Travel Trailer and 1500 with 3.92 gearing.

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RidgebackBob

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We are looking at a travel trailer (TT) which is 6,840 lb. empty, 8,600 gross (carrying capacity 1,760 lb.) with a hitch weight of 870 lb. My truck is a 2019 Laramie with 5.7 Hemi and 3.92 gears capable (In theory) of towing 11.300 lbs. I have done the calculations using my trucks actual weight (power steps, cap etc) and I will exceed my trucks gross weight by about 200 lbs. (these are very conservative numbers so I am erring on the side of safety). However I still have about 700 lbs available on the front axel and 1,200 available on the rear. I was thinking that if I added air bags to the rear that I would be able to account for the 200+ gross weight deficit. I don't know how the weight will be distributed between the axels with the weight distributing hitch.

Any comments on the viability of this setup or towing a rig like this, or other comments in general? I know the gas milage will be bad at highway speeds but it is cheaper than a new truck (2500) or motor home.

Thanks for your thoughts.
 

Fake-Account27

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1. What is your actual truck payload and what is the length of the trailer.

2. Lets say you pack light and keep the total trailer weight to 7800 lbs. Your hitch weight will be between 900 and 1150 lbs. That's quite a lot for a 1500 series truck.

Your engine is fine, it might be slow but it is going to handle towing that weight. However I would not recommend towing with this setup. It will be a white knuckle experience.

General rule of thumb is if the trailer is over 30 ft long and 6000 GVWR you will be much better off with a 2500 series truck. You might be able to get away with 7k GVWR for a 1500 series truck, but that's the upper limit.
 

Riccochet

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Couple things to note. That 870 lbs tongue weight is dry weight. That does not account for batteries, propane, fluids, WDH weight and whatever else you put in there. Expect a tongue weight of closer to 1100+ lbs. Which leads us to needing to know your payload capacity of your truck.

I was in a similar situation with a similar truck and camper. I was not pleased with the way the 1500 handled. Even after adding air bags, helwig sway bars and a propride WDH. Upgraded to a 2500 and all is good in my hood.
 

Treburkulosis

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Couple things to note. That 870 lbs tongue weight is dry weight. That does not account for batteries, propane, fluids, WDH weight and whatever else you put in there. Expect a tongue weight of closer to 1100+ lbs. Which leads us to needing to know your payload capacity of your truck.

I was in a similar situation with a similar truck and camper. I was not pleased with the way the 1500 handled. Even after adding air bags, helwig sway bars and a propride WDH. Upgraded to a 2500 and all is good in my hood.
I saw a guy yesterday with a 4th gen 2500 ram with the 5.7 pulling a smaller trailer and he was struggling on small hills.
 

Treburkulosis

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@Riccochet I pulled up next to it thinking after seeing the Hemi badge on the side, took a second glance and 5.7 hemi. It seemed to struggle. I would say the trailer was 25 feet max. It was little.
 

OC455

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We are looking at a travel trailer (TT) which is 6,840 lb. empty, 8,600 gross (carrying capacity 1,760 lb.) with a hitch weight of 870 lb. My truck is a 2019 Laramie with 5.7 Hemi and 3.92 gears capable (In theory) of towing 11.300 lbs. I have done the calculations using my trucks actual weight (power steps, cap etc) and I will exceed my trucks gross weight by about 200 lbs. (these are very conservative numbers so I am erring on the side of safety). However I still have about 700 lbs available on the front axel and 1,200 available on the rear. I was thinking that if I added air bags to the rear that I would be able to account for the 200+ gross weight deficit. I don't know how the weight will be distributed between the axels with the weight distributing hitch.

Any comments on the viability of this setup or towing a rig like this, or other comments in general? I know the gas milage will be bad at highway speeds but it is cheaper than a new truck (2500) or motor home.

Thanks for your thoughts.

You are going to be pretty much max'd out. I would look at a lighter trailer. 5k lbs., dry weight range. My listed tongue weight for my trailer is 645lbs., it's actual weight is 710lbs. 710lbs. hitch weight went against the payload of my truck which was 1310lbs......plus 5 people a little dog and a golden retriever....max'd on the trucks axle weights, over on payload. Truck handled the trailer fine and was stable, but was max'd out on my truck and trailer setup. A weight distribution hitch will transfer the weight to the front & rear axles of the truck, so you will have to calculate that into the equation. My trailer was only about 5600lbs loaded.

Your Laramie might say it can tow over 11,300lbs., but without knowing for sure you are guessing. There has a lot of threads here about what can and can't be done, or towed and how to figure it all out. Que @392DevilDog

Towing question about weight | Page 2 | DODGE RAM FORUM - Dodge Truck Forums Post #15. Good read right there.

Airbags/assist springs are not going to increase your payload, they're used more for stability. I had Timber Grove Air Assist springs on my Big Horn to help stabilize it, never to attempt to increase payload.
 
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Randy Grant

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We are looking at a travel trailer (TT) which is 6,840 lb. empty, 8,600 gross (carrying capacity 1,760 lb.) with a hitch weight of 870 lb. My truck is a 2019 Laramie with 5.7 Hemi and 3.92 gears capable (In theory) of towing 11.300 lbs. I have done the calculations using my trucks actual weight (power steps, cap etc) and I will exceed my trucks gross weight by about 200 lbs. (these are very conservative numbers so I am erring on the side of safety). However I still have about 700 lbs available on the front axel and 1,200 available on the rear. I was thinking that if I added air bags to the rear that I would be able to account for the 200+ gross weight deficit. I don't know how the weight will be distributed between the axels with the weight distributing hitch.

Any comments on the viability of this setup or towing a rig like this, or other comments in general? I know the gas milage will be bad at highway speeds but it is cheaper than a new truck (2500) or motor home.

Thanks for your thoughts.
You are going to hear a whole lot of opinions on that one. Towing questions seem to bring out the baseball bats and brass knuckles. Some will say you are in the range where if properly set up yo should have no problem. Just keep the speeds reasonable and drive defensively.
Others will tell you you need a 2500/3500 when towing, PERIOD. I tow heavy and will not argue it, but that's me and much experience.
Here is a youtube that might help to clarify.
 

2019RamInSC

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Just adding my real world experience.

2019 Ram 1500 Hemi 4X4 3.92 Equal-IIzer WD and Anti sway hitch. Totally Stock. Except for a catch can.
2020 Forest River Surveyor 267 RBSS. 6009 lbs Empty. Hitch 728 lbs. Last Cat Scale Trailer weight 6700. (to the War Department's consternation. I stop at CAT scale almost every other trip haha.) I never travel with water or gray or black. The trailer has up graded axles from 3500 each to 4400. Long story. Upgraded Good Year Endurance tires.

The truck is just about at its payload limit. I put anything else in the trailer.

Truck and Trailer are perfectly level. It drives great. No sway when 18 wheelers pass. At 61 MPH with no wind and on flat terrain. 11-12 MPG. With a 15 mph wind hitting broadside. I feel it. Would I want to drive it with a 20+ MPH wind? I don't know but probably not. We shall see some day. We are retired and I can wait out most weather conditions. Pulling up hills is no issue east of the Mississippi. The Rockies are another story. We shall see. Soon :)

To the OP. Your trailer is a lot heavier. If you are traveling with a family with kids. You will be probably be maxing out the trailer weight. Wives have a way of doing that. :rolleyes: I do not think I would want to tow your proposed trailer with my truck. Which is pretty much the same.

Your Mileage may vary.
Good Luck!
 

dhay13

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i may have responded before but you will likely be over payload. you will probably be closer to about 900lbs tongue weight and probably have about 1300-1400lbs payload. So you have 400lbs left for you, family, dogs, cup of coffee, etc.

see what your yellow sticker on your door jamb says for payload (cargo capacity). Figure at least 900-1100lbs tongue weight for that heavy of a TT. My son's 2670MK has an advertised TW of 690lbs but was actually 1100lbs weighing in at 8100lbs. His dry weight was advertised at about 6600lbs. and his GVWR on his TT was about 8500lbs. He was loaded on the heavier side but giving you examples
 

runamuck

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sounds like you will be maxed out load wise but the truck would pull it. I have pretty similar '19 laramie and I pull our 28' travel trailer with it ok. ready for the road our trailer is just about 6000# and in moderate terrain..not mountains..it tows really fine. I pack the truck as lite as I can and the whole rig pulls with little trouble. 68-69 with cruise and get 8.5-10mpg. I have 3340# front axle and 3240# rear axle so well within the limits.
 

CalDad14

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Just made a post very similar to what your asking. I own a 17' Ram 1500 SLT, 5.7 Hemi, Crew Cab, 4x4, 5'7" box, 392gears, bought new, bone stock. We went on a camping trip this past Sunday through Thursday. My first time towing w/this truck. We rented a 19ft bumper pull camper. Approximately 2400lbs. My max tow weight rating is 10,160lbs. Because we rented it, we picked it up on the way out of town so the back of the truck was packed. Including me, my wife, my five year old twins, food, supplies, tools, clothes and a small generator, a gas can and the tongue weight of the trailer. The rear end dipped a bit, but truck & trailer were fairly level. I guesstimate my payload around 1200lbs. I know I didn't weigh it, so I don't know for sure! My truck's payload is rated at 1530lbs. But, a few things I never considered/or thought of. 30 gallons of gas in the truck's tank. I have a topper(canopy/camper shell) I forgot to add in, maybe 350-400lbs??? I didn't even consider to add the weight of the WDH, maybe another 50-60 lbs??? Also, the camper was full of fresh water(30gals), two full propane tanks and two 12V batteries right on the tongue as well??? Now thinking things through, I was probably WAY over on my payload. That being said, I had about an inch and half from the bottom of my bump stops to the top of the axle shaft. We had the AC on, I would turn it off when I was pulling any hill, and it was super windy on our drive back. 500kms trip, 460kms of it towing and I got a touch over 13mpgs. Never went over 65mph. I thought she did a great job. You could definitely feel the back of the truck do a lil waggle when we were hit w/some crosswind gusts. That was not a nice feeling! Just backed her down a bit. I took her easy and got the family home safely, which is most important. If I ever tried to tow a bigger trailer I would absolutely strengthen the rear end. Heavy duty springs, air bags, Timbrens(all of the above!). I would never try to tow anything over 7000lbs. I'd be worried about handling, the suspension and braking. Though, I do believe I've got plenty of horse power and torque.
 

Daw14

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I think he shrank to nothingness!
 
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