what does your 3055RL weigh?

[wyleyrabbit]

Hi everyone,

Will be going in to talk with truck dealerships soon. I'm leaning towards either a Chevy Silverado (diesel) 2500HD or 3500HD, SRW. It would be really helpful to know a few examples of actual weights of people's Bighorn 3055RL units (or similar) so I can be sure that we'll purchase an appropriate tow vehicle.

Also, for payload discussions, what does a typical 5th wheel hitch weigh?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[sailorand]

Chris
here are my wieghts
Truck
Front wheels 4000
Back wheels 5800
Total truck 9800

Trailer
front wheel 5150
Back wheels 5050
Total 10300

Truck GVW 9200 so I am a little over loaded
gvw for the front wheels of the truck 4410, rear wheels gvw 6048

 

[wyleyrabbit]

Thanks for the weights on your trailer. If I understand correctly, when your 3055RL is hooked up to your truck, the trailer's two axels weigh a combined 10,300. Any idea how much weight the unit is putting on the king pin?

 

[JohnDar]

If you haven't already, try looking through the specs on this GMC Sierra site. The Silverado and Sierra are almost identical. The Silverado website is useless for technical info.
http://www.gmc.com/sierra/2500HD/specsCapabilities.jsp

 

[wyleyrabbit]

If you haven't already, try looking through the specs on this GMC Sierra site. The Silverado and Sierra are almost identical. The Silverado website is useless for technical info.
http://www.gmc.com/sierra/2500HD/specsCapabilities.jsp

John,

Thanks for the link. Excellent info there! I have been struggling with finding the info I need from the Silverado website.

Cheers!

 

[sailorand]

Chris
I think the load on the hitch is 3240lb

 

[JohnDar]

Isn't the pin weight (same as hitch weight) published in the Heartland info? According to my catalog, the 3055RL has a pin weight of 1995 lbs. Depending on how you load the trailer, the weight may increase some. But 3240 lbs. sounds a bit much.

 

[jim rotman]

I had my 3055rl weighed at Branson last year and pin weight was 2875, trailer axle weight was 10400=13275. Tow vehicle weight was 7275 for a GCW 20550. We had about 20 gals. of fresh water, empty holding tanks, full propane tanks.

 

[JohnDar]

I had my 3055rl weighed at Branson last year and pin weight was 2875, trailer axle weight was 10400=13275. Tow vehicle weight was 7275 for a GCW 20550. We had about 20 gals. of fresh water, empty holding tanks, full propane tanks.

So that would mean you've got about 600 lbs. of goods (in addition to the water and propane) forward of the axles, right? But if your trailer were empty from the factory, the pin weight should agree with the published value, correct? If not, then it's a SWAG as to how much truck is needed to haul ANY unit. I know in guesstimating for my 3670RL, I added in the weight of the W/D we're having installed to the 2065 lbs shown in the literature.

 

[rfournelle]

My weights are:

TV
front - 4400
rear - 5780
total - 10180

Trailer
front - 5120
rear - 4900
total - 10020

grand total - 20200

This is with full propane tanks only, all other tanks were empty.

Bob

 

[dtvista]

Here are my wieghts as measured by RVSEF (Recreation Vehicle Safety Ed Foundation). Truck 05 GMC 2500 Duramax, Trailer 08 Bighorn 3055, Propane Tanks Full, Fresh Water Full, All other tanks empty. Loaded with evrything we travel with except Food. Truck has 45 gal Fuel Tank-Full

Truck
Front wheels 4325 FR 2125, FL 2200
Back wheels 6000 BR 2925, BL 3075
Total truck 10,325

Trailer
Front Axle 4850 RF 2325 LF 2525
Back Axle 5400 RR 2675 LR 2725
Total 12,825
Hitch 2575
Combined Total 20,575

Dave

 

[wyleyrabbit]

So is there some sort of calculation for how much each added pound of cargo to the trailer adds to the pin weight?

I suppose it depends where the weight is positioned in the trailer; in theory, at least, weight positioned near the pin would be more, while weight nearer the trailer's axels would be less.

I was initially going on the 20% figure, which seems to work for most of the examples people have posted. So my understanding is that, generally speaking, for every 100 lbs of cargo added to the trailer (food, beverages, clothes, lawn chairs, propane, batteries, etc.), the pin weight goes up by about 20 lbs.

Is this a good "rule of thumb"?

 

[BobSue]

I have not done this before so I hope this works. See the link below for my truck/5er weights.

//heartlandowners.org/showthread.php?t=5880

In case it doesn't work, here is the short answer.

2006 F-250 crew cab, SRW, super duty, short bed, 6.0l turbodiesel
2009 Bighorn 3055RL
All loaded up with half tank of fuel, DW, two cats and all the gear plus 1/3 tank of water, empty waste and grey tanks.

After the calcs:
Truck: 7840# unhitched; 10,480# hitched for pin weight of 2640#
Trailer: 10,000# on axles when hitched; for total weight of 12,640#
4700# on back axle while on landing gear. Probably a little less when hitched? Pretty even split it seems to me.




The weight put on the pin by your cargo is very dependent on its location. Its a pretty easy statics problem to calculate the % split. To me harder is getting a "real weight" on the stuff.



For things put in the basement, I think a guess of 60% of its weight on the pin is a reasonable approximation.


Of course, stuff put behind the wheels reduced the pin weight. That is why I have taken to moving my high density items (tool box) to the inside of the trailer as far back as practical. In my case, in the desk area. Also any bottled water or sodas we carry goes there while moving. A pain to move it every time, but it gives me more peace of mind while towing.


wyleyrabbit, I wish I had a full ton truck now. If you are going shopping, I strongly suggest the one ton truck. Its not much more money and you will need the added capacity.

 

[sailorand]

I do know that my '06 Duramax pulls the 3055 very well. I feel no need to up the horsepower. Pulling south over the Siskiu Passes is no problem and I can keep 50-55 mph.
I have not pulled any of our big hills in BC yet. Some are longer and steeper than those we have pulled in the states.

 

[jwb187]

I have weighed my truck by itself at CAT scales with just me and full fuel tank, weight was 7220 lbs. I then weighed the entire unit, steer axle 4360 lbs, drive axle 5440 lbs, trailer axles 9540 lbs with full propane and nothing else in the trailer. That showed a gross weight of 19340 lbs. I added the loaded truck weight, both axles loaded which was 9800 lbs. I then subtracted the 7220 lbs truck alone weight and came up with a PIN weight of 2580 lbs. This does not agree with the brochure weights, however I pull and stop with no problems so I am satisfied with pulling a 3055rl with a 2500hd durmax pickup. Someone correct me if this is not the way to figure PIN weight. jwb.

 

[wyleyrabbit]

JWB187, It seems like your 3055RL is MUCH heavier than the stated weight in the brochure. The brochure does state that the weight is dry, and without any installed options. My understanding is that dual-pane windows are one thing that can add a fair bit to the weight...do you have these?

Also, I'm curious to know what the tag on your trailer says your weights should be.

 

[jmgratz]

I have found that the brochure weight and the actual weight are many times quite a bit different. My actual pin weight is 1000 pounds heavier than the brochure weight. what you have sounds to me that is the actual weight. Remember the brochure weight is done at the factory without added options. Basically the coach alone. Also remember how heavy water is, almost 10 pounds a gallon. So if you want to lighten your load, one of the quickest things you can do if travel with empty tanks, (grey, black and only enough in you fresh water to flush the toilets a couple of times). You can fill up the fresh water tank when you get to or close to your final destination. One of the hardest things I have found there is to do is to only travel with what you absolutely need. Such as do you need all of your clothes from the home closet? Do you need to travel with all of that food in the pantry or can you buy food when you get there?

 

[cookie]

wyleyrabbit, weights are always dry weights. All of the pin weights mentioned in the previous posts are not out of line. While I do not have a 3055RL, my 3400RL dry weights are close. I do have dual pane windows, gel coat and a bedroom A/C and when we are packed and ready for travel my pin weight is 2,925. The dry pin weight is listed as 2,180. When loaded you will be over the 1,995 pin weight that's listed. Think of all that you will carry. Tools, lawn chairs, clothes, bedroom tv, grill, mats, hoses, toys, blankets, toiletries, propane and the list goes on and on. It is real easy to add 500 to 700 extra pounds of pin weight.
jwb187, you have the correct pin weight.
Peace
Dave

 

[wyleyrabbit]

So (without intentionally summoning the alleged "weight police"), for a typically loaded 3055RL, should I buy the Silverado 3500hd as a SRW which gives a max payload of ~3500 lbs or the DRW at max ~4700 lbs?

My concerns with the DRW is parking it, the less traction in snow (I am in Canada and am an avid skier), and the extra expense of having to buy 2 more tires.

Thoughts?

 

[BobSue]

I plan to upgrade to a DRW when I decide to change out.

I am pretty sure the SRW will handle your immediate needs with the 3055RL; but what if you decide you need to upgrade in the future.

The DRW costs more upfront, costs more to operate and maintain and is a pain to drive around town; but it should handle almost all upgrades you might consider.

It is a matter of $ now versus possible $ later.

Tough call