5th wheel hitch install RamBox

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nlambert182

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So your payload is 1,004 lbs, meaning you cannot load more than 1,004 lbs onto the truck above what it came with from the factory.

B&W turnover ball underbed hitch is 96 lbs.
Paragaon tonneau is 35 lbs.

Before you even add any passengers your usable payload is already down to 873 lbs.
Let's assume that it's just you and one other person with no extra cargo and that your combined weight is 350 lbs... your usable payload is 523 lbs.

Based on payload numbers the GVWR of your fifth wheel would need to be roughly 2,600 lbs to stay within payload. Not even an Escape 5.0 is that light.


But, assuming you don't care about payload, your RAWR is 4,100. Half of that is the truck. So if you take the cargo numbers above (B&W hitch, tonneau, passengers) you are starting with a usable rear axle weight of 1,619 lbs. That means to avoid exceeding the RAWR you would need a fifth wheel with a GVWR of 8k lbs. The Escape 5.0 would be about the only one that could pull that off.


What kind of 5th wheel do you have? I am convinced that you're trolling the board, because I cannot imagine someone being this ignorant of towing to attempt to put any kind of weight behind that truck.
 

2003F350

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So your payload is 1,004 lbs, meaning you cannot load more than 1,004 lbs onto the truck above what it came with from the factory.

B&W turnover ball underbed hitch is 96 lbs.
Paragaon tonneau is 35 lbs.

Before you even add any passengers your usable payload is already down to 873 lbs.
Let's assume that it's just you and one other person with no extra cargo and that your combined weight is 350 lbs... your usable payload is 523 lbs.

Based on payload numbers the GVWR of your fifth wheel would need to be roughly 2,600 lbs to stay within payload. Not even an Escape 5.0 is that light.


But, assuming you don't care about payload, your RAWR is 4,100. Half of that is the truck. So if you take the cargo numbers above (B&W hitch, tonneau, passengers) you are starting with a usable rear axle weight of 1,619 lbs. That means to avoid exceeding the RAWR you would need a fifth wheel with a GVWR of 8k lbs. The Escape 5.0 would be about the only one that could pull that off.


What kind of 5th wheel do you have? I am convinced that you're trolling the board, because I cannot imagine someone being this ignorant of towing to attempt to put any kind of weight behind that truck.
He'll probably never tell us. Trolls never give all the information.
 

Choupique

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Just to pipe in here, my volkswagen jetta has right at 1100 lbs of payload capacity. I thought that was hilarious. More than half of what my 3/4 ton diesel 30' long truck is rated for.

Anybody wanna buy a '18 diesel? I need a one ton gasser.
 

mtofell

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Just to pipe in here, my volkswagen jetta has right at 1100 lbs of payload capacity. I thought that was hilarious. More than half of what my 3/4 ton diesel 30' long truck is rated for.

A buddy of mine arrived camping once - truck pretty much like OP's and nearly identical payload #. 30' TT, canopy, two dogs, wife, kid, firewood and coolers in the bed of the truck, etc. He told us there was some icon on his dash of an arrow pointing at a truck bed that kept flashing and he didn't know what it meant :) :) He now drives an F350 :)

Anyway, the subject of payload was going around and he went and checked his sticker (undoubtedly for the first time ever) and it was a whopping 1070#. Other buddy had a Subaru Forrester and got curious so he went to check - 1200# :) :)
 

Riccochet

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Dang near every truck you'll run out of payload long before you hit towing capacity. It's probably ok to push your payload a little since I'm sure there's some leeway factored in for Bubba, but going grossly over is dangerous.
 

nlambert182

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Agreed. Towing capacity is almost impossible to achieve in a camper because a lot of its weight is static. Much easier to get closer to the tow capacity on a flat bed where you can adjust the weight to reduce tongue weight (or gooseneck weight). I don't care what kind of WDH someone runs or how big their airbags are... if you exceed RAWR, none of it matters.

There is definitely safety margin built in. That margin is the difference between the payload and RAWR. If you exceed both, please be kind enough to let the rest of us know where you'll be traveling so we can stay far away.
 

2003F350

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A buddy of mine arrived camping once - truck pretty much like OP's and nearly identical payload #. 30' TT, canopy, two dogs, wife, kid, firewood and coolers in the bed of the truck, etc. He told us there was some icon on his dash of an arrow pointing at a truck bed that kept flashing and he didn't know what it meant :) :) He now drives an F350 :)

Anyway, the subject of payload was going around and he went and checked his sticker (undoubtedly for the first time ever) and it was a whopping 1070#. Other buddy had a Subaru Forrester and got curious so he went to check - 1200# :) :)

Payload is a funny thing. Our shop's minivan (before we unloaded it) had an almost 2k payload above and beyond driver/full tank of fuel. I don't recall the sticker, but archive data on my parents' old 1990 1500 Surburban claims to have had a payload of 3700 lbs, while the same year 1500 regular cab long box 4x4 with the 4.3 had a max payload of only about 1900 lbs.

It's the major reason people don't follow payload as much, and instead follow axle ratings. They're usually a bit higher, and aren't as arbitrary as they're based off what the axles and suspension can actually handle.
 

2003F350

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Dang near every truck you'll run out of payload long before you hit towing capacity. It's probably ok to push your payload a little since I'm sure there's some leeway factored in for Bubba, but going grossly over is dangerous.
With a camper you're 100% correct, as mentioned the load is static in campers so you can't really move it around to adjust pin weight. Sure you can play with where you load your gear in it, but for the vast majority of people that's not going to appreciably change the tongue/pin weight.

With standard trailers (enclosed/flat beds), you've got a LOT more leeway to adjust the weight and keep your hitch weight under your axle ratings. Is it always safe that way? Depends on what the trailer itself is rated for. If your truck is rated to pull 18k but your trailer is only rated for 10k, but you load it up to 10k anyway...well you're probably bending axles and springs.

It's a complicated equation, trying to fully understand what your vehicle can pull. Most people don't understand it, and the people who are in a position to explain it to them (trailer dealers, specifically RV dealers) absolutely refuse to. "Oh your truck is advertised to be able to pull 15k, let's put this monster behind it!" even though it's grossly over your payload and axle ratings.
 

runamuck

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They shouldn't even make 3/4 ton diesels. Or, more appropriately, people need to quit buying them.
my son and I both have identical ram laramie 2500 dsl and tow identical 10,000# 5th wheels with no trouble. loaded up and ready to go, the truck squats less than 2". he did a 4,000 loop out west last summer with his.
 

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Choupique

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I remember first seeing the payload number in my truck after I got it delivered. Never even crossed my mind that the biggest 3/4 ton truck ram makes could possibly have only a 2k lb payload capacity.
 

nlambert182

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They shouldn't even make 3/4 ton diesels. Or, more appropriately, people need to quit buying them.
2500s have a niche where they fit. My 2500 is perfectly sized for my travel trailer. It's too heavy for a 1500 and not heavy enough for a 3500. My tongue weight hovers in the 1,500 lb range.

I am 400 lbs over the payload sticker since it's so low, but totally loaded up ready to camp I am just over 1,300 lbs below the RAWR. Truck sits perfectly level when towing and tows like the trailer isn't behind me.
 

Tulecreeper

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I remember first seeing the payload number in my truck after I got it delivered. Never even crossed my mind that the biggest 3/4 ton truck ram makes could possibly have only a 2k lb payload capacity.
My cargo cap was 3900. Probably more like 3500 now, since I put in t swing tool box, a tonneau cover, and a bunch of stuff behind the seat. But your diesel engine takes up almost 1000 pounds of your cargo cap all by itself. That's why I went gas.
 
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