Comfortable Towing Capacity

[OC455]

You could never have a payload of 6,292 pounds
That has to also have the weight of the Ram added in,
Your Rams empty weight is
Curb Weight
5640.00,

This is your Ram, check it out

Sorry about the text size below

2018 Ram 1500 Express 4x4 Crew Cab 6'4" Box Features And Specs

https://www.caranddriver.com/ram/1500/specs/2018/ram_1500_ram-1500_2018

That's my payload sticker for my 3500 dually. Not his 1500. I was just showing the OP what the door jamb sticker would look like. 14000lbs, minus 6292lbs., is 7708lbs, is my curb weight.

 

[GTyankee]

OK, that explains a lot

 

[GsRAM]

My general experience across various brands is that above 60-70% of any given capacity - the truck starts to get less and less comfortable/stable. Not necessarily unsafe - but a lot less confidence especially in wind, up-down hills, etc.


As for longevity - that is a guess at best since we don't really know what factor of safety the engineers designed for or what liberties the marketing department took to sell more trucks. You also don't know if your particular trans has any flaws that predispose it to a shorter life. There are tolerances on every part and if yours just barely squeaked through inspection - it will fail sooner than others. Maintenance is obviously key here - if you tow a lot, the typical maintenance intervals should be advanced. You can also use premium fluids and filters as well. Not a whole lot of options on the tranny though that will have any impact on lifespan.

My strategy is mainly to drive rather gently all the time and keep an eye on the trans temps. If you stay in the 60-70% loaded range, I believe it will have a huge benefit in longevity but that is not always a practical option. My truck is regularly right at 100% max on at least one thing - so I added Air Lift 1000HD bags, LT tires, and a Blue Ox WD hitch to make it more comfortable/stable. On top of that, I drive it quite gentle.

There's a whole lot of wisdom in this post.

Like engineering, I use a similar 80% rule. I try to stay under 80% of my advertised tow rating with my trailers GVWR (not dry weight)

So for instance, my 2500 has a 13,600 lb tow rating (I believe) with my 3.73 gears. 80% of that is 10,880 lbs. So I would be looking at travel trailers 10,880 GVWR or less to have some decent margin built in and not be up against my limits.

I have always thought once your over 10,000 lbs, loaded trailer weight, your in Cummins territory. So my 80% rule noted above would likely result in a loaded trailer weight betwee 9-10k lbs for a trailer that has a GVWR of 10,500 or so.

All general figures and nothing specific, but you get the point.

Now this is just me and my opinion. Others dont need or want as much margin and that's perfectly ok too. As noted, the more you push it, the more and more critical your set up becomes, and less fun to tow it becomes.

For 10 local trips per year you could push things if you wanted to, but I'd be looking at trailers 25-30' overall length and under and 7500 GVWR and under. Good luck.

 

[Quentin Flack]

Better view here

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[OC455]

View attachment 241844

That sticker doesn't give you the cargo carrying capacity. It just gives you the GVWR. Did you try looking up your VIN?

 

[dhay13]

The yellow sticker shows your payload. Or you can look it up by VIN like was mentioned above

 

[Quentin Flack]

Go to here: Ram Towing Capacity | Towing & Payload Capacity Guide (ramtrucks.com)

Enter your VIN and it will show you exactly what your trucks cargo capacity and towing capacity is.

Then look at you driver's side door jamb sticker (yellow top boarder) and match it up and see if it is the same.

The charts will give you a basic idea of what it might be. Not the actual capacities. Most salespersons at the dealers don't know this. So they reference the chart.

I keep just getting “we couldn’t find your vin”. I checked several times.

 

[dhay13]

I keep just getting “we couldn’t find your vin”. I checked several times.

Possibly because you are in Canada? My truck originally came from Canada and my VIN could not be found anywhere I tried to enter it but once I got the warranty, etc transferred to U.S. then my VIN was found

 

[OC455]

Well if you locate the door jamb sticker that has yellow borders around it, you will have the info you need. It should be on the right hand side of the door jamb as you face the driver's door with it open.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[fprevos]

Camping world has a vin decoder that shows you can tow 4210#. It's not always correct, it shows mine at 4440#.

 

[mtofell]

OK, that explains a lot

LOL... I did the same thing. Thought to myself, "damn, those half-ton payloads are really getting up there."

 

[Quentin Flack]

Possibly because you are in Canada? My truck originally came from Canada and my VIN could not be found anywhere I tried to enter it but once I got the warranty, etc transferred to U.S. then my VIN was found

Ah ok, makes sense. I did select the Canadian website but whatever. I think the chart I have is accurate at that 6800 ish capacity. I would agree with a lot of what ppl are saying here and will be looking for a trailer with a maximum of 6000lbs GVRW. I’ll also get a high end weight distribution hitch for sure. If it goes nice then I won’t do air bags unless the ride is terrible. What is a good temp to try and stay below for tranny temps? Anyone know?

 

[Quentin Flack]

Well if you locate the door jamb sticker that has yellow borders around it, you will have the info you need. It should be on the right hand side of the door jamb as you face the driver's door with it open.

hey, look what I found
Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[dhay13]

So 1430lb payload?

 

[Quentin Flack]

So 1430lb payload?

That’s what it looks like yea

 

[tron67j]

That’s what it looks like yea

So that includes all fluids and 1 person at 150 pounds. All dealer options and anything you added plus your weight over 150 pounds and your trailer hitch get subtracted. Take out passenger(s), pets, and other incidentals and not much left. Just the way 1500s are. You may be looking at a trailer with a loaded hitch weight of about 800 pounds or so. But a lot of really nice trailers fit that bill and will give a lot of room and fun for the dollars. Good luck.

 

[392DevilDog]

So I have been avoiding these conversations for awhile. They lost their fun with all the back and forth.

But since you say comfortable tow...lets look at the numbers.

You have them all now.

GVWR is 6900
Payload is 1430
GCWR is 14400
Axle rating is 3900 front and rear.

Now. The towing number...it is a bogus number. It means nothing in regards to a trailer and even less if that trailer is a camper.

So with a 6900 GVWR and a 1430 payload this means your truck has a base weight of 5470.

This base weight is an empty truck and full fluids(the 150lb driver means nothing to payload...that is a max tow allowance)

Now. If you use the VIN lookup you will get your 1430 payload and 8930 tow.

This 8930 is not the max trailer you can tow. It is the max occupants, cargo, hitch, tongue weight and trailer weight.

So. A 1500 is limited to a 1200lb tongue weight. They recommend anything over a 500lb TW uses a weight distribution hitch.

So, unless you are a rather small person traveling alone, it is also pointless to concern yourself with the allowances for towing. I weigh 300lbs myself...and have a wife and 2 kids (now that the oldest moved out).

But, lets say it is you and a passenger at 300lbs. The hitch weighs about 100lbs. Lets say you have everything else in the trailer.

The tongue weight they use for calculating trailer is 10%. Most travel trailers/campers have about 13 or 14 %. See where the towing number does not pertain to a camper.

Ok so with 400lbs passenger and hitch your base weight is now 5800lbs. So you have 1030lbs left for tongue weight and remember anything else you put in the truck takes this away. So that is a maximum number. Since you only had 8930 left to begin with...your maximum trailer would be 8530. And at a 10% tongue weight...you would be fine with 853 lbs. But a camper will have about 14%...which would be 1194...putting you over and making for an uncomfortable ride. So with just 2 passengers under 300lbs your max trailer would be 7350 with a camper/travel trailer.

You take more people or fire wood...that goes down fast.

These are the numbers. Not an opinion.

I use a 2500 to tow a 5200GVWR camper. But with passengers, wood, bikes, kayaks and TW i have 2400lbs of payload used in my 2998 rated truck.

Hope this makes sense when read. I always say a 7000lb GVWR travel trailer is about max for a 1500. But plenty tow higher. Not sure how they find it comfortable...but they say they do.

Good luck. Need anything explained in this better...let me know.

You want to enjoy the tow to camp. Getting there anxious and annoyed ruins the rest od the weekend and you will just be waiting to be anxious and annoyed on the trip home.

 

[sandawilliams]

1500's may be rated to tow 7-8K but see what happens in a high crosswind. The more your truck weighs the better control you have in these situations. Also consider stopping distances. The 2500's have much larger brakes for heavier loads. I towed many years with the 1500's but the last few years I have moved up to the 2500's for comfort and safety.

 

[OC455]

So I have been avoiding these conversations for awhile. They lost their fun with all the back and forth.

But since you say comfortable tow...lets look at the numbers.

You have them all now.

GVWR is 6900
Payload is 1430
GCWR is 14400
Axle rating is 3900 front and rear.

Now. The towing number...it is a bogus number. It means nothing in regards to a trailer and even less if that trailer is a camper.

So with a 6900 GVWR and a 1430 payload this means your truck has a base weight of 5470.

This base weight is an empty truck and full fluids(the 150lb driver means nothing to payload...that is a max tow allowance)

Now. If you use the VIN lookup you will get your 1430 payload and 8930 tow.

This 8930 is not the max trailer you can tow. It is the max occupants, cargo, hitch, tongue weight and trailer weight.

So. A 1500 is limited to a 1200lb tongue weight. They recommend anything over a 500lb TW uses a weight distribution hitch.

So, unless you are a rather small person traveling alone, it is also pointless to concern yourself with the allowances for towing. I weigh 300lbs myself...and have a wife and 2 kids (now that the oldest moved out).

But, lets say it is you and a passenger at 300lbs. The hitch weighs about 100lbs. Lets say you have everything else in the trailer.

The tongue weight they use for calculating trailer is 10%. Most travel trailers/campers have about 13 or 14 %. See where the towing number does not pertain to a camper.

Ok so with 400lbs passenger and hitch your base weight is now 5800lbs. So you have 1030lbs left for tongue weight and remember anything else you put in the truck takes this away. So that is a maximum number. Since you only had 8930 left to begin with...your maximum trailer would be 8530. And at a 10% tongue weight...you would be fine with 853 lbs. But a camper will have about 14%...which would be 1194...putting you over and making for an uncomfortable ride. So with just 2 passengers under 300lbs your max trailer would be 7350 with a camper/travel trailer.

You take more people or fire wood...that goes down fast.

These are the numbers. Not an opinion.

I use a 2500 to tow a 5200GVWR camper. But with passengers, wood, bikes, kayaks and TW i have 2400lbs of payload used in my 2998 rated truck.

Hope this makes sense when read. I always say a 7000lb GVWR travel trailer is about max for a 1500. But plenty tow higher. Not sure how they find it comfortable...but they say they do.

Good luck. Need anything explained in this better...let me know.

You want to enjoy the tow to camp. Getting there anxious and annoyed ruins the rest od the weekend and you will just be waiting to be anxious and annoyed on the trip home.

This....^^^. Now you have your "numbers" then you have the info you need to stay within the comfortable range for towing.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[dhay13]

I agree with the above. My 2 step-sons were here today with their trucks. One has a 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 that has 1750-ish pounds of payload. The other has a 2020 Tundra that has 1350-ish lbs of payload.

My son has a TT that has a dry weight listed at 6600lbs but when we weighed it it was actually 8100lbs. GVWR on it was 8500lbs. We had about 1100lbs of tongue weight (13%). With most 1500's this would be over payload. My step-sons GMC would probably be ok if it was just him and maybe 1 passenger (he weighs about 160-ish). The Tundra would definitely be over on payload but it has 9800lbs max tow