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Ram 1500 tow 6800 lb question


Rgnmgr

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Looking at your truck's specs, most I could see was 1,600lb capacity depending on bed length/2 or 4 wheel drive.  5th wheel, probably not going to happen.  Travel trailer, not very big.  My personal recommendation if you can do it, trade truck up a size or 2 (3/4 ton not far from 1/2 ton in recommendations), pick up an older used camper and try camping for a while.  For safety, I try to stay at/under 80% of trucks max.  One thing you need to watch is pin weight (if 5th-wheel) or tongue weight.  Camper tire age and max truck tire & rear axle weight rating.  Load your truck up with fuel/humans/pets, etc, items you will normally have in cab and/or bed and get weighed at a CAT scale most truck stops have.  Subtract all that from your trucks combined max weight rating and go from there.  Might surprise you what your truck loaded will weigh.  One thing folks tend to overlook or not realize, is your truck can move that camper down the road, how well can it *stop* your truck/camper etc in a hurry?  I've had idiots pull out in front of me thinking I could stop on a dime.....

Edited by NDBirdman

2002 Fifth Avenue RV (RIP) 2015 Ram 3500 Mega-cab DRW(38k miles), 6.7L Cummins Diesel, A668RFE, 3.73, 14,000 GVWR, 5,630 Payload, 27,300 GCWR, 18,460 Max Trailer Weight Rating(For Sale) , living in the frigid north, ND.

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Welcome to the Escapee forums! We are happy to have you join us and we will do all that we can to help.

As I look at the spec sheet for your truck that comes from Ram, I don't see how you came up with the towing weight of 10K#. It would seem to me that yours should be about 9,350# if we assume the truck is at it's gross rated weight, which is the safe thing to do. A better way would be to load the truck as you would to tow with it and then take that truck to a scale and get an actual weight. If you are thinking of a fifth wheel, then you need to have the trailer attached when weighing the truck to add in the pin weight. Most experienced truck owners will tell you that for comfortable driving as well as good truck performance and reliability, you should not tow more than 80% of the rated weight as a constant thing since that rating is a maximum ever safe weight and is not a recommended weight for everyday. If you go by the 80% suggestion you should them limit the trailer weight to 7,480#.  I can tell you that I towed a trailer weighing 4000# with a vehicle rated to tow 5000# for a time, then changed tow vehicles to one rated for much more and the difference in handling and comfortable driving has been remarkable. 

Edited by Kirk W

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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It looks to me like a 2015 crew cab 1500 with the hemi and 3.92 rear end has a GCWR of 15,850 or 15,950 depending on box length and 2WD vs. 4WD.  So a rated tow capacity in the 10,000 pound range isn't out of the question. 

As far as looking at the new trailer, I'd disregard the listed empty weight and concentrate instead on the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) which is likely to more closely reflect the weight of the trailer in use, loaded up and ready to go. 

I've towed with half ton, 3/4 ton, and (mostly) one-ton pickups and prefer the heavy-duty trucks for towing as they are stiffer,  more resistant to sway, better brakes, etc. 

That being said you've got a capable truck, and should be able to find a suitable travel trailer to tow safely behind it. The 80% number gets tossed around quite a lot and it is a decent enough guideline, but not gospel. I've been well beyond it with my last two trucks and have been completely satisfied going down the road, with no maintenance or performance issues. Most gasoline RV's, (which generally use the same drivetrain as the heavy-duty trucks) are well over 80%  of the GVWR sitting on the lot, and often quite close to 100%  0f GCWR when loaded up and pulling a toad. 

Mark & Teri

2021 Grand Designs Imagine 2500RL, 2019 Ford F-350

Mark & Teri's Travels

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1 hour ago, mptjelgin said:

Most gasoline RV's, (which generally use the same drivetrain as the heavy-duty trucks) are well over 80%  of the GVWR sitting on the lot, and often quite close to 100%  0f GCWR when loaded up and pulling a toad. 

That is true and from experience and from reading of the experiences of others, that is the reason that they often do have handling issues that require aftermarket equipment to resolve. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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Thanks for all of the helpful responses.  A lot of good information from everyone.

One advantage of going to new trailer is our re-assessing of everything we had stored in our old unit.  Much of it may not be needed in this new Rockwood Ultra Lite 2608.

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  • 3 months later...

Keep in mind pulling power is not the complete measure of any vehicle, one must factor-in handling ability and stopping ability.

NEVER buy a trailer based on the dry unloaded weight unless that is the way you intend to go camping = unloaded; always use the maximum capacity it may weigh.

That TT weight calculator from Changing Gears is excellent for properly and safely matching a trailer and tow vehicle.

 

2000 Winnebago Ultimate Freedom USQ40JD, ISC 8.3 Cummins 350, Spartan MM Chassis. USA IN 1SG retired;Good Sam Life member,FMCA ." And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.  John F. Kennedy 20 Jan 1961

 

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