefully accepted

Owen

 

[DW_Gray]

A trailer that size will require a dually. Read this: http://fifthwheelst.com/2015-one-ton-truck-towing.html

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[owheaton]

Dave:
Much appreciated and was basically the answer i was expecting. in reading the doc you sent the link to, it does show the GMC 3500 HD single wheel with a fifth wheel capacity of 16, 140. is that running it way too close?

Thanks again

Owen

 

[DW_Gray]

Historically, SRW vehicles are overloaded easily and they don't provide the stability that a dually will. Especially for a trailer that size.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Bryced15]

We had a 2011 F350 SRW when we purchased our Newport. After our SRW was equipped to tow with a full tank of fuel and we took it over the scales, we only had around 15,000 pounds of tow capacity and around 2800 pounds of payload. With the Newport in tow on the way home from the dealer I took the rig across the scales. I was maxed out on the rear axle with a completely empty trailer. This was what I had already figured would be the case. Needless to say we immediately traded for a DRW Ford. I never wanted a dually nor ever thought I'd own one, but now I love this dually more than the SRW. Drives so much better. Plus I have plenty of towing capacity and payload left to spare. Go drive them. I think you'd be surprised how good these new duallies drive. I'll never go back to a SRW personally.

 

[Bohemian]

//heartlandowners.org/showthread.ph...Truck-Payloads?p=386013&viewfull=1#post386013

 

[Bob&Patty]

I'm not sure where you are getting your specs. My 2013 GMC 3500HD C/C L/B DRW is rated at 22500# for a 5er and a GCVW of 30500# as it is a 4WD....31000# for a 2WD. A 2500HD is rated for 17200#. But you have to have the D/A combo.

 

[EPaulikonis]

I recently went through the same dilemma you're having right now, but driving a land yacht is well worth the benefit of pulling my mobile condominium down the road.

Purchased a 2015 Landmark Savannah and desperately wanted to stay in a SRW setup, but the numbers don't support the wish. What I found was I kept busting the truck's GVWR long before the GCWR was an issue. As built trailer coming in at much higher dry weight and pin weight than the brochure didn't help the cause. Even with my 2014 Ram 3500 DRW, I've only got 1,700lb. of cargo weight to work with once vehicle weight, passengers, pin weight, and hitch weight are subtracted from max GVWR of 14,000lbs. Max GCWR is 32,000 and even with the truck and trailer fully loaded (hypothetically at max GVWR for trailer), I'm weighing in at 26,840. Only bring it up to highlight truck GVWR is an issue well before GCWR is and it's the same equation regardless of manufacturer.

 

[Nabo]

Since the Landmark 365 is new on the market, you are going to see a lot of folks pull it with a one ton truck mainly because it's what they have pulling lighter campers. With this gross weight, I think it would be better to pull with a 1 1/2 ton (450 or 4500) truck or move up to a freightliner type cab.

 

[DW_Gray]

I would be remiss if I didn't inform you of one other option. But it may cost extra money just for having the benefit of SRW truck. Nonetheless, it an option. Although, the option is better for one who has an appropriate SWR truck that's paid for. You can read a hands-on review here.

 

[EPaulikonis]

I ran into this as well when I was searching for my new tow rig. I was surprised to run the numbers on a Ram 4500 as a 4 X 2 with the same engine/transmission/gear combo as the 3500 4 X 4 I purchased. The towing capacity on a 450 & 550 go down, not up. Payload over the rear axle goes up which is great to handle pin weight, but I needed a truck that could handle the greater trailer weight. The Ram 3500 dually with 3.73 gear ratio has a max trailer weight of 23,430 and a payload capacity of 5,369lb.. The Ram 4500 Chassis cab shows a maximum (assume it's for 4.10 gear) of 22,750 and a payload capacity of 7,354lb..

Since the Landmark 365 is new on the market, you are going to see a lot of folks pull it with a one ton truck mainly because it's what they have pulling lighter campers. With this gross weight, I think it would be better to pull with a 1 1/2 ton (450 or 4500) truck or move up to a freightliner type cab.

 

[SilverRhino]

Just my opinion, but, I think that the 5th wheel trailers have out grown pick ups. It seems that they just keep getting longer and heavier. Over the years I have had the opportunity to tow trailers of all sizes and types with various tow vehicle, and the bigger the truck the better. The manufactuers of the trucks all have these great charts on paper that will give you numbers of what their truck will handle. My feeling is these numbers were developed by engineers, and designed for perfect circumstances. The real world is full of obstacles and surprises, many of them being sprung on us when we least expect them. Getting a truck and trailer moving is one thing and has absolutely nothing to do with handleing or stopping. I have read all the articles about how well a specific truck will pull a trailer and that there are no issues stopping the rig. These are for the most part, occurances in ideal or planned situations. When faced with a panic situation where you need to quickly change direction or make an emergency stop, I do not believe these trucks would perform the same way.

Numbers and guides are great.....but they are just the starting point. My major concern when hitting the road is to do everything that I can to make sure we are as safe as possible.

Again, these are my opinions and reflect my experiences and what I choose to do!