2020 377RLBH Towing Vehicle Question

[brandtp83]

Hi everyone, brand new here.. my family and I purchased a 2020 North Point 377RLBH a few days ago and went off of the sticker and info on Jayco's website as for weight ratings. We are now learning we might be out of our league with our tow vehicle. We have a 2024 Chevy 2500HD and I was wondering if anyone else out there was towing this rig with a 3/4 ton and what modifications you did to the truck to make it safe and reliable? Or did we just buy a trailer we cannot tow? Any help is hugely appreciated.. thanks in advance.

[cariboocreek]

Originally Posted by brandtp83

Hi everyone, brand new here.. my family and I purchased a 2020 North Point 377RLBH a few days ago and went off of the sticker and info on Jayco's website as for weight ratings. We are now learning we might be out of our league with our tow vehicle. We have a 2024 Chevy 2500HD and I was wondering if anyone else out there was towing this rig with a 3/4 ton and what modifications you did to the truck to make it safe and reliable? Or did we just buy a trailer we cannot tow? Any help is hugely appreciated.. thanks in advance.

What are your trucks specs (diesel/gas, gvwr, gcwr, cargo capacity) and what are your trailer weights? I am going to go out on a limb and suggest you are at least in need of a 1 ton srw at minimum and may potentially even be in dually country with that rig.

The numbers won’t lie and if you truly have too little truck there is not much you can do to make it legal, safer, or more reliable.

And welcome to the forum….

[Nevr2late]

I have an F350 SRW SB with a GVWR of 11,500 and I wouldn’t tow that trailer with my truck, too much weight. If I had a long bed I would, but they are rated at 12,400. For me, both the tongue weight and the gross weights are a bit high. The hitch weight will likely be about 3K when you load the camper. With that said, there are guys who will, and have no problems. With Ford, 250s and 350s are the same except for the rear axle and suspension. Could you throw bags on it to help? Sure. Your door sticker will tell you how much weight you can “legally” tow but I’m not sure who would ever check.

[Rodney27405]

Originally Posted by brandtp83

Hi everyone, brand new here.. my family and I purchased a 2020 North Point 377RLBH a few days ago and went off of the sticker and info on Jayco's website as for weight ratings. We are now learning we might be out of our league with our tow vehicle. We have a 2024 Chevy 2500HD and I was wondering if anyone else out there was towing this rig with a 3/4 ton and what modifications you did to the truck to make it safe and reliable? Or did we just buy a trailer we cannot tow? Any help is hugely appreciated.. thanks in advance.

We have a slightly different model but the specs are similar. Due to some unforeseen issues, we towed ours for a short time with a 2020 2500 AT4. We are full time so generally are running pretty heavy. By offloading quite a bit of weight, we were able to get our NP down to the point where it was within the specs of that truck. Will it pull it? Yes, same 6.6L Duramax as the duallys so plenty of power. Is it comfortable to pull? No, anytime you are maxing out the specs the trailer is pushing the truck around and makes for some white knuckle driving. We did add Timbrens and that helped settle down some of the big bounces but it does nothing to increase the weight limits of the truck.
To me, the biggest thing is how you are planning to use the RV. Are you planning to take short trips to the local campground? Tow it down empty and bring your stuff later. Are you planning a 6000 mile trip across the country? You probably need a dually.
The sticker numbers from Jayco are just short of pure fantasy. That is the barebones weight, with no options. As we normally travel, our weight is around 16,400Lbs and the pin weight is around 3800Lbs. Having 4 tires to handle that weight and provide more resistance to the trailer pushing the truck around makes a night in day difference in the towing experience.

[Edutron]

Its the safety issue of being able to stop and curves. Type of tires are huge - plys.
I pull a Pinnacle 32rlts with fuel tanks in the back of truck and being a dually is immense in comfort, handling, and no wories with pin weight or gross load. yes, it can be pulled, but I would limit to short highway slower speeds, no offroad. Tire temperatures are huge.
(retired truck driver).

[TxLoser]

I’m not one to adhere to all the payload stuff without some past deviations, but for this one I’d say you’re deep into 3500SRW territory if you want the numbers to look good. 3500DRW for comfort driving.

I recently sold my Jayco for a different trailer that’s 36’ long with a max of 15K. From the dealer lot I was actually within spec on my 2022 2500 with 3000lbs of payload. Once we “moved in” we were about 4-500lbs over. It did great till the winds picked up. I did one short trip and one 1100 mile trip. Passing trucks I could feel, winds over 20mph I’d feel, and left to right road imperfection were at times a little unsettling. Tried new tires and that that was a little better. Ran my airbags at 45psi. That helped. That trailer is 6’ feet shorter than yours and has a GVWR 2000lbs less.

I bit the bullet and now have a DRW truck. Ride kind of sucks due to stiff suspension but towing stability is amazing. The truck paid for itself on a recent 3000 mile trip going through some horrendous storms in NM. No where to pull over. I don’t know how strong the winds were but 35 was the best I could do and have it under control. As we passed the storm and it shifted to a tailwind, I was getting 29mpg on a slight uphill at 65mph. That’s some wind.

You can make it work outside the numbers in the short term if needed, but I’ll tell you from experience you may need to look into a different truck. I considered a 3500SRW, but it seemed dumb to pay all that money to change trucks for better payload sticker or more rear suspension. My suspension was enhanced already. Other difference is a 12” ring gear on the rear diff(allows full torque in 1st gear) but I was under GCWR and max tow so really it was about stability.

[Frosty22]

Looks like your good to me. That's with a 17K Gross weight on the fifthwheel.

[cariboocreek]

Take your max GVWR and subtract the weight of the truck. Then subtract the weight of the passengers and the weight of your hitch and anything else in the box. That’s what you have left for cargo capacity.

Assumptions:
Gvwr 11000
Truck weight: 7000
Occupants: 400
Hitch: 200
Misc: 100


Cargo capacity: 3300

If you are maxed out at 17000 lbs on your trailer and approximately 20% feet is pin weight, then you are at 3400. Over your truck’s capacity.

You need to calculate (or look at your door sticker) for your specific truck. What is the 2500 max axle weight. Tire capacity?

You are not going to like the numbers. Do not get trapped into the max towing weight number. Way more nuanced than that number.

[bender88]

Get a 1 ton DRW and your ride will be much better and safer. I have a 2024 377 the TV is a GMC 3500 DRW the ride is stable and comfortable. A few weeks ago my 3500 was in the shop so I used one of our F-250s (a 2023 with the powerstroke) to pick up the camper from that shop, about a 30 mile tow back to the house. I do not ever want to do that again.

[TxLoser]

Even just the payload number is more nuanced. From my experience being within payload with the heavy trailer and wide body of the full profile trailer can put a lot of lateral forces on the truck compared to my experience towing a narrow body Eagle FW.

Be interesting to see if he’s got the max tow option. I think that gets him really close to 3500 stuff mechanically. On my 22’ 2500 I had GVWR of 11350 and rear axle at 6600. Stock tires and wheels were identical to a 3500 with a max of 74-7500lbs. I think the 24’s with max tow exceed that axle and GVWR. The softer suspension controlled my rear axle rating. Additionally, the rear axle on a 2500 diesel is the same as what’s on a 3500 gasser, so it can handle more but again those softer spring packs limit it. My max pin on the door sticker was 2776. I bet he 24’s may have larger numbers. Especially if max tow or whatever they call it.

I was in the same boat and researched, ran number, tested, and weighed till I gave in.

[Iowa fam]

We bought a new 2024 377rlbh this past winter. Took two trips with a Ram 2500 Cummins and learned our airbags were not enough to tow safely. Hitch weight was the biggest issue at 2700lbs. Traded for a 3500 same engine and never looked back! Been several thousand miles no issues with the new truck!

The camper on the other hand….Jayco you have big time quality control issues! You need to do better before trailers ever leave your factory!

[cmikal]

I own that trailer and pull it with a Ford F350 DRW. Stable and easy pulling. I would not pull it with SRW and definitely not F250. Will the F250 diesel pull it? Probably. Will it be legal? Probably not. Will you have a lot of squat with F250? Yes. Will you get pushed around with crosswind or when a big rig passes you? F250 - Absolutely. F350 DRW, you barely notice. And most importantly, in any sort of stop that you don't plan in advance (emergency or panic stopping), you will be lucky to avoid a collision due to inadequate F250 braking capacity.

[Big1]

Don't think twice get a dually, you will find out real quick why.

[Leon]

The 2024 2500hd has bigger towing capacity then the 23’s .check your specs on the door because some now have the extra leafs on the rear springs which is the same as the 3500 dually so the only difference is dual wheels adds some stability but the truck will handle it

[Russc25]

Originally Posted by Frosty22

Looks like your good to me. That's with a 17K Gross weight on the fifthwheel.

I'll second this.
The camper's 16.7k gvwr is less than the rating of every single option there.

My 04 has 3700lb payload according to the door sticker, surely the newer truck is no worse (though 2800lb pin weight doesn't leave a lot of capacity for the meatbags).

Will a DRW 1 ton be more stable? yes. Do Chevy's lawyers and insurance think you can do it? yes.

Towing ratings are about legality. If you're 1 lb over the rating, the world won't suddenly end wheras 1lb lighter it's so easy my 15yo can do it. manufacturers and lawyers need a black and white line to be official. towing is far more dependent on the driver. An unskilled or unwise driver (those are two different things) will be unsafe pushing a shopping cart (hyperbolic but you know it's true) while an exceptional one will probably be fine far overweight.

[cariboocreek]

We live in the grey but rules are black and white. That means to operate safely common sense needs to be applied. Years ago that would have been enough. In 2024 I am not so sure.

In any case, with a modicum of applied critical thought, we can all figure out what is safe and what is legal. They may overlap, they may not.

[TxLoser]

Originally Posted by Leon

The 2024 2500hd has bigger towing capacity then the 23’s .check your specs on the door because some now have the extra leafs on the rear springs which is the same as the 3500 dually so the only difference is dual wheels adds some stability but the truck will handle it

The 3500 dually actually has a different setup now over the 2500’s w/the overload and 3500 SRW. So not quite the same. Here’s a pic of the DRW setup. You’ll notice less springs in the main pack and more on the upper overload.

Edit: overload is really a bad term. When touching those the truck is far from overloaded.

[Camp CA]

Originally Posted by brandtp83

........purchased a 2020 North Point 377RLBH...... wondering if anyone else out there was towing this rig with a 3/4 ton and what modifications you did to the truck to make it safe and reliable? Or did we just buy a trailer we cannot tow?.......

Congratulations on your new fifth wheel trailer!!

I would not tow it with a 3/4-ton gas engine and no modifications can be made to make it safe and reliable. My fifth wheel trailer has the same GVWR as yours and tow it with a 1-ton DRW long be diesel. A 1-ton DRW offers additional payload and stability to provide a safe margin. A diesel offers torque for upgrades and exhaust brake for downgrades.

[Frosty22]

If you really want to be safe.......

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by cmikal

I own that trailer and pull it with a Ford F350 DRW. Stable and easy pulling. I would not pull it with SRW and definitely not F250. Will the F250 diesel pull it? Probably. Will it be legal? Probably not. Will you have a lot of squat with F250? Yes. Will you get pushed around with crosswind or when a big rig passes you? F250 - Absolutely. F350 DRW, you barely notice. And most importantly, in any sort of stop that you don't plan in advance (emergency or panic stopping), you will be lucky to avoid a collision due to inadequate F250 braking capacity.

The F250 and F350 have the same brakes.