ecodiesel towing question

I have a 2016 ecodiesel crew cab 4x4, I recently purchase a travel trailer from a friend the dry weight of the trailer is 6095 lbs. and the gvwr is 8308, its a 33 foot bumper pull, i have never towed anything this heavy/big before so i dont know a lot about towing but do any of yall think i will have any trouble towing this travel trailer with my ecodiesel? I plan on purchasing a weight distribution hitch and air bags

Imho, I wouldn't, by the time your done loading for a trip you will be close to 10k. It would destroy that truck.

I think your biggest issue is length, depending on how you travel. If you have a wife, 2 kids, and a bunch of stuff to take I would think that would be beyond the comfortable level for a half ton. The truck would do it with air bags and a good weight distribution hitch but if you were ever in a situation you needed to maneuver quickly, large bumps, or strong winds you just wouldn't have enough truck to keep things tame. People have done it, its mostly about the risk you're willing to take.

I have a 29' one close to that weight being pulled with the 5.7 Hemi. 1 wife, no kids, couple dogs, and pack fairly light with Airlift helper bags and a weight distribution hitch with friction sway control. I have the camper almost perfectly level (a little towards the nose) and the truck very level with 3/4" of squat (bilsteins at 2.1 up front with 3/4" spacer in the rear) and it tows very well. Feel confident on bad roads, controlled in winds, and the engine and transmission temps are just fine.

I would not willingly add another few feet or 500+ lbs to the equation if I were traveling any significant distance though.

Which gears do you have? If you have the 3.55, no way, the 3.92, maybe.... I would get a bigger truck or a lighter trailer if it were me...

It's very doubtful you won't be over your payload capacity towing that much trailer in your ecodiesel. Look at your door jamb stickers, and tell us what the numbers say. My trailer is similarly sized, and I was uncomfortable towing it with my Titan that had nearly 2K payload capacity. The trailer was handling the truck, and it was white knuckle.


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Payload. This is where your going to be over. As mentioned, that's a long heavy trailer for a half ton.

It says 6950 on the door jam so I'm assuming I don't have the 3.92 gears, and it's just me and the wife right now so we won't be packing too much, the furthest trip we plan on taking is roughly 4-5 hour drive

TexEcoD said:

It says 6950 on the door jam so I'm assuming I don't have the 3.92 gears, and it's just me and the wife right now so we won't be packing too much, the furthest trip we plan on taking is roughly 4-5 hour drive

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You need to look at the yellow sticker with the tire info on it. That will give you your payload limit. Check that and let us know

TexEcoD said:

It says 6950 on the door jam so I'm assuming I don't have the 3.92 gears

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The 6950 is the GVWR that is the max weight of just the truck. The GCWR is what you need to know so you'll know how much you can tow(along with GAWR which is 3900 lbs front & rear).
You can look up your truck's build sheet here(click on Equipment Listing):
https://www.ramtrucks.com/webselfservice/ram/index.html
It will tell you what axle ratio it was built with. If you have the CC 6.4' bed there is a good chance you have 3.92. The CC 5.7' bed trucks can go either way(3.55/3.92).
Odds are your going to be near very upper end of what you want to tow with this half ton EcoD. Most likely NO you don't need 2500 or a "lighter trailer", you just need to get the load and WDH set up correctly so you don't have "white knuckle" driving.

I have a CC 6'4 bed, and the GAWR is 3900, I'm gonna take it on a couple of short test runs before I decide on getting a bigger pickup

It's entirely up to you if you choose to run overweight or not. I'd like to know your payload limit, but id guess its in the 1500lb range, give or take.

If you are overweight and choose to run thst way and get into an accident, lawyers will have a field day with you.

I'm sure the ecoD has plenty of power to pull it fine, it's the half ton brakes, axles and suspension that's typically the issues when towing heavy with a half ton. Controlling and stopping the weight in emergency conditions. Even in my 2500 hd with a 23' tt, when the big boys pass me i can feel it in the steering wheel. Not anywhwre bad at all, but i still feel that push and pull, and I'm only pulling about 6k with it. Half of the tow rating. Plenty of margin just my .02. Good luck.

GsRAM said:

It's entirely up to you if you choose to run overweight or not. I'd like to know your payload limit, but id guess its in the 1500lb range, give or take.

If you are overweight and choose to run thst way and get into an accident, lawyers will have a field day with you.

I'm sure the ecoD has plenty of power to pull it fine, it's the half ton brakes, axles and suspension that's typically the issues when towing heavy with a half ton. Controlling and stopping the weight in emergency conditions. Even in my 2500 hd with a 23' tt, when the big boys pass me i can feel it in the steering wheel. Not anywhwre bad at all, but i still feel that push and pull, and I'm only pulling about 6k with it. Half of the tow rating. Plenty of margin just my .02. Good luck.

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I see the same thing on every post, but I have yet to see anyone ever post proof that anyone has ever been sued for being over their payload while towing. I know it happens if you are pulling more than what the truck is rated for, but not for payload especially when the loaded weight of the camper is going to probably 500 to 1000 pounds under the towing capacity of the truck.
Assumimg 10% tongue weight even full loaded that camper will be around 800 pounds tongue weight, add even 100 pounds for thr hitch and you are still going to be 300 to 400 pounds under payload of a higher trim truck.
I think weight wise the truck will be fine pulling it, but to me that is too dang long for a 1500 to pull enjoyably.

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I had an eco towed a 28' 7600lb trailer without a problem. Got the pro pride weight distribution hitch. I also had the 3.92 rear.
Punch in your vin, it will tell you what the truck can tow per ram.
https://www.ramtrucks.com/en/towing_guide/