5th Wheel Weight Limit

[USNENFTS]

when you own a F450 you understand rear gearing. in short, you had two choices. 5.13 which is oem for the early 90's and then with the PSD, you got an additional choice of 4.63.
bottom line....you now have a truck than can haul 15k gvw up the side of a building. As long as you can wait all day for it to do it.
If you are the impatient type, you will need to find a more powerful truck.

I don't care if I have to do 25 up a hill, all the semi's do it anyway. I am just worried about the squatting, I don't want it to look ridiculous. What do you think? Add in that extra spring I have, that would help out a lot IMO.

 

[gandalf]

Let me tell you about that extra spring or spring pack, before you go ahead.

I bought my '86 F-250 specifically to haul a cabover camper. The camper we got was a bit larger than I was intending, but that's okay. The problem was weight. It was too heavy. The truck squatted a fair amount, and handling was rather squirrely. It boardered on being a bit scarey at times.

I put a set of Helwig 2500 overload springs on the rear end. The truck no longer squatted, and the handling improved somewhat, though it still left a lot to be desired. However, when the camper was not on the truck, the ride was just a bit harsh. The springs were not a factor--the axles might as well have been mounted directly on the frame. It was that harsh.

You can see that the truck isn't really squatting.

I'll attach a picture of the truck, after the overload springs were installed. This was taken, btw, at the top of Kaiser Pass, east of Fresno, in, I believe, June of that summer. The Forest Service had just cleared the road after a particularly hard winter.

 

[USNENFTS]

Ahhhh, yeah.... I think if I add an extra spring I will be okay. If not, I'll figure something else out.

 

[laserjock]

Big thing here is to put the right tires on the truck. Possibly more important than the springs. Make sure you are running load range E tires. D's will be soft and squirelly with that kind of load on them. Some guys run D's because they are cheaper and ride better and in principle they have enough load rating for most things but if you are towing heavy, the sidewalls will flex and make it squirelly.

 

[towcat]

one more thing.
not all "E" rated tires are the same. there is a class of tire designed for big rig use that has been resized for 16" rims.
Toyo M55, Bridgestone duravis 500, 700 and R265, and Michelin XPS steel are tires that will handle the load without the compromise in the sidewall.
downside is you will be paying roungh $225 a tire at most places who can even special order them in for you.
the handling difference is night and day though. what's you safety and peace of mind worth?

 

[towcat]

Let me tell you about that extra spring or spring pack, before you go ahead.

I bought my '86 F-250 specifically to haul a cabover camper. The camper we got was a bit larger than I was intending, but that's okay. The problem was weight. It was too heavy. The truck squatted a fair amount, and handling was rather squirrely. It boardered on being a bit scarey at times.

I put a set of Helwig 2500 overload springs on the rear end. The truck no longer squatted, and the handling improved somewhat, though it still left a lot to be desired. However, when the camper was not on the truck, the ride was just a bit harsh. The springs were not a factor--the axles might as well have been mounted directly on the frame. It was that harsh.

You can see that the truck isn't really squatting.

I'll attach a picture of the truck, after the overload springs were installed. This was taken, btw, at the top of Kaiser Pass, east of Fresno, in, I believe, June of that summer. The Forest Service had just cleared the road after a particularly hard winter.

only you would be crazy enough to buy a slide-in fitted for a F350 and run it on a F250. even on your current truck, that thing is huge.

 

[gandalf]

only you would be crazy enough to buy a slide-in fitted for a F350 and run it on a F250. even on your current truck, that thing is huge.

Crazy? You say crazy? I was fine until I started associating with you. And remember, I know where you live.