Think I have enough truck?

We put a deposit yesterday on a 2012 Wildcat 312bhx. 32 ft long. UVW 8220lbs. Pin weight 1512lbs.

My tow vehicle is a 2000 Chevy 2500 Classic crew cab. Non-HD model. 7.4 liter 454. .373 gears. Weighs 6500 lbs. GVWR 8600. Towing capacity 9500.

This is our first 5th wheel and a good jump in weight from our previous TT weighing 6200lbs. I have nightmares Ill hook up at the dealer and my bumper will hit the ground. Ha Ha.

So encourage me and tell me I have enough truck for our new Cat.

All specs aside. . . . Yes, maybe . . . The 2500 should be rated for over 1500# payload/cargo weight which should will be just fine for the 312bhx.

I pull my '06 32QBBS with my '03 chevy 2500hd 6.0 gasser. The truck gets me where i need to go but mountains or large hills can pose an issue (tranny temp, slow speed/high RPM). Before we moved to WA state we were in ND and no hills to worry about and I did just fine.

Bottom line, you're not looking to set a land speed record here and trailers are typically rated for 65mph (tires) anyway. In the end you'll be just fine but you'll have the guys that know the data better than me tell you to watch out.

My rig is similiar to yours in weights. I am marginal; if the trailer were loaded to GVWR I would be well over the
GVWR on the truck. The GVWR on the 29 RLBS is 11, 490; your 312BHX is almost 12,000. You don't have the cargo capacity in your truck to carry that pin weight which would probably be about 2,400 lbs. If you get your rig wieghed at a CAT scale (hooked and unhooked, loaded the way you camp) and pay a lot of attention to the balance of the trailer and how much you carry in the truck you may be able to get by like I do. The only weight number which can be relied on from FR is the GVWR of the trailer.
What is the Gross Combination Weight Rating of your truck?

Wormy,
Congratulations on your purchase. When do you get it?

Hey wormy...

One thing I think your going to want to invest in is a set of air bags...

I have the AIR-LIFT brand....Ive had them in for several years even with my Previos TT's they made all the differance in the world.

Now these dont make your truck able to tow more obviously, but a level truck is a safe truck...

My hd squats big time without the bags inflated and I dont like it one bit that way...

Mine is a gasser and with only two tows behind me I know a deisel is in my future... I am already dreading the rockies and La Veta pass next year...

THEHIWAYMAN (aka Tim) wrote:Hey wormy...

One thing I think your going to want to invest in is a set of air bags...

I have the AIR-LIFT brand....Ive had them in for several years even with my Previos TT's they made all the differance in the world.

Now these dont make your truck able to tow more obviously, but a level truck is a safe truck...

My hd squats big time without the bags inflated and I dont like it one bit that way...

Mine is a gasser and with only two tows behind me I know a deisel is in my future... I am already dreading the rockies and La Veta pass next year...

well put! I'm thinking about adding the air bags, but not sure I want to invest the money on something that I may not own next year. Are they easy to remove and put on a different truck if I upgrade?

As for the Rockies, no way I would take my current set up there. I made it through Homestake Pass and Lookout Pass on I90 through MT and Idaho but that was unloaded when I transported the camper out to WA, it was a rough haul. For now we're going to stick to local campgrounds that don't require a mountain pass to go through.

Scruffy and Tater wrote:Wormy,
Congratulations on your purchase. When do you get it?

Pick her up this Saturday. Cant wait to post some pics. Lets go campin!

THEHIWAYMAN (aka Tim) wrote:Hey wormy...

One thing I think your going to want to invest in is a set of air bags...

I have the AIR-LIFT brand....Ive had them in for several years even with my Previos TT's they made all the differance in the world.

Now these dont make your truck able to tow more obviously, but a level truck is a safe truck...

My hd squats big time without the bags inflated and I dont like it one bit that way...

Mine is a gasser and with only two tows behind me I know a deisel is in my future... I am already dreading the rockies and La Veta pass next year...

Thanks thats exactly what I was looking for. I HATE squatty trucks. Do you have the on-board compressor? Or can you just carry a small 12V compressor of some sort? How bout installation? Pretty simple?

Congrats. As far as MHO I would not pull it with less than a 1 ton HD diesel truck. Dually would be optional. My DW safety and happiness is more important

Portagie1968 wrote: Congrats. As far as MHO I would not pull it with less than a 1 ton HD diesel truck. Dually would be optional. My DW safety and happiness is more important

I'm with Dan on this one......

I'm thinking 6-7mpg with the 454. Transmission probably won't last. The trailer weighs more than they quote. My trailer was close to 10k dry. It's over 12.5k loaded. I have the 31QBH which originally had a 11,430 GVWR. Since I have the 6k axles and 16" wheels from the factory, they upgraded my GVWR to 13.5k.

I suspect you will find it will work, but the truck and you won't be happy for long.

A memory just came from somewhere in the brain. It took a long journey to become an old memory lost in time. We met a couple in one camp site where a 1/2 Toyota truck was pulling a trailer. Can not remember the size. We got to know the couple and we eventually came to the subject on how the trip over was. Husband said just great. Wife said ya right. 55 on the highway, 25 going up hill and flew down the other side and prayed. Because of wife's demeanor on the subject we abandoned it immediate.
deadhorse

I would be thinking the same way with the size of your truck and the size of your trailer.

I think you should be fine. We have have the 2001 8.1L. Another thing to consider is adding an auxiliary transmission cooler.

wormy wrote:

Scruffy and Tater wrote:Wormy,
Congratulations on your purchase. When do you get it?

Pick her up this Saturday. Cant wait to post some pics. Lets go campin!

Feel like a little kid at Christmas time don't cha.