I thought the 350 pounds was unreasonable, that’s why I doubled it. Keeping in mind I also added 2,000 pounds in the rear that which included an 800 pound motorcycle and 700 pound golf cart. Then I added another 500 pounds to cover the other items we might take along.

I've driven DRW pickups in the snow and mud and did not care for it at all. Also, the idea of getting around town and parking is a concern.

 

I get what you're saying, and the reasoning is sound. But your numbers are not correct. I looked up the spec sheet on the Grand Design website. That 2785 lb pin weight is what the manufacturer estimates that RV weighs when they pull it off the assembly line. That is completely unloaded, no propane in the tanks, no batteries in the box. And no supplies, provisions, gear, tools, clothing, pots and pans, water, nada in the rig.

In order for you to calculate the ratio of 40% let off for rear garage weight, you must first fully load the rig. All camp gear, pots, pans, food, water, beer, etc. I would expect your pin weight to go up at least 1000 lbs, and that's being generous.

I suggest you go here:

Grand Design Owner's Forum

And ask some real world Momentum 351 owners what their rigs weigh, and what their pin weights are when they're loaded up and running down the road.

 

What an eye opener this has been. I just looked up the vin information on the VIN Decoder for one of the trucks I had looked at. According to the information I down loaded that truck has a GCWR of 19500 lbs with a fifth wheel hitch - max trailer weight of 11900 pounds. Dealer made it sound like that truck would pull just about anything. Sure would be nice if the Ford Dealer knew what he was talking about. I checked out a tow video from the RVSEF that was helpful too. Matching Trucks to Trailers Thanks for all your help! Sure glad I'm in no hurry to buy as I feel I have a little more research to do. I wanted to avoid the DRW but now that seems like the best/safest option. Any of you have experience driving a DRW 4x4 in the snow?

 

The 40% off the pin for every 1k is just so far off. You need to drop that number from your head. One guy on here has a monster triple axle toyhauler with an SRW truck. He has weighed it and the pin weight changes about 200 lbs garage empty vs. garage full. His actual pin weight runs 2800-3k IIRC. His trailer has the axles further forward than most, giving a lighter pin weight in a giant trailer. His trailer is much more exception than rule.

The trailers with a higher pin have the axles further back and it will take much more weight out back to realize a pin weight reduction. And then all your "stuff" will be forward of the axles, further increasing pin weight, and making the lever even harder to offset. For personal "stuff" I'd use a number closer to 1k -1500 lbs. Little things add up fast.

There are big TH's out there that will work on an SRW truck, but you need to be looking for something with a dry pin around 2500 or so. The trailer floorplan described above is discontinued.

I daily drive a 4wd dually. I've spent a lot of time in the snow with it this winter. It won't go anywhere in 2wd. But in 4wd with 5k on the front axle it does just fine. I have the 5th wheel in and about 200 pounds of tools and box in the bed. I was going to add 800 pounds of tube sand, but really haven't seen the need. This is with the stock 30k mile BFG rugged trails that are far from a great tire. You learn to park it. The hips are no wider than the mirrors. 90% of the time the length is a bigger issue than the width, and that's the same regardless of SRW/DRW.

 

I'm running a 12 F350 SRW, XLT, 6.7, 172" wheelbase. I'm pulling a Grand Design 350m, the precursor to the 351. I weighed my truck ready to roll and knew my truck could handle about 3,300 lbs pin. With my 350 ready to camp, 1/2 tank of water, and nothing in back, I squeeked under the rear GAWR (my tires load ratings are 1,000lbs higher still) by 50 lbs with me, wife, and dog in truck. I could pull some wieght from the toolbox in the bed very easily too. I am over gross combined by 1,500 lbs or so, but the 17 and newer trucks will have you covered there.

 

Thanks Chad149, thats good to know. That 350M is a beautiful camper!

 

So when I look at a truck like this DRW (VIN 1FT8W3DT5HEB83031) in the Vin Decoder it looks like the available payload will handle the pin weight and the axles will handle the load but will it pull up to 17,000 pound GVWR of the trailer? The truck is a F350 DRW Lariat Crew Cab with an 8 foot box. GCWR is 20,000 but when you subtract the truck weight it looks like it falls short.

 

That's got to be a misprint. My 13 dually is rated for 22,200 5th wheel towing with a GCWR of 30,500.

 

Could be, I have looked at several with the same specs. though. Do you know the actual weight of your truck unloaded Ferguson65?

 

I'm pretty sure your looking at max trailer wieght, not gross combined. I suspect that figure is for the 350 SRW max trailer weight.

 

I don't have an actual number for my truck. Before I ordered while I was back and forth on SRW vs DRW I weighed a buddies 2011 6.7 crewcab 4x4 dually. With a full fuel tank, some misc stuff, and just a goose ball it tipped the scale at 8740. I would be willing to bet mine sits right about 9200 with a full fuel tank and no driver due to the 5th wheel that never comes out, airbags, pump, controller and a loaded toolbox.

 

Ford tow guide for a 2017 F350 CC 6.7 dually shows 27,300 for 3.55 and 31,300 for 4.10. GCWR at 36 and 40k respectively.

 

I just pulled the information from the VIN Decode on this site and came up with the following. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong or the information is incorrect? Its suppose tp be for a 2017 F350 Lariat 4WD Crew Cab 8' Box.

Vehicle NameFord Super Duty F-350 DRW Body StyleSD Crew Cab DrivetrainFour Wheel Drive Passenger Capacity6, 5 5.0 min 6.0 maxGross Axle Wt Rating - Front5200 lbs 5200.0 min 5200.0 maxGross Axle Wt Rating - Rear9900 lbs 9900.0 min 9900.0 maxCurb Weight - Front4115 lbs 4115.0 min 4115.0 maxCurb Weight - Rear3264 lbs 3264.0 min 3264.0 maxGross Vehicle Weight Rating Cap14000 lbs 13000.0 min 14000.0 maxGross Combined Wt Rating20000 lbs 20000.0 min 20000.0 maxDead Weight Hitch - Max Trailer Wt.12100 lbs 12100.0 min 12100.0 maxDead Weight Hitch - Max Tongue Wt.1210 lbs 1210.0 min 1210.0 maxWt Distributing Hitch - Max Trailer Wt.12100 lbs 12100.0 min 12100.0 maxWt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt.1210 lbs 1210.0 min 1210.0 maxFifth Wheel Hitch - Max Trailer Wt.12100 lbs 12100.0 min 12100.0 maxMaximum Trailering Capacity12100 lbs 12100.0 min 12100.0 maxEngine Order Code99T 996.0 min 996.0 maxEngine TypeIntercooled Turbo Diesel V-8

 

You are looking at the wrong documents! Try this....https://www.ford.com/resources/ford/...DtyPU_Sep9.pdf

Scroll down until you find the exact truck setup that you are interested in......F350 Crew Cab DRW Diesel and then look at which reared 3.55, 4.10, etc. The GCWR starts out in the 36,000 lb range when towing a 5ver or gooseneck. Make sure you don't look at the conventional towing numbers......which is what I suspect you did before.

There is obviously a HUGE difference between conventional towing and 5ver towing. Conventional puts all the tongue weight on the rear of the truck at the receiver and where it's bolted to the frame of the truck. 5ver towing pin weight puts that weight over the center of the rear axles and obviously gives you a lot more ability as far as trailer weight to be able to tow safely.

My 2016 F350 Dually Crew Cab Diesel 4x4 with 8' bed has 5270 lb of payload and a GCWR of about 32,000 pounds. The 2017 trucks are even stronger.....check it out!

 

I just looked at the 2017 Ford book tech specs and it shows the F350 6.7 DRW 4X4 5th wheel towing to be 27,300 with the 3.55. It appears the information the tech specs. Vin Decoder is giving me is for the 6.2 gas even though the app shows and the truck is listed as a diesel. Do the DRW trucks get about the same fuel MPG as the SRW trucks (not that it matters, just interested).