Help with possible trailer purchase. Can I haul it? Wife wants to buy ASAP

[Goose55]

I used a weight distribution hitch when I was towing a heavy trailer and with only a Toyota Tacoma, so you should be fine.

 

[Redbob]

Hi like it says. I have a 2021 Classic Crew cab with the 5.7 Hemi and 3.21 rear gear. The label on my truck says 1485 lbs of weight capacity for the truck. The trailer is 26' without tongue etc. The trailer is 5795 dry with a tongue weight of 725. The trucks tow capacity seems to be about 8000- 8200 lbs from a chart I found online.

My wife is hammering me hard to buy this ASAP and I'm panicking worrying it is too much for my truck. I've done some research here and elsewhere and it seems its either not a chance or should be fine lol. The trailer gross is 7725 but we aren't the sort of folks to carry a lot of stuff so I'm not too concerned on that end as I would try to keep added weight in the trailer as low as I can. There is only us 2 folks in the truck no other passengers. We are looking at some long hauls as we are retired. Think Ontario, Canada to Florida as the longest range we intend to travel so pretty significant. I do plan to use the stabilizing weight distribution parts with it too.

Can someone tell me I can do this or say that I should not definitively? I can get more vehicle info from door stickers uploaded if that is needed for anyone to see? Please help when my wife gets an idea stuff happens fast!

As a fairly recent Chyrysler truck development engineer, and one who owns 2 Ram 1500 4x4s w/ 3.21 gearing, I can assure you the GVW and GCW ratings are *very* conservative, and you can easily tow that trailer anywhere. Yes, you might want a WDH, and yes, you might want airbags to level up your truck, but you'll be fine. You might spend some time in gear 7, but the 3.21:1 gearing will give you hugely better overall fuel economy ony, and especially when you're *not* connected to the trailer

 

[Qcman]

As a fairly recent Chyrysler truck development engineer, and one who owns 2 Ram 1500 4x4s w/ 3.21 gearing, I can assure you the GVW and GCW ratings are *very* conservative, and you can easily tow that trailer anywhere. Yes, you might want a WDH, and yes, you might want airbags to level up your truck, but you'll be fine. You might spend some time in gear 7, but the 3.21:1 gearing will give you hugely better overall fuel economy ony, and especially when you're *not* connected to the trailer

Hi thank you for replying. Certainly you know these trucks better than any of us. What would you think about statements regarding the trucks payload capacity being off and lower by several hundred lbs in this thread? My truck has a payload capacity of 1485 lbs on the door sticker. Some folks have noted that when the truck has been weighed by itself it weighed a fair bit more than the GVWR - Payload no. Which would imply the payload will come out to be lower than stated. I am going to weigh the truck to be on the safe side but just curious on your take. It seems to me if that number were off by very much that would put liability on RAM? I assume the 6900 GVWR of the truck is a conservative number when you note GVW?

 

[Randy Grant]

Hi thank you for replying. Certainly you know these trucks better than any of us. What would you think about statements regarding the trucks payload capacity being off and lower by several hundred lbs in this thread? My truck has a payload capacity of 1485 lbs on the door sticker. Some folks have noted that when the truck has been weighed by itself it weighed a fair bit more than the GVWR - Payload no. Which would imply the payload will come out to be lower than stated. I am going to weigh the truck to be on the safe side but just curious on your take. It seems to me if that number were off by very much that would put liability on RAM? I assume the 6900 GVWR of the truck is a conservative number when you note GVW?

Check your AXLE WEIGHT RATINGS, and refigure your thinking a little. It's brain numbing to try and put all the advice into play. I wouldn't worry too much about air-bag untill you see how it tows and sets when hooked up. If the WDH is properly set up, most ot the sag will dissapear. proper WDH setup makes a huge differance when towing, but remember to keep the speed down and a lot of room in front of you. I keep it at around 60 and my head on a swivle when towing.

 

[Randy Grant]

As a fairly recent Chyrysler truck development engineer, and one who owns 2 Ram 1500 4x4s w/ 3.21 gearing, I can assure you the GVW and GCW ratings are *very* conservative, and you can easily tow that trailer anywhere. Yes, you might want a WDH, and yes, you might want airbags to level up your truck, but you'll be fine. You might spend some time in gear 7, but the 3.21:1 gearing will give you hugely better overall fuel economy ony, and especially when you're *not* connected to the trailer

Agreed. After over 50 years of towing, sometimes heavy, conservative is a little bit of an understatment. Although the weight police on here think I'm crazy. Experience and sane tow practices are the key to safe trailering though.

 

[Jas34]

Got to agree with the couple of posts above. When I started towing stuff some 45 years ago, many of us were using cars (full frame ones). I knew nothing of weight distribution hitches, though they may have existed. If the car squatted too much, you threw a set of air bags on it and added a larger tranny cooler. You learned how fast you should go the hard way, through experience. Darwin took care of the rest.

Now things are so fine tuned and improved, and I pay more attention to weights than I ever did before. Honestly, this is the first vehicle and trailer I ever bothered to weigh, but learned a lot going through the motions. Weights are still a good thing to use in your planning, especially if you don't have the trailer yet. I can tell you that out of the many tow vehicles I've had, from old station wagons, a couple of midsize trucks, and an older heavy F250 farm truck, and an Expedition, this current Ram 1500 is by far the best tow vehicle I've ever had, overloaded or not.

 

[Qcman]

Got to agree with the couple of posts above. When I started towing stuff some 45 years ago, many of us were using cars (full frame ones). I knew nothing of weight distribution hitches, though they may have existed. If the car squatted too much, you threw a set of air bags on it and added a larger tranny cooler. You learned how fast you should go the hard way, through experience. Darwin took care of the rest.

Now things are so fine tuned and improved, and I pay more attention to weights than I ever did before. Honestly, this is the first vehicle and trailer I ever bothered to weigh, but learned a lot going through the motions. Weights are still a good thing to use in your planning, especially if you don't have the trailer yet. I can tell you that out of the many tow vehicles I've had, from old station wagons, a couple of midsize trucks, and an older heavy F250 farm truck, and an Expedition, this current Ram 1500 is by far the best tow vehicle I've ever had, overloaded or not.

I’ve had my wife focus on finding us lighter versions of the trailers we like and we are noticing we can get the trailer and tongue weights down a fair bit while not sacrificing preferences. Not to mention they wouldn’t be as hard on gas as the heavier variants though I’m not sure how much it would actually save.

 

[09SilverRam]

I’ve had my wife focus on finding us lighter versions of the trailers we like and we are noticing we can get the trailer and tongue weights down a fair bit while not sacrificing preferences. Not to mention they wouldn’t be as hard on gas as the heavier variants though I’m not sure how much it would actually save.

Wind resistance (so frontal surface area) will probably be the biggest impact from a fuel economy perspective.

 

[tron67j]

My family has towed dozens of trailers hundreds of thousands of miles. Used WDH as far back as I can remember, and we never, ever added a single air bag or shock to any tow vehicle. That is supported by a lot of research by all of the family to know what to expect from each rig.

If you have to add those, you are putting too much weight on your rear axle. Leveling it out is not at all adding weight support capacity, and just because some random person on the Internet said that numbers are fake and there is mega-reserve built in doesn't mean diddly when you're the one dealing with a misguided missile flying down the highway.

It isn't the payload police, it is the voice of reason saying the factory engineering team determined X is the PC. When these conversations about pushing 1500s past their limit keep happening, the answer is always either get a bigger truck or get a smaller trailer. That, from yet another stranger on the Internet, is advice that will help mitigate risk.

 

[dhay13]

What are you using to estimate the tongue weight of about 840 based on your total estimated trailer weight of 6800?

Thought I saw him post his TW was about 840

 

[Barr2255]

I tow a 8,000lb-ish trailer (loaded) somewhat often. It’s a big Tex 10et 18’ 2400lb dry weight and my tractor is around 5500lbs. I use a WDH and cheap bags. My truck is a 2015 laramie 5.7L with the 8spd trans and 3.92 rear. I’ve towed this trailer for years without issue, plenty of power and stopping power. (The trailer has brakes and I have trailer brake controller factory equipped) I have falken wildpeak AT3 tires nothing super special. I’m very experienced towing though. Point is the truck (your truck) will be just fine. I’ve towed this trailer fully loaded on 500 mile round trips with stuff in the bed and my wife and kids multiple times. Mountains and flats it does fine. It’s no diesel engine but it does 10x better than my 04 dodge 2500 with the 5.7.

I said this early on in this thread. The two biggest factors in this scenario is you not having any towing experience and you need to ensure you have a good braking system otherwise these bigger trailers will bully you and your truck around. Your truck is plenty capable. I’d advise you start with a bit smaller trailer especially since its just you and your wife. Also smaller trailer will allow you to be able to go to more campgrounds since a lot of campgrounds have length restrictions. You’ll save fuel and embarrassment going a tad smaller as well. Just my .02 cents.

 

[Randy Grant]

I’ve had my wife focus on finding us lighter versions of the trailers we like and we are noticing we can get the trailer and tongue weights down a fair bit while not sacrificing preferences. Not to mention they wouldn’t be as hard on gas as the heavier variants though I’m not sure how much it would actually save.

Weight isn't the big factor in MPG, wind restance is, unless you pull uphill all the time. My ram gets arount 12, better on a diet of level ground, but anything over ten is good.

 

[Randy Grant]

My family has towed dozens of trailers hundreds of thousands of miles. Used WDH as far back as I can remember, and we never, ever added a single air bag or shock to any tow vehicle. That is supported by a lot of research by all of the family to know what to expect from each rig.

If you have to add those, you are putting too much weight on your rear axle. Leveling it out is not at all adding weight support capacity, and just because some random person on the Internet said that numbers are fake and there is mega-reserve built in doesn't mean diddly when you're the one dealing with a misguided missile flying down the highway.

It isn't the payload police, it is the voice of reason saying the factory engineering team determined X is the PC. When these conversations about pushing 1500s past their limit keep happening, the answer is always either get a bigger truck or get a smaller trailer. That, from yet another stranger on the Internet, is advice that will help mitigate risk.

SAFETY FIRST!!!!

 

[nlambert182]

SAFETY FIRST!!!!

Why not ask the engineer that posted on here (@Redbob) what his take is on modifying a 1500 to tow a 5th wheel? You mention sane towing practices at the same time of doing something that the truck was literally never designed to do (AND showing us that you were overloaded via your weights and your door sticker in another post).

I'll second what Tron said. If you have to modify the truck in any way to tow the trailer, you need more truck. This includes airbags.

I've never had to run anything more than a WDH and that isn't a necessity. I towed the current trailer home without it and the truck sat level. I could probably not even use it, but it came with the rig and is an added measure of safety.

 

[Jas34]

I'll second what Tron said. If you have to modify the truck in any way to tow the trailer, you need more truck. This includes airbags.

Not sure I'd agree with that. For instance, you could take that to include even a weight distribution hitch. I've seen posts by people that believe that, though I know from your post you don't.

Personally, I look at these mods as ways to enhance the ride and make it more comfortable towing. Air bags really aren't used (at least on my truck) to take out sag, though some try and use them for that (and from my post above, I used to think that too). It doesn't take much air to just stiffen up the rear a little to make those trips down concrete highways a little less busy and more comfortable. A set of Bilstein shocks over the OEM ones, same thing. If you don't already have low profile 20" tires on the truck, a set of LT rated tires are a good upgrade, as well.

None of this means the truck is undersized for the job and can't tow its listed maximum, but you can make the experience better, especially if you're doing long trips. None of it is necessary to get the job done, though.

 

[09SilverRam]

Why not ask the engineer that posted on here (@Redbob) what his take is on modifying a 1500 to tow a 5th wheel? You mention sane towing practices at the same time of doing something that the truck was literally never designed to do.

I'll second what Tron said. If you have to modify the truck in any way to tow the trailer, you need more truck. This includes airbags.

I've never had to run anything more than a WDH and that isn't a necessity. I towed the current trailer home without it and the truck sat level. I could probably not even use it, but it came with the rig and is an added measure of safety.

Rams have pretty soft coil springs in the back, air bags can make the experience a heck of a lot better. Didn’t have to do anything besides hook up to our cargo trailer with a Chevy with leaf springs, had to add airbags to the dodge to keep it off the bump stops with less than 500 pounds of tongue weight.

 

[nlambert182]

Oddly enough... I've never gotten near the bump stops on my 2500 even without WDH installed. My trailer is 9,800 lbs camp ready and the truck sits perfectly level when hooked up without WDH. When I towed a utility trailer with ~5k lbs behind my 1500, it never sagged either.

The problem with suggesting airbags is that quite a lot of people (especially newbies) believe they increase capacity and don't understand that the load still sits on the axle the exact same way that it does without them.

I also don't think you can compare towing a travel trailer/5th wheel to towing a cargo trailer either, since you can adjust the weight of the cargo to reduce tongue weight. Can't really gain much in doing that with any type of RV. Most of the weight is static.

These towing threads can become quite confusing and what I've seen people do is get overwhelmed and then look for the easy button. When someone tells them it'll be fine they run with that. I prefer to set them up with enough knowledge to try and figure it out for themselves using data.

What I think is more important than anything else is to make sure that newbies understand there is a huge difference in towing a flatbed near your max capacity and towing an RV. You do need to understand the ratings and the math with those. You're often towing further and with more tongue weight than most flatbeds. There is a BIG difference.

 

[Dan Topp]

Some real world #s for you as I just got back to my home in SC after towing our camper down from our cabin in central NY with a few stops in between. I stopped in at a cat scale near home here with this thread in mind, and wondering just how overloaded I might be. Having packed up the cabin for winter, we somehow managed to be travelling with a bit of stuff in the truck bed.

My 2017 ram 1500 truck specs. gvwr is 6900 lbs, gawr front and rear axles are 3900 lbs each, combined weight of occupants and cargo maximum is 1378 lbs. gcwr is 13800.

First lesson I learned when I weighed my truck alone about a year or so ago is that its weight is 5880 lbs. with me in it and not much else. 6900-5880=1020. That's the amount I can add to it without going over gvwr and is a far cry from 1378. I weigh about 162, not 300, if you're wondering.

My trailer is a Grand Design Imagine 22mle that is about 26' overall external dimensions. gvwr is 6995 and dry weight (uvw) is 5184. Advertised tongue weight is 608 lbs. When I've actually checked this on a scale, it's been between 800 and 960 depending on how I have it loaded. FWIW, 15% of gvwr is 1049, so worst case scenario is a lot closer to reality than advertised tongue weight.

I do carry 2x 47 lb Honda generators in the front pass thru storage area, and have 2x 6v golf cart batteries on the tongue and a pair of 20 lb propane tanks there too, and a real mattress inside, so I do carry a bit of extra tongue weight. I could move the generators to the back of the trailer, but I'm lazy and don't like lugging them back and forth each stop. This is reality when you get a trailer tweaked to how you want it.

I'm attaching the scale ticket from today. As you can see, I'm about 260 lbs over gvwr of the truck. gawr of both axles is well below the max, so I'm not really concerned that I'm over gvwr, and the total is less than gcwr. The weight distribution hitch is set up darn near perfect for my setup, and the truck tows this trailer just fine. You rarely notice it's even back there most of the time. No issues up and down the mountains. I just set the cruise to 65 and let the truck do its thing. No issues with sway or being pushed around by the wind from the semi's passing. The truck is not squatted at all in the rear. Also, the trailer weight is no where near its gvwr. Some number crunchers on the forums would say I'm way overloaded and need a 3/4 ton. I see no reason to move up to one. I'm usually right at my gvwr when I'm not carrying a bunch of extra stuff in the truck bed.

So my take home message from this long winded post is you probably don't have as much payload capacity as you think you do (weigh your truck to find out), don't believe or make plans based on manufacturers listed dry weight or tongue weight. 15% of gvwr is really a much better # to plan with. The truck being overloaded by gvwr is only part of the picture. How the weight is balanced is more important. You could be under gvwr and have a rear axle overloaded due to an improperly set up weight distribution hitch, and the trailer could tow like crap because of it.

Makes me wonder about my landscape places scale,Am i seeing the trucks true weight as 7200? Mine with just me and 32 gallons was 5800 lbs. I would like a real weight since it’s on a lift pretty often.I see you said it was loaded.Sorry didn’t read it all.

 

[nlambert182]

Run it across a CAT scale and get the true weight.

 

[Dan Topp]

They didn’t have a 8 hp70