How far would you feel comfortable traveling with this setup? (pictures)

[Snacktime]

I would spend some money on a wide angle back up camera for the trailer. You will need it if your married and want to stay married. Rear air bags, you can use them to help get unstuck by lifting and lowering you rear (longer the trailer the more you will drag it). Look into a couple of 2"x6" by 4-6ft boards for using for odd things (I use to put one on the ground next to where I want the trailer tires to give the wife a visual). Harbor freight trip to buy tools, 12v air compressor, a good battery booster pack, jack for the trailer and extra hub/wheel bearings/brakes(not having to go find the parts can save your trip).

Different between a ram 1500 and 2500 are 2000lbs of vehicle holding down the front of the trailer. Driving slower give you less weight transfer when you hit bumps. Weight helps control the trailer, you have less. Knowing when to park if its windy! If it is high winds and semi trucks are pulled off the road just stop. This includes high tail winds and front winds. I have personally picked up people who have had there trailer rolled over in the wind.

You have enough hp and brakes to do any major highway. Its the small back roads that will get you. Learn to watch for the yellow signs with restrictions for semi trucks/delivery trucks. If it turns into 1 lane find a different route. Stay on pavement!

Go watch Matts Offroad Recovery on youtube, you will see how little it takes to stop a trailer. Watch the turning radius needed to get people out and the value of a kinetic rope.

 

[ramffml]

Could it be that the trailer is on a slight incline toward the house on the concrete pad? How do you make it perfectly level? I know I had to take measurements on how much load it puts on the front and rear suspension, and from what I could tell it was within the recommended drop. Do you put a long level on the underside of the frame of the trailer? I'm not 100% certain I have a true 100% level ground on my property. Or does Camping World (or general RV places have an inspection point to verify the setup is correct)?
Thanks

I am far from an expert on this, so "blind leading the lame" warning. But in my case (I have the same WDH) I put the trailer and truck level, then had to adjust the bracket heights twice and the big "ball bolts" once or twice to, until the bars themselves sat flat. You may also have to fiddle with the amount of washers in the head to do fine tuning on height of ball.

The best place is level ground, if you don't have any at home then just pick a wallmart or something. I just eyeballed it all for being level, but trailer has little level on it and that confirmed I was close enough.

Start by measuring front of truck (ground to bottom of fender), attach trailer without WDH, measure again. Take the difference of those 2 measurements, divide that diff in half. Now attach WDH bars and meaure third time. This new/final measurement should be the first distance - the "diff in half" weight. In other words, after attaching trailer with WDH, you want the front to go back down by half the amount it did when you had the trailer attached without WDH.

Example (numbers used here are pulled completely from my thumb, but you get the idea anyway)
- measure from ground to fender without trailer, get (say) 38 inches
- attach trailer, leave bars off, measure again, get (say) 40 inches

your front end rose (40 - 38 = 2) 2 inches.

- attach WDH bars, measure again. The new measurement should be 39, or slightly closer to 38.75. It should never be more than 39 (that would mean you don't have enough leverage and you need to adjust WDH to transfer more weight).

The other thing to keep in mind, is that it's possible to fiddle with the hitch and have two completely different "configurations" where, the amount of weight transfered to the front in "config 1" is the same in "config 2". However, if "config 1" does not have completely level bars, then you need to readjust.

So you're not done fiddling when the trailer is level and the front measures good, the bars have to sit flat as well.

(I suck at explanations, hopefully that made some sense)

 

[breal201999]

@GsRAM @Firebird @Tripper @dhay13 @tidefan1967 @392DevilDog @kmrtnsn @Digger Dan 188 @ramffml @pacofortacos @Murdock188 @Tim7139 @OC455

Alright experts (not being sarcastic here)... the numbers are in! Take into consideration we are still not 100% fully packed, and was only myself (need to add about 250 lbs for wife and kids).

Now be gentle, and let me know if this changes your opinion any, and please explain. Still okay for few hours from home in SW Missouri? Good to go across country? I'm taking it all in, because I want to stay within the limits of my setup. Thanks all!

 

[392DevilDog]

Those numbers are perfect. Like I said. You may need to take 2 vehicles if you plan to add much gear...but with just you...tow away.

 

[392DevilDog]

What i can not understand is how my camper has a 5200 GVWR but weighed 5700 and yours has a GVWR of 7600 and weighs less than the UVW you listed.

This is odd to me...can anyone explain this to me.

 

[GsRAM]

Ok so I'm assuming here that the 4600lb is your trailer weight?

Your axle weights look good to me, your rear axle only slightly heavier, minimally so.

Did you check the sticker for your GRAWR? I'm confident your under that but I was just curious.

Looks good to me, if your trailer is fully loaded and packed as it would be for a trip. Another 250 as you mentioned should be no problem.

You should be good to go, but I'd still drive conservatively. I typically do 55-60 on the highway eventhough I could easily do 80 with my truck, I never would. Stuff happens fast. Increased reaction time is to be highly valued, especially when towing.

 

[392DevilDog]

GVWR 6900 GCWR 13800

GAWR front 3700 rear 3900

3700 to 3100 for 500 lbs remaining
3900 to 3160 for 840 remaining

6900 to 6260 for 640 remaining

13800 to 10860 for 2040 remaining.

Looks great. Still trying to figure how your camper weighed so little though

 

[breal201999]

Ok so I'm assuming here that the 4600lb is your trailer weight?

Your axle weights look good to me, your rear axle only slightly heavier, minimally so.

Did you check the sticker for your GRAWR? I'm confident your under that but I was just curious.

Looks good to me, if your trailer is fully loaded and packed as it would be for a trip. Another 250 as you mentioned should be no problem.

You should be good to go, but I'd still drive conservatively. I typically do 55-60 on the highway eventhough I could easily do 80 with my truck, I never would. Stuff happens fast. Increased reaction time is to be highly valued, especially when towing.

The only weight values I can find are as follows...

Dry weight 4676 + Payload Capacity 2924 = GCWR 7600

Not sure what GRAWR is, or how to figure.
And I'd probably say that weight is more like 500-600 lbs under what we'll leave with. Wife, kids, schnauzers, and some remaining clothes and kitchen stuff to throw in the bed of the truck.

 

[breal201999]

GVWR 6900 GCWR 13800

GAWR front 3700 rear 3900

3700 to 3100 for 500 lbs remaining
3900 to 3160 for 840 remaining

6900 to 6260 for 640 remaining

13800 to 10860 for 2040 remaining.

Looks great. Still trying to figure how your camper weighed so little though

That's good to hear! So 13800 is the "magic number" I want to stay under if I have it re-weighed in the future?

 

[392DevilDog]

The only weight values I can find are as follows...

Dry weight 4676 + Payload Capacity 2924 = GCWR 7600

Not sure what GRAWR is, or how to figure.
And I'd probably say that weight is more like 500-600 lbs under what we'll leave with. Wife, kids, schnauzers, and some remaining clothes and kitchen stuff to throw in the bed of the truck.

Your GRAWR is 3900...see the post above of mine.

You have about 640lbs left to the truck. You have axle capacity...but you have to keep in mind that some if that capacity is used for inertia...pulling out more weight to the rear...slowing down more weight to the front

When you load up for camp...re weigh if you can...just for the case of science.

I still do nit understand the camper weight...do you have it empty 2?

 

[breal201999]

Oh, and tires show 40 lbs in them, recommended 50-60???

 

[breal201999]

Your GRAWR is 3900...see the post above of mine.

You have about 640lbs left to the truck. You have axle capacity...but you have to keep in mind that some if that capacity is used for inertia...pulling out more weight to the rear...slowing down more weight to the front

When you load up for camp...re weigh if you can...just for the case of science.

I still do nit understand the camper weight...do you have it empty 2?

Not empty of “stuff”. But it doesn’t have a drop of fluids in it. We still have a few kitchen items like coffee maker, crock pot, and clothes and 2 miniature schnauzers. That’s about it

 

[kmrtnsn]

Oh, and tires show 40 lbs in them, recommended 50-60???

Don't exceed whatever your max inflation pressure is but I'd make sure the rears were maxed.

 

[NH RAM]

The rear of the truck empty is 2236; the rear axle weight on the scale is 3160, so there is weight being transferred there. The truck's front axle is about 3150 unloaded, so it only pulled about 50# off the front axle, which is good. Assuming all the rear axle weight is from the camper and not gear in the bed, the camper weight is roughly 5200, which means you packed very light if the dry camper weight is 4600#.

My first long trip with a camper was with my last 2016 Ram 1500 with 3.21 gears, an 8 speed trans, and towing a 2016 Wildwood X-Lite 230BHXL.
The camper was 26' long with 694# hitch weight, 4900# dry weight, 2700# payload rating, so a pretty comparable setup.

I used a Blue Ox Swaypro setup and opted for airlift 1000 airbags to help manage the tongue weight a little better. I don't recall what I crossed the scales at, I'd have to look for the CAT slip at home, but I didn't pack light. That combo went from New Hampshire to Colorado (over Wolf Creek Pass with 10,857' elevation with 7% downhill grade) and then back. I drove out and back with NO issues on the stock Goodyear tires. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again with the same combo, just make sure to watch your tire pressure on the truck and camper to account for the heavier load. Obviously you can feel when semi trucks pass and when the wind picks up, but not because the camper sways independently, but the truck and camper moves as a unit.

Pay attention to the tongue weight and look for about a 10-12% tongue weight.

 

[breal201999]

The rear of the truck empty is 2236; the rear axle weight on the scale is 3160, so there is weight being transferred there. The truck's front axle is about 3150 unloaded, so it only pulled about 50# off the front axle, which is good. Assuming all the rear axle weight is from the camper and not gear in the bed, the camper weight is roughly 5200, which means you packed very light if the dry camper weight is 4600#.

My first long trip with a camper was with my last 2016 Ram 1500 with 3.21 gears, an 8 speed trans, and towing a 2016 Wildwood X-Lite 230BHXL.
The camper was 26' long with 694# hitch weight, 4900# dry weight, 2700# payload rating, so a pretty comparable setup.

I used a Blue Ox Swaypro setup and opted for airlift 1000 airbags to help manage the tongue weight a little better. I don't recall what I crossed the scales at, I'd have to look for the CAT slip at home, but I didn't pack light. That combo went from New Hampshire to Colorado (over Wolf Creek Pass with 10,857' elevation with 7% downhill grade) and then back. I drove out and back with NO issues on the stock Goodyear tires. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again with the same combo, just make sure to watch your tire pressure on the truck and camper to account for the heavier load. Obviously you can feel when semi trucks pass and when the wind picks up, but not because the camper sways independently, but the truck and camper moves as a unit.

Pay attention to the tongue weight and look for about a 10-12% tongue weight.

Sounds great! Thanks!

 

[GsRAM]

Don't exceed whatever your max inflation pressure is but I'd make sure the rears were maxed.

This. Checked when cold.

 

[GsRAM]

Is your truck an 8 or 6 speed? I'm sorry I may have missed that. Thanks

 

[breal201999]

Is your truck an 8 or 6 speed? I'm sorry I may have missed that. Thanks

8 speed

 

[GsRAM]

8 speed

Excellent. That helps a whole lot. Good on you for asking all the questions up front. Seems like all is in order. Enjoy that new camper! Camping is awesome. I just love it.

 

[HDGoose]

GRAWR? Googled it...cannot post what I found on a 'family' board.