2020 Ram Limited Tow Max

[gamartinez67]

Hello all hope everyone is doing well. I have a 2020 Ram Limited with Air Ride System. Im going to get a travel Trailer and want to get some feed back on issues I may have towing it. First off I been seeing different max towing weight from 7500-12500 max weight. I will be traveling from Houston ,Tx to near Pineland,Tx Northeast Texas. I seen a travel trailer i like and it weighs 9000 lbs my question is .Would that be ok to tow and go to other locations around Texas? With it being an Air Ride System. Will i have problems with Air ride System. Would really appreciate any and all feedback and what to expect while traveling and towing this trailer. I thank you all hope to hear from you guys soon...

 

[rzr6-4]

First off I been seeing different max towing weight from 7500-12500 max weight.

Look at the sticker on the door jam of the drivers seat, it has the capacities for your specific vehicle. I suspect yours will be on the higher end of that range. 9000lb will be no problem power and braking wise but the tongue weight would be the potential issue, so look at your payload number.

Will i have problems with Air ride System.

Failures can happen but obviously there's no way to predict that. The air ride system is known to have issues in extreme cold, but in TX just get on the road on hope for the best. No need to be paranoid about it.

 

[PolarisCobra]

First - put the towing capacity out of your mind. You really can't tow that much - I will explain.

Second, in the door jamb of YOUR truck, there is a sticker that shows the Max cargo capacity. That is the number that is important. More options make the truck heavier, so a Limited with have less carrying capacity than a Tradesman. I don't know how air ride effects the number, but the point is that you need to know the number for your truck.

A travel trailer (not fifth wheel) will put about 13% of it's total loaded weight on the hitch. You can find the Max weight of the trailer on a sticker, typically on the drivers side near the front. The empty weight of the trailer is a useless number, unless you tend to pull it that way on a trip.

Lets say the Max weight of the trailer is 7500 pounds. Thirteen percent of that is about 975 pounds. My 2025 Big Horn has a carrying capacity of 1700 pounds. So - 1700-975 leaves me with 725. Add the weight of passengers, the dog, the hitch (100 pounds?) and anything you want to put in the back of the truck. You need to keep that under the 725.

Back to the 12000 tow capacity. Thirteen percent of 12000 is 1560. That means if I want to pull that trailer with MY truck, I could do it if I drive alone, and leave everyone and everything else at home. This is a game the truck, and the trailer manufacturers play. Do not under any circumstances believe the sales guy at the trailer dealer when he says your truck can pull it fine.

 

[jawzs2]

the tongue weight would be the potential issue, so look at your payload number

^^^^^^
This, ignore towing capacity - work your payload numbers.

This thread has some good info in it

Payload and Towing, Information and Where to Find It

Maybe this can become a sticky, not going to give any opinions or conjecture. Just a start where to look stuff up to find cargo & towing information. This is the location of the cargo capacity sticker on the driver's side door jamb. This is what it looks like and has the cargo capacity...

www.ramforum.com

 

[dhay13]

With a 9000lb TT you will have anywhere from about 1000-1200lbs of tongue weight (if loaded properly) and will most likely be over GRAWR and payload. I worry less about payload and more about GRAWR. You can find that number of the sticker in the door jamb too. My step-son bought a brand new 9200lb TT and I towed it home with my 2500 and went to the CAT scales out of curiosity. TW was 1200lbs with about 13% TW. I can almost guarantee that will put you over your GRAWR. Exceeding this limit can lead to premature wheel bearing failure or possibly other parts failures. In my experience and opinion with a 1500 you should probably limit yourself to about 7000-7500lbs max

 

[stevenP]

Look at this sticker in your door jam. There will be a paylaod max number there.

 

[KeithP]

All the above! Payload is the key not towing capacity. The GRAWR dhay13 mentioned is “gross rear axle weight rating”. He’s not wrong that the axle weight ratings are also an important number to pay attention to.

To know for sure where you are with weight; fill up your fuel tank, load up everything and every body you would take on a trip and weigh your truck at a CAT scale. Subtract that weight from your gross vehicle weight rating and you’ll know exactly how much tongue weight your trailer can have. A CAT scale will give you split numbers weighing the front and rear axle separately. So this will also let know where you stand with your gross axle weight ratings.

I have a 22 Laramie. The heaviest trailer I could pull and stay within my gross vehicle weight rating is 7k fully loaded, even though Ram says my truck has a 12k towing capacity.

 

[Longhorn1500]

We have a 9,000 pound travel trailer that has an 1,100 pound tongue weight. Due to this and all the other stuff we carried in the back of the truck (we definitely do not travel light!), our rear axle was loaded about 1,000 pounds over the GRAWR. That was it for me so we upgraded to a 2500.

 

[gamartinez67]

Why would Ram state that 12750 lbs tow weight when its nowhere near that? That is so wrong in my opinion. And i want to thank all who commented on this matter. I really appreciate it and now more knowledgeable on this issue. So many things to consider while towing...Thanks!

 

[jawzs2]

Why would Ram state that 12750 lbs tow weight when its nowhere near that? That is so wrong in my opinion. And i want to thank all who commented on this matter. I really appreciate it and now more knowledgeable on this issue. So many things to consider while towing...Thanks!

I'm sure there's an asterisk and a disclaimer somewhere that say when properly equipped, only on the second Tuesday of each week that occurs bi-monthly every other leap year.

 

[PolarisCobra]

Ford and GM do the same thing with tow ratings. If you buy a Tradesman, or a Ford XL, with minimum options, but add the tow package, you will have the highest possible cargo capacity (fewer options = truck is lighter, leaving more capacity). A 12000 pound (loaded) trailer will have a tongue weight of about 1400 pounds, give or take. If you drive by yourself, with an empty bed, you can get to the 12000 pounds.

But - Who is going to do that?

 

[farout75]

Hello all hope everyone is doing well. I have a 2020 Ram Limited with Air Ride System. Im going to get a travel Trailer and want to get some feed back on issues I may have towing it. First off I been seeing different max towing weight from 7500-12500 max weight. I will be traveling from Houston ,Tx to near Pineland,Tx Northeast Texas. I seen a travel trailer i like and it weighs 9000 lbs my question is .Would that be ok to tow and go to other locations around Texas? With it being an Air Ride System. Will i have problems with Air ride System. Would really appreciate any and all feedback and what to expect while traveling and towing this trailer. I thank you all hope to hear from you guys soon...

I have a 19 Limited with the air ride as well/ I have 126,000miles and no issues. I would think you are good to go!

 

[dhay13]

Why would Ram state that 12750 lbs tow weight when its nowhere near that? That is so wrong in my opinion. And i want to thank all who commented on this matter. I really appreciate it and now more knowledgeable on this issue. So many things to consider while towing...Thanks!

If you are towing a gooseneck trailer with most of the weight over the trailer axles you can probably get close to that max tow capacity. A gooseneck trailer moves the 'tongue weight' up over the rear axle so there is no 'leverage' of the weight being behind the rear axle. Just can't do it with a travel trailer.

 

[Jas34]

Why would Ram state that 12750 lbs tow weight when its nowhere near that? That is so wrong in my opinion. And i want to thank all who commented on this matter. I really appreciate it and now more knowledgeable on this issue. So many things to consider while towing...Thanks!

The purpose of the specs are just to compare the truck to other trucks. All the manufacturers use a standardized test (SAE J2807) to spec their trucks.

There's a bit involved in it, but a couple things to note. First, they use a standardized trailer that has a 10% tongue weight. That explains the difference in real world capacity if your trailer has a higher percentage tongue weight than that. All travel trailers do, up to around 15%. Second, part of the test is a specific pull from a stop at a specific grade. That's where the axle differences show up and why the same truck with a higher axle ratio is spec'd for higher max towing weight. When it comes to travel trailers in the real world, the tongue weight will limit you before the axle ratio ever will as they both have the same payload weight.

 

[Panduh]

I agree with all of the above re. it's all about payload and GRAW. As I tow a 6500 lb. (fully loaded) tt with my 2016 2WD hemi, I predict that a 9k lb. empty trailer will put you over those weight limits. I am pretty close to my GRAW with a good WDH and passengers in the cab and some stuff in the bed.

 

[KeithP]

If you are towing a gooseneck trailer with most of the weight over the trailer axles you can probably get close to that max tow capacity. A gooseneck trailer moves the 'tongue weight' up over the rear axle so there is no 'leverage' of the weight being behind the rear axle. Just can't do it with a travel trailer.

Actually a 5th wheel will put more weight on the truck than a “bumper pull” or travel trailer. They typically transfer +20% of their gross weight to the truck. 5th wheel or goose neck trailers that can be towed by a 1/2 ton truck are rare birds.

 

[huntergreen]

Don’t forget to air up your tires ! Also check what weight they are rated for.

 

[KeithP]

Why would Ram state that 12750 lbs tow weight when its nowhere near that? That is so wrong in my opinion. And i want to thank all who commented on this matter. I really appreciate it and now more knowledgeable on this issue. So many things to consider while towing...Thanks!

Because it is capable of towing 12,750lbs. Think of a four wheel farm wagon or the second trailer of a semi trailer doubles rig. In both cases there is very little weight from the trailer transferred onto the truck. The farm trailer carries its entire weight on its own axles. The only weight transferred to the towing vehicle is the weight of the tongue which would be less than 50lbs. The second trailer in the semi set up is on a dolly with a fifth wheel plate. This plate centered over the axle putting only the weight of the dolly’s A frame onto the towing vehicle.

Having grown up on a farm and spending 15+ years driving semis, even though it’s technically possible under certain circumstances with certain trailer types, I most certainly would not recommend anyone try towing 12,750 with a 1/2 ton truck.

 

[dhay13]

Actually a 5th wheel will put more weight on the truck than a “bumper pull” or travel trailer. They typically transfer +20% of their gross weight to the truck. 5th wheel or goose neck trailers that can be towed by a 1/2 ton truck are rare birds.

A 5th wheel is out of the question for a 1500 in 99% of cases but a gooseneck can work with proper loading. You don't have as much weight on the pin as you do with a 5th wheel and the pin is further forward of the rear bumper so it spreads the load across both the front and rear axles better.
Having a gooseneck with an average SUV on it would likely push that 12,000lb tow rating and still be ok on GRAWR

 

[KeithP]

A 5th wheel is out of the question for a 1500 in 99% of cases but a gooseneck can work with proper loading. You don't have as much weight on the pin as you do with a 5th wheel and the pin is further forward of the rear bumper so it spreads the load across both the front and rear axles better.
Having a gooseneck with an average SUV on it would likely push that 12,000lb tow rating and still be ok on GRAWR

My dad pulled a 16’ goose neck livestock trailer behind a Chevy 1500 4x4. I pulled it a couple of times loaded. Would NEVER recommend it. Trade for a HD truck if you’re towing that much.