Need help picking the right tow vehicle

[casalzer]

We are looking at the 36FBT and are not sure if we need a 1 ton with single or dual rear wheels.

Any suggestions?

[Crabman]

Welcome to the forum. Here are the numbers on the Pinnacle 36FBTS for our members to consider:

Weights & Measures
WEIGHTS
Unloaded Vehicle Weight (lbs) View Definition 11,965
Dry Hitch Weight (lbs) View Definition 2,370
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (lbs) View Definition 15,950
Cargo Carrying Capacity (lbs) View Definition 3,985
MEASUREMENTS
Exterior Travel Length (Pin box to bumper) 39' 1"
Total Exterior Length 40' 8"
Exterior Width 102"
Exterior Height with A/C 156"
Exterior Height with Optional Bedroom A/C 159"
Interior Bedroom Height 81-1/2"
King Bed 72 x 80
Optional Queen Bed 60 x 80
Wheel Base 300-3/4"
TANK CAPACITIES
Fresh Water Capacity (gals) includes water heater 87
Gray Waste Water Capacity (gals) 74
Black Waste Water Capacity (gals) 100
OTHER
Sleeping Capacity 3-4

[Desert RVers]

Welcome to the forum! I have no experience with fifth-wheels, but if it were me, I would go for the dually. That's just my .02 cents. More experienced members will be chiming in soon. Listen to them, not me so much. lol
Have fun!

[norty1]

Welcome. I pull a fifth wheel with a little more loaded tongue weight and similar other weights. Our 1 ton, Ford 6.0 PSD, SRW handles it nicely. It is a pleasure to tow.

IMO a dually as a daily driver is right cumbersome. I have owned both and prefer the SRW. I would not feel comfortable pulling this rig with anything but a 1 ton TV.

[cariboocreek]

I pull a slightly larger Premier with an SRW Ram 1 ton diesel. Handles it nicely and is legal. I traded my dually for this truck. The dually was a PIA for daily driving and frankly does not give that much more capability as the engine and tranny are the same as the SRW. To get the big weight capability you have to go to the standard transmission with the 4:10 gears. That makes it even less of a daily driver.

My 2013 Longorn Ram 3500 SRW with the 6.7 Cummins has a payload of 4,000 lbs, GVWR of 11,700lbs, max towing of 17,000 lbs, and a gcwr of 25,000lbs. Plenty.

[wizard749]

I have a Chevy 2500HD with the Duramax Diesel. Pulling the Pinnacle 36fbts no problems at all. After many years of RVing the one thing you have to remember is the truck you choose will be your only vehicle after you unhook that fifth wheel. A dually truck is hard to park in a normal parking place. Just keep your added load low and have fun.

[3'senough]

I like having 4 under my load so I am going to vote dually. You should also consider that the pin weight posted is dry with no load. You will gain about 1K-1500 in payload depending on configurations.
Agree as a daily driver there are some hurdles, but I deal with them.

[Quahog]

Another vote here for the dually. You'll have plenty of margin with the load and you'll find that while towing, things seem much more stable. Daily driving isn't that bad once you get used to the extra wide hips on this baby and I find that parking further away and walking is good for my health and results in less door dings anyway.

[casalzer]

Thank you all for the input. I am going out this weekend to start test driving trucks and make up my mind

Chris

[Tim L]

Towed with both, and agree 100% with Quahog! Much more stable, PITA to park, so go far away and walk!