quick TT tow question

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Airmousam

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Question...How will my 2021 do towing a travel trailer>>>7000lbs 30' with 880lb tongue weight? Not something I plan to tow often but initial travel with be 300 miles. Will she do ok? Weight seems ok but hard to find much on hitch weight. thanks!
 

Udy2554

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A good wdh will do wonders! I use the Equalizer 1200 for my GD Transcend, very close to yours! It’s worked for a much heavier PrimeTime Fury also!

I do have Loadlifter 5000 bags also!

I tow at speed on the highway, no noticeable porpoising or sway!

The weight distributing hitch is a necessity I believe!

Enjoy!IMG_8977.jpeg
 

andymax

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OOPS, sorry just saw my mistake in my comment so I removed it, I did not realize this was posted in the power wagon section.

Good luck with everything!!
 

joesstripclub

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You should be fine but you'll want a WDH to help level you back out. I have a 26' toy hauler thats listed 7400 dry. 1100 TW empty though so it really squats the truck without my SxS. If you want to push it, you can run 75 mph across flat highways but its a lot happier at 70 or less. I installed air bags to help level it out a bit as well.
20240612_195801.jpg
 

joesstripclub

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Also I drug this thing fully loaded up to Taylor Park over Cottonwood pass. I'm guessing I was pushing 11k lbs (SxS, water full, TH fuel tank full). The truck was definitely running out of steam at the top of the pass (EL 12k+) but never had any issues otherwise.
 

62Blazer

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Properly set up it shouldn't be a problem. I tow a 32' 9k enclosed trailer with around 1,200 lbs. tongue weight. I also have the Thuren 1.5" lift and 37's which doesn't help anything when towing! For short trips I don't bother with WDH but it does require air bags to keep the rear suspension off the bump stops. It's been up to 65 mph on the freeway for short distances with no issues, but most of those trips is maybe 35-40 mph roads through town.
If I'm going any further distances, especially extended time on the freeway at higher speeds, I do hook up the WDH. Always have the air bags inflated to the same pressure whether I have the WDH hooked up or not. To be honest I have never tried just the WDH and bags deflated to see what the squat is like. I will say that with the WDH and 60 psi in the bags it sits pretty level.
Overall handling feels great. Powerwise it does fine, but around here we are under 1,000 ft. elevation and fairly flat.
 

nlambert182

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It may do just fine, but your tongue weight isn't going to be 880 lbs. That's likely the dry weight. To calculate the max tongue weight that you could see, take the GVWR of the trailer x 15%. If the GVWR (not dry weight) of the trailer is 7k lbs, tongue weight will be ~1,050 lbs.

Depending on your remaining payload on the truck you might be fine weight wise with the right WDH. 30' is rather long for a 1500 though, so make sure you set it up correctly or you'll find yourself in a tail wag scenario. That's a lot of trailer for the truck.
 

Gero

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Good wdh like many have said. Id add timbren too. It'll tow it, probably not the most comfortable but if it's occasional then it's fine. Take it slow and scan the road well ahead. Don't be afraid to let the engine rev up
 

Randy Grant

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This might be a silly question, but what is the difference whether a person tows with a 1500 5 times a year or 20 times a year or more. All the variables are the same. These trucks are built to tow a given axle and GVWR which is for liability reasons conservative. If it's a good tow, or even right at the ratings. then what's the difference?
Just wondering about the reasoning.
 

Gero

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It's about the towing experience and how much confidence the truck will instill. I pull my 6000lb 24ft TT about 5 or 6 times a year and it's fantastic.

We've pulled the inlaws 32ft a few times and its not as comfortable in my half ton. You don't get the same confidence unless you're in a heavier truck. My inlaws have a an older f-350 and it's day and night difference. The wind doesnt push your tow vehicle around as easily especially when passing or being passed by a semi. There's something to be said about a heavier truck with stronger brakes and suspension.
 

White six four

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This might be a silly question, but what is the difference whether a person tows with a 1500 5 times a year or 20 times a year or more.
More wear and tear on the tow rig. To me especially with a camper if you're towing 5 times a year it could possibly be shorter trips. Whereas 20 times a year you've already been to all of the "local" campgrounds/places and are trying out new places (traveling further). It's not the case for everyone. Some people's one big trip is across the country whereas others like when I was a kid and my parents had a travel trailer our one big trip a summer was 120-200 miles from home. We would normally go on 4-8 trips a year and most were within an hour. Just my thoughts. Not saying I'm right, but that's been my experience.

A guy should really go by miles towing rather then trips. Especially when doing maintenance on the tow rig.
 

ramffml

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These trucks are built to tow a given axle and GVWR which is for liability reasons conservative.

Tow ratings follow the J2807 standard. Acceleration runs up the davis dam at a min ambient temp with AC on, engine temps have to remain in control. Then there are other tests that measure under/over steer, braking performance etc.

But it stands to reason that a truck which tows max load all day every day will not live as long as a truck that does passenger duty.

For myself, my comfort level for any half ton is like 8000 pounds. Any more than that on a regular basis and well, 2500's exist for this purpose.
 

Randy Grant

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Tow ratings follow the J2807 standard. Acceleration runs up the davis dam at a min ambient temp with AC on, engine temps have to remain in control. Then there are other tests that measure under/over steer, braking performance etc.

But it stands to reason that a truck which tows max load all day every day will not live as long as a truck that does passenger duty.

For myself, my comfort level for any half ton is like 8000 pounds. Any more than that on a regular basis and well, 2500's exist for this purpose.
If it only does passenger duty every day, get a Prius.:33:
 

ramffml

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If it only does passenger duty every day, get a Prius.:33:

Pretty sure if I sat in a prius though I'd pushing the headlights out with my feet. :)

This is the first vehicle I own where my legs aren't crunched up against the doors or the dash.
 

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For ALL the towing questions: your bottom line is fully loading up the truck and trailer with cargo and passengers and getting on CAT scales. Then compare axle weights to what's on your door jam stickers. WDH can help a lot with a bit too much on the rear axle. Air bags can help with handling but do NOTHING to take weight off the rear axle, (tests have shown they actually increase rear axle weight!).
 

CaptOchs

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Question...How will my 2021 do towing a travel trailer>>>7000lbs 30' with 880lb tongue weight? Not something I plan to tow often but initial travel with be 300 miles. Will she do ok? Weight seems ok but hard to find much on hitch weight. thanks!
Not enough info. There is so much that go into tow capacity. What is yours rated for? Need to account for engine, axle, transmission, bed size, 2 or 4wd... All of these are factors. You could have a truck that has a 10,000 lb tow capacity or a 5000 lb. They look like the same truck, but all of this matters.
 

ReddJackson

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Towing my Outdoors camper dry weight is only 5500lbs, water and all my junk in both the camper and truck add another 1k to 1.5k lbs…when towing with a 2016 Tundra V8 it really struggled over mountain passes with tow/haul trying to keep a speed of 25->30mph…with my 2015 RAM 2500 W/Cummins 6.7 I have to keep a eye on the speedo…wants to 70mph plus…what a difference…I’m a happy camper
 

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