5th wheel at 19,000# can it be done?

[razorbackfan]

I knew that pic would show up eventually with the S10.

Your choice of RV is a good one. My brother has one and it's very nice.

Chief, what rate are you? You sound like my old Chief in the engine room when I was working on an ABT..... "go ahead and stick you hand in there". While I was lying on my back I comtemplated his words along with calling him a few other choice words.

 

[razorbackfan]

I can say I've never stuck my hand in one ever again.

 

[Venom Power]

Scoo.. You know better man than to tow something like that with your RC. I consider this bad idea a Yetzer Hara. I know it's in your blood to save money and all but look at the.. "long haul" sort of speak. You'd be costing yourself much more in repairs in the near future. And with Hanukkah only like 6 months away? What the Halakha were you thinking?

 

[WOT]

OK, so here's the deal:
Would your RC pull it? Absolutely (you would just have to be real careful starting out so that you didn't fry the clutch. Could you stop with it? Sure, the SRT-10's have awesome brakes and you would also have trailer brakes.

Now, the real reason why not to do it. Your truck is too light and the rear leaf springs are too soft. The truck would sway all over the place. That's one of the reasons these trucks are not rated to tow extremely large loads. It's an action/reaction thing (or more like mass-inertia thing). I can tow my 3500 lb double jet ski trailer with my 96 Impala SS or my SRT-10. The Impala weighs 4200 lbs. It has a built 383 and a built 4 spd tranny with tranny cooler. It also has airbags in the rear coils and adjustable shocks all the way around. It's no problem whatsoever. But, it really pushes the Impala around. If I had to do an emergency lane change manuever on the highway, the Impala would end up turning sideways at speed. Enduring high cross winds, or just going into a corner too fast quickly becomes a nightmare situation. So, I bought the 10 mostly to have something to pull the trailer around with (plus, I really wanted it).

When pulling that jetski trailer with my truck, you can hardly tell it is back there. The truck isn't that much more powerfull than the Impala, but it's heavier, and stiffer, and it is so so much easier to pull the trailer with.

Now, scale this up to your RC pulling 19,500 pounds, and it would be like pulling my jetski trailer with a riding lawnmower at 70 mph.

The first time you make a quick exit off the highway or come up to a large cuve in the road, your truck is just simply not going to be able to overcomve the straight-line inertia of that big trailer, and you will go for a ride.

But hey, let us know how it works out.

 

[1qksrt]

I think I might have a solution to your problem... If this guy can use an S-10 you should have no problems using your suburban.


Class lll Hitch Install... (patent pending..)
Wouldn't you love to see how the trip went....? Good chance he ended up doin' some unintended off roadin' somewhere. Check the 'hills' in the background. Howja like to meet this rig on a two-lane road...coming down the mountain in your direction...?

She's hitched up and ready to roll!! Amazin' how the extra weight smoothes out the ride.
Needed to air up the rear tires a bit ('bout 160 psi).
http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/fxstsmith/s-10blazer3.jpg[/IMG
Added some super heavy-duty chain for extra support on the tailgate, (note the 'Heavy-Duty 'S' hooks to attach the chain) Also paid-up for some BIG Number 5/16" sheet metal screws to attach the Reese hitch frame to the tailgate (see 'em there? one on each side...) Likely two more through the carpet into the floor pan inside...
Yep, probably overkill, but didn't want the possibility of having an axerdent.
[IMG]http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/fxstsmith/s-10blazer2.jpg
Most of the time was spent on the front porch whittling down that MASSIVE solid pine 4"x4" to fit precisely down into the hole in the ball mount receiver.
Note also - The 14"x14" piece of 3/8" plywood on the underside of the tailgate to distribute the load more evenly and beef up that tailgate support.
'A MAN CAN'T BE TOO SAFE'...!!

Now thats funny,Whatever works brother!!:rock:

 

[scoobert]

guess i could chop the ass end off the burb and put on a 5th wheel and a back wall.
all my gmc suburban is, is a 3500 with a full body on it. i have had 18,000 towed off the hitch before but the truck really heats up.

for 19K you really need a 5-6sp stick.

on another note i never intended to get this just to tow with it. in fact the only thing i planned to haul from day one was my kawi.


i understand how you say the V10 3500 is shit at towing. it does seem stacked in the wrong areas.

i would love to find a top kick for less then 15,000 that would be ideal. i will be asking the bank about combining the two, truck and 5th wheel, into one 12 year loan and see what they say.

so i guess the 10 is going up on jacks come November.