Anybody here tow a 27ft or longer 5th wheel with a supercrew?

I just bought a 7000lb 28ft dutchman 5er and bought the $3000.00 sliding hitch so I dont take out my cab, I have not hooked up to the trailer yet but have a few questions.

Are factory tires are okay and what psi should I run them at it says max 44psi or should I get different tires.

how much clearence to the box do most people have,due to having a 2 inch higher box than most trucks.


Also should any mods be done to the suspension such as airbags or coil over shocks or adding a leaf spring?

would like to hear any suggestions or expierences you may have before I finalize this deal once and for all.

 

Lets see.. where to start.

In a bed mount hitch you should have about 20% of the weight on the hitch which is 1400 lbs. Add to that an additional 2-400 lbs for the hitch and you are at 1600-1800 lbs in the bed.

I would highly recommend at a minimum a load range 'D' tire which will have a maximum 65PSI tire pressure.

You didn't tell us year or model, engine, transmission, gear ratio of your truck, nor tire size and load range.

Since you stated maximum tire pressure of 44PSI you must have passenger rated car tires. These are not adequate.

I'm guessing you have a 2004 or newer F-150 Super Crew as well.

Another thing to consider is the Super Crew has the lowest bed capacity due to the extra cab configuation and most people that have the Super Crew generally carry 3-5 passengers. This passenger weight need to be added to the loaded weight of the truck reducing the loaded capacity as well.

My point is specifically the Super Crew F150 is a poor choice to tow a 5th wheel trailer. In fact any 1/2 ton is generally not the best choice.

I have seen a F350 Super Crew that towed the same set up with a V-10 motor that dogged it down making pulling large hills (mountains) difficult and sagged the back end down about 8".

Because of the large weights involved and the large front surface area of the trailer 5er's are best left to 1 tons with diesels.



Now on to the positive.

Adding air bags will fix your ride hieght. Adding truck tires with a load capacity capable of your load is also an easy fix.

Without more info I can't advise on other specifics.

 

Oh, I'm sorry. Can you return it all?

As CO man said, 5th wheel RV's put almost every 1/2 ton pickup over GVWR and rear GAWR.

If you really want to do it, air bags and load D/E tires would be a good palce to start. And, let me know when you plan to travel so I know when to stay home.

 

..oops..

 

You will want at least 5-6" clearance between the top of the box to the bottom of the bunk. Even with the depth of the F150's box, you should have no problem getting that clearance as long as your 5th wheel hitch is adjusted right to the top. If the pin on your trailer can adjust down, that will help you out too.

I would also recommend you upgrade to at least a load range D tire for the extra piece of mind.

I tow a small 5er with my 07 Screw but I have the 6.5' box so I did not need the fancy sliding hitch. My trailer is also lighter than yours but as long as your bunk isn't too tall, the truck should do OK on relatively flat land as long as the weight you have posted is the GVW of the trailer NOT dry weight.

You won't win any races and make sure you have good working trailer brakes.

I spoke with a guy at the campground that had a newer GM with the 5.5' bed and the auto sliding hitch. His jammed once and he now has a nice big dent in the back of his cab along with a new rear window. I personally don't trust those hitches.

 

Scales and math will probably tell you that you cannot tow that thing legally with your truck. Even 5ers that are advertised as being "1/2 ton towable" can say that if the thing is empty, and the truck has a driver, no passengers, no luggage, no extra equipment, and 2 gallons of gas in the tank - and has the heaviest tow package available.

Leave the 5ers to the Super Duty guys.

 

Today I installed the sliding hitch and hooked on I have tons of power no issues there(probably the gryphon programer helps alot) I think I have the hitch set too high as I have 9 and half inches clearence to my box again no issues there,with the slider hitch and the offset tongue on the trailer I have lots of clearence to the cab, in fact I can turn at 90 degrees with 5.5 bed.

its an 04 screw 4x4 with 18 inch tires they are bridgstone dueler revo's this may be the only thing I need to upgrade to a d load range, the suspension seems to sit nice I dont have the coil over shocks on yet and I was thinking of putting airbags in but I'm not sure I need them,I guess i'll see when I lower my hitch 1 setting as this should put more weight on the truck.

I put insurance on it today and they said according to my gvw and the trailers gvw I am legal and they had no problems.
At 100km I felt very safe and the brake controler worked awsome.

I think I will keep it and try it for awhile as it is my girlfriends grandparents and I am able to return it for my money back if I need to. I am going for a 700km ride this weekend so that will be the test, I did do my homework before I bought it and sofar everything seems fine,thanx for all the input from everyone.

 

Good luck with the tow.

You are going to have to do some homework.
I can't find any 265-70R18 tires to fit your truck with an appropriate load range. But... you can run a LT275-65R18 in an appropriate loads range E.
You will need to replace all 4 as to not damage your t-case.

Also coil-over shocks are NOT recommended as they put additioanl stress on your shock mounts and make them carry weight. Something they were never designed to do. Stick with air bags... not air shocks either.

 

I would not Tow the Fifth wheel you are talking about in your post. I love my camping but I will keep my nice 22 ft trailer and f 150 until I can pick up a nice f250 or f350 to tow a fifth wheel. I will have my family with me and I would not feel comfortable towing a fifth wheel behind my current truck. It was not made to do it.

 

Just because you *can* tow a 5th wheel does not mean that it's a good idea..........

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l1...f/image001.jpg

 

I towed a 24ft/4000lbs travel trailer and my supercrew did great. I went 500+ miles in one weekend. I dont think I would put a 5th wheel on my truck.