Help with Towing Calculation

[Greg Prescott]

Hey everyone,
I have a 2012 4x4 RAM Hemi 5.7L V8 Crew (short bed) with the 3:55 axle. I need a bit of help with the towing calculation as some of the terms are a bit foreign to me, and let's face it I'd rather ask for help than have an overweight trailer chase me down a mountain.

We have 450 lbs of people and gear in the back of the truck.

I am looking to get as large of a trailer as I can safely tow. I do have a weight distribution hitch, sway control, brake controller, tow mirrors etc. Just not the 3.92 gearing.

I know I should be stepping up to a 3/4 ton but need the 1/2 ton for a daily driver and the wife to park it etc. We currently have a 6075 lb trailer (dry weight) and it tows with ease besides the 1st gear acceleration. My dream is to step up to a larger 7200-7900 lb (dry weight) 35' (tongue to tail) trailer. Do I need a different truck?

 

[Ohio5pt7]

What's the need for a heavier trailer? The lite series of trailers work wonders. I have a bunk house with a large slide sleeps 10 tons of room 7500lbs fully loaded. 5807 dry. It's cheaper to by this series camper vs a new truck. Jmo

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[crash68]

The dry weight of a trailer is what it weighs as it leaves the factory, it usually doesn't include some of the extras like propane tank(s) and tanks empty. It doesn't take long to add 1000-1500 lbs with all stuff you'll pack.
Wanting to go-to a 35' long 9K lbs trailer will be a handful with any tow vehicle, pulling it with a 1500 will take a lot more tuning of the weight placement and distribution. It can be done but you need to know all your numbers, put the weight were it needs to be and confidence to handle the situation. A trailer that size even behind a HD truck can make you it's biitch fast if you don't stay on your A game You'll probably get suggested many times to upgrade the truck.

 

[Firetruck41]

You will run out of payload/cargo capacity before your run out of tow capacity.

With a conservative estimate that your current trailer is 6600 lbs, you should have a tongue weight of at least 792 lb (12% of trailer weight, or else you will have constant sway). Add that to 450lb passenger/cargo, and you are at 1242lb, not sure if the 450lb included the weight of the weight distribution hitch.

From what I can find, payload for a 2012 crew cab 4wd with 5.7 and 3.55 is somewhere between 1052 lbs and 1543 lb. You need to find your payload to know, you are either already over or only have 300 lb to spare.

 

[mtofell]

Look on your door sticker to know for sure. That is really the only number that matters. The 1500 payload of that era are very low. A buddy has one that is 1070#. He has pretty much every option which takes away from payload due to the added weight.

Long story short, there's no way you'll stay within your numbers with a bigger trailer. You well may be over with your current setup. Your truck is tough because the Hemi can pull a house but the chassis just isn't setup to carry much weight.

 

[tron67j]

According to RAM tow capacity data sheet for 2012 vehicles, your truck has a maximum trailer tow rating of 8500 lbs but recommend you verify that as well. Your Gross Combined Weight Rating is 14,000 lbs, which is the maximum weight of truck, trailer and all gear, people and options of truck and trailer that may not have been part of unit when weighed. As already mentioned trailer weights may not include propane and tanks, plus other items such as awnings, electric cables, hoses and other things you might think of as standard equipment. Also, adding water plus gray and black water tanks with anything in them add weight. Check other threads for more information, repeated suggestions include taking totally empty truck and trailer to CAT scales to get true weight so that you can more accurately know your set up.

It would be possible your current trailer with gear is right-sized for your truck and your upgrade would put you over a safe weight to tow. Overweight rigs can be dangerous, and weight distribution hitches and away bars (while a must-have) will not compensate. Good luck in your travels.

 

[gofishn]

You are already, with current trailer and load, pretty much maxed out , for your truck.
Want more trailer? Get more Truck.

Do not despair, however.
Relatively shortly, the sure you can do it crowd will chime in.

They will call the rest of us, Tow ****'s and tell you that you can pull a 32ft camper up and down mountains, all day long with that current setup. Probalbyl pull a boat behind the camper too.

 

[csuder99]

Short answer: Yes you need a different truck.
I probably mentioned this before on this forum but weight is only one aspect when it comes to travel trailers. Length is another one, and a 35ft trailer is more than 1.5 times as long as the truck, and it weighs more than the truck. That's always a bad combination.
Pulling a 20ft dump trailer at maximum tow rating is very different from a tall and long travel trailer.

 

[Greg Prescott]

Thanks so much everyone for your feedback. It looks like my payload rings in at just 1255 lbs. Although I can hardly feel the 8,000 lbs (fully loaded) and 1,000 lbs of people/cargo I'll need to play it safe. Time to get a bigger truck. Any opinions on the best option around $20-25,000? Looking for a crew cab and a truck that is still an option as a daily driver. I want to avoid the mistake I just made and ensure I engage the experts here on best options and why. Thanks in advance!

 

[Ohio5pt7]

I vote 3rd gen cummins. Or something already deleted and bulletproof new EPA crap kills

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[gofishn]

at $20K you are buying more headache, unless you personally know the person selling it and he has Integrity.
At the used Truck price point, 3/4 trucks are like Lawn Mowers, Dishwashers, Washer/Dryers,
no one and I mean no one, replaces it without a damn good Cause.

Sometimes, that Cause is for other than ************* or Outrageously Expensive Fuel Consumption, but rarely.
Sometimes, soem dies and they got a windfall and just want a nicer truck, but rarely and those trucks usually go to someone who knows them.
Kinda like I mentioned prior.

Buy New or from some guy who trades every 2,3 or 4 years and does not care about cost.

 

[gofishn]

I vote 3rd gen cummins. Or something already deleted and bulletproof new EPA crap kills

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I can agree, wit this, Diesel, for sure.