Panicking...Can we safely pull a BH3670RL with a F250 Diesel Super Duty?

[Timetoretire]

We are almost ready to close the deal on a Big Horn 3670RL and are starting to rethink our decision in regard to the tow vehicle. We have tried to do the calculations but we just keep going in circles. We are currently pulling a 2004 33.3 ft (10,500 lb) Designer Jayco without any problems. We do plan on traveling long distances. Our F250 GCWR is 23,500 and the towing capacity is 15,400 and realize there is the whole pin weight issue which has us more than a little confused. The dry weight on the 5er is 1106 lbs. We have found alot of comments for and against on-line and are not sure which is the most solid decision. We would appreciate any help you can give us.

Thanks to all,
Larry and Patty Johnson

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

Larry & patty, Welcome to the Heartland Forum. To be honest, in ny opinion you'll be over the trucks GVRW and the pin weight of the 3670 will put you over the cargo capacity. That said, there are MANY folks doing it. I also believe your truck will 'handle' the weight. The safety part depends on how you drive and how well you maintain your equipment. That's it.. in a nutshell.

 

[sunflower]

What dry weight of 1106 lbs. are you referring too??Hitch??You will find that your limitations will be the load carrying capacity of the truck.

 

[kakampers]

You need to look at the door sticker on the truck and determine the GVWR of the truck first. Then weigh the truck with a full tank of fuel and all passengers inside. This will give you the actual curb weight of your truck...deduct the curb weight from the GVWR and that how much you can put in the bed..i.e., your "pin weight". I would venture to guess your truck, fully loaded, weighs about 8,000lbs. If your GVWR is say, 11,000 pounds...11,000-8,000=3,000 left for pin weight.

With the 3670 your pin weight is going to most likely be more than that, depending on how you load the trailer...but don't panic, weigh the truck, check the sticker and go from there....

 

[codycarver]

Larry & patty, Welcome to the Heartland Forum. To be honest, in ny opinion you'll be over the trucks GVRW and the pin weight of the 3670 will put you over the cargo capacity. That said, there are MANY folks doing it. I also believe your truck will 'handle' the weight. The safety part depends on how you drive and how well you maintain your equipment. That's it.. in a nutshell.

I agree. We used our Dodge 2500 when we bought our 3670 and it did the job. We now use a larger TV and feel much better about towing it.

 

[caissiel]

We have been towing our 3500RL BC with the F250 for 2 years and 10K miles. And I always have close to 60Gallons water in the fresh water tank because we rough camp for 3 weeks at a time. The previous trailer had the same pin weight and 4K lighter and I find that the BC tows much better. The G tires and the front design make these trailer a dream to tow, and my fuel mileage has been better. The weight is felt in the hills but so far I have no heat problem at all with my truck.
I think that the Jayco trailers are even heavier on the pin then ours, I feel you will find it easier to tow. I met a camper that has been pulling his 3600RL BH with a brand new 2500 GM.

On my first trip going home from the dealer, while driving during the tail end of a hurrican and later finding out they had filled all the tanks and never dump them at the dealer, and all our STUFF had been transfered, I found it was great to tow.

Enjoy.

 

[jnbhobe]

By the looks of your #'s you have a late model F-250 because of the 23,500# GCWR. While I believe you will be over weight, there are MANY MANY people in the same predicament. I just found I am with my 2011 F-350. That said I think all you need is a set of air bags for the rear and you will be OK. Brakes, frame, most tires, motor, transmission, and gears are the same. The air bags will keep the rig level,drive carefully!!

 

[danemayer]

At the Heartland National Rally 2 weeks ago, a bunch of us paid $49 each to the RV Safety and Education Foundation (emphasis on Safety) to get the actual weight of our trucks and RVs, compared to their ratings. One of RSEF's key concerns is "vertical load" which is primarily the pin weight on the hitch. Our Rushmore came out of the factory with a pin weight of 2600#. The washer/dryer, generator, and all the gear in our packed basement and closets add to pin weight. Our actual vertical load at the weigh-in was 3000#. When that load is added to what the truck is also carrying (us, our gear, the hitch, 220# of Diesel), it happens that we've just about exactly maxed out the payload on our 1 ton srw GMC truck. With our load, most 3/4 ton trucks would be roughly 1500# over the maximum vertical load the truck is designed for.

The 3670RL pin weight is spec'd at 2265 a few hundred lighter than our Rushmore. So if you don't have heavy options installed, maybe you'd only be 800-1000# over.

All that said, this discussion comes up frequently on this site and there are essentially 2 answers to the question: 1) you're over the safe weight limits and may experience excessive wear and tear on your truck, and poor, perhaps unsafe handling while towing, 2) I do it and it works for me, so you should be ok too.

In the end, you have to make a decision about whether you want to accept the possible risks of being overweight, or the risk of going broke buying a bigger truck. The hard part is that it's difficult to assess the risks unless you're an expert. I'm not and I doubt many of us are. But I lean toward avoiding risk, so I went for the 1 ton truck.

 

[jmgratz]

It is not the load that is the problem it is stopping the load. Be sure your truck and trailer brakes are in good condition and adjusted properly.

 

[GOTTOYS]

Most late model trucks use the same components for the brakes, axles and suspension between the 2500 series and 3500 series in the single rear wheel configuration, with the exception of the rear springs. Usually even the tires are the same. I wouldn't get too concerned about it...JMHO..Don

 

[JohnDar]

I've got a 2009 BH3670. The catalog dry weight is 11820, but the sticker is 12115. The advertised pin weight (not shown in newer catalogs) is 2065. Per RVSEF, my pin weight is 2950 and the trailer weighs 14525. I won't argue 2500 vs 3500 series, SRW or DRW, but as far as I'm concerned, bigger IS better, and more rubber on the road is worth the cost.

 

[Birchwood]

The BH 3670 has a max GVWR of 16000 lbs and thats what you should probably go with for peace of mind.
If you don't go with this max load you will always be concerned everytime you add or load something new
in your coach.I think this concern would be stressful and not much fun!
16000 lb will be a 3200 lb pin weight.Therefore 3200+7000 lb(truck weigh dry) = 10200 lb
Lots of RV tow vehicles are overloaded and do just fine and if you are the type of person that
is not bothered by this situation thats ok.I traded to a 1 ton because I don't want to have to
watch my weights and if I am involved in an accident overloading will not be the cause.

 

[caissiel]

The F250 and F350 SRW have exactly the same power train including the spring pack in the back. They have added a lift on the rear so that there is better drive shaft alignment when the added load is put on the truck. I added one ply that added the 1300 lbs to the spring pack so the truck is not as high unloaded and will not drop as muchloaded, like the F350 DRW.

 

[KENNY COCHRAN]

We have a 3670rl (2010) and have been pulling it with a ford 3/4 ton super duty with no problems. Have only been in the ozark mts in arkansas and no problems there. It is also a long wheel base and the extra length does come in handy.

 

[Timetoretire]

Thanks to all of you for the help and guidance. To me, it seems like a monumental decision but my husband Larry is a lot more relaxed about it. Hopefully between the two of us we can make the right decision. For now, I think we are going through with the deal on Wednesday and hoping that if we pack light (ha-ha) and drive safely that all will be well. You have all been a wonderful help, thanks so much. We are going to get our truck weighed today and do our calculations and then figure out what we need to do if anything.

Quick note to say that I realize I had a typo on my current RV weight which should have been (10,600) but I think you probably knew where I was going on that. Also forgot to mention that our F250 is a 2006.

We have only been doing this since last fall and so things still seems a little confusing at times. We love it and hope to have many travels and hope to meet some of you nice people out there in the RV parks and on the road.

Thanks again,
Patty and Larry

 

[JohnDar]

You didn't mention it, but is your truck 4x4? That's something else to consider when pulling a heavy rig like a 3670. At the rally, my neighbor got stuck trying to park his rig due to the rain soaked ground (no 4x4). They actually coned off one access to our area because it was a mud puddle. When we returned to our seasonal site after the rally, I had to use it to park my rig because of the loose sand and recent rain.

 

[Timetoretire]

Yes, the F250 is a 4x4 so hopefully we won't have the problem of getting stuck.

 

[rpkeida]

You might want to go to RVERSCORNER.COM/TOWINGREGULATIONS for more information to help you make a decision. We had to choose the F-350 for our 3055RL, as we are just under the max combined GVW of 23,000 lbs. The F-250 truck had the exact same engine/transmission, but the 2 most important considerations are "legal" load limits and stopping ability. We just didn't want the potential legal hassles of "negligence" in operating an overloaded rig should we have the misfortune of being involved in a mishap. A google search will reveal at least one legal firm that will represent you in that situation in case your insurance coverage has "issues" with your vehicle being overloaded, so check your weight restrictions on your current truck very closely. Once you are all rigged up, you might want to run across a truck stop scale, get your combined gross weight, then unhook, and re weigh your truck. You can actually get each axle weight, pin box weight, etc. to compare them to you owner's manual restrictions. Our decision was easier, as we were purchasing a new truck and the $ difference between the F-250 and F-350 was pretty minimal. Good Luck with your new RV!!

 

[mmomega]

Hopefully this helps, I made a quick breakdown between the past few years Super Duty's and there is a difference between regular 250-350's regarding axles etc. They don't have the same.
This info was pulled directly from Ford's fleet towing information and I just copy and pasted the info.

So the f250 axle is actually rated at 6200 lbs springs or not, air bags or not. That is what you should actually go by. Weigh the truck and see how much weight is actually on the rear axle then add your pin weight and you'll know if you are over or not.

Just again, the springs or air bags or whatever you have back there only support the weight from sagging the rear of the truck down. That's all. They don't increase towing capacity.
Also I'm not saying the truck won't be able to pull the weight. The engine transmission and frame are more than capable, all are used up to the F550 but from a technical standpoint. The rear axle is the main difference between each and super duty model.


Edit:// Ok so if you have a 2011 f250 here is the info on Ford's site, just scroll down to page 73 for rear end info.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/topics/2011/2011_SD_Pickup_specs.pdf

2011 Model Super Duty
F250 SRW"Sterling" axle rated @ 6200 lbs___springs rated @ 6100 lbs--axle shaft dia 1.36"min - 1.50"maj - 35spline__brake size--13.39"
F350 SRW"Sterling" axle rated @ 7280 lbs___springs rated @ 7000 lbs--axle shaft dia 1.50"min - 1.57"maj - 37spline__brake size--13.39"
F350 DRW"Dana 80"axle rated @ 9000 lbs___springs rated @ 9000 lbs--same as above__brake size-13.39"
F450 DRW"Dana 80"axle rated @ 9000 lbs___springs rated @ 9000 lbs--same as above__brake size-14.53" front - 15.35" rear
F250/350/450 front axle rated @ 6000 lbs for 4x4 - 5250 lbs for 4x2 -- all brakes above are rear sizes front are 13.66" except F450
The actual axle housing diameter is the same 3.5" on SRW 250 AND 350. 4" diameter on F350/450 DRW.

2009 Model Super Duty
F250 SRW"Visteon" axle rated @ 6200 lbs_______springs rated @ 6100 lbs---axle shafts same as 2011/model
F350 SRW"Visteon" axle rated @ 7280 lbs_______springs rated @ 7000 lbs---same as 2011 F350
F350 DRW"Dana 80" axle rated @ 9000 lbs______springs rated @ 9000 lbs---same as above
F450 DRW"Dana S110" axle rated @ 11,000 lbs___springs rated @ 9500 lbs---same as above
F250/350 front axle rated @ 6000 lbs -- F450 rated @ 7000 lbs -- all brakes are same as 2011 models
The actual axle housing diameter is the same 3.5" on SRW 250 AND 350. 4" diameter on F350/450 DRW.

2006 Model Super Duty
F250 SRW"Visteon" axle rated @ 6200 lbs_______springs rated @ 6100 lbs---axle shafts were same as 2011/model
F350 SRW"Visteon" axle rated @ 7280 lbs_______springs rated @ 7000 lbs---same as 2011 F350
F350 DRW"Dana 80" axle rated @ 9000 lbs______springs rated @ 9000 lbs---same as above
F450 DRW"Dana S110" axle rated @ 12,000 lbs___springs rated @ 12,000 lbs--axle shafts dia 1.72"min - 1.85"maj - 34 spline
F250/350 front axle rated @ 6000 lbs -- F450 rated @ 7000 lbs -- all brakes are same as 2011 models
The actual axle housing diameter is the same 3.5" on SRW 250 AND 350. 4" diameter on F350. 4.25" on F450