30 footer vs. GVWR

jjump · Jan 20, 2014

OK all,

So now that I know what I can pull, and I have found many options in my GVWR rating, I am wondering if a 30 footer will be too long for the 1500?

There are some sweet rebates from RV Wholesalers, under the GVWR, and some of them are 30' long, I was hoping to stay in the 24'-28' range.

I also have been following a 30' Toy Hauler on CL, but I am really wanting to go new.

P.S. I am waiting for a call back from the dealer I got the Ram from. I voiced my concerns in being led that I could tow 10,000lbs with a manager, and all I asked for in return was the option of getting the 3.92's or 3.55's at what it cost on a window sticker. Most of them are $50 or $75 dollars, so I am wondering why they are not calling me back!!!!

hounddog · Jan 21, 2014

jjump said:
OK all,

So now that I know what I can pull, and I have found many options in my GVWR rating, I am wondering if a 30 footer will be too long for the 1500?

There are some sweet rebates from RV Wholesalers, under the GVWR, and some of them are 30' long, I was hoping to stay in the 24'-28' range.

Length has little to do with the capacity of the truck; you need to focus on weight, loaded/unloaded/with passengers, gasoline, luggage, etc.

I also have been following a 30' Toy Hauler on CL, but I am really wanting to go new.

P.S. I am waiting for a call back from the dealer I got the Ram from. I voiced my concerns in being led that I could tow 10,000lbs with a manager, and all I asked for in return was the option of getting the 3.92's or 3.55's at what it cost on a window sticker. Most of them are $50 or $75 dollars, so I am wondering why they are not calling me back!!!!

Ram Trucks Towing Guide

Sounds A LOT like you should be considering a 2500.

jjump · Jan 21, 2014

like many, the 2500 is out of the question. This is also my daily driver, and with a 50 mile commute each day, gas mileage wise, I chose the Ram over the Sierra that I previously had.

Saving 500-1000 lbs of payload for tongue weight, my specs have me at 6900-7400 GVWR, and there are a handful of matches in this window, some being 30 footers.

Now - this is with the 3.21 gears. I have not ruled out paying for the 3.55's or even the 3.92's.

With 3.92's, the specs, well, according to the slider, jump to 9000.

audio1der · Jan 21, 2014

30' is absolutely as long as you want to go with a half ton. Weight is NOT the only factor you want to consider. With a trailer 30+ft long, it presents SO much side area to wind and passing vehicles, that even with a top-notch anti-sway WD hitch, it is a handful to handle. We bought our ultra lightweight (6500lb)32' trailer brand new, and are still debating whether to move down to a 27', or up to a 2500. 32' is just too much for the chassis of a 1500. It has lots of power, has shown more than enough braking force, but lacks the frame to stand in front of, and control that much trailer.

jjump · Jan 21, 2014

Yeah, this is the reason for posting my question....think I am going to shoot for 24' - 26' range

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

audio1der · Jan 21, 2014

jjump said:
Yeah, this is the reason for posting my question....think I am going to shoot for 24' - 26' range

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

You WON'T be sorry. I have no other reason to suggest a slightly smaller unit.
Yeah, the 32' might look impressive going down the road, but there's a white knuckle experience with nearly every trip. Plus, backing into spots with a 32' bumper pull is a royal PITA. Last summer I had to run over a small tree getting into, then pull branches aside from a large overhead one with rope on our way out, in the same trip haha

hounddog · Jan 21, 2014

whatroads · Jan 21, 2014

I have a 31 foot travel trailer weighing in a little over 7K LBs. No issue at all towing. Get a high quality weight distributing hitch. I use an Equal-i-zer 10K. Reese dual cam is also good. Keep away from friction only hitches

I wouldn't have an issue with a 33ft or even a 35. Except, those can be a real pain in the full utility camping areas I use. Simply too difficult to manage the curved gravel pads. Many go around trees

BTW. I have a 3.92 gear and my truck is rated at 10K. And, I don't use, or need, air bags. You may find air bags to your liking

TRCM · Jan 21, 2014

jjump said:
like many, the 2500 is out of the question. This is also my daily driver, and with a 50 mile commute each day, gas mileage wise, I chose the Ram over the Sierra that I previously had.

Saving 500-1000 lbs of payload for tongue weight, my specs have me at 6900-7400 GVWR, and there are a handful of matches in this window, some being 30 footers.

Now - this is with the 3.21 gears. I have not ruled out paying for the 3.55's or even the 3.92's.

With 3.92's, the specs, well, according to the slider, jump to 9000.

If you already have the truck, changing out the gears won't help, as the vehicle is already made and stickered as to what it can carry. Nothing you do now will change that without spending way more than getting a 2500 would cost.

jjump · Jan 21, 2014

@ TRCM....

Since I am new at this, really never towed anything over my 16' utility with 3 quads, I still have t....

When you say changing the gears won't help because the truck is already "stickered", what do you mean by that?

The sticker inside the door? This only references the GVRW, which is 6900, regardless of 3.21 or 3.92 gears. Also, the payload remains the same at 1460, along with curb weight of 5350.

I don't see where it wouldn't help. According to the towing guide slider, changing to 3.92's, changes my towing limit by almost 2000 lbs more, and the GCVW also changes to about 2000 more.

Unless it's listed somewhere else, the GCVW is not on the truck itself.

TRCM · Jan 21, 2014

The truck, and all it's limits are tied into the VIN and how it was built.

YOu can't change it, and niether can the dealer.

So, even if you change the gears, or the suspension, or even the engine, it will still legally only be able to carry the weight it is rated for in it's as built by dodge configuration.

IE, yes, you can change these things, but if you are ever in an accident and it is found out that you were towing over the capacity it was rated for as it was built, you will be in big doo-doo. Just like adding air bags to level it when towing, yeah, they have a 1000 lb rating, but they DO NOT increase the load you can legally carry.

I looked into changing the gears and suspension on a Ramcharger I had to raise it's tow ratings up to 3/4 ton level, and was told by the state and dodge the only way it could be changed from the 'as built' ratings, would be to have it recertified and retitled as a custom vehicle, which is major money.

and BTW, changing to 3.92 gears NOW will be very expensive....like as close to 2 thousand bucks or more, not just the 50 or so it is when you order the truck.

Bigdaddy · Jan 21, 2014

Yep, you're are right TRCM when I had my 2011 1500 that is what I was looking at and all I got were two thousand dollars to do it, this is why I went with the 2500 hemi. Well compare to the 1500 I had I'm not loosen much as far as mileages and this give me a much more ability to tow what I really want.

Netman66 · Jan 22, 2014

My 2010 1500 Laramie with 3.55 gears - needed air bags to get it off the bump stops.

Trailer is a Surveyor SV304 - 35 feet from ball to spare tire.

Hitch is a Reese Strait-Line with 1200 lb bars.

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?res...uthkey=!AH0haOE-8d7v94Q&v=3&ithint=photo,.JPG

I know it's there, but you just need to drive accordingly.

smurfs_of_war · Jan 22, 2014

The length, like audio1nder mentioned, would be of primary concern to me. I have a TT that is 26' (28.5 ball to back) and it is comfortable. I haven't pulled it more than 20 miles with the Ram yet, but on the Ford, it was easy, pulled straight, wind didn't bother it (much) and it was definitely a half ton towable. I did, however, yank my inlaws 32' from storage- I wouldn't do it again. Granted it was a bit blustery, but what a horrible experience. Pulled the ass end of the truck all over the place.

audio1der · Jan 22, 2014

All good info.
IMO towing a trailer is like driving in the winter; more weight is better.
Part of our problem is the trailer is so light, it's like pulling a balloon. We have the Reese dual cam sway control complete with 1,400lb bars and a LOT of time invested in fine tuning the setup. I can't imagine towing with a 1500 w/o airbags, but each to their own (I'm also lowered 2" in the rear so they compensate for that).
If you do reading on RV forums- even different ones than RV.net where the weight police are notoriously tough on 1/2 ton guys, you'll find lots of great reading about length of trailer for given platforms. Not only do many of us have short beds (and short frames) but a light chassis. Some may be comfortable towing a 32', some may not; conditions need to be taken into account.
We have mountains a LOT of wind to contend with here. Maybe we're a worst case scenario and I don't mean to try and frighten anyone into a smaller unit than they would like, I just want to present one person's findings who would have made different decisions if they had know all this information 2 years ago. Food for thought.

audio1der · Jan 22, 2014

smurfs_of_war said:
The length, like audio1nder mentioned, would be of primary concern to me. I have a TT that is 26' (28.5 ball to back) and it is comfortable. I haven't pulled it more than 20 miles with the Ram yet, but on the Ford, it was easy, pulled straight, wind didn't bother it (much) and it was definitely a half ton towable. I did, however, yank my inlaws 32' from storage- I wouldn't do it again. Granted it was a bit blustery, but what a horrible experience. Pulled the ass end of the truck all over the place.

Our first tow was Airdrie-Medicine Hat on as windy of a day as I'd dare pull. We had only the Reese WD setup at that point, no DCSC. I couldn't even take either of my hands off the wheel to drink my iced cap; the wife had to hold it for me to slurp. It scared me so bad I bought the DCSC sight unseen the next day.

smurfs_of_war · Jan 22, 2014

audio1der said:
Our first tow was Airdrie-Medicine Hat on as windy of a day as I'd dare pull. We had only the Reese WD setup at that point, no DCSC. I couldn't even take either of my hands off the wheel to drink my iced cap; the wife had to hold it for me to slurp. It scared me so bad I bought the DCSC sight unseen the next day.

Putting aside the fact that any prairie roads are a wind tunnel, the traffic alone would have had me on the edge of my seat. I plan our trips around heavy traffic areas- drives my wife nuts, but I am willing to go a long way out of the way to avoid heavy traffic. I can control myself. I can't control the idiots around me :Big Laugh:

jjump · Jan 22, 2014

DCSC??

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

smurfs_of_war · Jan 22, 2014

jjump said:
DCSC??

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

Dual cam sway control I am assuming.

smiley · Mar 18, 2014

As mentioned you can't change the legal tow weight that is very true. You can however do the gears and at least be able to live with the fact that you can safely do the 10k just like the one that came with the gears and be safe and logical. You can't say since you have gears that you can some how do 15 even though it may be able. Within reason and I am sure you will be fine and at least can sleep at night about it. A lot of people take it to extreme then cause an accident and wonder why they are in hot water. 10k is BTW not the trailer that is everything all together including your bum in the seat. I have heard a lot of people confuse that on various forums.

30 footer vs. GVWR

Member

Senior Member

Member

Senior Member

Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Member

USN, Retired

Member

USN, Retired

Senior Member

Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Similar threads

Forum statistics

Share this page