I'm a new user here, but I am on the old stuff FTE forums all the time regarding my '54 F100.

Recently I picked up a 34' 5th wheel from a neighbor (who towed it everywhere with a similar truck to the one that I just got), and then I just picked up this 2001 4x4 F250 7.3D Super Duty truck (who's owner used to pull a tow hitch trailer even bigger than mine) So I thought everything was perfectly OK to me....until I started playing with some of these towing calculators online. Hopefully I am not using them correctly!! Did I just make a horrible, very expensive mistake???

Truck: 2001 Super Duty 4 x 4 crew cab, not dually, 7.3L powerstroke turbo D engine, 3.73 gear, front GAWR 4800 lbs, rear GAWR 6084 lbs, tow and off-road packages, Reese 5th W hitch and 6.5' bed. No air bags or anti-sway stuff that I recognize.

Trailer: 34' Forest River 5th wheel, 2 axles, dry weight 10,212 lbs, GVWR 13615 lbs, GAWR 6000 lbs front/6000 lbs rear. And according to the VIN decoder it might be 29' or 39', but i really don't think so.

Will these 2 play well together?? Any suggestions of what else I might need, or would help? Thanks!!

Jerry
(AKA "dead Jerry", or "that FTE guy whose wife killed him in his sleep", if these 2 won't work together...)

 

 

figure off hand 20% of the trailer GVWR so that would be around 2700 lbs that will become payload. Get the truck on the scales and see how much payload you have.

I would not want to overload the axles or tires on the truck. So be sure to check the payload rating on the tires and make sure they are correct too.

 

Found 5'er numbers to be 13200# total payload of trailer..

 

That 13,200 is for a 2wd, he said 4x4 (so 12,800).

The unanswered question is the available cargo and what is this units (trailer and hitch) weight; that'd be my biggest concern.
IF your fifth was loaded to 13,600 then your pin weight should be around 2700 pounds (20%), plus another 200# for the hitch?

 

The diesel motor EATS up available vehicle load weight

 

Off subject but I noticed your in Ca. The dry weight of your fifth wheel requires a restriction 41 on your class C license. DMV hand book states a fifth wheel between 10,001 and 15,000 lbs can be towed with a class C with a restriction 41 endorsement. I just got mine last year. It requires another written test but no extra fees and no driving test. It's basically a non-commercial class A test.

 

Weigh your pin weight, if it's below 6084 you will be okay. Legally (according to DOT) your gcwr is the manufacturers rating or the gvwr of the truck + the gvwr of the trailer, whichever is greater.

 

6084 is the maximum weight allowed on the rear axle. He already has a bunch of weight back there from just the truck. Now add passengers, fuel, tools, hitch, etc. and (finally) the pin weight of the trailer. All of that together shouldn't exceed 6084 pounds. Fifth wheel trailers on F-250 trucks are tricky because the rear axle weight rating (RAWR) is what will usually go over. As has been noted already, load the trailer with the stuff you plan to travel with, hitch it up, and take it over a set of scales. Then you'll know without guessing.

 

Pulling a travel trailer and hauling a fifth wheel around can be deceiving with the weight the truck can handle. A F250 with the diesel has not that much more payload then a F150 with the max payload and max towing pkgs. I'd also check if your truck has the optional camper package which increases the truck's payload which would help with the 5th wheel pin weight. I'd guess the pin weight of that trailer to be in the 2200 to 2400 lb range loaded. I'd also be aware of making hard turns with the 6-3/4' bed due to the front caps having different tapers. You may need a sliding hitch or a sidewinder pin box to help avoiding hitting the trucks cab corner with the nose of the trailer. I had a 2000 F250 Scab with the 6-3/4' bed and it had the camper package with beefier rear springs and it rode like a F350 but it was a mule. I think with heavy rated 10 ply tires and getting a good weight at a Cat scale on the axles you may be OK but close. See if your truck still has the payload capacity sticker on the driver's door jamb and that will give you a good starting point.

 

 

Those old 7.3L diesels were heavy.

So if the above chart is correct - then your cargo capacity rating is under 1,000 pounds (you can verify this info with the door jam sticker).
Not that it hasn't previously been ignored; I suspect we're going to miss you. Sorry.

Jerry
(AKA "dead Jerry", or "that FTE guy whose wife killed him in his sleep", if these 2 won't work together...)

 

Im not seeing a clear answer yet so let me pick off the correct info in the seperate posts and try to summarize.

Truck: 2001 Super Duty 4 x 4 crew cab, not dually, 7.3L powerstroke turbo D engine, 3.73 gear, front GAWR 4800 lbs, rear GAWR 6084 lbs, tow and off-road packages, Reese 5th W hitch and 6.5' bed. No air bags or anti-sway stuff that I recognize. the GAWR by itself will not answer the question. whats needed is actual rear GAWR with the 5th wheel installed minus the max GAWR and if you have a positive number you passed the first checkpoint item. if you have a negative number you failed the first checkpoint item.

Trailer: 34' Forest River 5th wheel, 2 axles, dry weight 10,212 lbs, GVWR 13615 lbs, GAWR 6000 lbs front/6000 lbs rear. And according to the VIN decoder it might be 29' or 39', but i really don't think so. the GVWR 13615 is part of test two. we take the max tow of 12800 from a previous post and subtract the loaded trailer weight of 13615 from the truck tow capability of 12800 and you failed test two. with a fully loaded trailer, you are over weight by 785lbs. if pull the trailer dry (10,212 lbs) you would pass the second test with 2588 to spare.

an example, add 80 gallons of clean water, 80 gallons of gray water and 80 gallons of black water to the math and you have 188lbs left. add two propane tanks of 38lbs each and you have 100 left.

 

Ford ratings mean little legally. DOT says, in this case, that the gcwr is the gvwr of the truck plus the gvwr of the trailer, as long as no components rating is over, you are legal. So as long as he isn't over 6084 on his rear axle or 6000 on either trailer axle he is legal when loaded for camping. I don't think he will be, but it is possible.

 

"I don't think he will be, but it is possible."

This is vague; do you mean you don't think he'll be legal OR you don't think he'll be overloaded?