actual towing capacity

Devin1349 · Sep 19, 2016

What is up guys, its the new guy and i got a question for you all, ive been doing some research on my 2011 Ram 1500 ST 5.7 Hemi with 275/60R/20 and ive found many different things on towing capacity everywhere from 8500 to 10250 now i dont believe the 10250 part so my question is what can I actually pull in terms of weight. I know tongue weight and payload matters alot in the weight i can pull and ive seen alot of guys on here post pictures of pulling things that look like they weight more than the towing capacity. so i appreciate your guys help in making me more knowing in driving my Ram to the best of its abilities

TRCM · Sep 19, 2016

Look on the door sticker....that is the limit you have to follow to remain legal. No matter what chart you use, you MUST look at the sticker to get the payload for YOUR actual truck.

The red & white sticker will tell you max cargo/payload, and the black & white one will tell you max GVWR. Subtract actual vehicle weight from max GVWR, and that's your max cargo as well. GVWR is the max weight of the truck + tongue weight...NOT max trailer weight or towing capacity. Got to go to the owners manual for that.

So, using numbers from my truck - the yellow sticker says 1278 lbs for payload, that covers passengers, cargo, & tongue weight. So lets say 1 person @ 350 lbs, and 50 lbs of stuff, which leaves 878 for tongue weight, which could be a trailer from 5853 lbs to 8780 lbs. (tongue weight is usually 10%-15% of total trailer weight)

The black & white sticker also says 6800 lbs for GVWR, and my truck weighs 5522 lbs, so my max cargo is again is 1278 lbs.

My owners manual tells me, since I have the 3.92 gears, I can tow 9800 lbs, but this depends on if the tongue weight of the trailer doesn't put the payload over the limit.

So, the only way I can tow anywhere close to the 9800 lbs limit legally, would be if I weighed less & had less cargo, such that the total of both would be less than 298 lbs, and my tongue weight was 10% of the trailer @ 980 lbs.

Then, I could have a 9800 lb trailer, and 1278 lbs of payload, and be legal.......barely.

thrashie · Sep 19, 2016

whats yer gear ratio?

Shady · Sep 19, 2016

Check this. It should have the specifics for your truck:

https://www.ramtrucks.com/shared/pdf/2011_RAM_Full_Line_Tow_Chart.pdf

Sent from my phone using Tapatalk

dexter · Sep 19, 2016

TRCM said:
So, using numbers from my truck - the yellow sticker says 1278 lbs for payload, that covers passengers, cargo, & tongue weight. So lets say 1 person @ 350 lbs, and 50 lbs of stuff, which leaves 878 for tongue weight, which could be a trailer from 5853 lbs to 8780 lbs. (tongue weight is usually 10%-15% of total trailer weight)

Then, I could have a 9800 lb trailer, and 1278 lbs of payload, and be legal.......barely.

That is why I went with a 2500. I'm full timing in my RV and I didn't what to stress the 1500. If the tongue weight is 900lbs, you don't have much room. If you are part time towing it could be done.

Even with a 2500 my sticker says 3,078lbs for payload. If I didn't have 4x4 I could pick up an additional 500lbs or so.

TRCM · Sep 19, 2016

dexter said:
That is why I went with a 2500. I'm full timing in my RV and I didn't what to stress the 1500. It the tongue weight is 900lbs, you don't have much room. If you are part time towing it could be done.

Even with a 2500 my sticker says 3,078lbs for payload. If I didn't have 4x4 I could pick up an additional 500lbs or so.

Biggest thing I pull is a 6500 lb camper.....maybe 1 or twice a year.

Devin1349 · Sep 19, 2016

My gear ratio is 3.55 and i wish i could upgrade to the 2500 6.7 ctd but with my income im screwed lol but i thank you all for the help.

billyw · Sep 22, 2016

Depending on what you are towing can influence the tongue weight too. If it's a boat, the tongue weight might be lower, allowing you to tow pretty heavy without going over your payload. But typical travel trailers, etc., REALLY need to have at least 10% of their weight on the tongue (closer to 15% is safer yet) to avoid or minimize potential sway. You can mitigate that some by using a weight distributing hitch, which spreads some of that tongue weight up to the truck's front axle and back to the trailer's axles. In my case, I'm not concerned if I exceed the max payload by a couple hundred pounds, as long as I don't exceed the rear axle rating, which in my case is 3950 lbs (I think). JMHO

mtofell · Sep 23, 2016

Manufacturers pretty much screw the consumer with all their bragging about numbers and "Max Towing" weight. Keep in mind every number you see on a commercial is under absolutely ideal circumstances. For example, to attain the 10,000# max towing weight you can't have ANYTHING inside the truck other than a 160# driver.

I've found it best to think about the two separate numbers:

Payload = what the truck can carry - as in on the 4 tires
Towing = what it can pull - some of this may be payload but is also what is on the trailer axles as well

You can max one number without maxing the other. With a 1/2 ton it's most common to go over payload before going over what it can pull.

MADDOG · Sep 23, 2016

When mtofell refers to "maxing out" he is touching upon a key factor, the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating or GCVWR.

This number is determined by what your truck weighs with all gear, passengers, fuel, etc...in the truck + the loaded weight of the trailer.

How you determine that is go to the link that Shady posted for your specific truck's information. Write down your Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating numbers.

I've found it helpful to go to a local landfill or truck stop and use their scale for the actual weight of my truck with me in it and a full fuel tank. That's a good baseline number to know when you start doing what I call "trailer math".

There are some good online tools to help you calculate what you can tow. Here's one that I was referred to:

Travel Trailer Weight Calculator

16'EcoD · Sep 23, 2016

Is there a standard in manufacture payloads and gvrw? My understanding in the half ton segment are these are "recommendations", and thus wouldn't be binding, or in other words have anything to do with legalities. Tire/axle spec is what's binding, and legal.

Am I wrong? Seems to me half ton frame, axles, suspension, brakes, technology, and weight are all pretty close manufacture to manufacture. Yet payload and gvrw isn't, and sometimes by year with no changes to the vehicle these numbers will increase for bragging rights.

In comparison My truck weight. Front axle 3640 pounds. Rear axle 2513 pounds. 2 passengers (410pounds), fuel full, empty box. Axle max weights 3900 pounds each. 360 lb front remaining. 1387 lb rear remaining.

Vs 980 payload -410 passengers = 570 pounds payload remaining.

mowin · Sep 23, 2016

mtofell said:
Manufacturers pretty much screw the consumer with all their bragging about numbers and "Max Towing" weight. Keep in mind every number you see on a commercial is under absolutely ideal circumstances. For example, to attain the 10,000# max towing weight you can't have ANYTHING inside the truck other than a 160# driver.

I've found it best to think about the two separate numbers:

Payload = what the truck can carry - as in on the 4 tires
Towing = what it can pull - some of this may be payload but is also what is on the trailer axles as well

You can max one number without maxing the other. With a 1/2 ton it's most common to go over payload before going over what it can pull.

I agree 100%, if you're taking about a 1500. A 3500 SRW gasser has up to 4200# of payload as well as 15K towing with 4:10 gears.

actual towing capacity

Devin1349

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TRCM

USN, Retired

thrashie

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Shady

Senior Member

dexter

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TRCM

USN, Retired

Devin1349

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billyw

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mtofell

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MADDOG

Out Exploring Arizona

16'EcoD

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mowin

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