I have a 2002 f250 sd crew cab lariat 4x4 7.3, we are looking at a fifth wheel with a dry weight of 8650
and a hitch weight of 1570, CAT scale has truck weight with me,wife and a full tank of fuel at 7760
4600 front axle, 3160 rear axle. People I know tell me I can tow this but according to the gvw of 8800 lbs
Im overweight. Should I be looking for a different trailer?

 

You really have to weigh the trailer loaded for camping first. Your truck's GVW IS 8800 lbs. that's only the carrying weight of the truck alone.... truck plus passengers and pin weight of the RV. Your GCVW (COMBINED) weight is prob around 13000. OH, insure you do not exceed the tire's weight rating too.

 

You are likely around 12.5k towing capacity on the 5th wheel plate, depending on your truck's options. I tow a 9k 5th wheel with mine. Most of the time you won't know it is back there!

 

Tires are E rated 16" 10ply and going to use Anderson ultimate aluminum hitch (40lbs)

 

Looks like I'm about 9305 on the truck weight with the trailer attached, and 16k total truck and trailer

 

20% of the trailer GVW is probably a good factor of what will be the king pin wt...or become the payload of the trailer.


Dry wt is not a good number to even try to go off of.


According to the door cert, what is your rear axle gvw? Do the math, rear axle minus the 3160 gives you what you can load on the rear.

 

Rear axle rated at 6030lbs

 

We hooked it up at the dealership today to check it out, rear of overload spring was 3/4 of an inch away from rubber stop and front was bout 3 -4 inches away with no air bags

 

so what is the projected pin wt of the trailer?

 

Truck was sitting pretty level

 

Yes, sounds good so far but remember you are going to add stuff and you wil most likely have some fresh water and some black/gray water on board as well.


So that is why you go off of the GVW of the trailer, the wet weight.

 

Gvw for trailer is 10k even and pin weight is 19%

 

Pin weight at 8200 dry weight is 1548lb

 

is this a small toy hauler?


Either way it sounds very promising.


Pin wt is more like 2K, so you have some room

 

The Ford towing guide for my truck (very similar to yours) has a max 5th wheel towing capacity of 12.5K lbs.

I pull a Montana High Country 313RE with the truck in my signature and it does very well. Going up steep grades through the TN mountains I drop it into 4th and get the boost up to about 25 PSI and just roll on at 65-60 MPH.

I have done minor upgrades to my truck like a Hydra tuner with Gear Head tunes, RiffRaff 4/4 billet compressor wheel, AIS intake and am now putting on air bags and traction bars only because we plan to full timing in the next few years. In the future I plan for a KC38R turbo and single shot PIS 160/80 injectors, but that is only to make it easier on the truck, not because it needs them.

I pulled a 10K lbs travel trailer 8K miles last summer from GA to Seattle, WA and back with zero problems. The Rocky Mountains were not a big deal as long as you were not in a hurry. I don't run up these things like some of the new 6.7's, but I can tell you that the 7.3 is no slouch.

I recommend the Andersen Ultimate Hitch if you have not already committed to one. There is no chance of dropping the trailer and the chucking is next to nothing.