Back to a 1500?

[Toddbigboytruck]

• I've done my fair share of badgering, and to be honest I don't regret it a bit. Do you regret badgering a buddy who is borderline intoxicated but wants to drive home?
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  [*]Towing over the limits of your truck is just as stupid as driving under the influence. You might away with it most of the time, but eventually it will catch up to you. People can get hurt or killed, and what makes it worse is that you're (general "you", not you personally) taking out innocent people along with you. If you want to go all cowboy and think you know better and wreck your truck, well that's fine with me, but when other people pay for your actions, a little "badgering" seems like a small price to pay.
  [*]
  
  [*]Pushing past the limits of your truck as safely as possible is just as odd as saying "driving home drunk as safely as possible". It doesn't work that way.

• Wow. It is a fly ball to left field again comparing dui. With a overload truck. Is well ..........you know there is no comparison.
• Would swear on a what ever you believe on bible ect .... that you have never towed or overloaded a car truck or what ever in your life.
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• O sure did when I was in college with equipment or friends. And we all didn’t know better nor did we kill all in a one km circle of us.
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• TO ALL THAT IS READING THIS
• We all live in two of the richest countries in the world and we should me thankful we can have a conversation regarding our privaged lives, food on our tables and ram truck in out driveways. All the negativity on this and many of the form sites. Is just plan bad.
• We all should be thankful and polite.
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• Thank and I think I will take a break from all this negativity.

 

[Toddbigboytruck]

You have to be very careful when you ask for people's input on the internet. Facts have a way of quickly becoming blurred with opinions. This is especially true with towing where there are very strong opinions and biases.

It all boils down to actual facts. With the VIN number, you first find the rated towing capacities of your specific truck. You'll get the maximum payload and tow rating. Never exceed either, in fact, try to stay 80% or more below them for an extra margin of safety. If you do this, you should be fine.

A 1500 is a considerably better tow vehicle than an SUV or car, a 2500 is a considerably better tow vehicle than a 1500, a 3500 is a considerably better tow vehicle than a 2500. And a semi rig is a considerably better tow vehicle than a 3500. All of this is inconsequential. The only thing that really matters is properly matching the tow vehicle to the trailer.

So, let's take a look at your specific case. You're looking at a 2021 Warlock Classic Bighorn, crew cab, 5.7, and 3.92 gears. You said you don’t know the specific payload yet. Get the VIN off of the Maroney sticker and look it up. For the sake of this discussion, we'll go with the RAM published capacities, they may be less depending upon the options, but it should be fairly close. Be sure to use the VIN-specific specs when you do your final calculations though.

View attachment 241680

So, with a 1,439 lb maximum payload and a maximum towing weight of 10,230 lbs, let's see how that compares with your trailer.

You stated a Gross Vehicle Weight for the trailer at around 8300 lbs. That's 81% of the Warlock's maximum towing capacity, so you're good to go there. The next hurdle is the payload. You didn't state the loaded tongue weight of the trailer. That's critical and without it, we can't properly qualify the trailer. But let's run an estimate. If the GVW of the trailer is around 8300 lbs as you say, you're going to need at least 10% of that weight on the tongue for safety, so that's 830 lbs. Let's say 900 lbs, just to be safe. That would give you 530 lbs left for additional truck payload. If you could stay within these limitations, you would be safe to tow. If you can't, then it's a no-go.

This ends the factual section of this post. The rest is just my opinion, so please take it as such.

The last factor is the trailer's size. At 35 feet, you're definitely pushing it for a 1500. It would probably be best to stay 30 feet or below. With an excellent weight distribution hitch and anti-sway system such as a Hensley Hitch, you could possibly push it to 35 feet, but it's a stretch and it may be uncomfortable driving at times.

I think your weights might be ok but the length is a bit too long. Personally, I wouldn't recommend anything more than 33 feet max with a 1500 and that's with an exceptional anti-sway WDH.

In my opinion, your trailer is as big as anyone should go with a 1500, at least for a comfortable towing experience. I would either stick with your 2500, or get the Warlock and a slightly less large trailer.

Good write up but don’t you think that the manufacturer has already put in a safe factor when they put that sticker on the truck.

I believe and know that a lot of products that are manufactured that hidden safe factors. So staying at 80% you lose out on 20%. ??

 

[dhay13]

While I am a self appointed member of the 'payload police' here I can't agree with comparing a drunk driver with being a few hundred pounds overweight. DUI is MUCH more dangerous. The likelihood of an issue when being 200lbs overloaded might be .01% while being 1000lbs overweight might be 3% (just guessing at these numbers here). In my opinion the risk grows exponentially the more you are over. Still not likely an issue will occur but I don't want to be that 1 in 1,000,000.

Story here about an experience I had years ago. Probably around 1992 I was towing my 18' car trailer loaded with car parts. Total weight might have been 4000lbs max. My trailer brakes were not working but being so light I figured it was no big deal. It was raining and I came up to a light that had just turned red. Hit my brakes and the trailer pushed me 1/2 way into the intersection. I was towing with a 1979 GMC 1/2 ton 4x4. Maybe a 3/4 ton may have had enough mass to stop that trailer? No harm done as I was able to back up. I know I wasn't overloaded but still the point is a 2500 may have prevented that even though I was within limits.

And look, I have been towing trailers since I was about 11 (in fields at that age). Sure I have towed overweight a few times. But at 52 years old I have too much to lose now and have seen things go wrong that a younger me would have never thought could go wrong. For those reasons I have become wiser and more responsible and would rather be safe and comfortable.

 

[DeckArtist]

Lots of people will say that's too big for your truck. I'd say check your VIN on the Mopar Owner's Dashboard and get your towing number. Mine is a 2020 Rebel with the 3.92 rear axle and the towing package. Mine is 11,350 lbs. Now if you have a wife, kids, luggage, etc, you are going to be pushing it cause you will likely have a lot of goodies in the camper for the trips. Food for thought.

 

[ramffml]

While I am a self appointed member of the 'payload police' here I can't agree with comparing a drunk driver with being a few hundred pounds overweight. DUI is MUCH more dangerous. The likelihood of an issue when being 200lbs overloaded might be .01% while being 1000lbs overweight might be 3% (just guessing at these numbers here). In my opinion the risk grows exponentially the more you are over. Still not likely an issue will occur but I don't want to be that 1 in 1,000,000.

DUI is a scale. That's why the example works, as you load up more and more alcohol in your system, you become less and less capable of driving. As you load up on payload, your truck becomes less and less capable of handling the load especially in emergency situations.

You can still safely drive after having some alcohol in yours system, and you can still safely drive while having some payload in your truck.

So if you agree with that (and you should, because it's all facts), then all we're really disagreeing with is the numbers; how far is too far over in you payload.

I'm not going to argue your numbers except to say they are incredibly optimistic. There is not that much margin. Most of us have about 1300 pounds in a half ton. You think being 1000 pounds over (2300 pounds in 1300 pounds of payload) is only 3% overloaded? 3% unsafe? I don't know what you're suggesting but anybody putting 2300 pounds into 1300 pounds of payload is incredibly unsafe and well into "intoxicated" territory. Even 1000 pounds over with 3000 pounds of payload is quite horrifying.

 

[HAL9001]

Good write up but don’t you think that the manufacturer has already put in a safe factor when they put that sticker on the truck.

I believe and know that a lot of products that are manufactured that hidden safe factors. So staying at 80% you lose out on 20%. ??

Yes, I do think the manufacturer has a safety factor built-in. In fact, I'm counting on it for my trailer set up as there will be a chance that I may be very slightly overweight. However, when giving advice to others, I feel I need to be conservative and would not give anyone advice based solely on my own conjecture. There's already so much opinion here, I prefer to try to stick to mostly the facts that can fully be counted on, especially if it comes to someone's safety.

BTW, I agree 100% with you that we all should be polite to one another here. Way too much anger and negativity going around these days. I really miss the old days when we were much more friendly to one another.

 

[Jughed]

You have to be very careful when you ask for people's input on the internet. Facts have a way of quickly becoming blurred with opinions. This is especially true with towing where there are very strong opinions and biases.

It all boils down to actual facts. With the VIN number, you first find the rated towing capacities of your specific truck. You'll get the maximum payload and tow rating. Never exceed either, in fact, try to stay 80% or more below them for an extra margin of safety. If you do this, you should be fine.

A 1500 is a considerably better tow vehicle than an SUV or car, a 2500 is a considerably better tow vehicle than a 1500, a 3500 is a considerably better tow vehicle than a 2500. And a semi rig is a considerably better tow vehicle than a 3500. All of this is inconsequential. The only thing that really matters is properly matching the tow vehicle to the trailer.

So, let's take a look at your specific case. You're looking at a 2021 Warlock Classic Bighorn, crew cab, 5.7, and 3.92 gears. You said you don’t know the specific payload yet. Get the VIN off of the Maroney sticker and look it up. For the sake of this discussion, we'll go with the RAM published capacities, they may be less depending upon the options, but it should be fairly close. Be sure to use the VIN-specific specs when you do your final calculations though.

View attachment 241680

So, with a 1,439 lb maximum payload and a maximum towing weight of 10,230 lbs, let's see how that compares with your trailer.

You stated a Gross Vehicle Weight for the trailer at around 8300 lbs. That's 81% of the Warlock's maximum towing capacity, so you're good to go there. The next hurdle is the payload. You didn't state the loaded tongue weight of the trailer. That's critical and without it, we can't properly qualify the trailer. But let's run an estimate. If the GVW of the trailer is around 8300 lbs as you say, you're going to need at least 10% of that weight on the tongue for safety, so that's 830 lbs. Let's say 900 lbs, just to be safe. That would give you 530 lbs left for additional truck payload. If you could stay within these limitations, you would be safe to tow. If you can't, then it's a no-go.

This ends the factual section of this post. The rest is just my opinion, so please take it as such.

The last factor is the trailer's size. At 35 feet, you're definitely pushing it for a 1500. It would probably be best to stay 30 feet or below. With an excellent weight distribution hitch and anti-sway system such as a Hensley Hitch, you could possibly push it to 35 feet, but it's a stretch and it may be uncomfortable driving at times.

I think your weights might be ok but the length is a bit too long. Personally, I wouldn't recommend anything more than 33 feet max with a 1500 and that's with an exceptional anti-sway WDH.

In my opinion, your trailer is as big as anyone should go with a 1500, at least for a comfortable towing experience. I would either stick with your 2500, or get the Warlock and a slightly less large trailer.

I'm bored so I just estimated the hitch weight figures for my 33' TT... Max weight of trailer is 8200#, dry 6500#.
-"Dry" hitch weight #800
-Propane tanks/ Battery #140
-WDH #80

So essentially an empty trailer = #1,020 hitch weight.

I have 2 38 gallon water tanks in front of the axle. Fresh and gray - so say %75 loaded
+#456

Front storage holds a ton of stuff. Tents, chairs, gear, charcoal, tools, fishing tackle -
+#200 easy.

Add luggage and wife's stuff to the front bedroom.
+#150 easy.

And these are light numbers - we put in all sorts of stuff - water bottles, beer, weights to hold canopies in place... it adds up quick. Some is negated by weight behind the axel, but most isnt. Some is carried by the trailer axels...

Conservative real life hitch weight for 33' TT:

#1,200 to #1,500


We are a family of 5 with 2 large dogs. People, bikes, grills, firewood, coolers, ice, scooters...
+#1000's easy.



That would put us over the limit on just about any 1500 out there. Point being - people bring stuff with them when they camp, lots of stuff. Doing calcs on unloaded trailers is almost worthless.

 

[dhay13]

I'm bored so I just estimated the hitch weight figures for my 33' TT... Max weight of trailer is 8200#, dry 6500#.
-"Dry" hitch weight #800
-Propane tanks/ Battery #140
-WDH #80

So essentially an empty trailer = #1,020 hitch weight.

I have 2 38 gallon water tanks in front of the axle. Fresh and gray - so say %75 loaded
+#456

Front storage holds a ton of stuff. Tents, chairs, gear, charcoal, tools, fishing tackle -
+#200 easy.

Add luggage and wife's stuff to the front bedroom.
+#150 easy.

And these are light numbers - we put in all sorts of stuff - water bottles, beer, weights to hold canopies in place... it adds up quick. Some is negated by weight behind the axel, but most isnt. Some is carried by the trailer axels...

Conservative real life hitch weight for 33' TT:

#1,200 to #1,500


We are a family of 5 with 2 large dogs. People, bikes, grills, firewood, coolers, ice, scooters...
+#1000's easy.



That would put us over the limit on just about any 1500 out there. Point being - people bring stuff with them when they camp, lots of stuff. Doing calcs on unloaded trailers is almost worthless.

Sounds pretty close. Son has a 26' TT that has a max GVWR of 8600lbs and we weighed it in at 8100lbs and he had about 1100lbs tongue weight. Step-son is buying a 32' 10,200lb GVWR TT next week and we are towing it home with my truck. If he wants to pay for a CAT weight we will weigh it with my truck but the TT is brand new and will be empty.

 

[HAL9001]

I'm bored so I just estimated the hitch weight figures for my 33' TT... Max weight of trailer is 8200#, dry 6500#.
-"Dry" hitch weight #800
-Propane tanks/ Battery #140
-WDH #80

So essentially an empty trailer = #1,020 hitch weight.

I have 2 38 gallon water tanks in front of the axle. Fresh and gray - so say %75 loaded
+#456

Front storage holds a ton of stuff. Tents, chairs, gear, charcoal, tools, fishing tackle -
+#200 easy.

Add luggage and wife's stuff to the front bedroom.
+#150 easy.

And these are light numbers - we put in all sorts of stuff - water bottles, beer, weights to hold canopies in place... it adds up quick. Some is negated by weight behind the axel, but most isnt. Some is carried by the trailer axels...

Conservative real life hitch weight for 33' TT:

#1,200 to #1,500


We are a family of 5 with 2 large dogs. People, bikes, grills, firewood, coolers, ice, scooters...
+#1000's easy.



That would put us over the limit on just about any 1500 out there. Point being - people bring stuff with them when they camp, lots of stuff. Doing calcs on unloaded trailers is almost worthless.

It's not quite as bad as you are making it out to be for 1500. Keep in mind that there are many tens of thousands of people with 1500's successfully and safely towing relatively large travel trailers (i.e. ~33 feet and under). It all about properly loading/balancing the cargo and correctly setting up the WDH.

There are several viable methods to lower excessive tongue weight to reduce the truck's payload.

• Most people wouldn't trailer with their tanks 75% full. The black and grey tanks should be near empty when starting out and maybe only 5-10 gallons in the fresh water tank depending upon its location. Even when boondocking there are often opportunities to fill your fresh water tank at or near the camping location.
• Knowing what tank(s) are located behind the axles, you can add water to them as a counterbalance to reduce the tongue weight, although this should only be attempted if absolutely necessary as it adds towing weight.
• Shift heavier cargo to the rear of the trailer. Selecting a trailer with rear storage compartments makes this easier. Store only lightweight items in the front compartment.
• Be conservative with carrying too many heavy items and taking too much cargo. No trailer should be stuffed with unnecessary cargo. Carefully consider everything you carry. This is true for any tow vehicle.
• Reduce the cargo you carry in the truck. Relocate this to the back of the trailer or over the axles if possible.
• You can buy lithium batteries to replace lead-acid batteries, they are half the weight. Because lithium batteries require no venting, you can relocate them behind the axle.
• A properly designed and set up WDH can shift hundreds of pounds of tongue weight onto the trailer's axle(s).

Your 8200 lb GVW trailer, for example, requires at least 820 lbs of tongue weight (10%) for safe towing. So, as long as you never go below that, it's ok to shift the cargo rearward to balance the weight off of the tongue provided you also keep an eye on the trailer's GVWR and never overload its axles. It's all a matter of balance. There must never be too much or too little tongue weight. Too much and you can exceed your truck's payload, too little and you can get dangerous sway. The tongue weight must always be balanced to 10%-15% of the trailer's GVW. If this falls well within your truck's payload, and you have enough left over for your truck's cargo and passengers, you're good to go.

Of course, this won't work for everyone, certainly not for you with a family of five and a couple of dogs as truck payload. Obviously, that has to be taken into consideration, but many people trailer as just a couple or alone.

This is why it's important to take each specific case into careful consideration and not simply state outright that the 1500 is no good for towing. There are many specific cases where even the 2500 might be considered no good for towing with that kind of logic. It's all about the specifics.

Every tow vehicle has its limitations and there are many travel trailers that will work for them and many that won't. It's all about properly matching the trailer to the tow vehicle and then properly distributing the weight. If you can get the numbers to work within the manufacturer's towing specs, you're good to go. If you can't, you either get a bigger truck or a smaller trailer. That's the bottom line.

 

[AlHart]

I have 2016 Ram 1500 shortbox 5.7 3.91 gears 4x4. I also have a 2020 Alpha Wolf Approx 9000 lbs. I have a 14000 w d h. Last year I went from Green Bay to southern Ky. Trailer pulled perfectly. Didn't notice any sway, even when being passed by a semi. Gas mileage cut by more than half, but still got 9-10 at 65 mph. Am adding air bags to bring rear up tho. Delayed trip home due to 50+ mph winds through Illinois. Otherwise great traveling.

 

[Tom McClellan]

My payload is 1082. Max towing is 10,157 lbs which I will NEVER come close to with that payload limit.

 

[ICHILLU]

I’ve been doing too much thinking about going back to a half ton. I found a 2021 warlock classic with big horn interior, crew cab, 5.7 and 3.92 gears. I don’t know specific payload yet. I want it I miss my 2017 ram 1500 big horn.

Currently I have a 2018 2500 tradesman crew cab with a 6.4 and 3.73 gears. I bought this strictly to pull my 2020 imagine 3000qb it’s 35.5 feet bumper to hitch 30 foot box. Weights between 8k and 8300 loaded depending on the trip.

Question is, am I going to hate towing my camper with this warlock? I’d definitely put some airlift 1000 bags in it so firm up the rear end when towing. I towed a smaller camper with my last ram and it did very well. I don’t care if gets 5 mpg towing i just miss getting 20+ most of the other times I use it, and the smooth ride.

I’d just like some real world experiences. I know all about payloads and proper loading yada yada. I know that’s something I’d need to contend with if I did it.

I have been pulling a 30 ft Keystone Laredo 5th wheel (probably would pull differently) that is rated to be 9000 lb with first a 3011 Ram 1500 - 5.7 with 6 speed trans and 3.92 gears... air bags in rear... did OK but was a bit much on longer runs...

Now have had a 2017 Ram 1500 Crew Cab Laramie - 6.4 box length with the 5.7 - 8 speed trans and 3.92 gears with 4 corner active air suspension... we do 5 to 6 camping trips per summer for the last 3 years - have done two long trips of more than 1200 miles (2000 Km) each way with no issues - the 8 speed and air suspension made all of the difference...

One thing i found was that my truck pulling the trailer to Northern Ontario a few years ago got significantly better mileage (13 to 14 mpg) pulling our trailer compared to two others in our group pulling similar trailers with 2500 GMC gas motor pickups... (they were $10 per fill-up more) and they complained of constant shifting in and out of high gear... not happening with my setup;

The travel trailer may create a bit of sway if your hitch is not set up properly...

 

[Anthony Musto]

Don't do it. You will hate being maxed out when you ARE GOING DOWN A STEEP HILL OR BEING BLOWN OVER BY THE SEMI'S. Or worrying if this will be the rain and wind storm that kills you and the family. Stay safe over comfort. One more thing is if you are ever in an accident that isn't your fault you could lose the case due to having a unsafe load. Safe travels.

 

[HvyDuty]

Fwiw, I had a 16 2500 4x4 with 6.4 hemi to tow my 30’ full height wildwood travel trailer. The chassis laughed at it but it actually seemed slower than what I tow it with now (crappy diesel geared 6spd).

I tow it now with a 2018 1500 bighorn crew 4x4 with 3.92 gears 1500 payload. And towed it clear to Ohio from Texas in less than 20 hrs when I moved for my job. Sure not as rock stable as the HD was but with my equalizer 4 pt WD hitch it is no where near white knuckle. All my numbers are within limits GAWR GCWR etc. I fell victim to the RV forum weight police. Double expensive lesson...

It is more enjoyable to tow IMO. New 2500 with 8spd probably much nicer. 1500 is no comparison for daily comfort too.

If you don’t need 4wd or a crew cab, the new HD tow, ram 1500 quad cab is a great option if you are near your limits and want to stay 1500. It’s spec’d with the Dana super 60 rear end, 3.92 and choice of ecodiesel or hemi etorque. The eco diesel has a higher payload than the hemi and you get it in big horn trim too all for around 30k with rebates. You’ll have to order it most likely.

This will be my next truck as it is the same length of my 4th gen crew short bed and will still fit in my garage.

 

[AlexC2350]

Fwiw, I had a 16 2500 4x4 with 6.4 hemi to tow my 30’ full height wildwood travel trailer. The chassis laughed at it but it actually seemed slower than what I tow it with now (crappy diesel geared 6spd).

I tow it now with a 2018 1500 bighorn crew 4x4 with 3.92 gears 1500 payload. And towed it clear to Ohio from Texas in less than 20 hrs when I moved for my job. Sure not as rock stable as the HD was but with my equalizer 4 pt WD hitch it is no where near white knuckle. All my numbers are within limits GAWR GCWR etc. I fell victim to the RV forum weight police. Double expensive lesson...

It is more enjoyable to tow IMO. New 2500 with 8spd probably much nicer. 1500 is no comparison for daily comfort too.

If you don’t need 4wd or a crew cab, the new HD tow, ram 1500 quad cab is a great option if you are near your limits and want to stay 1500. It’s spec’d with the Dana super 60 rear end, 3.92 and choice of ecodiesel or hemi etorque. The eco diesel has a higher payload than the hemi and you get it in big horn trim too all for around 30k with rebates. You’ll have to order it most likely.

This will be my next truck as it is the same length of my 4th gen crew short bed and will still fit in my garage.

I knew there had to be at least someone out there who has actually gone backwards in truck size, and didn’t regret it. This is great info, the kind I was looking for. There have been a few who tow similar setups with half tons and think it works but haven’t down sized with out down sizing their camper too.

The tow police are really bad on the RV sites. I ended just getting right away from it. I don’t even hold any crazy views about towing capabilities and I seemed to want to kill everyone on the road. I got a 3/4 ton truck for this camper listening to all info that’s out there. It is definitely a rock solid tow. It’s just tough to justify it outside of 5 or 6 trips a year. If I can stay within the numbers it’s safe as far as I’m concerned. I’m a practical guy I don’t want more than I really need. Downsizing the camper is out for sure my wife loves it and works really well with 2 young kids. Probably not making an changes for a while.

As much as I hate to admit it. I love my brother in laws new gmc duramax it rides pretty good but is getting mpgs into the 30s on the high way empty this would work very well for a guy who at times needs a truck. Too expensive and kind of ugly now but maybe in few years.

The thing about fitting the garage though would be a big perk for me. My truck now doesn’t fit but a crew cab short bed would... hmm more thoughts. Probably still not going to happen now haha good luck out there

 

[Batt4Christ]

I towed my 30' travel trailer with my 1500 5.7 .393's a total of two times.

That was more than enough.

P rated tires, sag in the rear end even with a 10k weight distribution hitch, braking sucked and the trailer wagged the truck. And my trans would run hot...

IMHO - if you have to upgrade the tires, the suspension, add airbags and possibly a trans cooler - keep the 2500.

Did the trailer have brakes (and truck have a brake controller)?

 

[Batt4Christ]

Well I don’t understand what you are saying. When any thing is manufactured there is a safe rating. So to only use 60% you loosing out on 40%


If I had my way I would have every vehicle that is towing have to be inspected to ensure that everyone is doing it correctly.

tell me have you had your brakes inspected on your trailer with in the year or been on a CAT scale. I have ever year on the inspection or 3000 km which ever comes first and I cat scale at least the day before a big trip.

That 40% (or whatever) is a margin for error, and for the unexpected. Any machine regularly run to its limit will suffer for it.

 

[mtofell]

Any machine regularly run to its limit will suffer for it.

I'm pretty sure the engineers at Ram baked that into the cake. Otherwise, they'd go bankrupt with warranty claims. I took some engineering in college before changing majors but got far enough to learn a bit about, "factor of safety". Rest assured, you can run your truck all day long and likely well overloaded before any failure occurs.

 

[Jughed]

Did the trailer have brakes (and truck have a brake controller)?

Yes & yes- but they can only do so much before locking up the wheels on the trailer.

 

[Jughed]

The tow police are really bad on the RV sites. I ended just getting right away from it. I don’t even hold any crazy views about towing capabilities and I seemed to want to kill everyone on the road. I got a 3/4 ton truck for this camper listening to all info that’s out there. It is definitely a rock solid tow. It’s just tough to justify it outside of 5 or 6 trips a year. If I can stay within the numbers it’s safe as far as I’m concerned. I’m a practical guy I don’t want more than I really need. Downsizing the camper is out for sure my wife loves it and works really well with 2 young kids. Probably not making an changes for a while.

The tow police on those sites can be annoying, but they have some justification as well.

The truth is - at some point you will be in a situation while towing that is out of your control and the trailer may just have its way with the truck. Couple that with inexperienced drivers, other drivers that just don't care, weather... having a little more beef is not a bad thing.

Between my boat, my old pop up and my new TT - I've got well over 40k+ miles of towing. Just about coast to coast, north to south, and everywhere in between.
-Had a tire blow on a 2500# pop up that made the camper jump about 4' high and try to turn my old Mega Cab sideways. I was glad the truck had some extra ass at that moment.
-Had a tractor trailer come into my lane on the freeway, on a mountain pass in TN, where I had a car and a barrier wall next to me. Happened in a spilt second... again, glad I had the extra braking and wheel base of the big truck.

We tow a bunch - have a 1400 mile trip next week. We roll along at 60-63 MPH, take our time... and see some crazy crap on the road. People with trucks at their max towing at 70+, 45' fifth wheels blowing by at 70+, small wheel base SUV's overloaded blasting by with a maxed out trailer... this is where the RV tow police come from.

IMHO - "Capable" goes beyond factory numbers. Emergency situations, poor weather, crappy road conditions, crappy trailer tires, crappy drivers all need to be factored in.

My 1500 at its max was able to pull the trailer, and able to stop it (not very well), and able to go down the freeway - but that's about it. Emergency situations - nope, would be no good. Truck was at its limits in normal conditions.