Returning to RVing

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Timsdually

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Cummins
I understand what he was getting at, 1 gallon of water weighs 8lbs. So you can add substantial weight running with all the tanks full.


Not to mention with all the weight of full tanks bouncing up and down, it wouldn't be the first time an RV tank dropped out.
 

gsfitzsr

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CTD
Your RAM door sticker says max cargo is 1246 lbs. My advice after you pack up everything, fill the gas tank and head to a truck scale to find out exactly what your axle weights are. Then you'll know how much you can carry extra. Anything you can put inside the camper behind the axle's helps reduce the load on the truck's rear axle/tires.

I found out my 5th wheel pin weight pushed my 2500 to the limit of cargo capacity, and that's before the 5th wheel hitch was put in the bed. After filling up with diesel and the wife sitting in the passenger seat, I was over the 10K lb. limit of the truck. But, both truck axles and tires were below their limits according to Dodge. I've had no problems pulling or stopping my 5th wheel which weighs about 12K lbs.

Just be prepared and get the truck/camper weighed.
 
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Smokey613

Smokey613

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Hemi 5.7
Might want to take a look at your shank if you have not already checked the height with the trailer attached. Since you are using the system the prior owner used since their tow vehicle and yours may not be exactly the same height at the receiver.

The dealer started fresh with our truck and reset everything for it. He did have to make some minor adjustments to get the levels set correctly. It felt good on the 20 mile drive from the dealer to our home. We are planning a “shake down” trip in a couple of weeks. We have booked two nights at a park that is a couple of hours away. We wanted to do this before we make our trip near Tulsa, OK the first week on July. That is a 13 hour trip one way. I am taking all the tools needed to make adjustments if needed, including my torque wrench, breaker bar, 1/2 “ ratchet and impact sockets on this first trip.
 

AWLINK

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Nice set up, The only thing I might suggest is putting better tires on the truck that are a little stiffer. They used to call them 10ply. We did this on our 1500 and it helped a lot with the rear of the truck.
 
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Smokey613

Smokey613

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Nice set up, The only thing I might suggest is putting better tires on the truck that are a little stiffer. They used to call them 10ply. We did this on our 1500 and it helped a lot with the rear of the truck.

My plan is to eventually put Michelin Defender LTX M/S tires on it, but for now I have a lot of life left on the Goodyears. We will see how it does on our short trip in a couple of weeks.
 

Duane Smith

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6.7L - Diesel
Remember to add time around Memphis, TN if you go that way I-40 bridge is closed, enjoy the I-40 thru Arkansas if you go that way...the right lane is bumpy...Many smiles with your miles..
 
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Smokey613

Smokey613

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I just checked the E2 WDH that came with our Jayco. It looks like it is rated for 600/6000 lbs. Do you think this will work for our trailer?

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Pat K

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Info given by OP shows 1246 lbs of available payload. Trailer dry weight is over 4500 lbs. Lets estimate loaded weight at 5000 lbs. Hitch weight will be 12 - 15% of trailer weight, ~ 600-750 lbs before passengers, coolers, fire wood.... 600 lbs isn't that much.
 

Shelton90

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I’m bump up to the 10k bars to be safe, like mentioned above, you don’t have much left with the 6k bars to play with. They’re basically maxed out. That might lead to reduced performance and not give a stable feeling under crosswind or higher speed
 

Loudram

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Nice rig but you are cutting it close with your hitch. Bumping it up wouldn't hurt. Most people load at least a 1000lbs in their trailer so your trailer will be close to 6000 and your tongue will probably be over 600. I thinking about the same thing. I'm at my limit with my hitch with tongue weight. My trailer weight isn't even close, that's about 7k. I may end up bumping up to. I have a 1k/10k Equalizer. Shame you don't live near me. I'd sell you mine for a decent price.
 

TomB 1269

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Nice rig, and you will love the HP8 transmission when towing. As you are already aware of its road manners, it only gets better towing. I have continued to be astonished by the HP8 transmission in this trucks and its almost intuitive nature. It made hauling my sons extended cab 1997 4.3 v6 home on a U-Haul auto transport i.e. full car trailer a breeze from Buffalo NY to Albany. The transmission is so good that I even let the kid drive for a while as I knew it would think for him with respect to shifting, hills, etc. and he did not have to do anything more than watch the road.
 
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Smokey613

Smokey613

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Nice rig but you are cutting it close with your hitch. Bumping it up wouldn't hurt. Most people load at least a 1000lbs in their trailer so your trailer will be close to 6000 and your tongue will probably be over 600. I thinking about the same thing. I'm at my limit with my hitch with tongue weight. My trailer weight isn't even close, that's about 7k. I may end up bumping up to. I have a 1k/10k Equalizer. Shame you don't live near me. I'd sell you mine for a decent price.

I finally ordered new 1K/10K bars directly from Fastway and they came in yesterday. Now I need to go back through the setup process with the new bars but I think we will like the extra safety “buffer” of the new bars. I will post an update after I get them ”dialed in”. BTW, the new bars cost $156.96 including shipping. :)

We did go on our 2500+ mile trip and while the setup did “okay” I think it definitely needs these larger bars.
 

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Murdock188

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I was towing a camper similar to yours 4500lbs dry with my 1500 crew with 3.21 6k loaded up it towed great everywhere I went.

I have the equalizer wd hitch with 4point sway control it works perfectly even in heavy winds never had more than a slight bit of sway. I just upgraded my camper to a 30ft keystone passport it weighs 5800 dry and it tows really well so far. PXL_20210723_194553273.jpg
 

Eclipse Aries

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Solid set up. Roll through a CAT scale on your way out of town on your trip. It will let you know exactly where your weight is (trailer vs payload). This way you can shift some of your load around to meet weight limits or improve handling.
 
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