Cardinal RV Club

We are full-timing in the 30TS with a 3500. The reason we went with a 1-ton is because we were going full-time.

Thanks jennyt,

My 07 F-250 w/ PSD actually has a GVW of 10,000 lbs. I am taking it to the scales tonight, but I have seen other postings where the truck should come in at about 7500. After adding a few things, I expect to have about 2200 available for pin. The advertised pin is 1970, but wanted to see how accurate that would be. We don't load very heavy either, so with an approx pin of 2100, that sounds good.

How does your F-250 handle with the trailer in tow?

By the way, how do you like the Timbrens? I was thinking of getting a set myself.

The truck pulls (and stops!) great. Haven't had any problems with the combination. Scott likes the Timbrens it stops the sag and he says it stops sway when going around corners. We recently added the Trailair pin box and that has helped with the feeling that the trailer was going to rip out the hitch from the back of the bed on some of these "wonderful" roadways of ours!

All in all very happy with the combination. We do quite a few long trips and so the only thing that we would change, if we were in a perfect world is to buy a dually. Not for the weight that we have, but we would like to be able to add a 2nd fuel tank, a 2nd A/C to the trailer, a power awning to the trailer and we are so close to limit now that theres just no way we can add that stuff and feel safe. But, Scott has to use his truck as his daily driver in and out of Houston every day, which wouldn't be fun with a dually....so all things considered, we are happy with what we have.

Guess I could have said all that in WAY fewer words!

Well I finally got the truck to the scales last night. It weighed in at 7460# with me, wife, full tank of fuel, and a couple of extra bags that just happened to be with us at the time. Add in approx 150 for a hitch and 40 for the 2 little dogs and it should come out to roughly 7650#.

The specs on my F250 are 10000 GVW, 6100 rear axle, and 23000 GCVW.

Just for argument, I'll use the 20% rule with the 5er, which is approx 12,500 empty. I know that will go up when we add our stuff, and an option or 2, but I think using 20% of the spec should give me a reality figure I can work with.

So, I should end up with a pin of 2500 and a loaded trailer (we pack light also) of approx 13,500. That means the numbers should look something like:

GVW 10,150 - over by 150
Rear axle 5550 - under by 550
GCVW 21250 - under by 1750

All things considered, I don't think 150# over GVW is going to concern me, and it will probably be a little less than that since I added over 500# to the pin weight just to get closer to reality. I'm happy with this and will likely put in my order for the new bird by the end of the week.

Thanks for all the info.

Fill your fresh water tank (rear mounted) and it will reduce your pin weight more than enough to keep your truck under it's limit, just travel with waste tanks empty and fresh full.

Good tip. Thanks, I'll keep that in mind if the numbers get to close.