Starting to look for a TT, a little (basic) help, please!

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aces-n-eights

aces-n-eights

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Yep. 1500's have pretty low payload.
Good thing the wife and i are skinny!

However, with that said, the number you absolutely do not want to exceed is GRAWR (gross rear axle weight rating). You can find that on the drivers door jamb sticker.
Really good advice, thanks. My door jamb says 3,900 lbs so maybe this is what we should be looking at...:)

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KenR 955

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FWIW.......... Just because your truck CAN pull 8,000lbs, does not mean it SHOULD pull 8K. The enclosed trailer I pull with the 98 Cummins truck (without a second thought), works the 1500 hard. It'll pull it, for sure. The 8K toy hauler? It works the 98 hard enough to notice it, but not make me worry. I would NOT use the 1500 to do it.

YMMV, but that's how I feel about it.

Ken R
 
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I realize my 1500 is not the ultimate towing vehicle. We will continue to search for the camper that meets our comfort requirements that does not overload the truck.

Thanks very much for the great advice here and your willingness to answer my basic questions.
 
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Here's my ticket when I was using a 2017 1500 as a tow vehicle. This was loaded for only 3 nights so there was not much in the truck or trailer. I was almost at the limit of my GCWR which as 13,800. 2 months later I bought a 2500.

Jay, if you don't mind, what trailer are you towing?
 

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Here's my ticket when I was using a 2017 1500 as a tow vehicle. This was loaded for only 3 nights so there was not much in the truck or trailer. I was almost at the limit of my GCWR which as 13,800. 2 months later I bought a 2500.
Looks like if you did have a 4100lb GRAWR then you were right at your limits. If you were 3900 like the OP then you were over. But just shows that a 7500lb-ish TT can overload a 1500 with a 10,000lb tow capacity
 

Loudram

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For the record the curb weight of the truck includes all fluids full including gas.

If you look at the fine print in the towing charts it says passenger weight allowance is 300lbs. I'm thinking that belongs in the tow rating number. Screenshot_20210709-092050.png
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Jay, if you don't mind, what trailer are you towing?
Grand Design 2600 RB Advertised tongue weight of 594, but actual dry was 660, and loaded was close to 1000. Trailer advertised as 5800 dry with a gross of 7850. Truck GVWR was 6900 and payload was 1404.
 

JayLeonard

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Looks like if you did have a 4100lb GRAWR then you were right at your limits. If you were 3900 like the OP then you were over. But just shows that a 7500lb-ish TT can overload a 1500 with a 10,000lb tow capacity
Yes just over. That was the first time that I actually had cargo in the bed while towing, plus all of our clothes in the back seats. I know I could have put all that in the trailer, so it was really the overall weight I was concerned about. We planned on trailering out west this summer so I know I needed a bigger truck.
We'll be ready next summer for sure.
 

GsRAM

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Here's my ticket when I was using a 2017 1500 as a tow vehicle. This was loaded for only 3 nights so there was not much in the truck or trailer. I was almost at the limit of my GCWR which as 13,800. 2 months later I bought a 2500.
That's interesting. Were you using wdh? What were your unloaded/unhitched axle ratings. I believe 1500s have a 3900 lb rear axle in them, not 100% sure on that, so you were slightly over, but not terrible. I'd be interested to know what the unloaded/ unhitched front axle weight was.

You were loaded heavy no doubt so I can see why you went 2500. That trailer weight is beginning to get into the upper range of half ton towing also, in my opinion anyway, so good move all around.
 

GsRAM

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Good thing the wife and i are skinny!


Really good advice, thanks. My door jamb says 3,900 lbs so maybe this is what we should be looking at...:)

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Lol! Naaaaaa, you can tow quite a bit more than that. When you get into the upper range of half ton towing (6500 lbs loaded weight and above, in my opinion) wdh set up becomes all the more critical, to ensuring your transfering some of that rear axle weight back to the steer axle so proper steering and braking performance is maintained. When properly set up, the unhitched front axle weight should be similar to the loaded (trailer hooked up/wdh engaged) weight.

If the hitched/wdh engaged front axle weight is significant less than it was unhitched, something is not right with the wdh aet up. That situation would cause unstable towing

I am sure you will find something suitable for your truck that you will enjoy. There are tons of lightweight options out there these days. I would watch your overall length and try to stay under 30'. Weighs aside, that's a big wind sail to control. It can be done with proper wdh set up however. These are simply my preferences and opinions.
 
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Smokey613

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We just completed a 2500 mile trip pulling our Jayco 21QB, which loaded to our camping needs, weighs right at 5600 lbs. We have an E2 600/6000 WDH which came with the used TT. I think I will replace the bars with 800/8000 rated ones before our next outing or maybe go with an Anderson hitch. I had to adjust our current setup twice before I got it into the correct loading specs. No clue what the previous owner used to tow it with. It was very stable feeling at 65 mph which is our max comfort level towing speed. I wish our RAM had the larger gas tank. With all that said, we have already decided to look for a 2500 in a couple of years once all this craziness has hopefully died down.

One other note…. If at all possible, avoid the Indian Nation Turnpike in Ohlahoma unless you want to test the toughness of your tow vehicle and trailer. Absolutely horrible road that they charge you to drive on. We will drive an extra 100 miles next time to avoid it.
 

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JayLeonard

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Looks like if you did have a 4100lb GRAWR then you were right at your limits. If you were 3900 like the OP then you were over. But just shows that a 7500lb-ish TT can overload a 1500 with a 10,000lb tow capacity
Yes just over. That was the first time that I actually had cargo in the bed while towing, plus all of our clothes in the back seats. I know I could have put all that in the trailer, so it was really the overall weight I was concerned about. We planned on trailering out west this summer so I know I needed a bigger truck.
We'll be ready next summer for sure.
That's interesting. Were you using wdh? What were your unloaded/unhitched axle ratings. I believe 1500s have a 3900 lb rear axle in them, not 100% sure on that, so you were slightly over, but not terrible. I'd be interested to know what the unloaded/ unhitched front axle weight was.

You were loaded heavy no doubt so I can see why you went 2500. That trailer weight is beginning to get into the upper range of half ton towing also, in my opinion anyway, so good move all around.
I was and still am using an Equalizer E4 hitch with 1000 lb torsion bars. Axle ratings were 3700 (F) and 3900 (R). Actual unhitched was 3240 (F) 2860 (R).
 

dhay13

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Sorry if I posted this here before. I know I have posted this several times. This was my sons 2018 Grand Design Imagine 2670MK with his 2018 Ram 2500 6.4 Hemi. The dry weight of the TT is listed at 6500lbs and advertised tongue weight at 695lbs. He actually had 1100lbs tongue weight loaded and the TT weighed 8100lbs but both the truck and trailer were loaded up with stuff. Don't forget you need to add the 1100lbs tongue weight back to the trailer weight to get actual trailer weight. Truck and trailer were each 8100lbs

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KMKKOZ

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Rockwood Mini-Lite 2304 was my favorite camper for this purpose. We removed the dinette seating bench nearest the door and it opened up the floor plan.
 

Smokey613

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Rockwood Mini-Lite 2304 was my favorite camper for this purpose. We removed the dinette seating bench nearest the door and it opened up the floor plan.
The previous owner of our Jayco did the same thing. We have much more usable floor space without the dinette. He built in a small bar one foot deep that runs the length of what was the dinette area. We have two ottomans we got from Amazon we use to sit at the bar for eating if we need to. They also work great when we are sitting on the sofa to use as foot rests. You can also store things inside of them. We really like them.

 
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aces-n-eights

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Rockwood Mini-Lite 2304 was my favorite camper for this purpose. We removed the dinette seating bench nearest the door and it opened up the floor plan.
That's a good looking floorplan.
 
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