5th wheel towing 3500 SRW

[392heminut]

Stay out of the high crosswinds.

Why? 5th wheels are inherently more stable than a bumper pull. I live in the desert southwest and we deal with high winds all through the year, 60 MPH gusts are common. I pull a 14,000 5th wheel with my Ram 3500 SRW and have never had a problem with crosswinds. I can feel the crosswinds but have never experienced instability with my SRW.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Why? 5th wheels are inherently more stable than a bumper pull. I live in the desert southwest and we deal with high winds all through the year, 60 MPH gusts are common. I pull a 14,000 5th wheel with my Ram 3500 SRW and have never had a problem with crosswinds. I can feel the crosswinds but have never experienced instability with my SRW.

Exactly wind does not really affect a truck pulling a 5th wheel especially if you have a decent dual pivot hitch you don't really feel the wind at all pulling the trailer. If you cheap out and only have a single pivot hitch then you can feel the wind more

 

[AH64ID]

Exactly wind does not really affect a truck pulling a 5th wheel especially if you have a decent dual pivot hitch you don't really feel the wind at all pulling the trailer. If you cheap out and only have a single pivot hitch then you can feel the wind more

I can’t even think of any single pivot hitch heads still being made for a P/U. Are there any?

Proper pin weight is just as important for a 5th wheel as it is a bumper pull, even thou a 5th wheel has more wiggle room before you notice handing issues.

I’ve never had wind issues on my 5th wheel or bumper pull trailers, even with 30+ mph crosswinds at 70+ mph.

 

[Blythkd1]

It's not trailer sway that's the worry with a 5er in high winds, it's the risk of tip over. I deliver new rv's and our company tells us to pull over and park if winds stay above 30mph. Funny, I don't know how a guy would ever get across Wyoming like that, maybe in the middle of the night?

Blowing over with high profile campers does happen. In fact, it's not really that rare. Our company deals with it routinely. A few years ago I was fighting 40-ish mph winds across WY, pulling over at Little America. A couple more RV haulers showed up 15-20 minutes after I did and we started visiting. They said they saw trucks blown over and the authorities were closing the interstate right behind them. Once a camper starts to go, I don't know that a dually is going to be much help over a SRW truck.

But back to the OP, a lot of guys do it. Look around at campgrounds, you usually don't have to hunt much to find big 5ers behind SRW trucks. As long as you're within the rated limits or at least close, it's definitely do-able. I've done it plenty in flatbed hauling. But when it comes to pulling something that big and heavy, I actually do prefer a dually. If you elect to stick with the SRW truck, just check out the weight on the truck's rear axle. If it's heavy and you can redistribute some of the stuff in the camper, try that. You don't necessarily need 20% pin weight for the camper to pull right. 5ers are pretty forgiving that way. If you have to redistribute weight, do so, weigh again and take it out for a short drive to see how it pulls. It'll more than likely be fine. Even 15% pin weight will likely be over 2500#, and unless you have something odd going on with your RV, that will likely work just fine.

Again, I've done plenty of it but I prefer a dually. I give up a little ride quality and mileage when empty but that's about it.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

I can’t even think of any single pivot hitch heads still being made for a P/U. Are there any?

Proper pin weight is just as important for a 5th wheel as it is a bumper pull, even thou a 5th wheel has more wiggle room before you notice handing issues.

I’ve never had wind issues on my 5th wheel or bumper pull trailers, even with 30+ mph crosswinds at 70+ mph.

Admittedly its been 20+ years since i bought a 5th wheel hitch or even looked at them at that time there were still lots of single pivots available i would assume they still have some around

 

[racer4]

I agree with weighing it at a CAT scale.
Get the truck's rear axle weight separate from the front axle, when hooked up to the FW trailer.
Make sure the rear axle weight does not exceed the combined rear tires capacity rating.

 

[Black Lariat 3500]

Good advice, you will probably be surprised at how heavy you are.

And when you deliver the message of weight be very careful. Your life may depend on it.

 

[GBergen]

If the OP opted, or will opt for the washer/ dryer addition to the Jayco, it's in the nose and off to the side... So will add a few more pounds to the pin weight.
A good friend of mine has this option, but said that it's so small, you only do a few pounds of clothing at a time.

 

[Dodgeman]

Hi ya'll,

New to the page, hoping some of you can help.

Wife and I are going full time in a 5th wheel. Jayco Northpoint with GVWR of 17,500.

Got a 2023 3500 SRW Diesel SO 6.7I6 Diesel to pull it. 6'4" bed with a payload of 4190 and rear axle rating of 7K giving a max trailer weight rating north of 20K.

Felt really comfortable with this set up but after reading some posts here starting to thing I should have gone with a dually. Am I in trouble?

We are pulling a 42 ft Solitude with a 2022 3500 HO dually. I don't really notice the RV back there when driving. (I am very aware of the length in tight corners.) We scale out at about 17,600 (18,000 GVWR) and our pin weight is right at 3,500 lb - almost exactly 20%. It's a short bed so we have a 250# Pullrite slider. We carry a couple boxes of DEF, 15 gallons of spare diesel, some tools (50#), 310 lbs of people and cat, and maybe 100# of miscellaneous stuff in the truck. It adds up pretty fast if you include everything in the truck that wasn't there when you picked it up from the dealer. That puts us at around 4,300#, over the payload of any 3500 4WD MegaCab SRW Rams. I originally wanted a SRW but like a safety margin so went with a DRW and am glad I did. The tow is "rock solid". A DRW gives several advantages. More payload, more rubber on the road for resisting side to side slippage, some safety margin with a rear blowout or flat, and, probably most importantly, a wider stance for tipover prevention. After watching a number of Youtube videos of fifth wheel tipovers, it was a no brainer for us.

 

[Firebird]

We are pulling a 42 ft Solitude with a 2022 3500 HO dually. I don't really notice the RV back there when driving. (I am very aware of the length in tight corners.) We scale out at about 17,600 (18,000 GVWR) and our pin weight is right at 3,500 lb - almost exactly 20%. It's a short bed so we have a 250# Pullrite slider. We carry a couple boxes of DEF, 15 gallons of spare diesel, some tools (50#), 310 lbs of people and cat, and maybe 100# of miscellaneous stuff in the truck. It adds up pretty fast if you include everything in the truck that wasn't there when you picked it up from the dealer. That puts us at around 4,300#, over the payload of any 3500 4WD MegaCab SRW Rams. I originally wanted a SRW but like a safety margin so went with a DRW and am glad I did. The tow is "rock solid". A DRW gives several advantages. More payload, more rubber on the road for resisting side to side slippage, some safety margin with a rear blowout or flat, and, probably most importantly, a wider stance for tipover prevention. After watching a number of Youtube videos of fifth wheel tipovers, it was a no brainer for us.

Towing with a dually is second to none! Amazing stability.

 

[Buckrub]

New here.......first Ram, lots of 5th wheel towing....IMHO, which is worth very little, I think all 5th wheel towing specs should read something like this: "If the actual calculated pin weight of your specific rig, plus all added equipment and persons, is within the listed capacity of your specific truck as stated on the door jam, then and only then should you calculate and ensure you are within all other towing capacity limits, such as RAWR, etc".

Or worded better, but that's the idea. Come in under the Payload (CCC) first, then figure everything else. If you can't come in under payload for your 5th wheel, the rest is immaterial.