Recommended Equipment Needed to Tow a 16,000 lb 5th Wheel with a 2016 Diesel Ram 2500

Updated 12/11/2017 | Published 12/09/2017

Products Featured in This Question

Demco Recon 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch - Single Jaw - Above Bed - 21,000 lbs

(104)

$769.00

Derale Series 8000 Plate-Fin Transmission Cooler Kit w/Barb Inlets - Class III - Efficient

(874)

$112.40

Demco Autoslide 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch w/ Slider - Single Jaw - Above Bed - 18,000 lbs

(733)

$1795.00

Demco Premier Series Above-Bed Base Rails and Custom Installation Kit for 5th Wheel Hitches

(23)

$425.28

Question:

Wanting to purchase a 5th wheel. Our truck info: GVWR 10000 PAYLOAD 2380 BASE WEIGHT TOTAL 7620 FRONT 4707 REAR 2913 GAWR FRONT 5750 REAR 6000 GCWR 25300 MAX. TRAILER WEIGHT RATING 17210 2016 2500 short bed 4x4 Dodge Diesel Looking at a 2015 Solitude @ 12650 pounds** based on average Hitch weight 2600** based on average GVWR 16,000 Is there any adjustments to make to tow this trailer with our truck

asked by: Lori

Expert Reply:

To figure out how heavy of a trailer you can tow with your 2016 Dodge Ram 2500 take the GCWR of your Ram (25,300 lbs) and subtract the Curb Weight of your Ram (7,620). This leaves you with 17,680 lbs of weight for any extra things on your truck like a 5th wheel hitch as well as passengers, luggage, your trailer, plus any tanks on your trailer.

If the trailer that you are looking at has a dry weight rating of 12,650 lbs then that leaves you with 5,030 lbs for passengers, luggage, 5th wheel hitch, and any tanks that need to be filled on your trailer. If you planned on loading your trailer up to the 16,000 lb GVWR then that leaves you with 1,680 lbs for the hitch and people. I recommend going with a lightweight 5th wheel hitch so that you can keep a good sized margin between maxing out the GCWR of your truck.

Since you have a short bed on your truck it is recommended to use a sliding 5th wheel hitch as it will allow you to make sharp turns without damaging your truck cab. Sliding 5th wheel trailers tend to be a little more hefty than standard hitches so what I recommend doing is installing a Sidewinder pin box on your trailer to move the pivot point back 22 inches. You can then use one of our lightest 5th wheel hitches, the Demco Recon 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch # DM8550043, along with the base rails # DM8552025-71 to maximize the amount of weight margin that you have. This 5th wheel hitch weighs just under 100 lbs.

Sidewinder replacements are pin box specific so you will need to make sure that you choose the correct one. For example, part # RP34FR is a direct replacement for the popular 1621 and 0719 pin box numbers. If you let me know what the pin box number is on the trailer that you purchase I can recommend the correct replacement.

If you would rather use a sliding 5th wheel hitch then a lightweight option would be the Reese 20K # RP30083 while an easy-to-use option (which is a little heavier) is the Demco Autosliding Hijacker # DM8550034. Both of these options are compatible with the base rails # DM8552025-71 that I previously mentioned.

You may also be interested in a transmission cooler kit, like the popular Derale Series 8000 # D13503, to help extend the life of your truck and keep it from straining too much since you will be near the max weight capacity of your truck. This cooler is 11" wide x 8-3/4" tall x 7/8" deep so you will just need to find some room (preferably with the most airflow) under the hood to install it. I have attached a helpful article you can check out for more info.