Hey all,
Looking to get a Super Duty for towing a RV and never have owned a large truck I am finding myself a bit out of my comfort zone while looking around. Although I haven't made a hard decision, we are looking to get something like this...
< Heartland Luxury Fifth Wheels | Heartland RVs

Looking at something used and I think I decided on 2011+ but there seem to be some good deals if I go back a little earlier(the higher mileage scares me a bit though). Would a F-250 be able to handle this ok or would I need a f-350? Would the gas engine be able to manage something this large or would I be relegated to the ~$8k premium for the diesel? Thanks for any info as I am only managing to confuse myself more as I dig through the internet.

 

Without having to dig into my tow guide, I think at 15,500 GVWR it is a bit much for a f250. My 2009 F350 will pull 16,500 with the V10. I have yet to buy my trailer but to stay legitimate and Double pull my 3000 lb boat I'm shopping in the 11,000 lb dry weight. Some of the guys on the forum are saying the new 6.2 V8 has some good towing numbers, but if you get a little older superduty you can get the 350 with a v10 until 2010. Just don't go older than 2009 as a lot of the modular gasser problems are still raging in the 2008 model year V10's.
Just my .02. Happy Towing!

 

Gonzo - with something that size you may be looking at a 450 , not a 350 because of the pin weight. No way in the world is that hitch weight gonna stay at 2020 lbs after you start loading it...... Have them load that monster and drag it to the scales and check the rear of the truck with and without the trailer attached. If that pin weight stays at 2020 lbs then I'm a monkey's uncle!. My 30' 5'er is darn close to 2k already. Yeah, it's prob over Ford's limit.

 

Try your question on RV.NET. Your GVWR is what you can carry on the truck's axle, not what it can tow. I would be looking at 2011 or later if diesel is your choice in order to get the 6.7L and not the gas guzzling 6.4L. look at the tow rating of any possible choice. For a dry weight of 11000# a diesel F250 will handle it. However a 350 in a used vehicle will not be much more $ and why not have a margin? I know little about gassers tho so try the RV forum.

 

You definitely need at least a 450. I moved an almost identical trailer, also a Heartland with the same factory specs, that was completely empty for a friend, we scaled it so he would know what to expect and what to buy for a tow vehicle and it was at the limit on pin weight for my F-350 dually with a full tank of fuel and just me in the truck. You would also probably be very disappointed without the diesel.

 

Welcome to FTE !

IMHO, don't even think of the 250 as their gvwr and rear gawr will not be enough for that 5er...

the 350 srw can go up to 11500 gvwr, and that's the minimum you should do...

good luck !

 

Me again. I have towed for 20 plus years. I am presently towing a dry weight 5th wheel of over 12000 # with a 6.7 l diesel F350. last year I towed the same trailer with a 2005 F350 6.0L from north of Toronto,On Canada to Yuma Arizona with no problem. Talk to the Rv .Net forum, as I'm hearing a lot of misinformation on this forum. I go to a Montana Rally every year in Goshen,Indiana and almost all 5th wheels are towed by 350s and 250s or Dodge and GM equivalents

 

Whats curb weight on a CC SD? I know its a VERY LIGHT estimate, but I found one source saying i was at 7500. 11,000 GVWR gives me 3500 (Before people fuel) way more than 2200 lb left for the pin though? What am I missing? And, for my own info don't we assume pin weight by 20% 5er GVWR?

 

You need to weigh your truck before saying it is 7500...but say it is 7500 with 3500 payload capacity. Pin weights should be figured on trailer GVWR--15500--and 20% of that is 3100, leaving a nice amount of 400lbs of you, wife, kids, dogs, hitch, firewood, beer and on and on. What is the RAWR on your truck--what it weighs now and what it can weigh is what is missing. The 250 is gonna be out of wiggle room--and what about the single rear tires at 3450lbs each--that is only 6900lbs of carrying capacity.
As jdadamsjr said--350 minimum--I say 350 dually--but lots of people do it and get away with it.
Joe

 

My 06 f250 ccswb 4x4 clicked in at 8300lbs. That equated to me a dog. A tool box and a half tank of diesel

 

Rolled over the scales at 36,000lbs with my f350 and a 35ft flat bed with 14 bails of hay. Not close to legal but the old v10 pulled it very well. What's legal and what it will pull are two different questions.

 

I completely understood that 7500 was an estimate. I said "VERY light estimate"
All of MY extras go in the garage on the 5er, so 400 lbs is very reasonable payload for me the wife and the 3 sub 10 yrs kiddo's. But I did just check my axle tag and realized that I have the 4.10's so my truck only gets 14,000 5er anyways. I'm only shopping 11,000 dry 13,800 GVWR 5er anyways. Just wondering on his math.

Im sure my KR 350 is Way heavier although I read the v10 was 700LBS lighter than the diesel (on here somewhere not sure its true!)
also my rear axle info tag gives me that 6900lb GAWR. Guess the key is how heavy the truck is on its feet right now.

 

Weighed my F250 yesterday just to make sure what I have and what it the total will be when we pick up our new 36+ foot 5er Friday. Approximately 18 gallons of diesel (filled it right afterwards), a 140# hitch in place, noting much else weighed in at exactly 8360 pounds. The new trailer is supposed to weigh in at 10,632 dry - and will be the starting weight. Add propane, a group 29 battery, personal items, toys, food and some water will be interesting what it finally ends up weighing. Going into Ford's chart, my truck with 3.55 gears can 'officially' haul 15,900 pounds (identical to the F350) and a pin weight of ~1700 pounds (I exceed that with our current unit, but wont with the new).

A new Heartland can be pulled dry by a F250 but it would be right at the limit. An F350, dual wheel truck would make life much better plus you could actually put some load in the trailer as well as the truck. Obviously, an F450 would be the ultimate, but IMO, not really necessary. That is a big 5er and if you propose doing a lot of traveling, bigger can be but not always better.

All this good information is found on line plus if you look at the top of this forum site, it's there as well though with the new format, may have to do some 'excavating' to find the information.

 

Let me restate as I understand it...
(and rv.net will be MUCH harsher than this group )

GVWR and rear GAWR will be more important than tow rating
as you will run out of carrying capacity before you run out of pulling (towing) capacity.

Using Dave's trucks weight of 8300 as an example (mine's there - or heavier )
if his gvwr is 8800 than that leaves him with only 500 lbs for people, hitches, dogs, and pin/tongue weight, etc...

Now if his gvwr is 11,500, than he has roughly 3,200 lbs for that...

IMHO, the 15 or 20% rule is just a guess used if you don't already have the rv or have TRUE weights not marketed weights,
and the only true weight is how YOUR rv sits on YOUR truck...

which entails factors, more or less, like:
how it's loaded front to back,
if it is uphill or downhill front to back when hitched,
the floor plan if all the heavy appliances are in the front or back,
whether you carry water with you...
etc....

So, to make it 'legal' would take true weights, but unfortunately, we have to guess and 'semi-trust' the marketing...

good luck and I understand we ALL try to make it work for our situation..

 

I have checked my weights every which way. In my opinion I am right at my limit with the combination I have. If I ever change to a little heavier 5th wheel I would change trucks. Here is what I am running:

F350 Single Rear Wheel, Heavy Factory Tow Package, 6.5 bed, 3.55 gears, Firestone Bags (which don't increase your capacity, just level you out)

Montana 5th Wheel loaded = 14,900
F350 Fully Loaded (fuel, bikes, 2 people) = 8,680
Combination Fully Loaded = 23,580

No matter what an RV dealer tries to tell you about added weight for personal items in a 5th wheel, they will probably under estimate. We added a washer/dryer plus all of our personal items and it came up to over 3,000 pounds! We are full timers but I would guess most folks add close to that much weight when you are talking about 36-40 foot fivers.