# Can Someone Educate Me On 5ver Weights



## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

I am very familiar with getting a travel trailer set up and the WDH dialed in. A Fifth Wheel is another matter....

Newbie Alert!

Any info more than welcome

Thanks, Eric


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## jozway (Jan 28, 2008)

Watcha buyin?


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

jozway said:


> Watcha buyin?


Uhhh...Nothing?...


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

I see ya lurking Nathan.....


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

OOooooooooh OOooohhhhhh! Eric's gettin (gotten?) something new! Woooo Hooooo!
Pictures man, PICTURES!!!!!!!!


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

There is no sway control to set up on a fiver.

There is pin weight, which is what directly goes into the back of your truck.

There is axle weight, which is the remainder of the wieght from the trailer.

Listed dry weight is way light as usual. My listed pin weight is 1600 lbs, but is over 2000 loaded........all the storage is in front of the axles.

Any specific questions???

Steve


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

huntr70 said:


> There is no sway control to set up on a fiver.
> 
> There is pin weight, which is what directly goes into the back of your truck.
> 
> ...


 Yeah...I knew it was going to be difficult trying to get those bars worked in there!...









Thanks!

Seriously though I have not towed a fifth wheel before. I really am wondering how much the pin weight varies. I have well over a ton to work with and have heard the installation of airbags will help or is in some cases is needed.

I am also one who watches weight and loading as to not push limits and capacities.

So the weight of the unit is what it is. As you said, and in my experience, the dry weight is usually very conservative. Loaded i will be at about 85% of towing capacity. A little more than what I have now, (31RQS) loaded.

The disribution of weight in the unit will effect pin weight of course, but how does that effect handling.

Is there adjustment to change the attitude of the Tow Vehicle, ie: nose up, nose down, to level the truck or is that going to be controlled by airbags?

Are there different styles of air bag? Remotely operated? Manual? Etc.. Are they adjusted for each trip?

Eric


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

Calvin&Hobbes said:


> OOooooooooh OOooohhhhhh! Eric's gettin (gotten?) something new! Woooo Hooooo!
> Pictures man, PICTURES!!!!!!!!


 Ain't doin' it...Jinxed myself last time......nope, nope nope.....


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## Joonbee (Jan 18, 2008)

egregg57 said:


> OOooooooooh OOooohhhhhh! Eric's gettin (gotten?) something new! Woooo Hooooo!
> Pictures man, PICTURES!!!!!!!!


 Ain't doin' it...Jinxed myself last time......nope, nope nope.....
[/quote]

Just planning ahead for when you win that new Keystone in the free giveaway.


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## Joonbee (Jan 18, 2008)

egregg57 said:


> OOooooooooh OOooohhhhhh! Eric's gettin (gotten?) something new! Woooo Hooooo!
> Pictures man, PICTURES!!!!!!!!


 Ain't doin' it...Jinxed myself last time......nope, nope nope.....
[/quote]

Just planning ahead for when you win that new Keystone in the free giveaway.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

egregg57 said:


> I see ya lurking Nathan.....


Yeah, well there was an ice cream social at the school, so I couldn't do much posting.









Yep, a 5er hitch is load carrying. If the rear sags, you get some airbags. In addition to not needing bars, you don't need chains either. It's just the hitch, the lights, and a brakeaway cable.

The big difference in towing is that sway doesn't really affect you, but as a payback, the pivot over the axle means that the trailer tracks inside on turns. It also makes it take a while to get it turning while backing up. These are all just things you adjust to.

I really like the stability and ease of hitching.








My 12k 35' 5er tows as easily as the OB did.

Carey can weigh in too since he hauls so much. He can also comment on the airbags. Any specific questions?


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

As for pin weight, plan on 20-25%.

Just like a bumper pull, weight distribution may vary, but usually most storage is forward of the axles .


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

There are several ways to level your fiver. The pin box can be adjusted upand down, and the hitch itself is usually adjustable.

That being said, my Pullrite Superglide does not have any adjustments, and my pinbox is at its highest point, and I still am a bit nose high. So far, with a couple hundred miles towed this way, everything still tows fine.

I have Timbren suspension boosters on my truck, didn't go the airbag route. The Timbrens only come into play when the pin weight compresses the springs to a certain point, where the airbags are always in play.........to each his own.

Steve


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

It all comes down to money on air bags. The remote units are like 400, plus another 2-250 for the bags. Or you can get a unit that mounts on your dash for like 250 then 2-250 for air bags.

Go check out summitracing.com The have about the best prices.

All the brands are made in China anymore, which aint right, but thats the way it is.

I cant really add anymore than Huntr and Nathan said..

Life is great when you pull a 5er.. Some of the taller models require you to be careful in curves moreso than a Travel Trailer. The wind might bother one a bit more to. Its kind of a tradeoff though as when it gets windy, travel trailers sway. 5ers just push you araound a bit.. Two totally different things.

After pulling all the ones I do, my next RV will be a 5er too..

Carey


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Oh yea, a 5er doesnt bother you much when its a bit nose high.. A travel trailer sure does though.

You need a good 6-7 inches of gap between the bed and 5er.. If you have that much, it would be a rare thing to ever hit.

Carey


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## GarethsDad (Apr 4, 2007)

Eric if you upgrade to a 5er please for the sake of your children upgrade the TV to a crew cab with 4 real sized doors. James


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

huntr70 said:


> There are several ways to level your fiver. The pin box can be adjusted upand down, and the hitch itself is usually adjustable.
> 
> That being said, my Pullrite Superglide does not have any adjustments, and my pinbox is at its highest point, and I still am a bit nose high. So far, with a couple hundred miles towed this way, everything still tows fine.
> 
> ...


Yep Timbrens dont cost as much and they work great also.. If you are in that 2000lb pin weight area Timbrens might even be better..

Carey


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

Somewhat off-topic but Carey, it would be interesting to get your feedback after towing with a ProPride 3P for a few thousand miles. not to hear you say whether its good or bad just to get a comparison for people to refer to.


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Sayonara said:


> Somewhat off-topic but Carey, it would be interesting to get your feedback after towing with a ProPride 3P for a few thousand miles. not to hear you say whether its good or bad just to get a comparison for people to refer to.


 I wish I could try one..

They wouldnt work well for me though as I move 1 or 2 or sometimes more trailers every week.

Carey


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## swanny (Oct 31, 2007)

One of the issues a lot of 3/4 ton 5th wheel pullers have is their TV over gross. The pin wt and all other stuff add up quick. My 2500 weighs 7040lbs with me, wife and a full tank of fuel. The max gross wt for my truck is 9200 lbs. that leaves me with 2160 lbs to play with. That about my pin weight







I didn't go with air bags I went with super springs to level the ride.


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

GarethsDad said:


> Eric if you upgrade to a 5er please for the sake of your children upgrade the TV to a crew cab with 4 real sized doors. James


 Well, I only have one child that lives with me. he has the back seat to himself except for tasha the Campdog. Right now we are okay. I did look at a crew cab back a month ago...sheesh! $$$$$$


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

swanny said:


> One of the issues a lot of 3/4 ton 5th wheel pullers have is their TV over gross. The pin wt and all other stuff add up quick. My 2500 weighs 7040lbs with me, wife and a full tank of fuel. The max gross wt for my truck is 9200 lbs. that leaves me with 2160 lbs to play with. That about my pin weight
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 I looked at that, my F-250 has a curb weight of 5604 and a GVWR of 8800 leaving 3196. 3196-family= about 2700 lbs payload.

The Pin weight I am looking at is about 1800. 900-1000 pounds under GVWR. I wish that number was better.

GCVWR is 17,000 with the gearing I have now (I think I have 3.73:1) if I switch that to the 4.30 ratio it goes up to 20,000. But I may already have that, I need to check.

UVWR of the unit I am looking at is 9715. I expect to be at 10,500 (roughly) loaded.

Eric


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

Calvin&Hobbes said:


> OOooooooooh OOooohhhhhh! Eric's gettin (gotten?) something new! Woooo Hooooo!
> Pictures man, PICTURES!!!!!!!!


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## webeopelas (Mar 11, 2006)

Yep Timbrens dont cost as much and they work great also.. If you are in that 2000lb pin weight area Timbrens might even be better..

Carey

Man, everybody says that when discussion turns to bags or Timbrens, but I sure didn't find that.

Airbags were 230-260, Timbrens were 200-250, Supersprings were 250-300.

I guess they were strictly cheaper, but not enough for me to make it a deciding factor.

Luckily, I won a set of Pacbrake airbags in a contest on their website, so cost was no object!









Wish I could have won the exhaust brake, but I shouldn't be greedy.


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

I'd do the old gvwr calc. Take the gvwr of the trailer annd figure 20% pin weight. Then make sure the truck can carry it. If you do that, I would not worry about being too close to the limits. Just stay under.


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

[quote name='webeopelas' date='Jun 4 2009, 09:38 PM' post='350360']
Yep Timbrens dont cost as much and they work great also.. If you are in that 2000lb pin weight area Timbrens might even be better..

Carey

Man, everybody says that when discussion turns to bags or Timbrens, but I sure didn't find that.

Airbags were 230-260, Timbrens were 200-250, Supersprings were 250-300.

I guess they were strictly cheaper, but not enough for me to make it a deciding factor.

Luckily, I won a set of Pacbrake airbags in a contest on their website, so cost was no object!









Wish I could have won the exhaust brake, but I shouldn't be greedy.
[/quote

Okay... what are Timbrens?


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

webeopelas said:


> Yep Timbrens dont cost as much and they work great also.. If you are in that 2000lb pin weight area Timbrens might even be better..
> 
> Carey
> 
> ...


Hmmm Maybe they went up in price. I had a set on my 1/2 ton and they were 150 with shipping.

Guess I need to quit saying they are cheaper..

Carey


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

Nathan said:


> I'd do the old gvwr calc. Take the gvwr of the trailer annd figure 20% pin weight. Then make sure the truck can carry it. If you do that, I would not worry about being too close to the limits. Just stay under.


 That should be attainable if in fact the loaded weight is 10,500. I may figure 11K just to be safe. Roughly 2200lbs


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

Website about Timbrens.......

If you go by what is on that website, Timbrens are $50 to $100 cheaper than air bags alone, not including the in cab controller.

You don't ever have to mess with them to adjust pressure, and there are no fittings to leak.

All a personal choice of course.................

Steve


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## Calvin&Hobbes (May 24, 2006)

I had Timbrens on my old truck and Fiver combo. Loved them, they were cheaper that the bags. But, to be fair, I've never towed with bags, so I cant comment wether they are better/worse...


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

Calvin&Hobbes said:


> I had Timbrens on my old truck and Fiver combo. Loved them, they were cheaper that the bags. But, to be fair, I've never towed with bags, so I cant comment wether they are better/worse...


 thanks Kevin!


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

I think the ride is very close to the same.. I know if you over charge air bags, the truck can get pretty basketball like in the rear..

The 1/2 ton has a much softer suspension and the timbrens take the place of the bump stops. They hang down farther than the bump stops though.. So if you ran over a set of rr tracks you can feel the rearend contact them a bit.. Just gives a little nudge when that happens.

I doubt youd ever feel them empty on a 3/4 ton..

Carey


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## egregg57 (Feb 13, 2006)

Thank you all for 5ver 101!


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## Sayonara (Jul 23, 2007)

egregg57 said:


> Thank you all for 5ver 101!


Yes....I thank you too....


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