3/4 or 1 ton

[Pcol2000]

Hey guys.
I've been trying to read more than I post as I feel that is a good general rule to live by on any forum, but. . . . I am going to be in a redwood full time soon and will not be doing much moving around. I will however, head from the east coast to Texas in about 2 years. I am currently in an Audi and it obviously doesn't have a hitch, so I'm looking to trade it in on a truck. F350 or 250 is what I am looking for, just don't know which would suit me better. I do not expect to move around much, but when I do, I figure it to be a pretty long haul. What do y'all think?

[travelin' texans]

Minimum 1 ton single rear wheel!!! If you don't overload the RW til you park it the SRW should get you to & from alright.

[Rick and Mindy]

Originally Posted by travelin' texans

Minimum 1 ton single rear wheel!!! If you don't overload the RW til you park it the SRW should get you to & from alright.

X2! A 3/4 ton will probably not be able to handle the pin weight. Not for certain about the 3/4 ton Dodge, you would have to check the weight ratings but for what you will spend for the truck, I would not go less than the 1 ton.

[mhs4771]

Agree on a minimum of 350/3500 series. Then depending on which model RW you pick and being Full time could end up requiring a Dually. Some models are much more Pin Heavy then others. Our 36RL was quite pin heavy, so when packed for long term travel we were pushing 4K on the pin with a 17K gross.

[Jim & Mary]

There has been so many posts in the last few years on this subject about perfectly good SRW trucks traded in on a DRW, and I'm one of them. Can a SRW tow a Redwood..........yes, it can. But as the previous post indicated, you have to pay attention to total weight of the coach and how much payload it puts on the rear axle and tires of the truck. There was just not enough safety margin for my liking, so I traded in a 2013 F350 SRW for a 2015 F350 DRW and am extremely happy at how much more stable our rig is going down the highway now.

[Grizzby]

There are MANY posts on the forum about this question. For us, a one ton dually is the way to go.

Bob

[rob_fla]

I pulled our previous SOB 5th Wheel (41 Feet @ 15,700 lbs.) with a 3/4 Ton Truck for a little while.
Did it pull it ok, Yes !
Did it stop ok, Yes !
On my first trip to Texas, once I got to Western Louisiana and Texas it was "White Knuckles" time.
It was time to hang on as the wind out West blew me all over the road.
I came back to Tallahassee FL and traded for my current GMC 3500HD DRW and made my next trip to California pulling the same SOB 5th Wheel, no problems with stability coast to coast.
Now that I have replaced the SOB 5th Wheel with my current Redwood (42 Feet @ 16,700 lbs.) I am sure glad I have the DRW Truck pulling it.
The GMC 3500HD DRW / Redwood combination is very stable towing in all types of road and weather conditions.

[PsychoBob65]

We went from a 3/4 ton Dodge shortbed cab in a half to a 3500 DRW 4 door and won go back. Pulls like a dream.

[piper guy]

I did a 3 hour trip yesterday with gusting, direct side winds of 25-35 mph almost the whole trip. I saw the trailer move about 3" one time. No sway, no white knuckle moments, no drama whatsoever. I don't think it would have been the same with the SRW F350 that I had before.

Love the Dually and have no intention of switching. Well, maybe a Sportchassi ..........

[Pcol2000]

Thanks y'all. I am about 2 months out to returning to the states and the hunt for a truck is getting serious. All the info is much appreciated.

[Ford truck guy]

Originally Posted by Pcol2000

Thanks y'all. I am about 2 months out to returning to the states and the hunt for a truck is getting serious. All the info is much appreciated.

Like already stated , STAY with the 350/3500 series trucks.... If buying the new generations (2015 & up ) Depending on how you pack , the SRW will be just fine..
If you do not have an issue with a DRW , go that route and forget about it! MY SRW 350 ( 2015 ) takes care of business just fine.. but we are weekend warriors and have mostly empty cabinets ..

[piper guy]

And then you have those of us who travel with everything we think we may need ........
There was a reason I put 8k IS under her. We are normally about 16,650 or so.

Last time I weighed at cat scale, we had about 3340 on the pin. Probably a bit more now with the MORyde slide tray and the extra stuff in the basement.

[mhs4771]

About the only RW you can get by with a 250/2500 class TV is the 31SL and that's only if you pack light.

[superduty glampers]

Originally Posted by mhs4771

About the only RW you can get by with a 250/2500 class TV is the 31SL and that's only if you pack light.

Your statement is not true, my GAS F-250 has well over 3000lbs of payload and the FL has the lightest pin weight of the RW's. We are no where close to max capacity of 16,000lbs, making your statement FALSE.

[piper guy]

Jim, curious, but have you actually had the rig weighed, like CAT Scale ? I know the FL is lighter than my RL on the pin but I don't think it's more than 800 lbs or so. With my 2013 F350 CC SB Diesel, I was ok (barely) on GCWR but was WAY over on rear axle GWR. Like, more than 1000 lbs overweight on rear axle. And that truck had a 11,500 GVW rating. That was one of the biggest reasons a 8 month old truck became a Dually.

[rob_fla]

I had my Redwood 38FL weighted by RVSEF (RV Safety Foundation) with oil filled scales on each wheel for both truck and trailer weights.


My Redwood FL is much lighter on the pin than my previous SOB RL 5th Wheel, it weighted around 15,700 but had a pin weight of 3,700 lbs.

Below is the data from last year that shows my 38FL pin weight at just under 3,000 lbs. with a total trailer weight just under 17,000 lbs.


Redwood 38FL Weight.pdf

[superduty glampers]

Originally Posted by piper guy

Jim, curious, but have you actually had the rig weighed, like CAT Scale ? I know the FL is lighter than my RL on the pin but I don't think it's more than 800 lbs or so. With my 2013 F350 CC SB Diesel, I was ok (barely) on GCWR but was WAY over on rear axle GWR. Like, more than 1000 lbs overweight on rear axle. And that truck had a 11,500 GVW rating. That was one of the biggest reasons a 8 month old truck became a Dually.

Vaughan, No I haven't weight mine yet, only because there is nothing in it but the bare minimum. Like Joe (Ford truck guy) said more empty cabinets then full,as a matter of fact our living room cabinets are completely empty. 800lbs is a big deal if it all in front of the axles,that's a different of 2800lbs of pin weight to 3600lbs. And according to RW the pin weight on a 31SL and a 39Mb is only a 9 pound difference. I only use my truck to pull the RW 6 weeks a year the rest of the time it sits try that with a diesel.

[Shane Wood]

Jim
I would still get it weighed as the factory sticker weight is always lower than actual when scaled. As Far as a diesel sitting my last one a 2006 had 60000 miles in it when I got my new one and had no problems what soever with it

[rob_fla]

The factory sticker weight is as built rolling out the door, it will be typically be lower than when you are towing it home from the dealer, no propane, no batteries, no water, no sewer hose, no left over water in the tanks from testing, no water in the water lines or water heater from leak testing at the plant, everything is absolutely dry and empty.
It is the lightest it will ever weight

[piper guy]

Jim - I'm not trying to start a war here, just making a serious point. There are many people who feel that since their 250-2500 tows the rig just fine it is ok.

I would put a $50 bill on the table and wager that if you have your rig weighed, even as light as you say you are, that you will be considerably over the GVWR of the rear axle on the truck and also considerably over the max weight that the tires are rated for.
For me, the possibility of blowing a drive tire while towing was a chance I was not willing to take. As the saying goes, your mileage may vary, but until the rig is actually weighed wheel by wheel, you are totally guessing.