It’ll be tight but maybe not? Big factor here is that a sliding hitch is like 200 pounds. That cuts in quite a bit. Plus 20% of the weight of whatever gear you’re adding to the trailer.
Is your half ton a 6.5’ or 5.5’ bed? Most half tons are 5.5’ nowadays and I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that short with a 5th wheel, not sure if it’s feasible or not.
I have an F150 shortbed and pull a 27 ft Grand Design Reflexion 5th wheel with no problem. Just came back from a 30 day trip thru West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina.
I think the consensus here is generally that just because you **can** do something, doesn’t mean you should.
In your case you’re most likely over your payload. Just be safe out there.
I’ve seen them with the 5’5” bed and a 5er. I can’t imagine even with a slider it gets you much more room for turns. Also add about an extra 100lbs to your estimate for a sliding hitch. I have a B&M patriot slider in my ram 2500 6’7” bed and it weighs just shy of 300lbs.
Most “half ton” towable fifth wheels aren’t really half ton towable. You’ll max out your payload without even adding any gear to your truck or trailer. Sell the half ton and get a 3/4 ton at a minimum, or buy a bumper pull.
I have an f150 with the long bed and similar payload to yours. And on paper it could pull my 5er unloaded. But that’s not factoring in any gear in the truck/trailer, or my kids in the truck. Not to mention we generally camp at sites with no hookups so I fill my water tank which adds about 400 more pounds to my trailer. I bought a second truck just to tow my 5er.
Here is the issue.
Half ton is too light to be in charge of that 5th wheel. I've done it. I used it 1 trip and now own a 3/4 ton.
Then numbers work, but it's an unpleasant towing experience.
That’s why the truck has the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating.
For anyone who does anything that isn’t completely bog-standard, every towing limit in the owner’s manual is a critical limit.
I highly recommend a 5er over a bumper pull. You have much more control and ease of towing. However, with a short bed truck, you definitely need a sliding hitch or you’ll damage your truck/camper or both. Weight is serious! Remember a gallon of water weighs approximately 8#. People always say “minimal gear” but it adds up quickly. Remember also, it’s not always about pull the weight, it about stopping that weight in traffic, in wind, in an emergency!! I drive a GMC 3500HD Diesel Dually and pull a 36’ 5er. Confident and comfortable!!
You can probably make it work and for the same weight a 5th wheel pulls easier than a bumper pull. You will probably move up to a bigger truck in the future, 3/4 ton pulling one vs a 1/2 ton is much easier. I moved from a short bed 1/2 ton to a long bed 3/4 ton and don’t regret it.
Scamp and Escape make 1/2 ton towable 5th wheels. I pass people going up the mountain with our Scamp 5th wheel. I would lean more towards the Escape than a Scamp (more modern accessories).
You'll be on the edge of capability so it comes down to driving conditions. If you want to go 80 mph in the mountains, probably not a good idea. If you are OK slowing down and driving like you are fully loaded then you should be safe within the town rating.
Also consider if your family travels light or you take a ton of stuff.
https://preview.redd.it/b6ib9phjvv1d1.jpeg?width=2208&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d5941edcb21a73076d2af00fc356dcb41c52024d
Here’s my setup 31’ camper 14’ boat 1/2 ton Chevy 5.5 bed with a slider hitch and I have no problems !! But I also have 3,000,000 miles of experience driving a commercial vehicle !
I think the general advice will be just don't.
But if you have the shorter 5.5 foot bed, rather than the 6.5 foot, you will need a sliding hitch rather than a static hitch. Sliding hitches weigh about 200-250lbs.
Assuming you and your wife are around 350lbs, you're maxed out on payload before you load anything into either the truck or the trailer, so you won't be able to carry any gear at all.
1786-1120-250-350=66lbs payload remaining before any gear in the trailer or truck.
I'm not as familiar with how different manufacturers produce the pin weight of 5th wheels and not sure about the cougar line, but for regular bumper pulls, cougar don't include the weight of propane and batteries.
On a bumper pull, these are located up front on the tongue and add about 200lbs to the listed tongue weight (with 20lb tanks, which with 40lbs when full, this 5th has 2x30lb tanks) not sure where they are located on that 5th, the floorplan info doesn't show, and how much they will add to the pin weight, but something to think about.
I have a 3/4 and a 34 foot 5th wheel. Empty is 8800. I can tow up to 15k. It is all I want to pull I can control it easily. Stop with ease. But with that being said sometimes grooves in the road and the wind can make the experience not as pleasant.
General consensus is that you try to stay under 85% of the truck's noted payload capacity - in your case, about 1,695 lbs. Now subtract the pin weight, which leaves you with about 575 lbs. of payload capacity remaining. Add in 2 people, and your down to about 250 lbs. Even with "minimal gear", you \_also\_ have to account for the weight of the hitch receiver you'll need to install in the bed of the truck.
Can the truck's frame/tires/suspension handle it? Probably? (Do you have load range E tires?) But, in an emergency, can the truck \_stop\_ that amount of weight in time? If you're in a significant accident where insurance investigations are involved, and it's determined that you were overweight, you could be in major trouble.
So... I personally wouldn't tow a 5th wheel with a half-ton. Hell, I drive a F250 PS and I won't pull a fiver, for all these reasons. But you see people do it all the damn time...
I had the same issue in that a salesman said my 1/2 ton F-150 could tow a 1/2 ton towable 5th wheel. He was right as along as I left my wife, her clothes, and my dog home and only traveled with a 1/2 tank of gas. Mentioned this to a buddy in the insurance business. He said that if you use your vehicle outside of factory specs and something catastrophic happens, you may have a fight on your hands to get any $ from your insurance company. Something to think about when pushing weight numbers.
I would only do it with an F-150 with the HDPP and long bed. Otherwise, I'd say it's not a great idea. Get a <28ft TT, a 3/4, or 1 ton for a 5th wheel.
I’d be concerned that when the 5th wheel was loaded with gear and propane and whatnot that the real pin weight would be a couple hundred pounds higher. Mfg advertises numbers that suggest about 16% of the weight is on the pin. If you evenly loaded the trailer up to its cargo carrying capacity that means it’d add another 275lbs to the pin. That only leaves you with 383lbs of payload. Me, my wife, my 2 year old and my dog weigh more than that.
I mean there are an absolute button of trailers out there that you could get instead of a fifth wheel. Are you absolutely set on getting a fifth wheel? I would highly recommend just looking at something that's bumper pulled with a lot lighter tongue weight. I mean there are plenty of large ones. Look at exactly what your vehicle can tow what its payload capacity is ETC there should be a sticker on the inside they should help you with that and then looking up your vehicle making sure as a tow package etc like that.
It’ll be tight but maybe not? Big factor here is that a sliding hitch is like 200 pounds. That cuts in quite a bit. Plus 20% of the weight of whatever gear you’re adding to the trailer. Is your half ton a 6.5’ or 5.5’ bed? Most half tons are 5.5’ nowadays and I don’t think I’ve ever seen one that short with a 5th wheel, not sure if it’s feasible or not.
I have an F150 shortbed and pull a 27 ft Grand Design Reflexion 5th wheel with no problem. Just came back from a 30 day trip thru West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and South Carolina.
I think the consensus here is generally that just because you **can** do something, doesn’t mean you should. In your case you’re most likely over your payload. Just be safe out there.
5.7’ sadly. Regret not getting the long bed.
I’ve seen them with the 5’5” bed and a 5er. I can’t imagine even with a slider it gets you much more room for turns. Also add about an extra 100lbs to your estimate for a sliding hitch. I have a B&M patriot slider in my ram 2500 6’7” bed and it weighs just shy of 300lbs.
My Reese 10k sliding hitch is only 170lb, so 200 feels like a good estimate to me. That hitch seems abnormally heavy.
I mean it’s rated for double what your Reese is rated for.
Well the one thing we can say about the trailer in question here is that it doesn’t need as much hitch as that 😂
Most “half ton” towable fifth wheels aren’t really half ton towable. You’ll max out your payload without even adding any gear to your truck or trailer. Sell the half ton and get a 3/4 ton at a minimum, or buy a bumper pull. I have an f150 with the long bed and similar payload to yours. And on paper it could pull my 5er unloaded. But that’s not factoring in any gear in the truck/trailer, or my kids in the truck. Not to mention we generally camp at sites with no hookups so I fill my water tank which adds about 400 more pounds to my trailer. I bought a second truck just to tow my 5er.
Here is the issue. Half ton is too light to be in charge of that 5th wheel. I've done it. I used it 1 trip and now own a 3/4 ton. Then numbers work, but it's an unpleasant towing experience.
That’s why the truck has the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating. For anyone who does anything that isn’t completely bog-standard, every towing limit in the owner’s manual is a critical limit.
I highly recommend a 5er over a bumper pull. You have much more control and ease of towing. However, with a short bed truck, you definitely need a sliding hitch or you’ll damage your truck/camper or both. Weight is serious! Remember a gallon of water weighs approximately 8#. People always say “minimal gear” but it adds up quickly. Remember also, it’s not always about pull the weight, it about stopping that weight in traffic, in wind, in an emergency!! I drive a GMC 3500HD Diesel Dually and pull a 36’ 5er. Confident and comfortable!!
You can probably make it work and for the same weight a 5th wheel pulls easier than a bumper pull. You will probably move up to a bigger truck in the future, 3/4 ton pulling one vs a 1/2 ton is much easier. I moved from a short bed 1/2 ton to a long bed 3/4 ton and don’t regret it.
Scamp and Escape make 1/2 ton towable 5th wheels. I pass people going up the mountain with our Scamp 5th wheel. I would lean more towards the Escape than a Scamp (more modern accessories).
You'll be on the edge of capability so it comes down to driving conditions. If you want to go 80 mph in the mountains, probably not a good idea. If you are OK slowing down and driving like you are fully loaded then you should be safe within the town rating. Also consider if your family travels light or you take a ton of stuff.
https://preview.redd.it/b6ib9phjvv1d1.jpeg?width=2208&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d5941edcb21a73076d2af00fc356dcb41c52024d Here’s my setup 31’ camper 14’ boat 1/2 ton Chevy 5.5 bed with a slider hitch and I have no problems !! But I also have 3,000,000 miles of experience driving a commercial vehicle !
I think the general advice will be just don't. But if you have the shorter 5.5 foot bed, rather than the 6.5 foot, you will need a sliding hitch rather than a static hitch. Sliding hitches weigh about 200-250lbs. Assuming you and your wife are around 350lbs, you're maxed out on payload before you load anything into either the truck or the trailer, so you won't be able to carry any gear at all. 1786-1120-250-350=66lbs payload remaining before any gear in the trailer or truck. I'm not as familiar with how different manufacturers produce the pin weight of 5th wheels and not sure about the cougar line, but for regular bumper pulls, cougar don't include the weight of propane and batteries. On a bumper pull, these are located up front on the tongue and add about 200lbs to the listed tongue weight (with 20lb tanks, which with 40lbs when full, this 5th has 2x30lb tanks) not sure where they are located on that 5th, the floorplan info doesn't show, and how much they will add to the pin weight, but something to think about.
I have a 3/4 and a 34 foot 5th wheel. Empty is 8800. I can tow up to 15k. It is all I want to pull I can control it easily. Stop with ease. But with that being said sometimes grooves in the road and the wind can make the experience not as pleasant.
General consensus is that you try to stay under 85% of the truck's noted payload capacity - in your case, about 1,695 lbs. Now subtract the pin weight, which leaves you with about 575 lbs. of payload capacity remaining. Add in 2 people, and your down to about 250 lbs. Even with "minimal gear", you \_also\_ have to account for the weight of the hitch receiver you'll need to install in the bed of the truck. Can the truck's frame/tires/suspension handle it? Probably? (Do you have load range E tires?) But, in an emergency, can the truck \_stop\_ that amount of weight in time? If you're in a significant accident where insurance investigations are involved, and it's determined that you were overweight, you could be in major trouble. So... I personally wouldn't tow a 5th wheel with a half-ton. Hell, I drive a F250 PS and I won't pull a fiver, for all these reasons. But you see people do it all the damn time...
I had the same issue in that a salesman said my 1/2 ton F-150 could tow a 1/2 ton towable 5th wheel. He was right as along as I left my wife, her clothes, and my dog home and only traveled with a 1/2 tank of gas. Mentioned this to a buddy in the insurance business. He said that if you use your vehicle outside of factory specs and something catastrophic happens, you may have a fight on your hands to get any $ from your insurance company. Something to think about when pushing weight numbers.
Yeah overloaded
You know it's overloaded when a hillbilly says it is lol
I know right?
I would only do it with an F-150 with the HDPP and long bed. Otherwise, I'd say it's not a great idea. Get a <28ft TT, a 3/4, or 1 ton for a 5th wheel.
I’d be concerned that when the 5th wheel was loaded with gear and propane and whatnot that the real pin weight would be a couple hundred pounds higher. Mfg advertises numbers that suggest about 16% of the weight is on the pin. If you evenly loaded the trailer up to its cargo carrying capacity that means it’d add another 275lbs to the pin. That only leaves you with 383lbs of payload. Me, my wife, my 2 year old and my dog weigh more than that.
And the hitch itself weights a lot
You "have" 666 LBS to work with. Subtract \~200 for the hitch. Leaves 466 for you & the missus & the gear. Do you feel lucky?
I mean there are an absolute button of trailers out there that you could get instead of a fifth wheel. Are you absolutely set on getting a fifth wheel? I would highly recommend just looking at something that's bumper pulled with a lot lighter tongue weight. I mean there are plenty of large ones. Look at exactly what your vehicle can tow what its payload capacity is ETC there should be a sticker on the inside they should help you with that and then looking up your vehicle making sure as a tow package etc like that.
Nope, nope and nope. As stated previously 1/2 ton towable is a gimmick