Towing A 5th Wheel
Question:
I am looking for a GM/Chevy truck that can tow a 12,000 lb 5th wheel trailer. Would a deisel or gas truck be the best bet? When not towing the trailer, the truck will be used as a 2nd travel vehicle. Thanks. Before you buy.
Response:
MY recommendation would be a big-block, or turbo-diesel dually truck. That is a lot of weight, and while most trucks will tow that, not all of them will be able to handle it, suspension-wise. If there is a big wind, you have to stop suddenly, change lanes all of a sudden, the extra wheels make all the difference in the world. My personal choice would be a crew cab shortbox dually, 454, 4.10’s, locking diff, and I would add an extra, aftermarket, fuel tank. Unfortunately, you cannot get a turbo-diesel in this truck until the new Isuzu comes out this fall. The 454 won’t get fantastic fuel economy while using it as a 2nd vehicle, but it will certainly handle that trailer, very well. Have fun with your trailer! jed
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I am looking for a GM/Chevy truck that can tow a 12,000 lb 5th wheel > trailer. Would a deisel or gas truck be the best bet? When not towing > the trailer, the truck will be used as a 2nd travel vehicle. Thanks. > Before you buy.
Response:
>MY recommendation would be a big-block, or turbo-diesel dually truck. That >is a lot of weight, and while most trucks will tow that, not all of them >will be able to handle it, suspension-wise. If there is a big wind, you >have to stop suddenly, change lanes all of a sudden, the extra wheels make >all the difference in the world.
I would debate any of the "effectiveness" of the duallies in any situation except raw weight carrying ability.. Usually, a duallie-equipped vehicle comes with much heavier rear brakes, which, in that case, will result in quicker stopping times.. Proper trailer brakes are the most important part of a trailer setup this heavy, however. Also, in most places, the insurance rates on a duallie truck are _much_ higher then a standard model… Here in Ontario the difference is quite large, and alot of people quickly decide that they suddenly really don’t want one anymore. As well, the ride on a duallie truck is much harsher. >My personal choice would be a crew cab shortbox dually, 454, 4.10’s, locking >diff, and I would add an extra, aftermarket, fuel tank. Unfortunately, you >cannot get a turbo-diesel in this truck until the new Isuzu comes out this >fall. The 454 won’t get fantastic fuel economy while using it as a 2nd >vehicle, but it will certainly handle that trailer, very well.
Although the diesel is nice for fuel economy, unless the vehicle was to be used strictly for towing (As the original poster mentioned was not the case) I wouldn’t go for it, myself.. The drawbacks (Noise, smell, more difficult cold starts, problems finding diesel at regular gas stations, etc) don’t outweight the benefits for a truck that is only going to be ‘ocassionally’ towing. Throw a turbocharger into the mix, and then additional things such as cool-down time, and more frequent oil changes come into play as well. — Mark, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Response:
Chevy/GMC doesn’t have a light duty truck that will haul that much weight, you’re looking at a medium duty truck at the least. Ford or Dodge in the 1 ton trucks come close. Stay away from shortbeds, trailer will hit the cab on tight turns, not enough clearance. Check out the RV newsgroups they can give you some info also.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->MY recommendation would be a big-block, or turbo-diesel dually truck. That >is a lot of weight, and while most trucks will tow that, not all of them >will be able to handle it, suspension-wise. If there is a big wind, you >have to stop suddenly, change lanes all of a sudden, the extra wheels make >all the difference in the world. > I would debate any of the "effectiveness" of the duallies in any > situation except raw weight carrying ability.. Usually, a > duallie-equipped vehicle comes with much heavier rear brakes, which, > in that case, will result in quicker stopping times.. > Proper trailer brakes are the most important part of a trailer setup > this heavy, however. > Also, in most places, the insurance rates on a duallie truck are > _much_ higher then a standard model… Here in Ontario the difference > is quite large, and alot of people quickly decide that they suddenly > really don’t want one anymore. > As well, the ride on a duallie truck is much harsher. >My personal choice would be a crew cab shortbox dually, 454, 4.10’s, locking >diff, and I would add an extra, aftermarket, fuel tank. Unfortunately, you >cannot get a turbo-diesel in this truck until the new Isuzu comes out this >fall. The 454 won’t get fantastic fuel economy while using it as a 2nd >vehicle, but it will certainly handle that trailer, very well. > Although the diesel is nice for fuel economy, unless the vehicle was > to be used strictly for towing (As the original poster mentioned was > not the case) I wouldn’t go for it, myself.. The drawbacks (Noise, > smell, more difficult cold starts, problems finding diesel at regular > gas stations, etc) don’t outweight the benefits for a truck that is > only going to be ‘ocassionally’ towing. Throw a turbocharger into the > mix, and then additional things such as cool-down time, and more > frequent oil changes come into play as well. > — > Mark, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
www.spamcop.net! :-)
Response:
Hi. This is the mailer-daemon. I’m afraid I wasn’t able to deliver your message to the following addresses. This is a permanent error; I’ve given up. Sorry it didn’t work out. 128.11.68.214 failed after I sent the message. Remote host said: 552 qdirdel.1 error 100:This user does not have — Below this line is a copy of the message. Received: from Unknown/Local ([?.?.?.?]) by my-deja.com; Sat Dec 11 20:39:28 1999 Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Sent-Mail: off X-Mailer: MailCity Service X-Sender-Ip: 204.210.29.136 Organization: My Deja Email (http://www.my-deja.com:80) Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Language: en Content-Length: 3447 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Jed, Thanks for the email. I haven’t checked this address for a while. I am in the process of buying a 1994 Dodge turbo diesel, automatic transmission. I hope that was the right choice. What are your thoughts? Thanks, Dave >Dave – if you decide to go Chevy, only look at either >the 93, or LATE 96 and up model turbo-diesel (I know >you prefer 454, but just in case…) as these are the >ones that are least likely to give any troubles. > >As far as the Cummins, most everyone I talk to who >comes in for repairs, etc…, all agree that the >Cummins is best with the 5 Spd manual tranny. Have >someone qualified look this tranny over if you find >one, as the tranny for the NVG4500, is rated for less >input torque that what actually comes out of the >Cummins! There have been some failures, but it is a >very good tranny, most of the time. > >The other thing with the Cummins, seems to be the 3.55 >gears. The Cummins is a very ‘peaky’ engine, in that >it makes its power in a very limited powerband. If >you get too slow of gears, it will not allow you to go >the speed limit, for having run out of power. A bit >basic explanation, but you get the idea. > >In the 454, get a Vortec! This did not start until >96, but you get a HP increase from 235 to 290, and >torque goes from 385 to 410, and a lot flatter torque >curve. The Vortec makes 90% of its torque at 1800 RPM >all the way to a peak of 3600 rpm! And, as I already >said, 4.10’s are the way to go. > >Good luck, and Good Trailering, and if I can help >answer any more questions, take the .net out of my >e-mail address! > >jed Before you buy.
