Good looking setup, I've been considering going to a fifth wheel.What tow mirrors do you have? I have an 02 screw and can't find tow mirrors because it has turn signals on the mirrors.

 

You may still want to look into getting airbags. While the squat isn't too bad, steering and control will be much better with the airbags. May also lessen front tire wear. After having them on mine I wouldn't go back to not having them.

 

The tow mirrors are what come with the max tow pkg these days, identical to the super duty mirrors I believe.

While airbags have an appeal I think the roadmaster suspension kits might be better. It really doesn't sag much maybe 3-4 inches at most and the control is very solid. As for tire wear, I have Michelin LTX AT2 10ply load range E tires, just air em up and don't have to worry about wear.

 

Beautiful trailer!! How can your truck only weighs 6228lbs with the trailers pin weight added???? That can't be right??? If you figure the 16% of 9300lbs that is 1500lbs then that means your truck only weighs 4728lbs by itself ?? My truck by itself with me in it weighs 6200lbs! My trailer has 940lbs of tongue weight and when hooked to the truck with the family and a little gear in the bed my truck weighed 7540lbs. If you have 1555lbs available payload and a pin weight of 1500lbs then i think the weight of you ,passengers and whatever gear you pack in the truck is going to add up to much more than the 55lbs of payload you have left.. I'm also willing to bet you are over your rear axle rate too. My rear axle weighed 3840lbs with my trailer and you are talking about another 500lbs added to your rear axle. But we have had this discussion before so all i can say is good luck and be safe..

 

6228 is the truck by itself... two different weights... one hooked up and the other unhooked just the truck. The 9300lbs doesnt directly effect the hitch weight, simply due to where the weight is. With everything load up, I'm probably somewhere between 1300-1400lbs on the hitch.

7950-1400 = 6550... truck weighs 6228. So yes I've got a bit of room, and keep in mind this was with full tank of gas in the truck with all our normal crap in the truck. As well this was with full propane and everything loaded into the fifth wheel as if we were leaving town. Is it close? Yes Is it unsafe? no Is it legally under my ratings? Yes, and the dealer did calculations on this as well. I felt less safe towing my father's Jayco 322FKS which is 1100lbs on the hitch dry and his trailer weighs around 1000lbs less than mine does loaded up. Granted mine is a fifth wheel, but yea HUGE difference in stability and ease of maneuvering.

 

No matter how you look at it I'm sure that trailer will still probably tow better than mine does even though it's 2000lbs heavier just because it's a fifth wheel. I'm not sure where you got a GVWR of 7950lbs?? Its 7700lbs and if your max payload is 1555lbs than your truck weighs 6145lbs empty. Now you add the 1400lb pin weight to the 6145lbs you got 7545lbs. Now add about 150lbs for the fifth wheel hitch which gives you 7695lbs. Your already at your trucks GVWR and you haven't even added the weight of your Bakflip F1 cover, your Bakbox plus contents, the weight of you and your passengers plus the gear you plan on bringing in the truck. So you are certainly over your GVWR(7700lbs) and RAWR(4050lbs) by quite a bit. Is it safe? who knows probably, but are you legally under your ratings? Not all of them, just the GCWR and max tow rating. The most important ratings(GVWR + RAWR) you are well over without a doubt. Will you have any issues towing?? probably not. But i would definitely keep an eye on the rear axle bearings for sure... I will admit it is one Bada** looking setup! Best of luck,

Kevin

P.S.- I'm not sure what the psi rating is on your tires but i know my old BfGoodrich 10ply's had a max psi around 80lbs. I think our factory rims are only rated for something like 50psi so make sure you don't over inflate them...

 

You are talking to deaf ears - this was all pointed out to him before he ordered the truck. The HD payload option was recommended but he chose not to get it.

 

My tires are rated for 3305lbs per tire @ 80 psi...I can guarantee I'm way under that. Considering these same tires are put on 3/4ton Super Duties from the factory, I think I just fine. I'm currently running 65psi and have performed the chalk test to verify correct tread tracking. If I did max loading my tires on the rear would stand 6610lbs on the rear alone.

Would take a hell of a lot of psi to burst the wheels.

 

Prime, How fast were you going while towing? Speed can make a big difference in the gas mileage.


Post more videos of your trailer towing. It looks nice.

 

Well i certainly hope you are way under the 3305lbs per rear tire! I hope you have enough common sense not to think the truck can handle 6610lbs over the rear axle just because you put stronger tires on it??? If you were planning on towing this much weight and you were buying a new truck anyway why didn't you just get the HD payload pkg along with Max tow?? It would have come with LT tires and probably enough payload to handle that trailer..

 

I never knew wheels had psi ratings also? So, you're saying even though a 8 or 10 ply tire is rated to 65 or 80 psi we shouldn't go there when towing ? Not being a wise ***, just trying to learn

 

I'm not sure what the exact ratings are? But i could have sworn I have read that the factory rims are not made to handle the high 80 PSI ratings of the 10 ply tires but i could be wrong...
I'll see if I can find where i read it.

 

My point is I have 6600lbs of capacity in the tires alone on the rear... I am no where near that and never will be considering the entire truck weighs 6228lbs.

I do not need the HD payload... if you wish to argue and claim otherwise that is your opinion, nothing more nothing less.

I generally set the cruise on 60mph, typically my truck sees it's best mileage between 58 and 62mph.

 

Your rear axle isn't rated for that much. Not an opinion a FACT

 

It's not my opinion it's a fact that you need the HD payload. You said your truck has 1555lbs of available payload and your trailer has 1400lbs of pin weight when loaded. That leaves you 155lbs which is pretty much the weight of the fifth wheel hitch. You are already at your trucks GVWR without adding a single passenger or gear. You know this isn't rocket science. How can you say you don't need the extra payload??? You can assume everything is and will be fine but just keep in mind that assumptions are the root to all major messups..
Good luck...