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BigDinAZ

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Everything posted by BigDinAZ

  1. The trailer has a GVWR of 8880 lbs. 20% of that is 1,776 lbs. The payload on the truck is 2,499 lbs minus 1,776 leaves 723 lbs payload, minus 100 lbs for AUH is 623 lbs payload left. A gallon of Diesel weighs 7.189 lbs so 30 gallons would be 215 lbs leaving 408 lbs. Then take away you, the wife, snacks drinks etc you are right at the max. There are those who say meh it's fine, don't worry about it those numbers don't mean anything. Then there are guys like me who have seen those other guys in the ditch. I have seen lots of trailers in accidents. Personally I don't like to max anything out. By the numbers you are right there, and by the numbers it should be okay, that's your call as to weather or not you are comfortable. Me I would not feel comfortable, but that's just me. Personally with my set up, I still have over a ton of free payload, after I am maxed out on trailer weight, me, wife, fuel and all that jazz, I am couple tons under GCWR, and way, way under tow rating, and I also do a lot of one handed driving with the cruise control set, the AC on and the tunes playing. I sit nice and level, and I hardly know that 11,000 lb trailer is back there. But that's just me. Oh and I actually have more free payload room because I don't load my trailer to the Max either, that's just based on the GVWR of the trailer. Remember, those are all only calculated numbers, you will never really know until you put it all on a scale. Just my .02 D
  2. I had an after thought on this. I went to Winnebago's web page and the lightest GVWR Minnie Plus 25RKS is 9,995lbs. 20%of that is 1,999lbs, which leaves about 500lbs payload. Now figure in the hitch, and that's another 100 lbs, leaving about 400lbs, now you and the wife, and fuel, you are going to be maxing out, if not over payload. What about the Micro Mini fifth wheel? GVWR is 7,000lbs giving a pin weight of about 1,540lbs leaving just under 1,000lbs. You are still going to be close, but most likely under. Maybe you could get a pull trailer?
  3. You may be okay with the Winnebago but remember you need to add your weight, the wife, kids, fuel, and anything else you put in the truck, not just the pin weight. Also check the GCWR which is truck and trailer, use GVWR numbers and not empty weights. You cod be under on pad but be over the GCWR. Also check axle and tire ratings too. Yes it's true, I am a payload guy, but you need to know, and stay under the other numbers too. D
  4. Yup I get that too have driven them, and gave it thought. If I was going to tow anything over 16k I would up to a 450 class or go HDT. Anything under 16K I am more than comfortable with my 3500.
  5. I guess another way of putting it is like this. When I was looking g at trucks I wanted the following Parameters. Ram 3500 DRW, long bed, crew cab, with 4:10 rear and the highest payload capacity withing those parameters. I went to 5 dealerships and looked at a lot of trucks. I found my truck and one exactly the same, Laramie package. Only difference was it had the HO, Aisin, and air bags. It had a GCWR of 33,300#, mine has a GCWR of 30,300# a difference of 3,000#. It had a tow rating of 23,000# my rating is 21,600# a difference of 1,400#. It had a GVWR of 12,000#, mine is 14,000# and a max payload of 4,300#, mine is 5,704#. It was also $4,200.00 more. So, while ot had a higher tow rating and a higher GCWR it also had a a lower GVWR and Payload. They are all very close, depending on the package you choose, and for me the $4,000. Difference was not worth it just to get the HO and air bags. Personal I am not sold on the air bags for the 1 ton yet anyhow, and I think they can be a false sense of security. They do nothing for payload or towing, only assist in leveling, and someone who doesn't understand numbers could think well it's not squatting so it's all good, when in reality they could be over payload.
  6. Yup, but with my set up, I don't need a sliding hit h as my trailer sits back far from the cab. I ended up with 5,700lbs payload capacity which is huge. All the trucks I looked at were around 3,500 to 4,000. With my payload, and my 11000# GVWR trailer after pin weight and loading the truck I still have about 2500 lbs of free payload which is very comforting for me to know, so that if I ever decide to get a bigger trailer I have the room to do so. I also have a 21,600lb tow rating which is way more than I will ever need. If I do go bigger the largest I will go is a 16k GVWR which would still leave me with almost 1k payload. Like I said before, you have to give something to get something with theese trucks, so far I have the highest payload of all the trucks I looked at, not to say there aren't others with higher payload, just in the trucks I looked at. If I was going to hotshot then yea I would have done the HO and probably done the Tradesman, not to say I couldn't hotshot with my truck, but I don't plan on it. I am more than happy with my choice.
  7. I didn't get the HO and here is why. The and Aisian reduce payload capacity because they weigh more. I am all about payload. Yes you get more torque with the HO and Aisin, which increase tow rating. But what good is a higher tow rating, if you don't have the payload to handle the pin weight of a heavier trailer? If I was going to hotshot full time, maybe, but doing what I am doing, just couldn't justify the extra $ just to get a higher tow rating. This cam be argued 10 ways to Sunday, but it all comes down to GVWR, GCWR, AWR, and Payload, tow rating is the least important. With theese trucks, you have to give something to get something, and I didn't want to give up payload. I tested the two trucks, had them side by side, drove both, and ran the numbers on both, my truck and the exact same one only with HO, Aisian, and Air bags, and an extra several grand on top at the dealer when I was deciding. I already told you why I didn't go for the HO, now the air bags. They are a moot point for me. With my numbers way the hell up there, an 11k 5er doesn't squat my truck at all. It sits level as it should, even a 13k trailer wouldn't cause much squat. A 16K, yea maybe a little, but still not enough to justify the extra cost for the Air bags, and at that the bags do nothing to increase payload or tow rating, they only assist with leveling, and if I don't need leveling, then I don't need the bags, moot point for me, so I ended up with what I got, and couldn't be happier. I have a hell of a lot of free payload, massive axle ratings, more than enough torque with the 4:10 rear and awesome tire ratings with the DRW. Yup, I am a happy camper (no pun intended).
  8. I came across this today. Seems there is a new television show coming to Discovery caller The RVERS, and it's a show all about RVing. Any of you hear about it? They have Youtube, Facebook and a web page at http://www.thervers.tv
  9. Well spoken. I actually considered an HDT, have seen some awesome set ups, but because I had a real good trade in, and it brought the price of our truck down to around what you pay for a nice car, so we did that. I agree, and this statement will most likely ruffle some feathers but so be it, right now (at the time of this posting) Ram is king for towing. I am piling a light 11k GVWR 5er, but that may change down the road. IF that day comes, I know my truck will handle it, because I ran all the numbers and I know what it is capable of. I went Cummins for longevity and peace of mind, and yes that adds to weight of the truck. My Ram has a payload of 5,704lbs, can you imagine if I had a Hemi in it?
  10. We got soooooo lucky at the dealership. They cancelled the contract and we started over, mind you we only had it a couple days and didn't put but a few miles on it. Tou have to be careful with those vin check things, they can be off, and the paper charts are only a guide. Best thing is the sticker inside the door. Take GVWR and subtract the payload on the sticker and you get curb weight. I sure hope it all works out for you.
  11. I absolutely agree with this. That's why I got the big end Ram. I am only looking at a 13-16K lb 5er, I have plenty of starting and stopping power, with or without trailer brakes. In fact, I won't even know it's back there most of the time. Nice truck by the way, I almost purchased the Volvo VNL780 (I took my CDL test in one), and also drove one for a while. I love those Volvo's, but the ones with the Cummins.
  12. This is another topic that is just as controversial as the how much can I tow question. Ford, Chevy, GMC, Dodge. What's your preference? Short bed, long bed, what's your preference. Now days they have sliding hitches that compensate for turning and backing. Back in the day those things didn't exist. That said, I have a long bed, old school I guess, but as to say which is better, well I think it's a matter of opinion. Just my .02
  13. Well truth is to those that say you can go over manufacturing numbers. DOT is going to use those numbers, NOT what you think you can go over, he is going to go by the stickers the manufacturer says. If you are over that, he is going to nail you. Period! If you have an accident, and the investigation determines you were over manufacturers ratings, insurance company is going to say yes, good luck with that. If you kill someone and are over manufacturers numbers, well, sucks to be you. No man, I hear ya. Just because you are doing it, does not mean you are doing it safe.
  14. Here is something else to consider. Real easy way to determine SAFE tow rating. Take the CVWR, subtract the GVWR of the truck, and this gives you a SAFE number to stay under as far as GVWR of a trailer. Example: Truck has a CVWR of 27,100# Minus GVWR of truck which is 10,000# this gives you a SAFE tow rating of 17,100LBS. Stay UNDER that GVWR trailer. Just look at the sticker usually on the left or right front of the trailer and look for the GVWR. Take 20% of that, and you will get close to pin weight to know if payload can handle, then calculate CGVW numbers and you will know what you can SAFELY tow. Good luck!
  15. I agree with others, I think you may be pushing it. First of all, as stated you need to use GVWR of trailer, but let's use the dry weight of 10400#. 20% of that would be a pin weight of 2,080# Now take another 1,000# off for you, wife, fuel, hitch, that leaves about 1,000# of payload. Remember, this is based on a DRY trailer with no propane, water, food, clothing, gray and black tanks, I think you get the picture here. You are going to exceed payload capacity, it adds up quick!
  16. Lol yea I have a CDL and to me a heavy duty truck is a class 8, the HD branding is just a marketing thing. The other thing about semi trucks is you have the option of sliding the tandems on the trailer and can adjust the weight on the drive tires, we don't have that option. Yes the 80 percent rule is a good guide, as is the 15 to 20 percent mentioned avove. People think they have a truck rated at 20 thousand pounds, so that's the trailer they can haul. Heh, if it only worked that way....
  17. Yes, The pin weight will add to the payload capacity. You are going to find out the same thing I did. I had to get rid of the 2500 for towing a larger 5er. The remaining payload you have left is on the little yellow sticker inside the driver door which you said is 1,776#. Any 5er that I have looked at have a hitch (pin) weight of a minimum of 2,000#. Right there you are over weight. Yes they make light 5ers, but they are going to be small. Some say the gear ratio makes no difference, but I don't agree, here is why. The higher the gear ratio, the more torque, which means less stress all the way around. Remember, the ratings you see in the ads are based on a stripped down vehicle, such as a tradesman. The higher up in package you go, the less towing and payload because there is more stuff added to the truck. I just went through all of this, and I learned this the hard way. Here is what I did. Got rid of the 2500, and picked up a 3500 dually. It's the Laramie package with the 4:10 Gears. I have a GVWR of 14,000# rear axle rating of 9,750# and free payload of 5,704#. But because I have a Laramie package my max towing is reduced from 30,000# to like 21,660#. Remember, all the 5ers I looked at have a pin weight of 2,000 - 2,500 lbs. Add my weight, the wife, fuel, tools, fifth wheel hitch and that's another 1,000 lbs or so which leaves me with between 2,000 and 1,500 lbs free payload left, so towing a larger fifth wheel just became doable, with more than enough left over as far as payload and axle and all that. Google RAM Towing Chart, and you will find all the charts that will help you understand all of this. It's a very controversial subject, and they don't make it easy to understand. Now with all that said, you also have to figure in CVWR. If you get stopped (and they do stop RV's), they are going to look at GVWR of truck and GVWR of trailer and then compare that to what is on the scale. In some states, 25,601lbs or more, it's commercial and you DO need a CDL to drive it, Arizona is one such state. So that is where I am at now. Have truck, looking for 5er now. I learned more on a few weeks about all of this, because I want to be safe. Remember, just because you are doing it, does not mean you are doing it safe. Hope this helps. D
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