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Step-by-Step instructions of how a user was able to tow his 5th wheel trailer for a trip with his family. Includes specifications of the hook-up, as well as tips and tricks for best practices and safety.
It is important to determine the maximum weight of:
• The pin
• Maximum trailer weight
I am on my 3rd summer of towing a 5th wheel thanks to this thread by Sean. I had planned on doing it anyway, but learned about SuperSprings and pin weights, etc here. With my Sidewinder pin box, I've had no towing or backing issues, and with the Ecoboost, am typically under 2700 rpm. Average mpg has been 9.5 to 10 with a 62 mph cap on my speed.
I try to let the engine do most of the braking - my Ecoboost in Tow mode does this very effectively. It gears down more going down the hills than up. I make sure my trailer is taking care of most of the rest. Don't let speed get the best of you. But you're right, I see burnt up brakes regularly - usually on the bigger trucks towing the bigger trailers...
Yup the trans brake works great. Took my f350 6.7l Platinum pulling my 9000 pound 5er from ND to AZ NZ and CA and only hit the brakes twice going down the mountains, very impressive. Originally I was a tad upset that it didn't have an exhaust brake but the trans brake proved to be excellent. Still is more in case of emergency, not good when it takes you 2 football fields to stop, whoever in front of you gonna die.
Sorry to revive a June post but this has been a good read for me.
There is lot's of good information however IMHO the most important piece of information that the OP shared was the following:
"NOTE/CAUTION- MANY DEALERS WILL TELL YOU THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF MODELS THAT ARE ½ TON TOWABLE! Tell them to screw off! Their job is to SELL. Once you are off the lot with an over weight trailer, its your problem, not theirs!"
I am shopping for a 5th wheel and was inquiring about hitch weights and had a dealer become condescending and hostile when I refused to accept his "expert " advice of "your vehicle is plenty to tow this unit", seemingly oblivious to hitch weight vs total payload.
"The unit you are looking for was designed by the manufacturer to be towed by half tons, even V6's and you don't know what you are talking about".
This unit's hitch weight was within 500 lbs of my max payload - passengers, the hitch itself and a touch of cargo would have exceeded it easily.
I am sure that this is a common thing at RV dealers although not necessarily a ticking timebomb on the highways it does mean that if anything were to happen their owners will be easy pickings for lawsuits.
for what it's worth I exceeded my max payload by 500-1000 pounds and it didn't even squat my truck past level, no extra springs or bags were needed. It was very stable and i towed it around 1500 miles or so locally with no problems before I decided to head on a 2000 mile one way down south over mountains for the winter so i upgraded to the f350 diesel I've always wanted.
I'd not try that with a Chevy but a Ford can more than handle it.
Same here. I've got the 6650# rating. On a Cat scale with me sitting in the seat, 5th wheel hitch installed, and full tank of gas I weighed 5210. My trailer pin weight is 1510lbs with a trailer weight of 8400lbs. I've got the tow package on my truck. Before the Supersprings it just squatted enough to level it out. I went ahead and added them though. Mine handles and pulls fine. I've towed it to San Antonio and back 2 or 3 times already. I usually run around 60-65mph and get 11mpg ballpark.
New to the forum! Always great info here...on to my question.
My question relates to towing a 5er with a 5.5' bed. I've read in numerous places that this can be done with a slider hitch and king pin extension. I, however, don't know what an extension on a 5er would look like. Looking at the picture below, can someone verify if that is indeed an extended 5er and thoughts on if I should be okay with clearance?
New to the forum! Always great info here...on to my question.
My question relates to towing a 5er with a 5.5' bed. I've read in numerous places that this can be done with a slider hitch and king pin extension. I, however, don't know what an extension on a 5er would look like. Looking at the picture below, can someone verify if that is indeed an extended 5er and thoughts on if I should be okay with clearance?
The problem with this one is that, while it has an extended pin, it doesn't have the lower front cutaways to help it clear the cab. It would need a slider hitch for a short bed, or a Reese Sidewinder pin box, but even then, I am not sure.
01-28-2015, 06:55 PM
It was very stable and i towed it around 1500 miles or so locally with no problems before I decided to head on a 2000 mile one way down south over mountains for the winter so i upgraded to the f350 diesel I've always wanted. 
