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FIrst, please pardon our ignorance....this whole truck and towing item is new to us and we are hoping to learn from the enthusiasts.
My. husband and I have a 2018 F350 6.7L Diesel SRW Super Duty (not sure what all information to give you). The GVWR is 11500, 3.55.
We are looking to buy our first 5th wheel. We are having MAJOR disagreement in understanding GVWR, GCWR, towing capacity, etc.
One of us says, the truck weight, occupants, cargo, and hitch height cannot exceed 11500. One of us says, the curb weight of this F350 is 8000 and leaves us about 2K for the tongue weight. That would put us at a max trailer weight of around 9-9500 lbs. One of us says this CANNOT be right. Please help us settle this so we can make educated decisions when purchasing a 5er.
I have a 2019 F350 6.7 SRW with 3.55 gears with a GVW of 11,500, basically same truck ad you. I tow a 5th wheel that fully loaded weighs around 15,000-16,000 lbs, My pin weight is around 2,000. I'm nowhere close to the towing limits on my truck.
I have a 2019 F350 6.7 SRW with 3.55 gears with a GVW of 11,500, basically same truck ad you. I tow a 5th wheel that fully loaded weighs around 15,000-16,000 lbs, My pin weight is around 2,000. I'm nowhere close to the towing limits on my truck.
I'm surprised your pin on a 15k+ trailer is only 2000#. If you had a typical pin of 3000-3400# on a trailer that big and multiple passengers in your truck, you'd likely be over your GVWR.
I have a 2019 F350 6.7 SRW with 3.55 gears with a GVW of 11,500, basically same truck ad you. I tow a 5th wheel that fully loaded weighs around 15,000-16,000 lbs, My pin weight is around 2,000. I'm nowhere close to the towing limits on my truck.
That 2000# an actual measured weight or estimate calculated %? Like the other poster stated, that is really light for that trailer weight. Kudos to the engineers who designed your trailer if that number is an actual measure. Every 5ver I looked at had an mfg estimate that owners I than talked to said was way to low to actual pin weights they weighed themselves.
GVWR 11,500 lb. This sticker is in the driver door jamb.
Highlighted in green is my never exceed ‘removable’ load weight of 4130 lb. This is the other sticker in the door jamb.
You would use the values on the stickers on your truck.
When you add together all of the ‘removable’ load (kids, dogs, fuel, hitch, travel goodies and toys loaded on the truck) you will subtract this number from the number above highlighted in green. Whatever is left over is your allowance for your 5th wheel pin weight.
Ford has a towing guide online that gives the GCVWR (Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating) which is the maximum recommended weight of your truck, 5th wheel and ‘removable’ cargo. Included in that table is the maximum recommended weight (gross weight) of the trailer that can be towed by your truck.
I looked up the guide Click here. It appears your GCWR is between 28,200 and 28,700 lb. The GVWR of your 5th wheel is between 20,000 and 20,400 lb. depending on your options.
These are the hard numbers provided by Ford and the easiest way to figure these weights. There are other ways to figure these weights but, as a beginner, they will keep you well within the margin of safety for your desired rig.
When you go looking for your 5th wheel use the GVWR (NOT the dry weight!) of the trailer in your calculations. The sticker with this information will be on the street side, front area of the trailer. For what you are doing approximately 20-25% of the GVWR will be the pin weight on a 5th wheel.
Do not let the salesperson try to sell you on the dry weight. Depending on his/her level of knowledge and honesty you will probably be overweight.
Please PM me if I can be of further assistance. I hope this helps.
Mr. King
So I looked at my truck, '19 F350 SRW 6.7 3.55 SWB 4WD 20" wheels, on the guide and it listed GCWR as 28,700 and max gooseneck tow capacity at 20,700. How is that possible with GVWR of 11,500? That max tow capacity combined with my GVWR would exceed the GCWR by 3,500 lbs. Just trying to make sense of the numbers.
So I looked at my truck, '19 F350 SRW 6.7 3.55 SWB 4WD 20" wheels, on the guide and it listed GCWR as 28,700 and max gooseneck tow capacity at 20,700. How is that possible with GVWR of 11,500? That max tow capacity combined with my GVWR would exceed the GCWR by 3,500 lbs. Just trying to make sense of the numbers.
Yeah, it's a common mis-understanding of the numbers. What you have is:
Max Tow = GCWR - Weight of the vehicle.
Payload = GVWR - Weight of the vehicle.
Because of this, Max Tow will always be off from GCWR-GVWR by about payload.
Only way you have a 16k lbs trailer with 2k lbs pin weight is if you have a sand rail or something parked in the garage....even then I doubt you're only 2k lbs. My empty 10k lbs toy hauler is almost 1200 lbs tongue weight and its a bumper pull.
So I looked at my truck, '19 F350 SRW 6.7 3.55 SWB 4WD 20" wheels, on the guide and it listed GCWR as 28,700 and max gooseneck tow capacity at 20,700. How is that possible with GVWR of 11,500? That max tow capacity combined with my GVWR would exceed the GCWR by 3,500 lbs. Just trying to make sense of the numbers.
Its got to be a perfect scenario for sure. I spent an afternoon one day when I was bored and loaded the truck and trailer in a controlled manor. Made it happen, but 99% of scenarios would never allow you to do it.
I did some studying to understand the differences in capabilities and payload between an F250 and F350 SRW because I just ordered an F350 for the same reason, we are going to get a 5th wheel. I believe after a certain weight / size 5th wheel, not sure the exact number, I would get a Dually. My truck will be a daily driver so we will shop for one thats not too big or exceeds weight ratings. I have attached a pic of a spreadsheet i did to help me understand. These are base weights and people and gear will deduct from payload (King Pin Weight).
and if you look at the tire ratings for those two trucks, you will probably see that the f250 rear tires are rated at 3200 max each and the f350 are rated at 3750 max each