FNG needs much advise on Truck / Toyhauler without brand names

[barneycar]

it is a rv it has frg and small sink in it the ins is high on the truck also the tags.

all trailers that have three axles are under the non com a lic or if it has a weight of more than 15000 lbs.

[dunefreak]

... if it has a weight of more than 15000 lbs.

empty or loaded? Most of these trailers weigh well under 15K empty and some even under that loaded up.

[EY3BA11]

no its still registered as a rv... its just a license thing..

[OIF 5-7]

Well if i were looking for a NEW TH i would defintly talk to shawn at giant rv in irvine INHO i would order a CL4005 + 5 and mack it out with all the options price tag about 58k

as for the truck no prob with a 6" lift and 35`s just order the ww with flipped axles from factory and you will have about 8" of clearence from the bed to the TH

what ever TH you go with you should be able to get 25% off the msrp

btw what law is it that say`s that you must have a class a non for a tripple axle trailer ??? we have never been given a ticket for it. been pulled 3 times.??

I'll talk to Shawn, that's Irvine, CA ? thanks for all this great input all :headbang:

[lvnalolife]

I'll talk to Shawn, that's Irvine, CA ? thanks for all this great input all :headbang:

You can get to Shawn at www.glamiswarrior.com

Edited March 20, 2006 by lvnalolife

[THE BOMB]

Get the dually with the biggest payload possible. One tons are for haulling, play trucks are for lift kits and big tires. Don't risk getting into an accident and losing everything you own when the insurance co. proves you overloaded your truck and won't pay up (lawyers like that too). Since we got a new PSD tow boss dually I have to check the mirrors to see if the trailer is still there. Save the 3-5K (lift kit/tires) and buy some off-road toys. I take my stock dually all the time to sit at comp hill, no problems getting out there. My truck was bought to tow, not off-road, if you're looking for dual purpose then that's a different story, but never overload your haul vehicle! A couple of years from now you might want a bigger trailer, and then...opps truck is too overloaded. My friends all had dualies and thought it was overkill untill they towed my trailer home once and I got to drive. The difference in stability is huge! In regards to tranny, keep in mind if you get hurt riding, can my better half clutch that truck, if she can, great! Lift kits are fun, I had my share, but sometimes praticality and common sense have to be taken into account. Besides if you want a cool ride, buy a Mustang GT, and let the wife drive the toyhauler. My wife drives our long bed, crew cab, DRW everywhere, it's made her a better driver! And my Mustang passes all the lifted trucks!

[dunefreak]

Get the dually with the biggest payload possible. One tons are for haulling, play trucks are for lift kits and big tires. Don't risk getting into an accident and losing everything you own when the insurance co. proves you overloaded your truck and won't pay up (lawyers like that too). Since we got a new PSD tow boss dually I have to check the mirrors to see if the trailer is still there. Save the 3-5K (lift kit/tires) and buy some off-road toys. I take my stock dually all the time to sit at comp hill, no problems getting out there. My truck was bought to tow, not off-road, if you're looking for dual purpose then that's a different story, but never overload your haul vehicle! A couple of years from now you might want a bigger trailer, and then...opps truck is too overloaded. My friends all had dualies and thought it was overkill untill they towed my trailer home once and I got to drive. The difference in stability is huge! In regards to tranny, keep in mind if you get hurt riding, can my better half clutch that truck, if she can, great! Lift kits are fun, I had my share, but sometimes praticality and common sense have to be taken into account. Besides if you want a cool ride, buy a Mustang GT, and let the wife drive the toyhauler. My wife drives our long bed, crew cab, DRW everywhere, it's made her a better driver! And my Mustang passes all the lifted trucks!

At one time I completely agreed with the comment of the difference of stability being huge. I thought that when I had a dually, however now that I have a 3500 SRW 1 ton I have realized the difference isn't that much. The only difference I can feel is when I get next to a semi- I can feel a TINY bit of the wind off the truck. I mean TINY bit too. It doesn't throw me all over the road either. I can barely feel it and the truck is still stable as hell. My truck tows my 34 ft tag toyhauler like a dream. Duallys aren't for everyone. SRW 1 tons tow great, but if you want one of those HUGE 5th wheel toyhaulers loaded to the max, I would recommend a dually for liability purposes like THE BOMB said. :2gunsfiring:

[steveo]

At one time I completely agreed with the comment of the difference of stability being huge. I thought that when I had a dually, however now that I have a 3500 SRW 1 ton I have realized the difference isn't that much. The only difference I can feel is when I get next to a semi- I can feel a TINY bit of the wind off the truck. I mean TINY bit too. It doesn't throw me all over the road either. I can barely feel it and the truck is still stable as hell. My truck tows my 34 ft tag toyhauler like a dream. Duallys aren't for everyone. SRW 1 tons tow great, but if you want one of those HUGE 5th wheel toyhaulers loaded to the max, I would recommend a dually for liability purposes like THE BOMB said. :2gunsfiring:

Hey Nick, What do you think??

[dunefreak]

Hey Nick, What do you think??

:2gunsfiring:

[lvnalolife]

:2gunsfiring:

You guys picking on him again??? :skeet:

[ynot]

Hey Nick, What do you think??

:2gunsfiring: :skeet: Opinions are like a-holes, everybody has one! Some more than others.

[EY3BA11]

hey steve why dont ya STFU

[SandBox_Kid]

[Don29palms]

Here's a small tid bit of info. A SRW, 2 wheel drive, 1 ton short bed with a diesel has the highest tow capacity.

[dunefreak]

Here's a small tid bit of info. A SRW, 2 wheel drive, 1 ton short bed with a diesel has the highest tow capacity.

short bed?? crewcab or ext cab right?? I thought the 2wd, long bed/ reg cab had the most...ah who cares, mine tows great. DMax!!

[THE BOMB]

Don29palms, what you haul in the bed (payload) and you tow (GVWR) are two different things, actually if you remove your truck bed you can haul even more . Tow Boss, 4x4, crew cab, long bed, maximum loaded trailer weight (legal) 18,100 lbs. To prove dual rear stability, find a nice freeway on ramp, test drive a DRW at aggressive speeds, then repeat with SRW, better yet repeat with lifted SRW, you'll see the difference. Or as a couple of snow birds who told me about towing with their last SRW that had a rear tire blow out and rolled the rig almost going off a bridge....now they'll only tow with a dually due to the extra safety margin with the extra rear tires. Glamis dunes.com has a really good thread about a guy that lost everything he owns, wife divorced him, and most of his paychecks will go to someone else for the rest of his life......due to an accident towing with an overloaded truck, and killing two other people.

[cdavego]

I DRIVE BIG TRUCKS EVERY DAY(105' LONG) AND I HAVE HAD 4X4 DRW 1/2 TONS PULL TRAILERS AND 5TH WHEELS HAVE A BLOW OUT IN A DRW DOESN'T MEAN YOU WILL STAY ON THE RAOD OR FLIP OVER ITS ABOUT KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN IT HAPPENS. I HAVE HAD A STEER TIRE BLOW OUT AT 80+ AND WAS JUST FINE AND REARS BLOW WHERE YOU LOSE A FENDER AND NOTHING MORE. ITS ABOUT DRIVING SKILL AND KNOW HOW. AND AS FAR AS TRAILES GO 5TH WHEELS PULL MUCH BETTER AND ARE EASY TO GET AROUND WITH.

[Don29palms]

Don't mistake what I am saying. I agree that you should go by manufacturers specifications as far as towing capacities go. I would never recommend to anybody to tow anything over the vehicles rating. If you do you definitely open yourself for a lawsuit if an accident happens. Basically the bottom line is match your truck to your trailer or vice versa. And I do believe a regular cab long bed and an extended cab short bed are the same chassis. I don't believe, but I could be wrong, That anyone makes a regular cab, short bed, 1 ton truck.And by the way Pete your truck is cool.

[1320]

wow a good thread forsure. A couple thgs that are not real clear though. I don t know what cal does but in NV, the class A non cdl is a written and drive test only. No physical.

Its sorta true about the "smaller trucks " having a higher tow capacity, but with any single rear wheel truck you will probably reach the tire load rating limits before the trucks. The lifted trucks for the most part should npt tow some of the things out there. 3600lbs was the highest rating on the chart, thats only 7000 lbs total on the rear, and I wouldn t want to run them at the limit towing across a hot desert hiway. Heat kills tires.

I ve pulled a lot. I currently pull a 50 ft enclosed trailer. Its easier to pull then a 20 ft tag. I would never choose to go back to a tag. Mine is a Goose Neck, but a 5th is pretty similar, and I ve pulled them too.

If you are pulled over, your actual weight does not matter (unless over). The only thing that matters is the rated weight. If your toy hauler has a GVW of 15000 and your truck is 11500 on the door, your pretty screwed. It does not matter that it really only weighs 22000 total, its taged to 26500, and you need to be licensed if it CAN carry over 26000.

I love my big trailer, I m very happy I went big. I can get two cars in it, and two quads, and its outfitted like a toy hauler, bed, sink etc....2 roof airs, generator. You should out fit your truck accorsdingly to your trailer choice. The best mirrors you can get, rear tv for some people is handy, carry two way radios so who ever goes with you can help out in tight spots, exhuast brake for the truck, the best tires you can get, esspecially if its a srw. Most guys who pull for profit, use manuals. Its just a money thing and the manuals wins teh upkeep battle. I run a nv5600 (6 speed) with a south bend clutch and two oil coolers. It was about a 3000$ conversion after I broke the input shaft on my 5 speed pulling a hill. Not uncommon in my truck since it makes over 1000 ft lbs. That conversion was still way less then a name brand auto rebuild.

My 5 speed lasted 194 k miles behind a 12 valve cummins.

If you pull heavy, you should consider a hand held temp gun, to check tire temps, and rear diff etc...or get something like a mag hytec cover and gauge and probe it. Like the regular cab, tw drive example of pulling the most, its best to keep you truck light essecially if your close to be loaded to max. I run alcoas (wheels) partly cause they look good but they also lower my base weight slightly, I only carry what I need, I try to keep the truck clean. Don t le the work tools etc build up. A glass hood looks pretty good, and cuts 50 - 75 lbs of the weight. This is huge if your GCVW is 2610......it puts you under the 26 k lb limit. If you over load a 10k lb truck and a 12k lb trailer by a 1000 lbs....no big deal in the laws eyes ussuly, but if its 26000 and it is suppose to be 25999 or under.....you have a problem.

When your on the road, the chp should look at you and be able to tell if you took precautions and are aware of what your pulling, if you look like an amature they will inform you. If you can t afford the 1000-2000$ for extra stuff to pull safely then don t buy the 30k $ toy hauler, get the 28k $ and do it right.

[OIF 5-7]

I agree, all very good information and opinions. This will all really help make an informed decision when I get home from this BS. Sorry I have not replied to any of these great posts lately. We go into a commo black out when we loose someone. That way the family members can be notified properly before it slips out talking or e-mailing home.

As far as the manual verses auto debate, good point about if you get hurt, can someone else drive the thing back home? My wife drives a manual as her daily driver, but she has no experience towing anything. I’ll need to work with her on that either way we go. I’m leaning toward the manual. Is the tow haul mode an electric function or part of the auto trans? I guess you can only get the tow haul mode with the auto, due it being a auto trans function. Is installing an after market exhaust brake the only option when going with the manual?

Thanks

:smiley:

wow a good thread forsure. A couple thgs that are not real clear though. I don t know what cal does but in NV, the class A non cdl is a written and drive test only. No physical.

Its sorta true about the "smaller trucks " having a higher tow capacity, but with any single rear wheel truck you will probably reach the tire load rating limits before the trucks. The lifted trucks for the most part should npt tow some of the things out there. 3600lbs was the highest rating on the chart, thats only 7000 lbs total on the rear, and I wouldn t want to run them at the limit towing across a hot desert hiway. Heat kills tires.

I ve pulled a lot. I currently pull a 50 ft enclosed trailer. Its easier to pull then a 20 ft tag. I would never choose to go back to a tag. Mine is a Goose Neck, but a 5th is pretty similar, and I ve pulled them too.

If you are pulled over, your actual weight does not matter (unless over). The only thing that matters is the rated weight. If your toy hauler has a GVW of 15000 and your truck is 11500 on the door, your pretty screwed. It does not matter that it really only weighs 22000 total, its taged to 26500, and you need to be licensed if it CAN carry over 26000.

I love my big trailer, I m very happy I went big. I can get two cars in it, and two quads, and its outfitted like a toy hauler, bed, sink etc....2 roof airs, generator. You should out fit your truck accorsdingly to your trailer choice. The best mirrors you can get, rear tv for some people is handy, carry two way radios so who ever goes with you can help out in tight spots, exhuast brake for the truck, the best tires you can get, esspecially if its a srw. Most guys who pull for profit, use manuals. Its just a money thing and the manuals wins teh upkeep battle. I run a nv5600 (6 speed) with a south bend clutch and two oil coolers. It was about a 3000$ conversion after I broke the input shaft on my 5 speed pulling a hill. Not uncommon in my truck since it makes over 1000 ft lbs. That conversion was still way less then a name brand auto rebuild.

My 5 speed lasted 194 k miles behind a 12 valve cummins.

If you pull heavy, you should consider a hand held temp gun, to check tire temps, and rear diff etc...or get something like a mag hytec cover and gauge and probe it. Like the regular cab, tw drive example of pulling the most, its best to keep you truck light essecially if your close to be loaded to max. I run alcoas (wheels) partly cause they look good but they also lower my base weight slightly, I only carry what I need, I try to keep the truck clean. Don t le the work tools etc build up. A glass hood looks pretty good, and cuts 50 - 75 lbs of the weight. This is huge if your GCVW is 2610......it puts you under the 26 k lb limit. If you over load a 10k lb truck and a 12k lb trailer by a 1000 lbs....no big deal in the laws eyes ussuly, but if its 26000 and it is suppose to be 25999 or under.....you have a problem.

When your on the road, the chp should look at you and be able to tell if you took precautions and are aware of what your pulling, if you look like an amature they will inform you. If you can t afford the 1000-2000$ for extra stuff to pull safely then don t buy the 30k $ toy hauler, get the 28k $ and do it right.

[1320]

both auto or manuals should have an exhuast brake if you tow a fairly heavy load with a deisel. Deisels don t have compression braking, so the exhuast brake has that function. Some of the oems its an option, I know dodge has their approved exhuast brake for the rams,I suppose ford and gm may have the same. The only problem is that they charge a lot for them, around 50% more then if it was private or non dealer installed.

I think most new ones are 600-1200, but I might be wrong, Ive had mine for years.

[OIF 5-7]

Get the dually with the biggest payload possible. One tons are for haulling, play trucks are for lift kits and big tires. Don't risk getting into an accident and losing everything you own when the insurance co. proves you overloaded your truck and won't pay up (lawyers like that too). Since we got a new PSD tow boss dually I have to check the mirrors to see if the trailer is still there. Save the 3-5K (lift kit/tires) and buy some off-road toys. I take my stock dually all the time to sit at comp hill, no problems getting out there. My truck was bought to tow, not off-road, if you're looking for dual purpose then that's a different story, but never overload your haul vehicle! A couple of years from now you might want a bigger trailer, and then...opps truck is too overloaded. My friends all had dualies and thought it was overkill untill they towed my trailer home once and I got to drive. The difference in stability is huge! In regards to tranny, keep in mind if you get hurt riding, can my better half clutch that truck, if she can, great! Lift kits are fun, I had my share, but sometimes praticality and common sense have to be taken into account. Besides if you want a cool ride, buy a Mustang GT, and let the wife drive the toyhauler. My wife drives our long bed, crew cab, DRW everywhere, it's made her a better driver! And my Mustang passes all the lifted trucks!

Exactly why I'm here getting facts and opinions from people with the experience. I guess I do want a dual purpose, but safety is important. I don't want a different truck for everything I do. Thanks