Camping Help

[Bill Rudell]

This is all new to me...so here goes.
I have a 04 f250 4x4 and we have had a full size camper then a 27 ft 5thwheel and last July we bought a 3600rl Raptor which pulls fine but this week friends and the california DMV say you can't pull that with that.
any suggestions?

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Tell us about your truck. I'm "ASSUMING" it's a 6.0 diesel correct?? How about the tranny. Engine, transmission, wheel base, cooling, etc all affect towing capacity. I have some tow rating reference sheets I downloaded. We can figure out how much your F-250 is rated for and go from there.

 

[BIG JOE]

This is all new to me...so here goes.
I have a 04 f250 4x4 and we have had a full size camper then a 27 ft 5thwheel and last July we bought a 3600rl Raptor which pulls fine but this week friends and the california DMV say you can't pull that with that.
any suggestions?

I'm think'n yer Friends and the DMV are saying you don't have enough Truck (F-250), to be legal. When yer hooked up, the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of yer truck, and the Gross Weight (GVW) of yer Raptor 5r.. yer Over.. the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of yer F-250... When combined.

You have the power to pull the 5r, but not enough Suspension weight carrying capability.. to pull it [Safely].

Joe

 

[Bill Rudell]

pushing60

thanks for the reply.
my truck is an 04 SD SRW 4x4 F4X extend cab with hypertec stage III set on #2 with a KN air filter system and Ride-Rite air system on the back.
The dmv don,t really care it the CHP that you need to worry about.
Is there anything I can do to my truck that will keep them off my back?
Or, should I start looking for a bigger truck and if so what size and type, keeping in mind that I'm not Donold Trump.

 

[Bill Rudell]

pushing 60

Sorry I forgot the tranny 6-speed manuel

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Here is an excerpt of the tow rating guide I found.

Model----Body-----------Rear-Engine-------Trailer--notes
________Style__________Axle____________Max lbs____
F-250/350 SuperCab 4WD SRW 6.0L V-8 TDI 12,900 d,i,p

d = 3.73:1 axle ratio
i = manual transmission
p= maximum loaded trailer weight for F-250 SuperCrew 4WD SRW is 12,000 lb

The Keystone Raptor website says the 3600RL has an empty weight of 12160lbs with a max carrying load of 2750 lbs. Add the two and you get a max loaded trailer wt of 14910 lbs.

So with the trailer loaded, yes, you could be overweight, but you'd have to be sitting on a scale for the CHP to prove it.

 

[Bill Rudell]

pushing60

Tail Gunner......Thanks for the input.

 

[Tail_Gunner]

The only other things I can think of to keep the CHP off your back and/or improve the carrying capacity would be:

1) Heavier rear springs. The leaves on my factory rear springs on my F-250 were breaking. And it was with towing a trailer that only weighed about 7,500. IIRC, they were 5 leaf springs. The shop I went to gave me a choice of a stock like 5 leaves, or beefier 7 leaf units. I went with the heavier ones. They raised the rear ride height A LOT!! But to fix that, I took out the rear riser blocks and that lowered it to a stock like height. I don't think the overload springs have made contact on the pads since.

2) Dually conversion. There are kits where you can convert SRW to DRW. They even have dually fenders to complete the conversion.

3) Pull the F-250 emblems off and put some F-350 or F-450 badges on.

 

[BIG JOE]

You might try: suspentionconnection.com to see whats out there or get some Links ?

Joe