Scottly
Senior Member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2018
- Posts
- 1,207
- Reaction score
- 2,256
- Location
- Safety Harbor, FL
- Ram Year
- 2021
- Engine
- HO 6.7 Cummins
And still, no one has said it...so I'll say it....BUY A 3500!! You're welcome.
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When the comment of offering an upgraded suspension on the 2500 was made, I thought the same thing, it's an upgrade package called a 3500 . In my area though, 3500's are hard to come by, so I suspect many buy a 2500 instead and try to work within the limitations, then just supplement the suspension.And still, no one has said it...so I'll say it....BUY A 3500!! You're welcome.
Yeah, 2500's diesel suffer in the payload department.
My father-in-law has a 2019 2500 GMC diesel that's pretty decently equipped and his payload is less than my wife's 2020 F150 XLT.
If you're stopping at 80% as a safety factor, there's no need to. The weight ratings already have safety factor built in.With the payload of my 1500 and nothing in the bed I'll still over 80% of my recommend payload.
To help make the point, my ‘21 2500 Hemi has a PL rating of just under 3100 lbs. Our 34 foot 5W has a hitch weight of only 1250 but after loaded up and with a pretty heavy slider hitch in the bed I weighed out with about 2300 lbs of used PL. About 700 lbs was from the loaded 5w so it mounts up pretty fast. We’re full timers so have more crap than most but that forward storage area is very tempting to load up with about anyoneYou have to know the pin weight, what make and model 5th wheel are you looking at? The pin weight of the 5th wheel will go against your payload. So, the driver, passengers, dogs, hitch, whatever you put into the truck plus the pin weight of the 5th wheel will probably eat up that 2234lbs., payload capacity. Then the stuff you add to the 5th wheel will add to the pin weight too.
Let's just use some light weight figures....
Driver weight: 150lbs
Passenger weight: 110lbs (spouse) 2 young kids: 160lbs
Stuff you put in the truck/5th wheel hitch too: 150lbs hitch +100lbs various camping items
Pin weight of the 5th wheel: 1400lbs pin weight
2070lbs., for everything you added to the truck....leaves you less than 200lbs., for anything else. The other is to check your axle ratings, you'd have to weight your truck to make sure you are not over the axle ratings. CAT scales probably the best way to know for sure.
Looking at KZ 311TH10,
Looks like dry hitch weight is 1600 lbs and dry axle weight is 7210 lbs.
So let's say me (250, im a big boy), the wife and kids (140 + 60 + 100) which equals 550 lbs, then technically I have hit the max load capacity of 2234 that just popped up when I looked up my vin because 1600+550 is 2150. So I have to leave the great dane at home.
You can build a GMC 2500 diesel with a 11,200 GVWR that gives you like 3500-4000 lbs of payload.
...I have a Weigh Safe True Tow hitch so I adjust my weight distribution based on my tongue weight each time I tow.