thinking of getting a new 5th wheel trailer

Hi there. At present I have a trailer that I tow and it's about 5,000 lb or a bit more and the truck handles it well. My Truck is a 2019 Tundra Platinum with crew max and short bed. I'm thinking of trading the trailer for a 5th wheel which is a bit larger and empty weight is around 7,300 lbs probably around 8,300 lbs all up.

Has anyone got experience with towing a trailer or 5th wheel of this weight with the tundra. I know it's within the weight specs for the truck, but I'd like some real world experience and opinions. With my current trailer, I always use the towing selection and have never had any trouble with temps, etc even in hot weather. The truck has plenty of power and stops the trailer ok, with the trailer brake assistance.

 

You'll be over your payload capacity for sure. You probably also won't enjoy making tight corners with the short box on your truck, depending on what kind of hitch you get.

 

Funny enough, i have a friend that regularly tows a 30’ 5th wheel with her Ram 1500, gas engine, 6’+ bed. Mostly flat, east coast, DC area. They havent any issues in 3 years. Im amazed, but its possible. I wouldnt do it.

 

There are several dollies on the market that carry the pin weight and hitch to the receiver. Toad, safety hitch, freedom hitch iirc. Lots of factors to consider.

 

I'm looking to switch from a 2022 GMC 1500 Elevation to a 2025 Tundra Limited. I tow a 21' fiberglass 5th wheel and called Toyota yesterday, they couldn't provide me with gooseneck towing specs. Interestingly, my GMC list the specs on the door frame sticker. Does anyone know where I could find this information?

 

Your GMC has gooseneck towing specs on the door sticker?

 

I’ve only seen it on 3/4 tons. That’s cool if they list it on the 1/2 ton stickers too

 

Yes, here's a copy. I'm just surprised Toyota doesn't make this readily available:

 

Pardon my ignorance on this, but is the gooseneck rating the same as the 5th wheel rating?

 

As I understand it, there is a gooseneck rating which is the weight of the pin box (Max tongue weight) on the bed and the trailer weight. On my half ton with the tow package a bumper pull has a higher spec than a gooseneck.

 

Has a higher tow rating, but not a higher tongue / pin rating

 

Yes, sorry mixed that up.

 

I’m also looking at pairing a fifth wheel with my 22 tundra. My payload is listed at 1,400 lbs and I can pull 11,500 lbs. I’m looking at a fifth wheel with tongue weight of 950 lbs and dry weight of 7,600. Theoretically my truck should pull it but I need someone to say they’ve pulled something similar without any problems. This is something new with half tons pulling a fifth wheel any input would be helpful.

 

I'm not sure I'll be over payload weight. I think the trailer empty weight is like 7,300 lbs and I imagine I'll have another 800 lbs of water and gear in it. Which would put me at around 8,300 lbs. I think the max towing is around 10k but the numbers are hard to verify in the owner's manual. But even at say, 8,800 lbs I should be ok weight wise. I think also the load on the hitch would be around 1,100 lbs so that shouldn't be an issue. I hope. Thoughts??

 

You’re gonna be over payload

 

Most here will say don't do it. Funny thing is, a 5er or gooseneck makes for a much more enjoyable and stable towing experience, IME, and arguable safer due to the position of the pin weight over the rear axle vs cantilevered several feet behind it.

There's an ok chance you will be over payload (but not for certain), but a better than ok chance you will be under your rear axle weight rating. A heavy conventional tow trailer will often be the other way around.. So make sure to pack everything in the trailer instead of in the truck, and get your vehicle scaled before and after. You may be surprised.

If I were to venture down that road with a 3rd gen, I'd look in to airbags or another suspension enhancement as the rear coils are a big soft. Also, I think a B&W gooseneck hitch is the only option for 2022+ tundras. You would use a gooseneck to 5er adapter from the likes of Andersen or Pullrite to convert it to 5th wheel.

A couple of guys on the site have successfully installed such a setup in their trucks - 2nd gen and 3rd gen. They are usually shewed away by the masses, unfortunately. I'd opine that I would prefer a light 5er over a heavy conventional pull.

 

Pulling a gooseneck or 5th wheel is definitely a better, more stable towing experience. That’s not really the point. The point is that the Tundra isn’t setup well to do it. The really short bed, the low payload, the lack of aftermarket support for equipment to make it happen. Your 2019 Platinum CM probably has a payload of 1100# or less. That will be very limiting. A travel trailer will have less tongue weight than the pin weight of the 5er. On paper you get more TT than you do 5er. In reality, that lower tongue weight is cantilevered out away from the axle and hurts you just as much against payload, and is also harder to control. It’s a bit of a catch 22.

 

Your tow rating and your payload rating are two different things. You will be over payload. You need to read up on what the payload rating is and decide if you are willing to ignore it.

 

Yeah, I looked at the payload and it's 1,100 lbs for my truck. I looked at the trailer hitch weight and it's supposedly 1,170 lbs and the trailer empty weight is 7,724 lbs. So add water and so forth and you are up around 8,700 lbs. I don't doubt the ability of the truck to pull the trailer but there are two things I am concerned with. One is that the payload or hitch weight on the deck is over the payload weight. And then you have the turning radius: Does anyone know if the short bed. limits the turning radius? I have some very sharp turns to make to turn the thing around from where I would park it to the width of my driveway.

I really appreciate all the info you have collectively given me. It's valuable and is a huge help in helping determine if I'm going to do this or not. My Gut feeling right now is that. I'm pushing the limits of the truck. However, I"m not done with my research yet.

Cheers
John

 

What more research do you need to do?

Know that 1170 pin weight is probably understated for your specific trailer and also doesn't include propane, water or anything else you put in the trailer.

Also know that the 1100 payload capacity doesn't account for the hitch, you, your passengers or anything else you put in the cab or bed of the truck.