Terrible, Horrible luck TT wise. My fault though...anything I can do?

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p4cm4n

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Alright, so I LEASED a truck. I went and picked it out based really on existing stock - because thats what was there, and in this climate thats the options I had.
I ended up with a 5.7 Hemi 2022 Black edition. Super happy with it, chose it because the sales guy was telling me I could pull 11,700lbs with it (and the whole reason I wanted a truck was to get a TT).
Today, after months and months of searching, negotiating...I find my TT, put my paperwork in, all is good. Was planning on driving the 5 hours to go get it during this upcoming weekend.
I looked a long while, because I REALLY wanted a place my kids could call 'home' more than just a dinette that folded out, or a jacknife sofa. I settled on a MR338BHS. It's a heavy beast, but I wasn't worried. I didn't anticipate driving all over, as the truck is a lease - but perhaps a few intrastate trips, even parking it at local spots just to enjoy some time away from the kids mother (we're no longer together). Huge perk of my job is I can work from anywhere, and I sometimes travel - so I also figured on semi-local trips I'd tow the thing to the job site, and save on hotel, flight, food expenses while 'on-site'...while enjoying my own 'home away from home'. Win/Win/Win.
After talking to the salesperson about the weight...her hesitation was warranted - 10,700 is the weight of the trailer. Her concern was I'd be overweighting myself, and fair enough - but I've got two small children and no significant other, so payload should be alright - and I live fairly minimally, but would use this thing as an off-grid home replacement - so I'm not pretending I need to pack up all the outdoor activity things, the coolers full of XYZ, the fishing gear, the bikes....
So just to confirm, I go on the RAM website....I see the VIN lookup for towing capacity....type in my VIN and realize -
I've got the 3.28 gears.
Anything I can do about it...:( or back to the drawing board, while hating my salesman for not knowing jack **** about my truck?!
 

dhay13

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Hate to say it but that TT is too much for a 1500, even with 3.92's. Pretty sure you will be over GRAWR and likely GVWR. Definitely in 2500 territory here.
One thing that is often stressed here is never listen to a salesman (either truck or RV) when it comes to towing capabilities. Most don't know or are just trying to make a sale. They see a tow capacity of 11,000 and think that truck can tow it when they are unaware that you are over on GRAWR.
Site says 1060lb tongue weight. After loading it up will likely be closer to 1300-1400lbs. Not sure but think that is already over the limits of a Class IV hitch? My step-son had a 2021 Grand Design Imagine with 1100lbs tongue weight (CAT scale verified) and he was 200lbs over his GRAWR on his Tundra. And at 40' overall length it will not be fun or comfortable towing that with a 1500.
My advice is to get a bigger truck or a smaller TT.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news
 

crazykid1994

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Never listen to a salesman. Always do your own research ahead. I walked in telling the salesman what I was looking for and they tried to sell me a truck that was close but not quite and they tried telling me that it would be fine and could do what I wanted. Had 3.21 gears and wrong interior packages. Left and found a different dealer who worked with me. A salesman will sell you whatever they can to make money. Generally anything above 8000lbs should be a 2500 for stability reasons anyways. My truck is rated around 10,400 and it’s a 2017 3.92 4x4 quad cab. I know the etorque gets another jump in towing but your payload doesn’t change really so even if it was in weight your payload would likely be over.
 

rule18

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@p4cm4n welcome to RamForum. I'll agree with the previous posters. In your case, you likely need more truck or less trailer. Vehicle salespeople are usually just that, and sadly there's better than a 50/50 shot that they've never owned a truck or towed a TT. At least the TT salesperson had the good sense to caution you about the overweight situation. Good luck with whatever you decide to do, and come back here with questions, we've got a lot of very knowledgeable members.
 
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p4cm4n

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well, given that it seems i can now tow 8230, with a payload of 1848 (sticker verified) what are my limits? im 200lbs, the most the passengers ever will weigh are 100lbs extra (small children, so i guess in a few years we could be looking at something bigger, but by then i'll get a bigger truck)
what would be the ABSOLUTE HIGHEST i could go? i've been looking for months, and was about to bite the bullet on a few models but were in the 7500-8000lbs range. i just happened to find this one that was 10,700 and with full size appliances, i fell in love.

I'm still learning this whole endeavor of tongue weight/payload capacity...i have a class A CDL and drove over the road for a few years - but axle weights and overall weights were what was the hard part there. if my load was centered - i was good. but i guess then again, i never had to BUY a tractor or trailer, they were provided :p
 

Randy Grant

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Have to agree with everyone else here. That kind of weight on a bumper pull is a bit much, but the biggest problem I see is the length. Even with the proper WDH and setup, that is too much length and weight for the 1500. You could be setting up for a really big "tail waggin the dog" scenario.
 

ramffml

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Agree with everyone else. That TT is way too much trailer for your truck. Personally I wouldn't recommend more than 8000 pounds for a TT on a half ton, especially considering you seem to be new to towing in general. Nothing wrong with that, but experience can go a long ways when you exceed the limits like you are now. You are far into 3/4 ton territory with that trailer.
 

OC455

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If this is the travel trailer you are looking at, you'd need at the least a 3/4 ton as others have said. The dry weight for that trailer is 10,110 lbs!

If you are going to go with the 1500 I would look at a travel trailer with a dry weight (unladen weight) starting in the 5000lbs. weight range that has a gross weight rating in the 7000lbs range. You should be able to find one that will suit your needs.
 

jawzs2

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Sounds like you're already committed on the truck, but not the TT, if you haven't signed the loan paperwork you should be able to back out of it, maybe the RV dealer has something smaller they can get you into, I'm sure they'll want a sale instead of you walking away. Sure, the truck can probably pull it, but not safely, which is the bottom line, especially with kids.
 

OC455

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1979PowerWagon360

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Are there any options in the lease that you can switch trucks? I don't know a lot about truck leases but seems like you need a 6.7 Diesel. Yes diesel fuel is high now but you'll likely get better mileage and you stated you don't have extremely long trips planned. Just a thought since you seemed to want a larger trailer so your children will have more of a home away from home (understandably).
 

huntergreen

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If this is the travel trailer you are looking at, you'd need at the least a 3/4 ton as others have said. The dry weight for that trailer is 10,110 lbs!

If you are going to go with the 1500 I would look at a travel trailer with a dry weight (unladen weight) starting in the 5000lbs. weight range that has a gross weight rating in the 7000lbs range. You should be able to find one that will suit your needs.
This ^^^^^^. I would think that 40 ft TT would be a white knuckle drive from start to finish.
 

pacofortacos

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Sure you can pull 11,700 with the 3.92's, however that is still not using the bumper hitch to support the weight. Much closer to a wagon full of hay, etc, where it is heavy but the truck is just pulling it, not supporting any of the weight.

Also be careful that the TT you pick has a loaded max weight of under that 8000 lbs.. If that's the dry empty weight, then you will most likely be over by quite a few hundred lbs. when running loaded.
 

dhay13

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From what I have heard it is nearly impossible to lease a 2500 but worth a try. If you go that route a 6.4 will work fine with that TT, diesel isn't a requirement.

With the 1500 I'd stay at a max of about 7500 GVWR on the TT. That would likely be a dry weight of around 6000-6500lbs.
 

06 Dodge

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well, given that it seems i can now tow 8230, with a payload of 1848 (sticker verified) what are my limits? im 200lbs, the most the passengers ever will weigh are 100lbs extra (small children, so i guess in a few years we could be looking at something bigger, but by then i'll get a bigger truck)
what would be the ABSOLUTE HIGHEST i could go? i've been looking for months, and was about to bite the bullet on a few models but were in the 7500-8000lbs range. i just happened to find this one that was 10,700 and with full size appliances, i fell in love.

I'm still learning this whole endeavor of tongue weight/payload capacity...i have a class A CDL and drove over the road for a few years - but axle weights and overall weights were what was the hard part there. if my load was centered - i was good. but i guess then again, i never had to BUY a tractor or trailer, they were provided :p
All I can say is OMG if you had/have a CDL & drove OTR and don't understand tongue weight & payload capacity.
 

Tramlimited

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I have 1500 eco diesel with 28ft TT gross weight about 7500. That's about as big as I would go. It's the GCVWR that you have to watch. Keep in mind the shorter the bed the lower the rating.
 

HDGoose

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Alright, so I LEASED a truck. I went and picked it out based really on existing stock - because thats what was there, and in this climate thats the options I had.
I ended up with a 5.7 Hemi 2022 Black edition. Super happy with it, chose it because the sales guy was telling me I could pull 11,700lbs with it (and the whole reason I wanted a truck was to get a TT).
Today, after months and months of searching, negotiating...I find my TT, put my paperwork in, all is good. Was planning on driving the 5 hours to go get it during this upcoming weekend.
I looked a long while, because I REALLY wanted a place my kids could call 'home' more than just a dinette that folded out, or a jacknife sofa. I settled on a MR338BHS. It's a heavy beast, but I wasn't worried. I didn't anticipate driving all over, as the truck is a lease - but perhaps a few intrastate trips, even parking it at local spots just to enjoy some time away from the kids mother (we're no longer together). Huge perk of my job is I can work from anywhere, and I sometimes travel - so I also figured on semi-local trips I'd tow the thing to the job site, and save on hotel, flight, food expenses while 'on-site'...while enjoying my own 'home away from home'. Win/Win/Win.
After talking to the salesperson about the weight...her hesitation was warranted - 10,700 is the weight of the trailer. Her concern was I'd be overweighting myself, and fair enough - but I've got two small children and no significant other, so payload should be alright - and I live fairly minimally, but would use this thing as an off-grid home replacement - so I'm not pretending I need to pack up all the outdoor activity things, the coolers full of XYZ, the fishing gear, the bikes....
So just to confirm, I go on the RAM website....I see the VIN lookup for towing capacity....type in my VIN and realize -
I've got the 3.28 gears.
Anything I can do about it...:( or back to the drawing board, while hating my salesman for not knowing jack **** about my truck?!

I have heard this story too frequently. Telling folks who just bought a $50K+ "dream truck", that they will not be able to tow a 11K trailer when the salemanssaid they could, has made me the bad person.
Especially today, most half ton trucks were not built to tow. Heck, I have seen payloads as low as 1100 pounds. I can exceed that with myself and three friends, and a 65 quart Yeti full of beer.
-
An 11K boat doesn't pull the same as an 11k travel trailer.
 

Marshall

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Guess this is your first truck, Sales man is totally full of it, But it is on you to have a clue what you are doing.
On the farm I have pulled some real heavy loads, but not for long trips with the kids in the truck.
You will be able to pull it, slowly at first, but stopping , side winds ,lane changes is where things can go to hell fast , if you don't know what you are doing.
All you had to do is look at the door stocker to see that you are way over.
Reminds me of a Winnebago 50 yrs ago at a AW when they still had overhead covers and car hops, old fellow wiped the AC ,x2 off the top, he did not know what happened. never looked up.
If this was a 5 th wheel it would help. moves some weight forward.
P.S. I had a 1977 Datsun 1/4 ton , long box reg cab shop, dog truck, that would carry more weight than my 2010 Laramie top of the line club cab short box.
No idea what the rating was on it , auction sale buy, but you needed rubber boots , if it was raining out as full of rust.
 
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