Towing new Eagle HT 30.5CKTS Fifth Wheel

[RickandBecky]

We have a 2018 Ford F-250 SuperDuty 6.7 TD and have just purchased a new Eagle HT 30.5CKTS, GVWR of 11,000#’s. Although I am a little late asking this, would appreciate opinions and facts as to whether or not we will be in good shape pulling this unit with our truck. I do not want to trade my truck as this point, but would like to hear from those who have experience—I don’t. Of course, my salesman said I had nothing to worry about whatsoever. Thanks everyone!

[Destrtman]

Welcome to the forum.

Looks like a great combination to me.

You'll just need to make sure it's all setup correctly. That being said there is a lot to be setup (hitch height bed clearances, lights, headlights not searching for ufos, brakes, ride height, truck front and rear, trailer front and rear, tire pressure all 10) with a fully loaded truck and trailer.

Desertman

[Cincinnati Kid]

Originally Posted by RickandBecky

We have a 2018 Ford F-250 SuperDuty 6.7 TD and have just purchased a new Eagle HT 30.5CKTS, GVWR of 11,000#’s. Although I am a little late asking this, would appreciate opinions and facts as to whether or not we will be in good shape pulling this unit with our truck. I do not want to trade my truck as this point, but would like to hear from those who have experience—I don’t. Of course, my salesman said I had nothing to worry about whatsoever. Thanks everyone!

We just got a 28.5 RSTS (Very similar to yours), and an F250 gas. With our lighter gas engine we have a little more payload capacity than you. But in your setup, it's the payload you want to keep an eye on.
First, weigh your truck loaded as you would travel- Full fuel, passengers, your new 5th wheel hitch, etc. Ours came out to 7500#. Our truck (and yours) are rated at 10,000# total, so our available payload is 2500#. (10,000 minus 7500).

You probably have about 2100# of payload available, depending on options. But weigh it for yourself.
So if you loaded up your trailer to 10,500#, and you have an average 20% pin weight, you will be at your 2100# limit.
But weigh the truck alone, then the truck and trailer together, and get the actual numbers. There are several calculators out there to figure it all out. But in our case- it's the pin weight that is the only thing that we are close on.

[RoadrunnerII]

Look at your tires on truck. Our 2016 F250 came with Load Range E tires. Those have a max inflation of 80psi. Truck sticker said maximum 65psi. Thats the part that generally reduces your max payload on that truck.
If you look up the load to pressure guide for those tires you will see the difference.
I drop my rears to 55psi when running empty. Hook up the trailer I run 80psi always.

RoadrunnerII

[TxLoser]

I’d say you’ll be fine with that. You may end up wanting some airbags or something similar down the road, but hook it up first. See what you think. I suspect you’ll end up a tad over GVWR loaded for a trip. I was right at 10K with my 3/4 ton and 26.5 HT. Not a problem though. Not enough you need to go buy a new truck. Enjoy the new RV. The HT should really be marketed to the 3/4 ton trucks perfect for those.

[RickandBecky]

Thanks everyone for the replies and advice! When we leave tomorrow to pick up our new Eagle, we’re stopping at a CAT scale that’s right on the way to get an accurate empty weight (with fuel and two passengers) for our truck. Then, coming home, we plan to stop and get a weight with the trailer on the hitch in my bed. We are using the Anderson hitch for a gooseneck, so that weight is under 50#’s. As we put our stuff back in the trailer at home, we will weigh as we go to get as close to loaded weight as we can. I never put much in my bed when we camp (a small grill and a few tools), so we should be fine. Also, I’ll check air pressures all the way around and raise the rears to 80 psi, per recommendation. Regarding this forum, I’m new to it, so haven’t figured out how to reply to each individually! Thank you all for your input!

[Cincinnati Kid]

Originally Posted by RickandBecky

Thanks everyone for the replies and advice! When we leave tomorrow to pick up our new Eagle, we’re stopping at a CAT scale that’s right on the way to get an accurate empty weight (with fuel and two passengers) for our truck. Then, coming home, we plan to stop and get a weight with the trailer on the hitch in my bed. We are using the Anderson hitch for a gooseneck, so that weight is under 50#’s. As we put our stuff back in the trailer at home, we will weigh as we go to get as close to loaded weight as we can. I never put much in my bed when we camp (a small grill and a few tools), so we should be fine. Also, I’ll check air pressures all the way around and raise the rears to 80 psi, per recommendation. Regarding this forum, I’m new to it, so haven’t figured out how to reply to each individually! Thank you all for your input!

Sounds like you're on the road to happy camping. Knowing those weights will give you peace of mind.

[RoadrunnerII]

Originally Posted by RickandBecky

Thanks everyone for the replies and advice! When we leave tomorrow to pick up our new Eagle, we’re stopping at a CAT scale that’s right on the way to get an accurate empty weight (with fuel and two passengers) for our truck. Then, coming home, we plan to stop and get a weight with the trailer on the hitch in my bed. We are using the Anderson hitch for a gooseneck, so that weight is under 50#’s. As we put our stuff back in the trailer at home, we will weigh as we go to get as close to loaded weight as we can. I never put much in my bed when we camp (a small grill and a few tools), so we should be fine. Also, I’ll check air pressures all the way around and raise the rears to 80 psi, per recommendation. Regarding this forum, I’m new to it, so haven’t figured out how to reply to each individually! Thank you all for your input!

Enjoy and remember the trip is part of the experience. Leave yourself room to stop and take the road less travelled if you can.
A good rule is every two hours make a stop. Figure on averaging 50 miles per hour with your stops. If you plan on over 350 miles a day that means rush hours are in your travel. It slows you down
Look up and all around always
Tree branch's are not fun when they catch a roof.
But most of all have fun!

RoadrunnerII

[Nathan S.]

I’m running about 10,500 loaded and have no problems pulling it with 6.2 gasser. The only time the truck struggled a bit was on an 8% grade at 9-11k in altitude over the Rockies. Could only maintain about 45 mph, and I think it was the thin air more so than the grade. You have more torque than I do, so you’ll be fine. That truck and trailer are a perfect fit.

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by RoadrunnerII

Enjoy and remember the trip is part of the experience. Leave yourself room to stop and take the road less travelled if you can. A good rule is every two hours make a stop. Figure on averaging 50 miles per hour with your stops. If you plan on over 350 miles a day that means rush hours are in your travel. It slows you down Look up and all around always
Tree branch's are not fun when they catch a roof. But most of all have fun!
RoadrunnerII

Great advice Roadrunner II

[RickandBecky]

We’ve been pulling a 7500# hitch-pull travel trailer for several years, and love the camping experiences we’ve had! Look forward to it even more with this new RV! Thanks all for the advice and information!

[RickandBecky]

Thanks! Look forward to hitting the Rockies next year in late spring. And lots of other fun places!

[Nature Ist]

I have a 2020 30.5 CKTS that I have paired to a 2019 F-250 4X4 with the 10,000 lb GVW package, the puck system. (See the details posted on my profile) Double check your specific weight ratings for your truck, but you should be fine. The only issue you may need to look into is the bedrail clearance between your truck and the underside of the trailer. Fords are very high off the ground, and unless you have the 16" wheel option on the trailer, and set the suspension shackles to the lower holes on the frame, you can ride nose high, and have too little bedrail clearance.
I have the 16" wheels package on the trailer and still had to change my suspension to the lower holes, it now rides very level. The truck handles it very well, and I have the 6.2 gas engine with the 3.73 axle.

[Pammac36]

I have almost the same set up as you, including hitch, but have the 6.2 gas. At the CAT scale the truck alone was 7400#. Went back with the rig and my pin ended up at 1800#. I've been on 4 trips this summer with no issues! But, hopefully you have the 16 inch tires or you may have clearance issues. I have the Andersen ball at the middle setting, rides level but have rubbed on my tri-fold tonneau slightly 2 times. Good luck with your new rig, love ours!

[RickandBecky]

Thanks for the replies! We picked up our new Eagle 30.5CKTS on Tuesday and drove the 45 miles home with no issues at all. The Anderson Ultimate hitch provided a very smooth pull, and the fifth wheel had plenty of clearance above my bed rails. The only thing I need to do now is check the turn radius and get a feel for how sharp a turn I can safely make without hitting the back of the cab. I found some measurements that will give me a good estimate, so will do those today and see how that comes out. I calculated that, with the 1,620#’s of pin weight, we could still put a little over 500 more pounds in the trailer and be below my truck’s 10,000 GVWR. We’re going camping next week at Tyler State Park, close to home, so I’ll hit a CAT scale on the way and get a fully loaded truck GVRW and a combined weight for the truck/fifth wheel. Love the Eagle 30.5! The modern farmhouse interior is absolutely beautiful! Can’t wait to get a few days in this “home away from home”!

[DonaandDon]

I love my life. I have over 15,000 on my NP.

[RickandBecky]

Good looking rig!

[RickandBecky]

Noticed you had Timbrens on your truck—like them? I’m trying to decide if I even need ‘helper springs’ such as Sumo or Timbrens. With our new fifth wheel on our hitch, the rear dropped just under 2” at the rear wheel. Pretty much put the truck at ‘level’. Thoughts?

[TxLoser]

My vote is for the 1500lb sumo springs. Sorry, I know you didn’t ask me, but I recently dealt with this. Purchased Timbrens. On bridges I’d rebound off of them and come down hard. The sumos are softer which makes for a better landing after the rebound. The rest is the same. Food for thought.

[RickandBecky]

Thanks for the input. We have a local truck accessory shop that likes the Sumo also, will look into those a little further. Appreciate the response!