Tow capacity confusion

[Seansy]

I basically made an account to ask this noobie question.

I’m confused... some charts I read say my ram can tow 8000+lbs. some say 12000+lbs. I see a lot of “when properly equipped” as well.

For the love of god, please someone tell me what my truck is capable of!? Also, if anyone can give some advice on realistic safe tow capacity, it would be greatly appreciated.
I would like to tow a trailer/toy hauler from time to time, weighing about 8000-9000lbs loaded.

2019 ram 5.7 crew cab 4x4 sport. 392 ratio. I was lead to believe this could handle 12k.

Thanks!

Sean

 

[dhay13]

Well without seeing any of the stickers the 3.92's will give you a higher tow rating than one with 3.21's so that's a plus. I'm not familiar with the 2019's but in a 2018 that combo would probably be rated to tow 10,000+.

As far as the trailer weight, is the 8000-9000 loaded or empty? I towed my 9000-9500lb boat with my 2013 1500 w/ 3.55s that was rated to tow 8600lbs and it towed it great so I doubt you will have trouble towing 9000lbs. I also towed my son's 2018 Grand Design Imagine 2670MK 200 miles down and 200 miles back with no problems. It weighed about 6600lbs empty and probably about 7500lbs when I towed it. Again no problems but it did rev around 4000 RPM trying to maintain 65 MPH on the highway coming through West Virginia hills.

I'll let somebody with more knowledge on the 2019's chime in but make sure you get a good weight distributing hitch for your setup

 

[Seansy]

Thanks for your reply!

8-9K fully loaded. I believe it’s around 6k dry.

 

[LarryA]

There should be a sticker on the drivers door jam specially for your truck

 

[crash68]

There should be a sticker on the drivers door jam specially for your truck

There is no sticker that will directly state how much a truck can tow. The "payload sticker" is there for an estimated weight you can put in the truck for people who have no clue what GAWR and GVWR is.
The closest a sticker in the door comes to telling you how much a truck can tow is the one that has the VIN, GAWR(s), GVWR and tire size/type(with inflation pressure). There is no reference to axle ratio. A vehicle's GCWR is determined by either the state you live in limit for class of vehicle or by Elected Gross Weight.


@Seansy they might make some versions of the '19 1500 capable of towing 12K but keep in mind that trailer weighs double what the truck does and the driver better like to hear the Hemi rev up into the torque peak. Even with your 8K-9K trailer the Hemi is going to want to rev up into the torque peak/band, you won't hurt the engine.

 

[runamuck]

my 2019 with 5.7 and 3.92 gears works plenty hard towing my 28' 6000# travel trailer. I personally wouldnt go much bigger. of course you could pull a heavier flatbed trailer that is not such a big air dam as a travel trailer. kinda depends on what you plan to tow.

 

[LarryA]

There is no sticker that will directly state how much a truck can tow. The "payload sticker" is there for an estimated weight you can put in the truck for people who have no clue what GAWR and GVWR is.
The closest a sticker in the door comes to telling you how much a truck can tow is the one that has the VIN, GAWR(s), GVWR and tire size/type(with inflation pressure). There is no reference to axle ratio. A vehicle's GCWR is determined by either the state you live in limit for class of vehicle or by Elected Gross Weight.


@Seansy they might make some versions of the '19 1500 capable of towing 12K but keep in mind that trailer weighs double what the truck does and the driver better like to hear the Hemi rev up into the torque peak. Even with your 8K-9K trailer the Hemi is going to want to rev up into the torque peak/band, you won't hurt the engine.

All true, but still a good start, and since cargo capacity seems to be the limiting factor one can figure tongue weight and work backwards.

Of course the OP can enter his VIN at the owners section of ram trucks on line and get the exact details for his truck

 

[Seansy]

All true, but still a good start, and since cargo capacity seems to be the limiting factor one can figure tongue weight and work backwards.

Of course the OP can enter his VIN at the owners section of ram trucks on line and get the exact details for his truck

Boom. I had no idea I could do this.

Thanks

 

[tjfdesmo]

All true, but still a good start, and since cargo capacity seems to be the limiting factor one can figure tongue weight and work backwards.

Of course the OP can enter his VIN at the owners section of ram trucks on line and get the exact details for his truck

Except the information given is almost always incorrect. It was off by a few hundred pounds on my '15. I will soon see how close it is on my '19.

 

[LarryA]

Except the information given is almost always incorrect. It was off by a few hundred pounds on my '15. I will soon see how close it is on my '19.

Out of curiosity, what reference did you use for the correct figures?

 

[tjfdesmo]

Out of curiosity, what reference did you use for the correct figures?

The door tag, but I should have been more clear, I was referring to payload numbers.

 

[crash68]

Of course the OP can enter his VIN at the owners section of ram trucks on line and get the exact details for his truck

I had no idea I could do this.

As @tjfdesmo points out the website is and can be wrong. The website shows I have a zero payload rating(yeap 0lbs) and the towing capacity is something under 8K lbs.

Stick to using the GAWR(s), GVWR and run your truck and trailer over a set of scales so you know the real weights and where it's at.

 

[mtofell]

Realize there are two numbers to keep in mind and often times people are only focusing on one of them. Towing = what it can pull, payload = what it can carry. You need to be aware of BOTH of these for a proper and safe towing experience. Manufacturers and salesman make a living talking about one of these numbers at a time.

 

[Elkman]

According to the Ram SAE J2807 specs the trucks with the 6'4" box are rated for trailer weight of 11, 120 and the trucks with the 5'7" box are rated for trailer weight of 11,250 lbs with your engine and 3.92 gears.

Only the trucks with the V-8 engine and the 3.03 gears are rated for trailer weights in this range. Your truck with 3.21 gears is rated for 8,020 lbs or 3,230 lbs less with those gears.

 

[olyelr]

According to the Ram SAE J2807 specs the trucks with the 6'4" box are rated for trailer weight of 11, 120 and the trucks with the 5'7" box are rated for trailer weight of 11,250 lbs with your engine and 3.92 gears.

Only the trucks with the V-8 engine and the 3.03 gears are rated for trailer weights in this range. Your truck with 3.21 gears is rated for 8,020 lbs or 3,230 lbs less with those gears.

Wuh?

 

[runamuck]

one thing you can do is go weigh your truck. mine came in at 5960# with me and 1/2 tank of gas. so if you subtract that from the 7100# the gov. allows for these trucks, that leaves me 1140# for the rest of my fuel, gear, and hitch wt. of my trailer when hooked up

 

[13ram1500crew]

There are some good calculators on the web that will give you some accurate towing numbers.

I like this one:

https://www.huskytow.com/towing-calculator/

It allows you to enter all the details of your truck and the trailer / RV and give you the weights that you will be towing.

 

[Retiring Don]

I went round and round with numerous dealers about this before I bought my truck because I wanted to size the truck to my new travel trailer, seemed none of them knew what I was talking about. So after I did all the research for myself I determined from the info on the Ram websites that a '19 Ram Laramie 2wd crew cab short bed 5.7 hemi with 3.92 gears could tow 10,200 lbs and with 3.21 gears about 2000 lbs less. As I recall a 4x4 had 200 lbs less towing capacity.
My trailer is about 6500 lbs wet with a tongue weight of 680 lbs and I want to limit the strain on the drive train when I go over the Rocky Mountains next year so I went with the 3.92's. I get 11.5 mpg when towing on trips to and through the Virginia/North Carolina mountains at 60-65 mph (I don't like to exceed the 65 mph speed rating of the trailer tires); 20 mpg on the highway @63 mph, and 15-16 mpg around town. With the lower 3.92 gears the highway mpg goes down to 16-17 @70 mph so it's a tradeoff if I'm in a hurry, but I bought the truck to tow not as a freeway cruiser.

 

[runamuck]

if your trailer is very new you probably have the 81 mph tires..I would never tow that fast but I like to stay around 68-70 if road fairly flat. my trailer is around 6000# and at that speed I often get 10.5.

 

[Clayton Bearden]

Hello,
This is the correct way to answer your question for your exact truck. I hope it helps. Give my post a thumbs up if it does.
Towing capacity formula

1. Find out curb weight (on VIN sticker).
2. Add the weight of passengers, fuel, and cargo to the curb weight.
3. Subtract this number from your vehicle’s GCWR ( you may have to look this up using your VIN if it’s not on the door sticker).
4. This is your max towing capacity.
5. Check to make sure the hitch can also handle this weight.