Towing 5th Wheel with 5.3?

[Jake56]

Does anyone here tow a fifth wheel trailer with a 5.3 liter 2014 GMC or Chev. Double Cab with 6 and half foot box. Reason I ask is the camping forums tell me it is too much pain in butt to tow with a short box because you need a very expensive sliding hitch in the bed , and that the weight of most fifth wheels would limit me to just the very short length fifth wheel trailers so that I do not go over the payload. They also tell me approx. 20 to 25% of trailer weight is on the truck bed fifth wheel hitch , so that overloads many a half ton.

 

Now I take this with a grain of salt because I find on camping forums , everyone pushes the biggest truck possible (I think they lie to their wives why they need the 3/4 or one ton truck)

But maybe I am expecting too much .

Any fifth wheelers out there ? With similar truck to mine? heck my 1979 Chev half ton with a 100 hp less than this one could tow a large trailer , but maybe it all comes down to payload in the box not HP

[Sierra 5.3]

I know back in the day my dad used a 96 Chevy 1500 Extended cab regular box to tow both bumper hitches, but don't think we ever towed the fifth wheel with it. I think we got a 2500 for the fifth wheel. I could be wrong, but I think what you are saying is pretty accurate. If you just get a small fifth wheel, I think you would be fine. This is also 10 years ago, so the weight of campers could have changed a lot from then.

[JRL1164]

In a lot of cases it is safer to pull a fifth wheel than a bumper pull camper. Most of the time your fine on your trailer weight. It's you payload capacity that limits these trucks. As long as you mind your payload I wouldn't have any reservations about it.

 

 

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[Krusty]

Max tow or not? See post #16 here for 5th wheel pic:

 

http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/196725-real-life-experiences-towing-w-max-tow-62/page-2

 

[newdude]

The published tow weights in the manual for a 1500 apply for conventional and 5th wheel. So, if you have a double cab 3.42 gears 5.3 4x4 for example, your limit is 9,600 lbs. both styles of towing. GM allows for 15-25% kingpin weight. Say you have a 5th camper at 8000lbs loaded weight. If you went for the 15% kingpin load at 1200lbs, you have very little wiggle room left for extras (payload). GM calculates payload as the total weight of all occupants and cargo on the truck itself. So say your payload is 1850lbs. If you have 1200lbs on the rear, and say you weight 200lbs, and your wife 150lbs, that leaves you 850lbs for extras.

 

If you plan on getting a trailer for 5th wheel, go light, but still one that fits your needs. I would go with a set of LT E load tires for some added safety and stability, and possibly some air bags for rear end control/support. Remember though, an HD truck would be much more stable at towing such, especially if you plan to tow a lot. Bigger frame, higher payloads, taller gearing, stronger driveline/suspension/axles, etc.

[Andy Seibel]

yeah, you could do it. but does that mean you should?

 

don't be this guy

 

[Insideout60x]

All trailers/5th wheel hitches and king pins can vary. I can say that i have pulled (2) smaller 5th wheels with my 2003 1/2 ton Silverado 6-1/2 box and now again with my 2014 Sierra 1/2 ton 6-1/2 box. I did not need any sort of slider hitch in either of the two trucks and could if needed swing to 90 degrees. The 2014 pulls the trailer much easier. Ours is a 30 footer superlite made for 5th wheels and I am right at the max when the trailer is loaded and carring passengers/cargo. The truck certainly has the power to pull more, and i feel very comfortable towing with it, but i do think much more weight and i would leaning toward a 3/4 ton truck.

 

I should mention that also run an E rated tire the makes a world of difference as well.

[sdeeter19555]

You need to look at the RVs available, I owned a 24ft 5vr that weighed 3250 empty, 5300 loaded, and it had a 450 pound pin weight...

 

There are 5vrs meant for small trucks. The main issue I see is the short-short bed. I had a slider for mine, and simply ran with the hitch slid to the rear.

 

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[Canuck Travellers]

Why don't you go to the RV Net Forum and go to Fifth Wheels part and join if you are not already a member in order to post (no charge) this forum has thousands on it and that is what they do i.e. haul Fifth Wheels, calculate weights, talk about it, discuss what is or is not safe. They have a lot of knowledge on this, they even have what they call "The Weight Police" that watch closely anyone posting about hauling Fifth Wheels over the limit.....I think you will get a whole lot of insight there on this. Personally I think unless you have a heavier package on your vehicle you will be restricted to a smaller Fifth Wheel.

 

We had a 37/32 Titanium for about 4 years hauled with a Chevy 2500 HD Duramax/Allison 4X4 and it pulled like a dream, than bought a house and later bought a 25 foot pull behind and it never towed anything like the Fiver. You see the Fiver's weight is right over or just slightly in front of the rear axle and the weight mostly is settled over the rear axle.

Try this link....let us know how you do.... https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings/forum/24.cfm

Good Luck! Ernie

[Nathan79]

Most people don't like to hear they are overloaded and seek out opinions that makes them feel better to do something they were going to do anyways. Kingpin weight will be whatever the Kingpin weight of the 5vr you are looking at. It will typically be 20% or so with each one being different (as well as how they are loaded).

[Pacfanweb]

I've always advised folks that tow ratings are partially just advertisement and you should stick to about 85% of whatever your truck is rated for.

 

Getting up to the limit makes for white-knuckle towing.

 

Nobody ever complained about having too much truck when they were towing. IMO, if you need a 5th wheel, you need bigger than a 1/2 ton truck, I don't care what it's rated at.

 

Hardly anyone does the math to see if they were truly overloaded anyway. Lots of variables: Towing capacity. Payload capacity. Tongue weight. (not for a 5th wheel, obviously) Gross Combined Vehicle Weight.

 

You really can't tow a trailer that's up near the truck's rated limit without exceeding at least one of those, not in real-world conditions.

[Cowpie]

About the only 5th wheel I would use a 1500 for......

 

 

 

[Chevor]

When it comes to trailering I want a big set of rear leaf springs. 1/2 ton isn't enough, and 3/4 is minimally enough.

[Grawe]

We have been fifth wheel for a couple years. If you want to tow with a short bed gasser, I would recommend you look at the HT (half ton towable) lines. Jayco offers some nice rigs in this category. The comments are correct, your limiting factors will be your tow capacity (gasser) and in bed payload (5th wheel). Keep in mind dealers like to sell you on the empty weight which is not realistic; plan for the fully loaded weight and work back from there. 5'ers are definitley safer and easier to maneuver than travel trailers but generally cost more. Lots of options, don't take no for an answer without why.

 

2015 Jayco Pinnacle FLSA & 2008 Chevy Duramax

 

Anxiously awaiting retirement where I have been told everyday is a Saturday

[j-ten-ner]

Does anyone here tow a fifth wheel trailer with a 5.3 liter 2014 GMC or Chev. Double Cab with 6 and half foot box. Reason I ask is the camping forums tell me it is too much pain in butt to tow with a short box because you need a very expensive sliding hitch in the bed , and that the weight of most fifth wheels would limit me to just the very short length fifth wheel trailers so that I do not go over the payload. They also tell me approx. 20 to 25% of trailer weight is on the truck bed fifth wheel hitch , so that overloads many a half ton.

 

Now I take this with a grain of salt because I find on camping forums , everyone pushes the biggest truck possible (I think they lie to their wives why they need the 3/4 or one ton truck)

But maybe I am expecting too much .

Any fifth wheelers out there ? With similar truck to mine? heck my 1979 Chev half ton with a 100 hp less than this one could tow a large trailer , but maybe it all comes down to payload in the box not HP

 

Since you live in Canada, maybe you wanna check this out.

 

http://escapetrailer.com/trailers/the-5-0-escape/#trailer-tabs2

 

so long

j-ten-ner