How much 5th for a 6.6 2500HD D/A ???

[UpinAK]

My first post in the towing RV forum. I recently purchased my son’s 2002 6.6L 2500HD D/A. He added an Edge Juice chip w/attitude and a 4” SS exhaust system. Our plans are to pour money into it rather than buying new and come spring of 2012 heading to the lower 48 for a year or two of full time 5th wheeling. I'm taking it into the dealer this week to have ALL the fluids changed and give it a good lookover. Unless I’m wrong, a very good possibility, the tow capacity of the truck is 12K. Most of the 31 footers we are looking at are10.6 to 11 or so dry weight. This gives us 1000 pounds or so of cargo. Reading through the three pages of this forum I see some folks towing MUCH more than 12k. How much, rather how long, of a 5th wheeler can we buy and safely tow? We may spend 18 months or so in this tin can. Every inch is going to count. We REALLY want a king size bed, but most we look at between 28 and 32 feet all have queen.

How long, or how much dry weight can I tow with this truck? Is there anything I can do to the truck to increase the towing capacity? Putting $$$ into it over the next few years is much better than buying new. The truck has been very well maintained. Thanks for any advice.

UpinAK

[Onebigcanuck]

I had a 2001, 2500, D/A with which I towed a 2002 Everest 323I. My combined GVW was about 1,000 lbs. under what GM say you can tow (22,000 lbs. if my memory serves me right) the problem was with the pin weight on the truck which was about 800 lbs. more than the GVW for the truck. My trailer weight was just under 14,000 lbs which was within the towing rating for the truck. Remember that a 5th wheel had a higher towing ability than a standard trailer.

I ended up getting a 2003 3500, D/A, which now tows my new 2008 Everest 348R and is under all the towing ratings.

Hope this helps.

[zimadabear]

its
My first post in the towing RV forum. I recently purchased my son’s 2002 6.6L 2500HD D/A. He added an Edge Juice chip w/attitude and a 4” SS exhaust system. Our plans are to pour money into it rather than buying new and come spring of 2012 heading to the lower 48 for a year or two of full time 5th wheeling. I'm taking it into the dealer this week to have ALL the fluids changed and give it a good lookover. Unless I’m wrong, a very good possibility, the tow capacity of the truck is 12K. Most of the 31 footers we are looking at are10.6 to 11 or so dry weight. This gives us 1000 pounds or so of cargo. Reading through the three pages of this forum I see some folks towing MUCH more than 12k. How much, rather how long, of a 5th wheeler can we buy and safely tow? We may spend 18 months or so in this tin can. Every inch is going to count. We REALLY want a king size bed, but most we look at between 28 and 32 feet all have queen.

How long, or how much dry weight can I tow with this truck? Is there anything I can do to the truck to increase the towing capacity? Putting $$$ into it over the next few years is much better than buying new. The truck has been very well maintained. Thanks for any advice.

UpinAK

In Feb. of 08 I got a new Alfa 5th wheel model 314. The brochure says its 36 ft. long but if you put it in a box the box would have to be 38 ft. long. The GAWR is 14,000 lbs. I pull it with an 02 Duramax crew cab long bed 4X4 with 140,000 miles on it. I put a 4" exhaust and K&N filter on it and had Gale Banks install his 6 Gun programmer, Big Mouth Wastegate actuator and EGT and Boost gauges. The combined weight of truck and RV on the scales is 22,950 lbs. I figure when I'm on the road I'm probably pushing 23,500, thats 1500 lbs over what GM says I should weigh. I don't like pushing limits but I love the truck and the 5th wheel and haven't had a problem with either.
It tows beautifully at 55 which is where I'm usually at, but if you have to get upto 75 for a short time, no problem. I can climb any grade at 55 or 60 if I put my foot in it which I ususally don't. I usually lay in with the trucks and gear down to their speed so I can be easy on the fuel. I have never seen the EGT over 1200 or the boost over 25. I get between 9 and 13 MPG, mostly 11.5 to 12. On level hywys the EGT usually runs between 800 to 1000 with the boost between 3 and 5. The pin weight on the truck is well within limits.
One very important word of caution to all of you who pull 5th wheel trailers. I had a previous 5ver which gave me tire fits. I lost the treads off of two tires within one year. The tires never deflated, they just threw the tread off, and the tires were G rated Goodyears in new condition. The problem wasn't the tires. It was the weight distribution of the trailer. It was high in the front and low in the rear when hooked up to the truck which put to much weight on the rear tires of the 5ver. 5th wheel trailers are designed to be towed absolutely level so the weight is even on the tires. Be sure when your hookup that 5ver its level. Thanks for listening, I hope this helped. John P.S. Out of the 6 settings on the Banks I usually run 3 or 4.

[Shed]

I now have a 30' 5'er but had an older 32' and she pulled great! After reading alot here and researching I have added a number of modifications. All of my mods are to make the truck more efficienct and safer while towing (no performance racing stuff). If you want to spend money, it's easy to do, there is so much out there. The following is what I have done, and some of what I dream of doing to my truck! Good luck, I'm sure you will have the time of your life! Shed

4" exhaust
Cold air intake
Deep tranny pan (lower tranny temps, heat kills)
Synthetic fluids
Additional fuel filter (keep the injectors clean)
Additional oil filtration
Exhaust brake (good for towing hills)
Intercooler (lower EGT's)
GAUGES-boost-EGT-Tranny temp (an absolute must for heavy towing)
Larger differential cover (lower temps in gears)
Air bags (better, safer ride while towing heavy)
Larger fuel tank (go farther, find a good price and fill 'er up!)

Hope this may help.

[96ccdd]

I tow a 2005 36' Montana, mfg stated a shipping weight of 11,185 lbs. I use a 04 CC 4x4 short bed which weighs about 7400 lbs. if I'm not mistaken it has a 5th wheel tow rating of 15,000 lbs. Hope this helps.

[rat4go]

I tow a 34' (pin to back of 'white box') Keystone Laredo that weighs about 8400 empty and given how much crap we put in it when we go somewhere (dogs, full water tank, enough food to survive on for a year, etc), I'd bet we're not far from the 11400 GVWR of the trailer. Add to that the truck that weighs close to 7800 with passengers (and more crap inside the truck to keep the munchkins entertained, fed, watered)....then add to that the 1200 lbs of dirt bikes on the 600 lb trailer that is tagged on the back bumper of my 5er and I'm pushing 20800 total (7800+11400+1800-200(pin on cyc trailer that's included in 5er wt)) and am 62'4" long from front bumper of the CCSB truck to the back of the cycle trailer (Mich law says I gotta be shorter than 65' to do this 'recreational double' thing). Also note that the 11400 number for the trailer includes the tongue wt of the cycle trailer.

Empty pin wt on 5er is about 1600 and because of how the weight is distributed on the 5W, It probably isn't much different when loaded and ready to go, so I'm above the 9200 GVWR of the truck by a bit (7800+1600=9400).

This is close to the 22000 GCWR that I believe the truck is rated at, but to date, I've only running the flatlands of the midwest.

Truck is stone-stock except for 285 tires and even with the 'disadvantage' of the 7% taller tires, the truck does just fine for performance on the rolling hills that I've encountered.

I'd be reluctant to go much longer than a 36' 5er, but that's mostly because most of the parks I've been to and the size of the camping spots. I watched a guy try to get a 40' toy hauler into a pull thru spot and he was long enough that he had to park his truck on the grass so as to not hang out onto the road, then got yelled at by the park for being on the grass in a paved pull-thru spot.

[More Power]

These trucks actually have two different towing capacities depending on whether you're towing with the receiver hitch or plan to use a 5th-wheel or gooseneck ball.

The 2001-2007 2" receiver hitch is rated to tow trailers up to a maximum of 12,000-lbs when using a weight-distributing hitch. To learn what 5th-wheel trailer weight you can safely tow, weigh the truck with all of the people, fuel and cargo you plan to carry with you, then subtract that weight from the maximum gross combined weight rating of 22,000-lbs.

Kingpin weights should be 15-25% of the loaded trailer weight, or up to a maximum of 3000# for the 2500HD or 3500# for the 3500 models. In addition, the combination of kingpin weight and rear axle weight should not exceed the rear axle gross weight rating, which can be found listed on the driver door or door frame. :)

Jim