Question about towing new North Point

[tee-bone]

My wife and I are looking to upgrade our Eagle to a North Point, but I drive a 15 Chevy 2500 HD gas, and the weight of the North Point is right at my limit. I am looking to upgrade to diesel 2500 HD and hope that will be enough truck. I want to be safe on the road and do not want to put too much stress on the truck. Dry weight is 13k. GVWR is showing 16k on web-site. Truck is supposed to tow 18k fifth wheel.

[flintshooter]

We just pulled our North Point To Pigeon Forge, TN from Central PA with our '17 F350 6.7 and I will tell you, it handled it just fine but, I would not have wanted anything less than that. A 3500 or 350 diesel would be a far better choice. The North Points are heavy.

[enmity02]

I agree on the 1Ton, I have a 17 3500 and Diesel should be the only option! Don't skimp out for the minor price difference.

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[seansbass1]

Not going to argue with Flintshooter or enmity02 that a 3500 or 350 is better, but my 2011 2500HD pulls great. Unless you're planning on pulling constantly throughout the year, I don't think its necessary to drive a more expensive, harder to park, less fuel efficient truck for 359 days out of the year. Just my opinion.

Before I lifted the front my 2500HD sat perfectly leveled when hooked up. Now I ride with 45-50psi in my airbags with almost a 2" sag in the rear since the front is 3" higher than stock. Only time I notice its back there is on steep inclines, but so does every truck! Make sure you get F Rated tires on the TV to be safe, but I pulled mine more than a dozen times luckily on E's with no blowouts.

[RedHorse1]

Hit the CAT Scale and get the current axle weights. The Rear GAWR minus the rear axle weight (Drive Axle) will be the available payload for your rear axle.
I would expect you'd be around 14-14.5k# when your loaded for the road which would put about 3600# on the pin. If you are loaded to the max (16K#) you're looking at 4k# on the pin.

My TV Rear GAWR is 6730# and the scale (with the 5th) says the drive axle weighs 6240#, 3K# of that is the pin weight.

That said, I met a fellow in a CG pulling a 16K# toy hauler with an F150. "10-speed tranny and bags in the rear to level it out. Pulls great!" I also found out he leases and gets a new one every 2 years.

The CAT Scale is your friend.

[Bigpuddie]

You will be fine with a Duramax and a 2500 with airbags. I have the same truck. Your present gas 2500 will not be enough truck for the North Point...

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[Da Bud Man]

If you are already looking to upgrade, it's a no brainer to me for you to move to a 350/3500 SRW.

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[FishAr]

Originally Posted by Da Bud Man

If you are already looking to upgrade, it's a no brainer to me for you to move to a 350/3500 SRW.

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Yes, since the cost difference is negligible when bought new. The reason I have a 2500HD is because I found a used one with 25000 miles at a good price.

[Subaru297]

If you upgrade from a 2500 gas truck to a 2500 diesel truck you will take a hit on payload as the diesel engine weighs more. If you are worried about staying within the manufacturers limits then you need to step up to a 1 ton. It is the same vehicle anyway only difference is usually a spring pack.

[Doubleheader]

My 2014 Ram diesel has a payload under 2,400 lbs. I think that's pretty much in the ballpark for a new 3/4 ton diesel. I'd bet a 3/4 to would have no problem but I wouldn't want to exceed my payload by that much.


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[Ringneks]

As stated above, if your already going to buy a new truck I would spend $1200 or so more and get the 3500.

[DownTheHighway]

as others stated, just go for the 3500, that way you're in the payload capacity safely, as a 2500 does not have the payload capacity for a NP and Air Bags will NOT add payload, it'll just soften and level the ride out. I upgraded from my '16 2500 CC Duramax to a '16 3500 CC DRW Duramax, just for the purpose for us upgrading to the Pinnacle soon and the payload differences

[Archie]

Originally Posted by tee-bone

My wife and I are looking to upgrade our Eagle to a North Point, but I drive a 15 Chevy 2500 HD gas, and the weight of the North Point is right at my limit. I am looking to upgrade to diesel 2500 HD and hope that will be enough truck. I want to be safe on the road and do not want to put too much stress on the truck. Dry weight is 13k. GVWR is showing 16k on web-site. Truck is supposed to tow 18k fifth wheel.

Hi Tee, I use to live in Charlton- Saratoga County

You will be way way over on payload- 2500 Diesel will pull it but you will be exceeding Mfg specifications. Check the driver's door sticker , it should say (The combined weight of occupants and cargo should not exceed xx lbs.)The typical 3/4 diesel is going to be in the neighborhood of 2150 to 2400 lbs. The mfg's recommendations are based on the weakest link. Definitely go with a 3500 !

[hammerhead]

I have a 40' north point. Pull with 3500 silverado dually. If you want to feel comfortable, nothing less than 3500 dually.

[Bookemdanno]

I was in your shoes last year and into this year. I had a Ram 2500 diesel and purchased a NP 377 last February. The 2500 "pulled" the 377 just fine, but it just seemed lacking as far as stability. I had airbags and had them set at 55 psi when towing. I purchased a 3500 dually this past February and the towing experience is night & day! So basically I towed with the 2500 for about a year and the 3500 for about 6 months. I would not go back to the 2500 and don't regret the 3500 purchase...especially with respect to safety and ease of towing. I think that a single rear wheel 3500 would work, but I definitely prefer the dually after towing for the last 6 months. If you want try the 2500 and see how it works out for you, as I did. But I think that you will find that a 3500 single rear wheel or dually will do the job much better. That's just my .02 cents and experience. Just trying to save you money in the long run!

[risoman5150]

We just bought a 2017 NP and are using the 2008 ford F 250 diesel. Pulls great, but did invest 600.00 for the road master rear suspension kit which replaces my overload springs and what a difference... good luck


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[ROC-REQS]

tee-bone,

As RedHorse1 mentioned you should also consider the truck's GVWR and Rear GAWR with the additional pin weight of the FW.

I had a 2006 GMC 2500HD D/A prior to purchasing our FW.
I went to a CAT scale and weighted the truck to see what the added pin weight of the FW would do when compared to its GVWR and Rear GAWR.

I found I was going to be ~2,000# over the truck's GVWR and Rear GAWR.

Keep in mind a diesel truck will be a lot heavier then a gas truck.
My GMC 2500HD D/A weighted 7,980#; 4,420# frt axle & 3,560# rear axle.
Its GVWR was 9,200#, that left 1,220# (9,200-7,980)
Its Rear GAWR was 6,084# that left 2,524# (6,084-3,560)
Both not enough to handle an additional 3,000# - 3,600# pin weight.

So I went with a 3500HD D/A SRW. It tows, handles, and stops the FW great. Glad I went with the 3500.

Just sharing my experience for what it's worth.
Good luck.

[vcbice]

Get a 1T.

Our trailer is at the max payload for our 3/4T and it is only 11k lb. I had to install overloads (Timbrens) cause I was hitting the bump stops so much. Maybe, if you got one of the Ram trucks with air suspension it would work OK, but, if going new why not just get a truck made for that load.

Pulling? Yes, a 3/4T diesel will pull it just fine. Most cases the engine, trans and rear axle are the same in the 3/4T and 1T SRW models. So for pulling you won't notice any difference between the two. Just get the gearing option you want.

[cariboocreek]

There is "towing it fine", "towing it smart", and "towing it legal". They each may have different requirements.