Ford 5th-Wheel Prep with Curt Hitch

[donwheeler]

I have a 2011 36RE that I acquired in a private sale. A 20K rated CURT hitch was also part of the purchase.
I ordered a new 2014 Ford F350 diesel single rear wheel with the 5th-wheel prep package.
The prep package is designed to work with 2 or 3 hitch vendors; Curt not being one of them.
Does anyone know if my Curt hitch can be made to play with the prep package framework? At this point, I wouldn't even mind if the 'rails' had to be mounted in order for me to use the hitch.

Also, are there any opinions as to how well the F350 will perform as a tow vehicle?

Thanks.
Don in Maine

[Oriana]

Don - we have the 2012 SRW with CC & long box with the factory prep package installed. We also purchased the Reese 25K hitch which works with the prep package. It is an excellent system. Unfortunately can't help with adapting your hitch to fit.

The SRW does work, but you are pushing the limits of load on the rear axle. We only tow with all tanks empty and are within 150 - 200lbs of max axle load.

The truck, with 6.7 engine, is a great tow. When we factory order again we will change to the DRW and add the tailgate step.

[Valg]

Don,I have also a 36RL and CURT Q24 hitch and it works fine.I pull it with a 2013 CHEVORLET 3500HD DRW. VALG.

[johnboytoo]

Hi Don,
whoa, typed a lot and forgot to say Welcome !!!!

which gvwr did you order ? they go from under 10k all the way up to 11.5k in the srw... and think there are other options like the camper pkg, etc... to play with.. one thing I did have them do was put this big rear sway bar on and that helped a bunch.... (drove the truck for two week until the bar came in and so had a good idea of the difference !)

Our 350 ccsb platinum does fine with pulling, stopping, and handling....
but squats more than I'd like so bags are going on...

Having weighed our rig at the cat scales multiple times we know what we can and cannot do, so like Andy, we go to great lengths to ensure to not add anything to the pin wgt and keep it as low as possible.

good luck !

[Oriana]

Good point John - forgot to mention that we ordered our SRW with GVWR of 11.5K and 4x2. Had we ordered a 4x4 we would also be close to the max trailer weight. Our 36FL weighs in at 15,500 lbs and pin weight of about 3,000lbs.

Hopefully you got the max GVWR on the truck.

[rayrussel]

We previously pulled our Jayco with a Ford F250 with the 6.7L diesel. It was a handful but towed OK. When we upgrade to Redwood we also upgraded to an F350 DRW 6.7L. I like the DRW platform and the 6.7L is great.

Even if you are within limits be careful with the SRW setup. Loosing a rear tire while driving down the road at highway speed pulling 15,000lb-17,000lbs is quite an event.

[atom ant]

Originally Posted by rayrussel

Even if you are within limits be careful with the SRW setup. Loosing a rear tire while driving down the road at highway speed pulling 15,000lb-17,000lbs is quite an event.

It would be pulling 5,000 lbs with my SUV! Not sure that is a good justification for DRW, or the trucking manufacturers wouldn't be going back to high load capacity single tires.

My DRW is a pleasure to tow with, but with a lighter trailer, so was my SRW. SRW are proven tow machines with a good track record.

[Oriana]

Brad - I concur the SRW is a proven tow vehicle. Don't have any experience with DRW and even with 2 months on the road under our belt I find the SRW also a pleasure to tow with.

Having said that, like you I prefer the higher factor of safety afforded by a DRW and will get one in the next couple of years. In the interim, we manage the risks by monitoring the trailer & pin weight to stay within guidelines and even on the motorways I usually drive at a max of 55 - 60 mph.

Tying back into the original post, yes the F350 SRW is a good tow vehicle, but check the towing specification for your specific vehicle, as they vary depending on options and model year.

[Valg]

DON, Back to the curt 5th wheel hitch, My curt hitch has 2 rails bolted to the bed and the 5th wheel slips in the notches and 4 1/2" pins and clips hold it in. As far as weight is the dealer in Florida told me to look at the door Jam in the truck at the gvcwr to see if it can carry it. Example RW hitch 2600 lb plus 1000. Your truck should read 3600 or more. My pull good back to Tennessee.VALG

[atom ant]

Just note:

The door sticker on my dually says I have a cargo capacity of 4,359 lbs.

I have a 36RL with some heavy items that include the tri-glide hitch, W/D, and generator - no slide-in-slide. Loaded to camp and with full fresh water, my pin weight is 4,320! My gross is 26,360 lbs and I'm putting 8,080 lbs on the rear axle.

As you can see, I almost max out the dually sticker, however I'm comfortable knowing I have 9,000 lb rear axle and 12,000 lbs of tire capacity back there.

[Oriana]

Originally Posted by Valg

As far as weight is the dealer in Florida told me to look at the door Jam in the truck at the gvcwr to see if it can carry it. Example RW hitch 2600 lb plus 1000. Your truck should read 3600 or more. My pull good back to Tennessee.

That is an overly simplified review of weights. Suggest you review some older posts on this forum where weight limits were discussed in greater depth.

As John mentioned you need to check weights and axle loads at a certified scale. I want to know the load on each truck axle, GVW of truck, GVW of trailer, pin weight and GCW of both. To do this I weigh each truck axle with both of us, dogs, hitch, full load of fuel and stuff normally carried in the truck bed. Then I get the trailer hitched and weigh each truck axle again and then the trailer axles.

This gets redone any time we add/subtract a reasonable amount of weight.

Before receiving your truck you can check the specifications and axle loads on the Ford website. When I did the calculations for the SRW, the trailers GVWR was within spec by 100lbs for a 2012 and the max pin weight was about 3300 - 3400 lbs, but this didn't include the hitch and other loads in the truck. Our max pin weight, as determined at the scales, with full fuel, etc is about 3100 lbs.