Fifth Wheel Hitch Recommendation for 2016 GMC Sierra 3500 Short Bed

Question:

I have a 2016 GMC 3500 Denali HD 4x4 short bed with Duramax engine w/Allison 3.73 transmission. Fifth wheel weight/towing calculators online ask for RGAW, RGAWR, King pin weight, GVWR, GCWR, etc. According to this calculator my truck can only handle a 13,440 lb. fifth wheel!! The specs on my truck say: GVWR - 11500 GCWR - 25100 Max loaded trailer weight rating - 17100 RGAWR - 7050 GVW with no hitch and passengers and full tank of diesel - 8140 lbs. Why is this and which one do I believe??? GMC says 17,100 lb fifth wheel and any of the calculators say 13,000-14,000 lbs. My fifth wheel is a 2016 Jayco North Point 40foot with a GVWR of 15,500. Dry Hitch weight is 2800. Can I tow this fifth wheel safely its a single rear wheel without overtaxing the truck? Also, which fifth wheel hitch would you recommend me using? Desperately needing guidance...Thanks

asked by: John

Expert Reply:

The manufacturer of the truck is always the final authority on the towing capacities. For your 2016 GMC Sierra 3500 with the Allison transmission you should have a very healthy towing capacity and I would recommend going with the higher one that GMC gave you. You can try contacting a dealer local to you with your VIN for even further clarification.

Since you have a short bed truck you are going to need a slider hitch. The slider hitch I recommend is the Demco Hijacker Auto Slider part # DM8550034 which has an 18k capacity and will slide automatically when you make tight turns.

For fifth wheel rails you will want to go with custom rails since they will minimize drilling and install time. For that you would want the part # DM8552011-71.

expert reply by: Jameson C