Good morning FTE users!
I have a question- or maybe a mute point- not sure which...... Here is the background- two weeks ago, the wife decided she is going to retire, naturally, SSI isn't going to cover her remaining credit card debt, as she is 62. I'm retired USN, and receive a pension and am 30% disabled, as it stands with her CC debt and the debt owed on the truck (about 7K) and the trailer (about 22K) my pension and full time job wage isn't going to cut the mustard and pay it all. So we decided to sell the most valuable house (we have 2), which happens to be the one owned free and clear, and keep the renters paying the mortgage on the other one while we travel. The 28' Jayco isn't going to cut it for full time living, 5th wheel required. the 5th wheel we saw that meets all our need/wants has a GVWR of 16,500 lbs- my truck (it is stock) has a 5th wheel rating of 15,900 lbs. Here is the question- is it worth it to have the rear end bagged (on board compressor of course) and upgrade to a beefier sway bar to exceed the GVRW of the trailer? Or just change the rear end to 3:73's?

2013 F350. 6.7L Diesel. 4x4 short box. 3:55 rear end

 

Deleted the post.

 

Get a lighter trailer.

 

You don't need mechanical advice, you need to correct multiple bad decisions first. Air bags can correct too much sag, but they are not for correcting an overloaded truck.

 

I might have miss-typed myself. Empty the trailer weighs 13,725, which leaves 21/2200 lbs for cargo. The wife and I are trying to pare everything down to the BFM, after all, it is just Her, I and 2 dogs and 2 cats.. The trailer will be towed from place to place, but once where we are at, disconnected. We do not intend to be towing extremely long distances at any given time, couple hundred of mile at a shot at best. I guess my question was whether or not to bag the truck for sag compensation, not to overload the truck.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This.

 

You can easily find a fifth wheel trailer that weighs less and is suitable for full-time living for two. You just have to decide to do so. My wife and I full-timed for our first two years in a very nice 33' fifth wheel that weighed far less than you are considering. We have since moved up to a somewhat larger, heavier fifth wheel but we knew that we had the truck to pull it.

The choice you present (air bags & sway bar vs. rear end gears) doesn't make sense, as they address different things. Bags address rear-axle squat, the sway bar addresses, well, sway, and gears address drivability. Though your proposed gear change is only a 5%, so you might not even notice it.

It sounds like you may have more seriou$ matter$ to consider as well...

 

[QUOTE=Just
Deleted the post

 

We are still in the "looking" phase.

 

Lots of people with airbags and I've yet to hear anyone say they wish they never got them. Might wait and see what camper you get, take it for a few trips and see if you feel the need for bags. In this case, there's no reason to spend money ahead of time. You might end up preferring to spend that money on the camper instead. Seems like most people worry about overloading their truck. To me, it's the campers that usually need a little suspension augmentation. Take a look underneath your truck and then look underneath any camper and see which one you feel less comfortable loading to the max. We replaced the camper's plastic bushed springs bolts with greasable bolts and brass bushings along with a heavier equalizer. Then went from 15 inch loaded to the max 65 mph speed limit trailer tires to 16 inch LT tires with extra weight capacity and higher speed rating. Also added Moryde X-factor to keep the camper springs straight and stop uneven tire wear.

For camper weights considerations, always a good idea to weigh your front and rear truck axles before you even go shopping for a camper. Figure out what your available payload actually is and estimate 20% of whatever fiver you buy will be resting on your truck. Whatever camper you get, there's usually no need to load it to the tippity top with cargo. Just make sure to weigh it with all your gear too.

 

Depends on how ugly she is!

 

Or how much you've had to drink.

 

I'm gonna take this one step further... That's what doggy style is for... 😆

 

O.K. ...I knew I was going to get a lot of feed back, and in all honesty, I should have done my research a little better. But here is what I know, what I think, and what I suspect. I listened to all of you guys, bone- there was no need to delete your post, and I went and looked a little harder at my own question. Here is the deal- other than the HP generated, the 4 extra gears in the transmission and the extra torque created, there is absolutely no difference in the rear end from my 2013 and a current year model, which has a higher towing capacity. That means that the axle can handle the weight. Fear not- just because I can do it, doesn't mean I should

 

Sure, nothing else is different. Except the completely different frame, increased engine HP/TQ, lower curb weight, different model of axle and seven years of newer technology and innovation.