Can the 2500 pucks be adapted to the 1500?

[HomerB]

Needing a fifth wheel hitch on my 2022 Big Horn 4x4 3.92:1 rear end 5.7 Hemi. Would love to use the pucks and keep my bed clear for cargo. Anyone know if the stock 2500 pucks will fit the 1500 frame? Or shall we say adapted.

 

[2003F350]

They do not.

What size fifth wheel are you getting? There's only a few that can be pulled behind 1500 trucks and not be over your axle ratings.

 

[Tulecreeper]

They do not.

What size fifth wheel are you getting? There's only a few that can be pulled behind 1500 trucks and not be over your axle ratings.

Annddd...we're off!

 

[HomerB]

It will pull it, 1200 dry hitch weight, 6195 dry gross.

 

[2003F350]

You REALLY don't want to go off your dry hitch weight, and your 'max towing weight' is a BS number that means nothing. You also have to include the weight of the hitch in the bed, not just the tongue weight of the trailer.

You need to go off the wet gross, or max weight, of the trailer. Then you need to look at the stickers on your door jamb of your truck and see what it says your axle ratings are. Some people are going to scream look at your payload but I'm more concerned about axle ratings. Then you need to hit a scale and see what your truck weighs as it sits.

You ALSO need to look at what box you've got. If you've got the 5'7" box I wouldn't even consider it. I have a neighbor down the road who decided to try it, first thing he did was crash his cab at about a 45° turn because he wanted a fixed hitch instead of a slider AND an extended pin to even get CLOSE to clearing. Now he's stuck with a damaged truck that won't pull his fifth wheel.

Sure, the truck will pull it - people do it all the time. It's arguable as to whether it's safe though, because most of the time you're exceeding your truck's axle weight ratings.

There's a level of risk involved in all of this. If you are fine with going over your weight ratings then by all means, go for it - be aware that you're going to accelerate wear on a lot of expensive components when you exceed their intended design limits.

Ask yourself this - do you want to risk being out on the road, and not having enough truck to handle an emergency maneuver, and being involved in an accident that ends your vacation if not worse? Or would you rather have enough truck to handle what you're pulling?

 

[nlambert182]

No such thing as dry weights. Those only exist on paper and in fairytales and change the second it leaves the factory. You'll literally never tow at those numbers.

A 1200 lb dry hitch weight is likely well over 2k lbs as you'll tow it. What is the GROSS weight of the trailer? Take that number x 20% to get a ballpark on what you can expect to see on the hitch. If your dry gross trailer weight is 6195, you'll probably be closer to 9-10k lbs gross or more depending on the cargo capacity of the trailer.

Your rear axle rating on the 1500 is around 4,400 lbs. 1/2 of that is the weight of the truck leaving you roughly 2,200 lbs before people, a hitch, or cargo is added. There's about a 90% chance you'll not only be over on payload but also on the axle rating.

Despite not wanting to see yet another "Can my 1500 pull a fifth wheel" thread started... here we are. ALMOST all of the time, a 1500 can't do it within spec. They were never designed for these types of loads.

 

[Wire4money]

What’s your payload rating? 1200 empty (usually underrated by manufacturer) plus hitch plus occupants and everything needed to camp would put all but the stripped base model truck over payload rating.

 

[dhay13]

Step-father bought a brand new 5th wheel in 2012 and towed it with his 2011 and later his 2014 1500s with 3.92s. Towed it maybe 5x and sold it cause it was too stressful. White knuckle driving the whole time. On paper the truck looked like it was ok but he was way over on GRAWR and payload

 

[2003F350]

Step-father bought a brand new 5th wheel in 2012 and towed it with his 2011 and later his 2014 1500s with 3.92s. Towed it maybe 5x and sold it cause it was too stressful. White knuckle driving the whole time. On paper the truck looked like it was ok but he was way over on GRAWR and payload

This right here is a perfect example of why I try to talk people out of pulling fifth wheels with a 1500. On paper? Sure it says it'll do it. But in the real world, modern trucks (pretty much after 2010 or so) just don't handle weight like older ones, especially 1500s. There are VERY few 1500s that can handle that kind of weight anymore, and it isn't just springs or tires, it's bearings, brakes, differentials, all of it - they're just not built as heavy.

The first fifth wheel I remember my parents owning, my dad pulled with an old RCLB Ford F150 with the straight 6, and it pulled it GREAT. Then my younger sister came along (there were already 4 of us in that regular cab) and he needed a bigger truck, at the time Ford didn't build crew cab long box duallys in 4WD, it was dually OR 4WD, so he jumped to his first GMC. Never drove anything smaller than that ever again.

My grandpa used to haul corn and pig feed in the bed of his GMC 1500 2WD, but that was a mid-00's truck, and he rode on the bump stops at 15-20 mph with that weight. He didn't have nearly enough truck but he was going 5 miles on backroads so he figured he didn't need more.

There's guys on here who pull fifth wheels with their 1500s, and claim they've got no issues (one has something like 1100 lbs of payload and a 4400 lb RAWR). In my experience if you're pulling that much weight with that kind of truck, and think everything is great, you don't really understand the physics you've got built up behind you. Or you're living via YOLO and that's just not something I'm comfortable with.

 

[Tulecreeper]

This right here is a perfect example of why I try to talk people out of pulling fifth wheels with a 1500. On paper? Sure it says it'll do it. But in the real world, modern trucks (pretty much after 2010 or so) just don't handle weight like older ones, especially 1500s. There are VERY few 1500s that can handle that kind of weight anymore, and it isn't just springs or tires, it's bearings, brakes, differentials, all of it - they're just not built as heavy.

The first fifth wheel I remember my parents owning, my dad pulled with an old RCLB Ford F150 with the straight 6, and it pulled it GREAT. Then my younger sister came along (there were already 4 of us in that regular cab) and he needed a bigger truck, at the time Ford didn't build crew cab long box duallys in 4WD, it was dually OR 4WD, so he jumped to his first GMC. Never drove anything smaller than that ever again.

My grandpa used to haul corn and pig feed in the bed of his GMC 1500 2WD, but that was a mid-00's truck, and he rode on the bump stops at 15-20 mph with that weight. He didn't have nearly enough truck but he was going 5 miles on backroads so he figured he didn't need more.

There's guys on here who pull fifth wheels with their 1500s, and claim they've got no issues (one has something like 1100 lbs of payload and a 4400 lb RAWR). In my experience if you're pulling that much weight with that kind of truck, and think everything is great, you don't really understand the physics you've got built up behind you. Or you're living via YOLO and that's just not something I'm comfortable with.

Methinks you're going to go round in circles...again. I'm probably staying out of this one. After all, I was told I don't understand the relationship between the numbers.

 

[2003F350]

Methinks you're going to go round in circles...again. I'm probably staying out of this one. After all, I was told I don't understand the relationship between the numbers.

I can't help myself. People ask questions, I pick up my shovel and start digging.

 

[nlambert182]

I've said all I care to say on it at this point. If you want to be dumb, you have to be tough I guess.

I sold my B&W Gooseneck companion 5th wheel hitch to a guy on Marketplace once. He showed up in a 1500 and had installed a gooseneck receiver in it. Planned on towing a 34' fifth wheel with it. I literally refused to sell my hitch to him at that point.

Do what you want, but I won't contribute to idiotic ideas, especially in that case where I would be sharing our local roads with him.

 

[White six four]

Good job you guys scared off another new member with all your facts.

Makes me glad our campground went to permanent sites only. I guess in a way it was kind of entertaining watching 1/2 ton trucks pull in riding on the bump stops, headlights shooting up at the moon. Some 3/4 tons were too but most were 1/2 tons.

 

[2003F350]

Good job you guys scared off another new member with all your facts.

Makes me glad our campground went to permanent sites only. I guess in a way it was kind of entertaining watching 1/2 ton trucks pull in riding on the bump stops, headlights shooting up at the moon. Some 3/4 tons were too but most were 1/2 tons.

Honestly, it's RV sales people that are causing the problem. They only look at the 'max tow weight' and tell people what they can pull based on that. The problem is a 10k travel trailer and a 10k fifth wheel are going to put different amounts of weight on the back of a truck. But like all commission based jobs, it's all about making the sale. Not saying car/truck sales people are any better, some have no idea how towing works either.

Of course, this can lead to some hilarious advertising mistakes. I was once at an RV show, and walked through General RV's area (they're a chain-style dealer over here). They had a smaller fifth wheel sitting there, probably 30ish ft long, with one of their 'I can tow this!' signs on it.

The vehicle they had shown was a Chevy Tahoe. Let that sit and simmer for a bit and I think you'll appreciate why I had to point it out to the sales guy...who didn't get it for a minute until he stepped back and realized what the sign was ON, then promptly took it down.

 

[dhay13]

That's what happened with my step-father. He didn't know alot but he always bought a 1500 hemi with 3.92s and tow package. At the time I think his max tow was 10,200. Not sure what his 5th wheel weighed but the sales guy at the RV dealership told him it was fine. If I had to guess I'd say the 5th wheel was about 9000 empty and probably close to 11,000 loaded. IIRC it was 32'. Can't remember the brand but remember a guy telling me it was one of the top brands. Truck squatted about 3".

 

[texcwa]

I do not see how any 1500 could pull any 5th wheel, even 2500 are usually overloaded. I have a 2019 3500 HO, based on vin, tow capacity is 24,646 lbs, payload 3,866 lbs. When I put my truck and 32' (measures 36') 5th on certified scale I was 220 lbs over rear axle (7,000 lb) rating and 500 lbs over GVWR. After re-distributing weight in 5th, I was ok on axle but still 140 lbs over GVWR. Found that if I fill my water tank (that's behind rear axle of 5th) I am within my limits.

 

[2003F350]

There are a COUPLE unicorn combinations out there that will fall within axle ratings and GCWR (which are arguably the most important numbers) for half-ton trucks in general. But they are very small fifth wheels and pretty stripped down trucks.

There's a better selection of combinations that work with 2500s. Many of your bigger ones are still well over axle ratings and GCWR with a 2500, but it CAN be done if you're selective and aren't loading your 5er to its max capacity (I don't - no reason to carry that much stuff).

Fact remains you can't trust RV salesmen to accurately tell you what your truck can pull. You also really can't trust a lot of car salesmen either.

 

[Hardracer]

Annddd...we're off!

Was gonna say the same thing.you beat me to it...lol
Next thought....somebody is fixin to get schooled here.
I dont tow anywhere near the weight you fellas speak of.1100pd lawn mower is about it on a 5x10 trailer once in awhile but I've learned a ton reading how it works from you guys....I thank you all for that.

 

[Arthur hei]

Well I can answer both can it tow and what hitch to use to have a flat floor.
First I am currently towing a 27 foot Jayko 5er and have towed it mor than 30,000 km with my 16 eco.
Also I tow an inclosed car trailer with a full sized car in it regularly.
I use a pull right supper glide auto slider that comes all out as the brackets are on the frame.
Just 4 holes in the bed floor. I have changed the rear springs to Dorman Heavy duty, E rated tires 265-60r20
This thing towes better than the car trailer!!
So yes I am overweight but 90% of the time the 1500 is used as a car so buying a truck to tow 10% of the time just makes no sense for me
This 1500 has almost 300,000 km and been all over the place towing.
Almost in Alaska now

Ps ..my wife drives it as well towing.

 

[Dean2]

Another one post wonder, shows up, posts the same question in two places. Lots try to help, doesn't like answer, never shows up again. Like I have said a few times, I no longer answer questions from most newbies, total waste of time as a simple search will give them all that info already and they're too lazy to even do that. Can't even be bothered to say thanks.