Weights on Bighorn 3570RS with Ford F-350

[Alan_B]

I weighed our truck and fifth wheel the other day so I thought I would share the results with the group.

2016 Heartland Bighorn 3570RS. Packed with food, clothing, equipment etc. for a week long trip. Full water and empty gray and black tanks.

2017 Ford F-350 Crew Cab SRW diesel. Two people, full tank of fuel, the bed filled with a B&W Companion hitch, inflatable kayak, propane tank and propane fire pit, Coleman Road Trip grill and tonneau cover.

Fifth Wheel:

	Actual	Spec	(Over)/Under
GVWR	14,740	16,000	1,260
On Trailer Tires	12,160
Pin Weight	2,580

Truck/Trailer Combo:

	Actual	Spec	(Over)/Under
GCWR	23,540	28,700	5,160
GVWR	11,360	11,500	140
Tow Weight	14,740	20,600	5,860
Front GAWR	4,980	5,200	220
Rear GAWR	6,400	6,780	380

​

Overall I am pleased with these numbers. I am a bit surprised at the relatively low pin weight (18%). That may be due to the full tank of water, increasing the overall trailer weight but not adding much to the pin weight.

I would welcome any comments. Thanks!

 

[porthole]

Overall I am pleased with these numbers. I am a bit surprised at the relatively low pin weight (18%). That may be due to the full tank of water, increasing the overall trailer weight but not adding much to the pin weight.

I would welcome any comments. Thanks!

My guess would be the water tanks are pretty close to the axle centerline.

Fresh water tanks near the center line allow for a variety of fill options and still keeping the trailer relatively balanced. Some travel with no water, there are a few of us here that start out with a full tank (120 gallons for us), and then there are the rest with everything in between.

So with an unknown variable of 0 to 1000+ pounds, centering over the axles makes sense.

 

[justafordguy]

I weighed our truck and fifth wheel the other day so I thought I would share the results with the group.

2016 Heartland Bighorn 3570RS. Packed with food, clothing, equipment etc. for a week long trip. Full water and empty gray and black tanks.

2017 Ford F-350 Crew Cab SRW diesel. Two people, full tank of fuel, the bed filled with a B&W Companion hitch, inflatable kayak, propane tank and propane fire pit, Coleman Road Trip grill and tonneau cover.

Fifth Wheel:

	Actual	Spec	(Over)/Under
GVWR	14,740	16,000	1,260
On Trailer Tires	12,160
Pin Weight	2,580

Truck/Trailer Combo:

	Actual	Spec	(Over)/Under
GCWR	23,540	28,700	5,160
GVWR	11,360	11,500	140
Tow Weight	14,740	20,600	5,860
Front GAWR	4,980	5,200	220
Rear GAWR	6,400	6,780	380

​

Overall I am pleased with these numbers. I am a bit surprised at the relatively low pin weight (18%). That may be due to the full tank of water, increasing the overall trailer weight but not adding much to the pin weight.

I would welcome any comments. Thanks!

This is great info, Thanks for posting. Makes me feel good about how my new F350 will do because my Gateway weights a little less than your BigHorn.

I did notice one thing about your posted specs for your truck. You show 5200 frt GAWR and 6780 RR GAWR but Mine shows 5600 frt GAWR and 7230 RR GAWR. I wonder why they are different?

 

[Alan_B]

This is great info, Thanks for posting. Makes me feel good about how my new F350 will do because my Gateway weights a little less than your BigHorn.

I did notice one thing about your posted specs for your truck. You show 5200 frt GAWR and 6780 RR GAWR but Mine shows 5600 frt GAWR and 7230 RR GAWR. I wonder why they are different?

Hmmm... I'm not sure. I was going to suggest that yours maybe was 2wd, but I see from your signature it is 4WD. There are so many options that affect these specs. Not sure what is causing the difference.

- - - Updated - - -

I checked the Ford specs. It is your 20" tires on the King Ranch compared to the 18" tires on my XLT Lariat.

See pages 36 & 37 here:

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/2017/2017_F-250_F-350_F-450_SD_Pickups_-_Specs.pdf

 

[justafordguy]

Oh yeah, I guess that makes since. That tells us that the tires/wheels is the limiting factor. I know the rear axle itself is rated around 10k lbs.

 

[Gaffer]

I weighed our truck and fifth wheel the other day so I thought I would share the results with the group.

2016 Heartland Bighorn 3570RS. Packed with food, clothing, equipment etc. for a week long trip. Full water and empty gray and black tanks.

2017 Ford F-350 Crew Cab SRW diesel. Two people, full tank of fuel, the bed filled with a B&W Companion hitch, inflatable kayak, propane tank and propane fire pit, Coleman Road Trip grill and tonneau cover.

Fifth Wheel:

	Actual	Spec	(Over)/Under
GVWR	14,740	16,000	1,260
On Trailer Tires	12,160
Pin Weight	2,580

Truck/Trailer Combo:

	Actual	Spec	(Over)/Under
GCWR	23,540	28,700	5,160
GVWR	11,360	11,500	140
Tow Weight	14,740	20,600	5,860
Front GAWR	4,980	5,200	220
Rear GAWR	6,400	6,780	380

​

Overall I am pleased with these numbers. I am a bit surprised at the relatively low pin weight (18%). That may be due to the full tank of water, increasing the overall trailer weight but not adding much to the pin weight.

I would welcome any comments. Thanks!

I think you are off on your pin weight. Empty with no options the 3570 spec is 2210. Your stated pin weight of 2580 means you have only added 370 lbs. If your rear axle weight with trailer is 6400 and your pin weight is 2580, then your truck without trailer is 3820. Others have posted the F350 rear axle weight as 3270. I don't think you have an additional 550 lbs in your truck bed over the rear axle. The loaded pin weight on my 3570 is 2940.

 

[Alan_B]

I think you are off on your pin weight. Empty with no options the 3570 spec is 2210. Your stated pin weight of 2580 means you have only added 370 lbs. If your rear axle weight with trailer is 6400 and your pin weight is 2580, then your truck without trailer is 3820. Others have posted the F350 rear axle weight as 3270. I don't think you have an additional 550 lbs in your truck bed over the rear axle. The loaded pin weight on my 3570 is 2940.

Good questions, it never hurts to recheck calculations.

Here are the numbers from the CAT scale tickets:

	Front Truck	Rear Truck	Trailer Axle	Total
A. Truck & Trailer	4,980	6,400	12,160	23,540
B. Truck Alone	4,960	3,840	0	8,800
A - B = Trailer	20	2,560	12,160	14,740

So the 3570 pin weight is 20 + 2,560 = 2,580.

Regarding the weight on the rear axle of the truck. The truck was weighed ready for the trip, that is with a full tank of fuel and the back loaded with stuff. That would include:
Weight Item
255 - 34 gallons of diesel fuel
155 - B&W Companion hitch
60 - Tonneau cover (my estimate)
60 - Kayak and all accessories
100 - Propane tank, propane fire pit, BBQ grill (my estimate)
-----
630 - Total weight of stuff in the bed of the truck

 

[justafordguy]

Those numbers look right to me and are close to mine.

Last time I weighed my weights were 2450 pin and 14,215 total.

 

[Gaffer]

Makes perfect sense to me.