Towing

[Mikc]

Good day all, new guy here and hoping for a little real world towing experience for my 2016 Ram Limited with a Hemi. It does have the tow tackage. From what I see it can handle around 10k. My question is I am looking at a travel trailer GVWR max at 7k. Does anyone tow a trailer in this range. If so how well does it maintain speed on the highway. Can it maintain 65 mph on most normal interstates with noraml hills? I think GPM will probaly be around 7-8?
I am approaching retirement and the wife and I want to short haul travel in our region. My appreciation for any input.

 

[OLEJOE]

Delete

 

[Travelin Ram]

No concern towing that. Get a good WD hitch with sway control.

MPG depends on speed and how aerodynamic your TT is. A square box vs airstream for example.

 

[Mikc]

Good news, understood and thank you!

 

[HDGoose]

Look at the drivers door. That will have the actual towing capacities for your truck, as delivered from the factory. I've seen upper end trucks with a payload of 900 pounds.

If new to towing, learn a few phrases. Start here - https://rvlife.com/guide-to-towing-a-travel-trailer/

 

[GrumpyOleMan]

Look at the drivers door. That will have the actual towing capacities for your truck, as delivered from the factory. I've seen upper end trucks with a payload of 900 pounds.

If new to towing, learn a few phrases. Start here - https://rvlife.com/guide-to-towing-a-travel-trailer/

/\/\/\ This. With your truck being a Limited, it is on the heavy end of the spectrum before you put anything in the cab, bed or on the receiver. My '19 Limited has a payload of 1280 (per the sticker referenced above). A little diligence (research) will pay off big time in the long run if you know what your true weight limits are. That being said, I have a tow rating of just over 8k since my truck has the 3.21 rear end and I tow a travel trailer just over 7k with no problems. A good Weight Distribution Hitch is a must at that weight. I have seen MPG between 8 and 13 towing but to be honest, the 13 was with a stiff tail wind, I usually see 8 to 10 putting along at 65.

 

[rmill]

most important number to know, not guess, is the tongue weight of trailer with batteries and full propane tanks as that will cut into your payload (gvwr) big time.

 

[OC455]

Payload and Towing, Information and Where to Find It

Maybe this can become a sticky, not going to give any opinions or conjecture. Just a start where to look stuff up to find cargo & towing information. This is the location of the cargo capacity sticker on the driver's side door jamb. This is what it looks like and has the cargo capacity...

www.ramforum.com

Instead of guessing, look it up.

 

[Richard Harter]

At a ~12% tongue weight your trailer's tongue will be 840#. That is the capacity you are using. The rest of your capacity is for passengers and gear.

 

[RafaMexico]

My 2021 Hemi Sport Classic, 4th gen like yours, lists 5135KG on the build sheet for towing capacity. About 11K lbs. 3.92 rear axle, air bags on back and HD coils, WD hitch a must. Squat measures 1" from unloaded height. 5.7 engine, 8 spd transmission. Tow from AZ to Eastern WA every summer and back. This trailer is 29 feet, 5850 dry weight, 7200 wet. Will do 65 all day except on the steeper hills, then I let it drift down to 50's. Stable like a bullet even in sidewind. Mileage is around 11 to 13 depending on headwinds, (on the dash calculator).

 

[HighDesertRam]

+1 on the weight distributing hitch. I used to tow a 7500 pound boat without one and it always scared the heck out of me. Now I tow a 10,000 pound trailer, admittedly with a diesel, and the weight distributing hitch is the only way I would ever tow from here on out. Makes all the difference in the world.

 

[62Blazer]

If the truck is factory rated to tow 10k than it should have no issues towing 7k. I wouldn't suspect it would have any issues maintaining 65 mph under most conditions.

 

[09SilverRam]

My 2021 Hemi Sport Classic, 4th gen like yours, lists 550KG on the door post for towing capacity. About 11K lbs. 3.91 rear axle, air bags on back and HD coils, WD hitch a must. Squat measures 1" from unloaded height. 5.7 engine, 8 spd transmission. Tow from AZ to Eastern WA every summer and back. This trailer is 29 feet, 5850 dry weight, 7200 wet. Will do 65 all day except on the steeper hills, then I let it drift down to 50's. Stable like a bullet even in sidewind. Mileage is around 11 to 13 depending on headwinds, (on the dash calculator).

550KG is you payload (1200 pounds), not the towing capacity. Although unless you are towing a boat you will max out payload with an RV before towing capacity.

 

[mtofell]

550KG is you payload (1200 pounds), not the towing capacity. Although unless you are towing a boat you will max out payload with an RV before towing capacity.

X2 - OP asked about towing (pulling) power but the limiting factor with half-tons is almost always payload (carrying). Truck manufacturers are borderline fraudulent with their advertising when they splash big towing (pulling) numbers. The fine print is that number can only be achieved with nothing but a driver and maybe a cup of coffee inside the truck and bed.

 

[09SilverRam]

Good day all, new guy here and hoping for a little real world towing experience for my 2016 Ram Limited with a Hemi. It does have the tow tackage. From what I see it can handle around 10k. My question is I am looking at a travel trailer GVWR max at 7k. Does anyone tow a trailer in this range. If so how well does it maintain speed on the highway. Can it maintain 65 mph on most normal interstates with noraml hills? I think GPM will probaly be around 7-8?
I am approaching retirement and the wife and I want to short haul travel in our region. My appreciation for any input.

7k GVW for the trailer should be fine for a half ton as long as you don't have an abnormally low payload, but how long is the trailer?

Three major factors are going to drive "what truck do I need to tow this". Payload, length of the trailer in relationship to the wheelbase of the two vehicle, and the towing capacity of the two vehicle.

A lot of people move from a 1500 to a HD truck to get a heavier truck with a longer wheel base, even if they were still inside of the payload and towing capacity of the 1500.

 

[Lainey]

I have a 2007 1500 4x4 with a tow rating of 10,600. I tow a 34 foot trailer trailer with a GVWR of 8600#. I rarely drive over 62 mph. Gas fuel gets around 8.9 to 10 mpg. I have no issues towing in tow mode. The truck to trailer has a anti=sway weight distribution bars. Don't see any issues with your set up.

 

[MVinman]

This is the only tag I could find on my rear end. I've been reading about towing on here and all the great advice. I don't think I have the actual tow package, I just have the tow/haul button, not the brake assistance controls. I've tried decoding my VIN online, but still can't determine any additional information. So according to online research if I have 3.21 gears, I should be able to tow about 8000lbs, 10,000lbs if I have 3.92 gears. My question from the pic is if anyone can confirm that the 32180p....# means I have 3.21 gears. We plan on buying an rv in the future and I want to make sure I don't get one too big. Plus salesmen will sometimes sell you anything regardless if you should actually be towing it or not. Thanks in advance for any light someone may can shed.

 

[06 Dodge]

This is the only tag I could find on my rear end. I've been reading about towing on here and all the great advice. I don't think I have the actual tow package, I just have the tow/haul button, not the brake assistance controls. I've tried decoding my VIN online, but still can't determine any additional information. So according to online research if I have 3.21 gears, I should be able to tow about 8000lbs, 10,000lbs if I have 3.92 gears. My question from the pic is if anyone can confirm that the 32180p....# means I have 3.21 gears. We plan on buying an rv in the future and I want to make sure I don't get one too big. Plus salesmen will sometimes sell you anything regardless if you should actually be towing it or not. Thanks in advance for any light someone may can shed.
View attachment 526299

With your VIN you can look up the build sheet it list every thing in your truck...

 

[tron67j]

This is the only tag I could find on my rear end. I've been reading about towing on here and all the great advice. I don't think I have the actual tow package, I just have the tow/haul button, not the brake assistance controls. I've tried decoding my VIN online, but still can't determine any additional information. So according to online research if I have 3.21 gears, I should be able to tow about 8000lbs, 10,000lbs if I have 3.92 gears. My question from the pic is if anyone can confirm that the 32180p....# means I have 3.21 gears. We plan on buying an rv in the future and I want to make sure I don't get one too big. Plus salesmen will sometimes sell you anything regardless if you should actually be towing it or not. Thanks in advance for any light someone may can shed.
View attachment 526299

Do you have the 2 stickers on your door jamb? Those will have that data you need. You should sée one that has payload capacity, but what is more important is what your truck actually weighs on a trip (without the trailer attached) to help find how heavy of a trailer you can actually tow.

Load the truck (gas, people, gear, hitch, etc., just as if you were heading in a trip) and go to a CAT scale for a weight ticket. That will tell everything you really need to know.

For example, if your truck has a max GVWR of 8,000 pounds and your fully loaded truck is 6,800 then your maximum payload capacity for tongue weight is 1,200 pounds. Then, assuming the tongue weight of your trailer is exactly 1,200 pounds (your available remaining payload capacity) and assuming this is the 15% average of tongue weight to the total trailer weight, the math of the maximum trailer you could tow would be 1,200 / .15 = 8,000 pound trailer. Even if you find your truck is "rated" for 10,000 pounds, payload capacity of 1500s almost always ensure you will never tow that maximum.