Need opinions on towing 8300lbs-9000lbs

[crash68]

Glad I read this info.....I bought a 2018 Big Horn crew cab Hemi, and the wife and I were checking out tow behind campers. There was a nice used one we looked at. I checked the GVWR and it was 7600lbs. It's dry weight is 5158 and tongue weight is 645lbs. Probably a bit much to tow behind the Big Horn then?

That's a lot more than the payload police allow...one wave runner or two jet skis behind a half ton max...lol

Properly loaded and the WDH set up correctly, that shouldn't be a problem to tow at all.

 

[OC455]

LOL....ok, dumb question time, what does the WDH stand for.....excuse the ignorance.

 

[crash68]

what does the WDH stand for.

Weight Distribution Hitch
https://www.etrailer.com/faq-weightdistribution.aspx

 

[OC455]

So a Curt WDH with sway control be a good option then?

 

[cyclepuck]

So a Curt WDH with sway control be a good option then?

Yes that would be a good option and from experience I'd go with something with built in say control such as the curt tru track, equalizer or reese. There's a lot of good options out there.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[OC455]

Sweet, I looked up the Curt TruTrack and it looks like one of the better options for price and performance. Thank you very much. Glad I came across this in the forum. It is very helpful. Are the air springs any good? I've seen the ones that go inside of the coil springs.....are they even worth the headache?

 

[cyclepuck]

Sweet, I looked up the Curt TruTrack and it looks like one of the better options for price and performance. Thank you very much. Glad I came across this in the forum. It is very helpful. Are the air springs any good? I've seen the ones that go inside of the coil springs.....are they even worth the headache?

With the trailer your looking at air springs aren't necessary.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[pcschwenke]

I towed a camper around the same size with my 1/2 ton. I did add air springs (firestone) and used an Equalizer hutch. Yes, you can pull it , but transmission temps get high and porpoising does happen. Never felt like i was endangering anyone but still uncomfortable. Your payload would be a bigger issue than towing.

 

[dexter]

I think Air Bags give you a false sense of proper towing.
Components of a truck are designed for a particular load - that includes tires, axles, bearing, brakes etc.

 

[tim57]

I agree, but the same could be said for a WDH. When I look back on all the passenger cars that towed campers/RVS much heavier than the tow vehicle, it's a wonder there wasn't more bad outcomes. Common sense and experienced professional installers is the key to any towing set up. It is not just your safety that is at risk when you decide to tow with any vehicle.

 

[crash68]

I think Air Bags give you a false sense of proper towing.
Components of a truck are designed for a particular load - that includes tires, axles, bearing, brakes etc.

I agree, but the same could be said for a WDH. When I look back on all the passenger cars that towed campers/RVS much heavier than the tow vehicle

Airbags(or factory air suspension) and WDHs do two different jobs when towing, one is not a replacement for the other. WDHs should be used even if the TV is equal to the trailer(or slightly less). A tow behind trailer uses the rear axle of the truck to "lift up" the front end, a WDH helps minimize that.

 

[VernDiesel]

Don’t rely on a “professional installer” at an RV dealership to set up your hitch. First they don’t use a triple scale to see all 3 axle weights at the same time. Only at best an in the ballpark guesstimate based on measurements. Some don’t even do that. Second most do this with a dry TT where-in your actual traveling weight is going to be much heavier. If it’s free sure it’s far better than nothing until you get to a scale to do it better.

You can download a free app from Cat scales with a gps locator and they are near every major metro area. Cost is normally only $12 & $2 per additional weight. Once you have it you are done you don’t have to go back unless your loading changes dramatically like you added an ATV to your bed or something. Cheap for the safety of your family. At minimum without it you leave stability safety often stopping power on the table.

Air bags can be a good compliment to a WDH but should only be aired up to ride height after your WDH has been set. (Ideally WDH adjusted & set according to scale results) otherwise the air pressure actually fights getting the hitch set to work properly. This is also why you want axle to frame bag setups instead of cheaper in coil for working with a trailer. Thin In coil bags are to be aired up first to hold the load as opposed to lifting the load according to coil bag Mfgs. Otherwise the bags can ballon out in between the coils to be pinched instead of lifting the load.

 

[Riccochet]

Agreed, dealers won't set it up right, and don't care to. Eyeballing is their specialty. You can get it close with a tape measure on flat ground, but should always take it a CAT scale to dial it in.

Also, anything over 8000# in a half ton is pushing it. My TT comes in right at 8300# loaded and I'm at the very limit of weights on my truck. It tows it just fine, the ProPride 3P hitch helps there.

Braking also needs to be setup correctly. You should be checking and adjusting the brakes on your trailer regularly. Then adjust your brake controller. The truck and trailer should stop as one, not the truck doing more work or the trailer doing more work. If you need more trailer braking on the fly that's what the manual control is for.

Towing heavy loads requires prep and maintenance. Otherwise you're setting yourself up for dangerous failure.

 

[OC455]

Agree with everything that's being said. I do not want to put myself, my family or anyone else at risk on the road. I see enough of that type of stuff at work. The boss lady bought the Hideout camper today. I see the Curt TruTrack being the best option too. I don't think I would be even close to running anywhere near max GVWR for the camper trailer (7600lbs).

 

[Riccochet]

All comes down to your payload. You want about 12-15% tongue weight of total trailer weight. which is 912-1140 lbs. Let say you can effectively transfer 20% back to the trailer axles. Lets go with the 1140 tongue weight. You've then transferred 228 lbs back to the trailer axles, which leaves 912 lbs to be distributed between the steer and drive axles of the tow vehicle. If your payload is only 1300-1400 lbs you're now left with 400-500 lbs for people and gear. Doable, but you're at your limit. If your camper is 7600 lbs dry, figure another 500 lbs worth of stuff in the trailer, easy.

A good WDH goes a long way towards hitting that's magical 33% transfer

 

[VernDiesel]

It’s actually 10 to 15 percent. 11.0 to 12.0 seems to work really well with even a flat nose TT with a WDH that has built in sway control. Assuming your not spending lots of time above 70 mph AND assuming your goal is to stay under GVWR for 4th gen (MY 09 to 18) 1500.

Sometimes with 8k TT & above it’s more safe & stable no tail wagging the dog to be above GVWR such as 15 percent instead of 10 percent. This way the weight on your truck axles stays more than the weight on your TT axles but can remain safely below max axle ratings.

Riccochet with a WDH the seen TW (actual scaled TW) is inclusive of the weight transfered back to the TT axles. So if your calculated TW is 1140 then it’s 1140. It’s calculated by subtracting the unloaded TV combined axles weight from the loaded TV combined axle weight. (With WDH static TW of trailer means nothing)

Examples with max GVWR 6950, max axles 3900, CVWR 15,950
Unloaded TV 2 adults supplies;

Steer. 3300
Drive. 2700
GVW. 6000

TT. 8000
CVW. 14000



Example with regular hitch 15 percent TW;
Steer 2900
Drive. 4300
CVW. 7200

(Drive weight exceeds added TW because TW lifted on front of TV transferring some steer weight to drive axle)

TT 6800
CVW 14000

Result: Light Steer, over Drive, over GVWR. Sways, reduced braking, skittish handling,



Example eyeball / measured WDH;
Steer. 3100
Drive. 4000
GVW 7100

TT. 6900
CVW 14000

Result: Better but still over Drive, over GVWR, doesn’t sway, improved braking, better handling, feels much better & relatively stable.



Example WDH & WD in TV & TT adjusted to scale results to 10 percent TW.
Steer. 3300
Drive. 3500
GVW. 6800

TT. 7200
CVW. 14000

Within Mfg specs, restored steer weight, full braking power, should’nt sway, stable handling, feels more like one unit with semi bowave or strong gust pushes on you.



Example WDH & WD set to 15 percent;
Steer. 3350
Drive. 3850
GVW. 7200

TT. 6800
CVW. 14000

Over GVWR but stops & handles the same except now TV axles have more weight on them than TT axles and tows like a boss no tale going to wag this dog.

I doubt they sticky this so if you think you may want to refer to this example in the future save it to your phone computer etc.

 

[OC455]

All comes down to your payload. You want about 12-15% tongue weight of total trailer weight. which is 912-1140 lbs. Let say you can effectively transfer 20% back to the trailer axles. Lets go with the 1140 tongue weight. You've then transferred 228 lbs back to the trailer axles, which leaves 912 lbs to be distributed between the steer and drive axles of the tow vehicle. If your payload is only 1300-1400 lbs you're now left with 400-500 lbs for people and gear. Doable, but you're at your limit. If your camper is 7600 lbs dry, figure another 500 lbs worth of stuff in the trailer, easy.

A good WDH goes a long way towards hitting that's magical 33% transfer

Dry weight is less than 5200lbs.