I have a 2019 F-350 SRW with a payload of 3400 lbs, I'm looking to get a Grand Design Momentum G-Class, 320G or 350G, we are talking about unloaded pin weight of 2475 on the 320G and about 2700 on the 350G, still within spec, but leaves little to no room once loaded. I have read that you can increase payload by adding a leaf spring to the rear and getting thicker coil springs in the front. Is this true? Looking for some real world experience from this community, and I'm sure their are some industry experts here and engineers. Hard to find a straight answer when every site is trying to sell something. Thanks in advance.

 

Are the locations of the holding tanks help/against pin weight if full?
Can loading of the rear of trailer help with more items then, being loaded up front?
Weight on truck is per manufacturer. You could add leafs, bags, metal sticks..etc to help the load but your still only aloud that 3400#, legally...then theres the tire ratings and axle rating...
From what ive learned from reading this part of the forum..either get the biggest baddest F series that weight plays no part(dually) or succomb to a lighter trailer

 

Definitely going with one of the lighter 5th Wheel TH. Which is the reason I'm looking at these G-Class units from Grand Design. They are on the smaller/lighter end of all Toy Hauler 5th Wheels. I'm starting to learn that distribution of the loaded weight in these things can actually cause the pin weight to decrease, and if that is the case then I may be good to go. I'd like to know if anyone has numbers from a CAT scale of their toy haulers?

 

Toy haulers usually get less pin wt with cargo in the garage. So there is an argument to purchase some toys to go with the trailer.

Useful hauling/payload for your truck I'd go by the axle and tire ratings.

 

For my bumper pull toy hauler, leaving the garage empty will increase my tongue weight by almost 500 lbs. Every trailer is different. Axle placement plays a big part in how much your pin weight will be affected by a loaded or empty garage.

As far as increasing payload goes, nothing you do will alter the sticker that Ford puts on at the factory. Adding a leaf to the spring pack is too simplistic. There's more to the cargo capacity than a leaf. You have to take into account the tires, the axle, the leaf springs, the leaf spring shackles, the leaf spring brackets, etc. I overloaded my previous half ton truck and cracked a leaf spring bracket and bent the shackle. I got lucky that neither component failed all the way.

 

You can't increase the factory payload but you can enhance it so it proformes better when at max payload. I beleave the best way is to use air bags with a onboard compressor so you can easily change the the amount of enhancing going down the road.

Don't worry about the front springs because you will never transfer enough wieght forward to make any difference. Your main concern is the rear axle and tires, remember the harder your truck squats the more wieght the rear axle and tired will carry and that's why I like air bags because you can very your loaded hight with more or less air and eliminate any enhancement when unloaded.

Before you buy a 5th wheel check and see where the tanks are located because that is the biggest area where you can control wieght transfer unless it's a toy hauler but anymore I would be more worried about the trailer axles and tires than your F350 truck when sifting wieght around.

Denny

 

But airbags will not take away weight pressing down on the rear suspension, rear axle, and rear tires. You're just dampen the bounce and limit squat.

Means: to increase payload capacity you must upgrade your suspension and your tires to a higher load capacity. This will work up to a certain point. In principle you may want to turn your F350 into a F450. This may void your warranty or even your insurance and title.

The easier way (and safer) is to get a bigger truck or a lighter trailer.

 

I was driving in traffic next to a Chevy 2500HD that had a slide-in camper in the bed. I believe it was a Grizzly 990. It didn't look like a light camper. At one point he had to brake hard and the nose of his truck dove down way more than I expected to see. I suspect that he had a weak set of springs on the front axle.

I've read on this forum of guys that posted their scale sheets after weighing their fifth wheel trailers. One of the remarks from the scale results was that the trailer put very little weight on the front axle. I have to wonder how much weight would be transferred to the front axle if the brakes were hit hard.

My point is that the rating on the front springs probably matters more than people think.

 

By the pin wieght numbers and the payload number he will be at max but not over so bags will help with the way it carries the load.

Denny

 

Because of the way slide in campers are made they do shift a lot of wieght to the front axle so a 3/4 ton truck will nose dive under heavy braking where a 5th wheel won't.

Denny

 

First things first...the advertised empty pin weight is just that......the trailer itself.....not battery or batteries, and no propane tanks or propane....so the advertised empty pin weight is almost never the actual pin weight that you will see on a dealer's lot for that trailer. So, of the two trailers you have listed, both of them have a GVWR of 16,800 lbs. So if you load either one of them up to that weight, or close to it, you are looking at 3360 lbs for the pin weight. Then the additional stuff has to be totalled up also. 5ver hitch 175 lbs or so, passenger(s), toolbox in the bed with tools, firewood, grill, extra fuel, etc, etc. I obviously do not know what else or how much of that stuff you have or will be taking along when camping, just trying to let you see where the extra weight might come from....but, just the pin and the hitch are over 3500 lbs without counting anything else I mentioned. And yes, toys in the back do lighten the pin weight somewhat, but personally, I'm not going to depend on having the garage loaded in order to make weight for the truck.....you may view that thought differently though.

As far as adding springs, etc in order to try and increase your available payload capacity, there are many factors to consider, as stated above in a previous post. And the only LEGAL way to get a higher payload capacity is to go through a certified upfitter that has been licensed to do the work and then certify that the payload is higher. In fact, they will produce a new sticker for the truck's door post with the new ratings on it. It will be a considerable sum of money, but again, that decision is yours to make. There are people that do this instead of getting a bigger truck, but there is a cost involved and it ain't cheap.

 

That's what I said. Air bags will help with the way it carries the load, but they won't reduce the load. Maybe if you'd fill them up with Helium...

 

There is a way to increase the payload but it's not practical.

Remove the body panels, glass, seating, radio, etc and the truck weight goes down = a greater (pound for pound) payload.

 

A Momentum will exceed the payload of your F350 SRW. There’s no way around it.

I have a Reflection 337RLS. Grand Design lists pin weight as 2090. Mine came dry pin weight of 2220. THATS WITHOUT BATTERY OR PROPANE.

When lightly loaded to travel the pin weight is 2900 lbs.

i use a lightweight Andersen Hitch (37 lbs). With 2 adults, small dog (450 lbs), plus about 100 lbs misc stuff (tonneau cover. Tools etc) in best I can do is right at my 3523 payload.

 

To answer your original question, nothing you add can increase your payload. Payload is the remaining difference between the GVWR and the truck's weight. The GVWR is fixed, so the only thing you can do to effectively increase payload is to remove weight from the truck. So, yes, it can be done, but most people don't want to go to the extreme, like removing the box, pulling out the back seat, throwing away the centre console, etc...