Got the truck & now need "Diesel for Dummies: Towing Edition" lessons :)

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maighen

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Okay, here's a pic of the sticker. I didn't find the 16,560 on it like I thought I would, so maybe I read that in either the User Guide or online.

And again.... THANK YOU ALL for all your help!! :) You guys are amazing and helpful in an epic way!

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Stangshcky12

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Whoops, I looked at the wrong section jumping between pages on my phone so I wouldn't mess up numbers and I did anyway haha

It looks like you have the right numbers

Your sticker says you have a class V hitch, I believe Ram rates them for 17k lbs
As long as your receiver and ball are rated for 15k lb plus you have nothing to be worried about.
 
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maighen

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Yay! Heart attack avoided! :) I was about to have to go yell at some fools otherwise! :happy3:

I'm still taking the advice of investing in the weight distribution hitch once the house is completed just for the added level of safety, but I think we'll be okay with the ball and mount I posted earlier. I've still got to track down the IR thermometer, but hopefully I can find one on Amazon - yay for free 2 day shipping!

Thank you all sooooooo much for the great advice and guidance. I can't tell you how much we appreciate it! I'll be sure to take some good photos to post of the trailer when we pick it up since I need to anyway both for posterity and our blog. Can't wait!

Have a great week, and thank you all again!!

:banana-mario:
 

Stangshcky12

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This is the one I have
It's usually +/- 0.1* from the $500 Fluke IR thermometer I use at work
It was $20 at a hobby store
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Harbor Freight sells a similar one as well
 
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maighen

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Awesome, thanks! I'll see if I can find that one.
 

toofart

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As for the ball mount and ball, since I don't know exactly how the trailer will sit compared to the height of the truck I'm thinking I'll pick up 2 different mounts and test them once we get to the pick-up location in Colorado Springs.

If you can get the ground-to-tongue measurement on the trailer you can measure the ground-to-receiver on your truck. Expect the truck to go down at least 1" when loaded, so factor that in.
 

Esgordon123

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I have a class A. It is a recreational vehicle. You do not need a cdl.


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TRCM

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I have a class A. It is a recreational vehicle. You do not need a cdl.


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On this, check the laws yourself, as YOU are the one in trouble if something happens. "So & So told me" wont' help you in front of johnny law.

I was told to at least put some not for hire signs on the truck when hauling BY the officers at the weigh stations here in VA (IE johnny law).

The only thing I ever hauled was stuff for myself, and as such, didn't need a CDL, but the officers recommended putting the signs on as a precaution. I hauled thru almost every state south of New York and east of the mississippi, and had no problems at all.

All I am trying to say is read the laws for yourself, don't rely on some internet advice......and no, I am not advising them to get the signs, but simply stating I was advised to do so by the people who actually give out the tickets.
 
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maighen

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Well, I've already started looking into the Class A endorsement since we'll be driving state-to-state, but from what I see in Texas we could probably get away without it if we really wanted to. Still, if it's not a complex thing to add I can do it when I have to go in to renew my license this June anyway (time for a new pic apparently). Here's what the Texas site says:



Class A

Authorizes an individual to drive a vehicle or combination of vehicles:

*Not described under a Class B or Class C driver license
*With a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds including vehicles in Class B or Class C

Class B

Authorizes an individual to drive:

*Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 pounds or more and any such vehicle towing a vehicle with a GVWR that does not exceed 10,000 pounds or a farm trailer with a GVWR that does not exceed 20,000 pounds
*A bus with a seating capacity of 24 passengers or more including the driver
*Any vehicle included in Class C

Class C

Authorizes an individual to drive any single vehicle:

*Or combination of vehicles that are not included in Class A or Class B
*With a GVWR of less than 26,001 pounds towing a farm trailer with a GVWR that does not exceed 20,000 pounds
*Designed to transport 23 or less passengers including the driver; vehicles rated as 16-23 passengers including the driver require a Class C CDL unless exempt



I guess it really depends on whether or not they would allow the RV under the "farm trailer" portion in the Class C rating, since it weighs less than 20,000lbs and the truck itself is well under 26,001lbs. The Class A sound like overkill if they are counting the truck and trailer separately, which is how it is worded with 2 different weight listings, but combined the max they could weigh is 29,000lbs - definitely more than 26,001lbs.

Like I said, though, if it's an easy thing to add I'll just do it. The hubby can add his sometime before we actually start traveling with it, which won't be for about a year anyway. Plenty of time!

Oh, and STANG I found that exact IR thermometer on Amazon for $23.19. Should be here tomorrow! I also bought a digital tire gauge because it looks like I might not have the tire pressure warnings built into the truck. I saw "delete" somewhere on the sticker, and since we needed one anyway I just got a fancier one to try to help us stay on top of that.

I also found both of the ball mounts and that very same ball I linked to earlier on Amazon, too, so we should be all set! I decided to just get both since I don't have any way of knowing where the trailer will sit in relation to the truck until we are physically in front of it. I can always ship one back or just sell it to someone local. Once we finish building the house, though, we will definitely spring for the weight distributing hitch. That's a whole other kettle of fish, though, and that roughly $500 is needed for things like the composting toilet, wood-burning mini fireplace, or the general electrical work first. So much to do, so much moolah to spend! :p

Oh, and I got some cool magnetic signs to put on the truck doors while we're traveling to alert folks to join us on our blog. Now I just need to paint one to attach to the framed house, too. Fun!

Thanks again for all of your help! Getting totally excited now that we're only a few days away. :)
 
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maighen

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Oh, and I just looked above the Class listings and saw this:

Individuals who are exempt from obtaining a CDL but may need a Class A or Class B driver license are:

Operators of recreational vehicles driven for personal use


Worth checking in to!
 

Stangshcky12

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To step to a non commercial class A license you need to pass a driving test with the trailer basically.
I've had a few run-ins with state police for towing our equipment trailer with a skid loader (GVWR 14k lbs) with our F350 dumptruck (GVWR 13k lbs) so now I just pull it with a 3/4 ton (GVWR 9,000 lbs). I dont get hassled, dont need a medical card, hazard triangles or fire extinguisher this way.

Here in PA (I believe Texas is the same way) "farm trailers" need to be registered with farm plates. You can do this with trucks as well. This makes them exempt for alot of things but it limits what you can do with the vehicle. In PA you can only drive a vehicle with farm plates for business reasons basically.
 

Andy578

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In PA you can only drive a vehicle with farm plates for business reasons basically.

not sure about the states but here in Canada that's not really enforced. they really only look for non farmers using farm plates and honestly even then they'd have to actually look into it which is something i've never seen. whatever you do don't use colored diesel tho, farm or not that'll get you some massive fines
 

granite14

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Regarding towing that much just using the ball.
I don't know if Ram has a spec of "Weight Carrying vs Weight Distributing", but the Ram towing guide site does say "when properly equipped"
Towing The LIne
 

Ruiner

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Learn to utilize your engine brake and transmission in combination to manually gear down, on longer hauls coming to stop signs and such, you can drop to 30kph without touching the brakes once. Your trailer brake life will survive significantly longer and it'll become second nature.

I agree with most everything else within this thread. These guys have a lot of knowledge to pass along.
 

fantomII

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I didn't have as many questions as the lady that first asked, but a number of the answers helped me. I've been towing trailers for years with a car or SUV and now I'm into my first RAM 3500, Diesel 4X4 Laramie and everyones answers were a big help
 
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maighen

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We're baaaaaa-aaaaack! :)

Okay, I've uploaded several pics from when we went to pick up our tiny house which I'll post below. We realized after we saw them that we should have probably used the lower drop hitch of the 2 we bought, but it was 30 degrees and windy as all get out while we were hooking it up. C'est la vie - no harm done! We've since switched the ball to the other mount, so when we move it again we'll be all set.

I will admit to having been scared poo-less for the first couple of hours because the road was wicked crazy bumpy and the winds were cutting across the eastern plains of Colorado in 20-40mph gusts, but we made it home in 2 days as planned after the freak snowstorm abated. I did have an unfortunate run-in with a concrete pylon at a little Valero station when I cut a corner too tight after getting boxed in by some inconsiderate jerks hogging the ONLY diesel pump (I see lots of that happening in our future), so it wasn't a completely unscathed adventure. Still, every dually I've ever seen had a least one ding in the wheel well, so I don't feel too horrible about it. The important thing was that we had no incidents while actually pulling the tiny house, and we all arrived safely. :)



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1) Guy in the Superman hoodie is my hubby, and the dude bent over worked at the shed yard there in CO Springs. The guys who built our house were actually trapped in Wyoming by the same snowstorm that blew through CO that weekend, so this guy braved the cold to help us hook up. He picked the ball mount from the two we brought actually, so that buck can be passed. ;)


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We ended up stopping at a Lowe's to get some zip ties to shorten the chains a bit and a carabiner to clip the emergency brake wire end-to-end, so this is the before...


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And this is the after.


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This pic is what made us see how tilted we really were the whole time. C'est la vie! We'll be more even next time now that we've switched the ball mounts out.


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Had to mount the sign before we headed out! :) No pics from passersby, but considering how desolate the road we took out of CO was (C-94 I think...??) I'm not surprised.


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Front view.


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A shot from the back end.


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Just for artistic purposes.... ;)


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And here we are (a bit blurry though) parked at my dad's place, though not quite in its final spot. We moved it last Thursday to some custom concrete strips my dad dug and poured that are a few feet to the right of that photo (it was crooked here anyway), and we'll be blocking it with cinder blocks and plywood for better stability while we're building on it. For now we have the scissor jacks down on top of bricks and the tongue jack on some 2x4s.

Thanks again for ALL your help with this little adventure of ours!! We both really appreciate all the great tips, and we will definitely save them for future towing. I've actually liked to this convo and the original posts I made seeking advice for the type of truck to buy on our blog and FB page to help other tiny house folks learn more about towing their home, too.

Follow along with us on TinyHouse43.com | TinyHouse43: From Texas-sized 2 Tiny House For Three if you want. MANY, MANY THANKS!!!

-Maighen & Brandon
 
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