TT Dreams to Planning

[sirguynate503]

Hey all,

I am in the early phases of planning and searching for a travel trailer. I have never towed before and I wanted to get some advice for my first time (soon) tow.

I have a 2019 Ram Classic 1500 Warlock 5.7 4x4 (has towing package). It has the 3.21 axle ratio unfortunately, which is not the best for towing but I think it will get the job done, but I will watch my tow limit of 8,200 lbs.

The trailer that I keep coming back is the Forest River Rockwood Mini-Lite 2511S, perfect for 2 and a UVW of 5492 Lb. 25' length dual slide out.

I have the heavy duty springs, I was still planning to get some AirLifts or other air bag. Additionally, I plan to get a weight distribution trailer hitch for better handling.


I am still a year out from my purchase but I am looking for any advice you might have for towing. I was worrying about my tow capacity, I think I am at the limit I would want to tow with this particular rig - what do you think?

 

[crash68]

If your changing the rear springs, you probably won't need the airbags but he WDH is a must. I would go with airbags vs springs as they are adjustable and you return to the stock ride when not in use. The exception for going with springs would be if you hauled a lot of weight on a regular basis in the bed. The biggest thing will be getting how you load the truck/trailer and properly setting up the WDH. It's best to use semi truck CAT scales to actually weigh the truck and trailer. Read throu this post and other s by VernDiesel on how to have the load set up: https://www.ramforum.com/threads/looking-at-the-numbers.123099/

As far as towing the trailer you should be fine, having 3.92 would help especially if your going through the mountains. Keep in mind the object is to get to the destination safely not how fast you can get there.

 

[68PowerWagon]

It sounds like you have done some good homework! As mentioned above the 3.92's would pull it much better but if you are just doing this a few times a year I don't think it would be worth the expense of a gear swap. At that weight you might want to wait on the air bags & see how the trailer you choose drives home. You might get by with just the weight distribution hitch. If you have never towed before I highly advise, after you get your trailer, take it to an empty lot to practice backing up. Take notice of how much wider you have to take turns. Also as mentioned above take your time & don't get in a hurry. Your take off & stopping distance is probably cut in half with a trailer that size.

 

[dhay13]

My step-son has a 2019 1500 with 3.21's and tows his 25' camper with no problems. I think he said his dry weight is about 5500lbs. He does have a WDH but nothing else done to the truck.

 

[BruceMorgan]

That's a nice trailer, but no dinette and the short queen (60x74) is a no go for me but may work for you. It's on the heavy side, I would have expected closer to 5100 UVW. The cabinetry looks solid, so maybe that's why it's heavier than I'd think. Strong, light, affordable - pick any two!

The general rule of thumb for easy, comfortable towing is stay close to 80% of that so that's 6560 pounds. The Rockwood at 5492 UVW + 1382 payload = 6874 lbs GVWR so you're pushing it with that trailer plus gear in the truck, any kids or pets, etc. Look on your door stickers for your real numbers, and do the math.

I have a quad cab with the 3.92. We spent the weekend at the Seattle RV show, and ended up trading our Kodiak 201QB for a Crossroads Sunset Trail 253RB. The Kodiak was our first trailer, and at 3980 UVW we intended to tow it with our Nissan Frontier. Well, we were into 95% of max, so that wasn't any fun to tow and in short order bought the Ram. The Ram has a 10500 lb max trailer weight, so it can handle the 7550 lb GVWR of the new trailer and still be below 80%.

Visit an RV show if you can. There are so many models and you get a good sense of build quality, price, and trade-offs, and can go back and forth to compare. I learned at my first RV show about "short queen" beds at 60x72 or 60x74 instead of "residential queen" at 60x80. I also learned about "black water flush" which not all trailers have, "magnetic latches" on the outside doors (invaluable), "enclosed heated underside" and so on.

After two years of using the Kodiak, we wanted three things in our new trailer: more seating (old trailer had the bed or dinette, new adds theater recliners), an outdoor kitchen so we could do all meal prep entirely outside the trailer if the weather is nice, and just more room inside.

We lost a lot on the depreciation (we got less than half our purchase price in trade, typical), but no one ever said trailer camping was cost effective. My point is - try to buy what you think will work for several years, and consider used for your first trailer.

 

[CamperMike]

Bruce,
Lots of good info. I will mention that the 3.21 still has the same payload as a similarly equipped 3.92, so really what you lose in RV towing is more "theorhetical" towing ability than anything else. The suspension, brakes, etc are all the same. When you're talking a large "sail" like an RV, I think that's really the most important part. You'll likely run up against cargo capacity about the time you hit the 8000 lb range (if not a little before that) even with the 3.92.

 

[sirguynate503]

That's a nice trailer, but no dinette and the short queen (60x74) is a no go for me but may work for you. It's on the heavy side, I would have expected closer to 5100 UVW. The cabinetry looks solid, so maybe that's why it's heavier than I'd think. Strong, light, affordable - pick any two!

Lots of good info!

I am by no means set on brand at this moment. What I am looking for is a floor plan without bunks. For some background, this will be for my Wife and I - as well as our Corgi, we are in our mid 30's, no children and none will ever be coming to both of our mothers dismay.

We have found ourselves living out in Spokane, Washington. While we love what this city has afforded us since we have arrived - steady income, a new house, no credit card debt, expendable income, money into retirement; this city is not a good fit for us. We have been somewhat nomadic since we got married in our mid twenties, we lived in California, then moved up to Portland, over the river to Vancouver, WA, out to Idaho, then to Spokane. Moving here was more a less a fluke helping take care of my wife's mother during a breakup and a pause in my employment while I went back to college.

Anyway, the idea behind the travel trailer is to explore new areas that might be a better fit for us, as well as to see some good friends which are now scattered over the country at this point. Thankfully, I have pretty good equity in my home, and the market I am in now is one of the hottest in the states - I could sell it pretty quick if we find something, or perhaps we will grow into Spokane - who knows? I pitched this idea to the wife and she loved it, I love my wife!

The ideal situation would be go out 2-3 times a year on longer excursions using our vacation and floating holidays days from work, as well as weekend local glamping adventures during the spring and summers, Washington is beautiful after all! (I told my wife one day I would find a way to get her to go camping - I figured it out!)

This particular TT is heavier than the rest of the line in its model because of the dual slide out. You have the main living area slide out as well as a wardrobe slide out. The bathroom in this thing is "big", plenty of knee space, bigger sink/shower, storage - since the lavatory is all the way in the rear. It has a bigger fridge because its located in the slide out as well as lots of counter space. 15k BTU ducted A/C, therm windows, two max fans with vents.
As for the dinette, I was actually stoked to find one that did't have a dinette - I know that TTs come fitted differently and I could get this one with dinette, but I prefer without. The short queen is fine, my wife is 5'3" and I am 5'7", it was more than acceptable when we laid on one the first time, I mean don't get me wrong I wouldn't look away from bigger .
The RV shows are coming soon and I will be going to those this year. From my understanding about 30% off MSRP is what people consider a "good" deal.

While I haven't pulled a trailer, I do have several years experience with driving a 20' box truck, however towing is a different beast in of itself. Thankfully I have access to a huge lot and loading dock where I intend to practice backing up and maneuvering.

 

[BruceMorgan]

Lots of good info!
I am by no means set on brand at this moment. What I am looking for is a floor plan without bunks. For some background, this will be for my Wife and I - as well as our Corgi, we are in our mid 30's, no children and none will ever be coming to both of our mothers dismay.

We have found ourselves living out in Spokane, Washington. While we love what this city has afforded us since we have arrived - steady income, a new house, no credit card debt, expendable income, money into retirement; this city is not a good fit for us. We have been somewhat nomadic since we got married in our mid twenties, we lived in California, then moved up to Portland, over the river to Vancouver, WA, out to Idaho, then to Spokane. Moving here was more a less a fluke helping take care of my wife's mother during a breakup and a pause in my employment while I went back to college.

Anyway, the idea behind the travel trailer is to explore new areas that might be a better fit for us, as well as to see some good friends which are now scattered over the country at this point. Thankfully, I have pretty good equity in my home, and the market I am in now is one of the hottest in the states - I could sell it pretty quick if we find something, or perhaps we will grow into Spokane - who knows? I pitched this idea to the wife and she loved it, I love my wife!

My wife and I also camp with Danny, our Corgi! He's 13 years old and loves camping. He's our adventure boy, always looking to get muddy.

We also don't need bunks, we're empty nesters with adult children. We moved to Bellevue in 1995, after living in Fremont, CA and before that I grew up in Portland. The trailer is a step up from car camping, which we took up several years ago. My wife often tent or cabin camped with the Girl Scouts (she was a troop leader for many years), and she car camped as a child. I on the other hand grew up camping in truck campers and "tent life" was fine, but I too wanted a real shower and bathroom of my own. Campground bathrooms? Ugh! Plus such a hassle in the middle of the night. And tents get cold. The trailer opens up the camping season from March to late October.

It took 20 years to convince my wife a trailer was a good idea, and now she loves taking the trailer out. And yes, she admits that the trailer bathroom is far better!

We have not gone as far as Spokane to camp, but we have crossed the mountains into Moses Lake and Leavenworth areas.

 

[BruceMorgan]

Bruce,
Lots of good info. I will mention that the 3.21 still has the same payload as a similarly equipped 3.92, so really what you lose in RV towing is more "theorhetical" towing ability than anything else. The suspension, brakes, etc are all the same. When you're talking a large "sail" like an RV, I think that's really the most important part. You'll likely run up against cargo capacity about the time you hit the 8000 lb range (if not a little before that) even with the 3.92.

Well, in general I don't like to exceed any of the "max" numbers. The payload yes is the same regardless of gearing, but the max trailer weight rating for my truck with 3.21 gears would be 8000 lbs vs. 10150 with 3.92.

Can (or should) you tow 10000 lbs with a 3.21? Opinions vary. It won't exceed with payload and it won't exceed per axle weights, so you can carry it and you can stop it. It will just exceed max trailer weight. How theoretical is that? Are you going to just cause the engine to rev higher and the transmission to work harder? I assume so (the engineers at Ram had a reason to say 8000 was the max) but I know people do it all the time.

 

[csuder99]

Can (or should) you tow 10000 lbs with a 3.21? Opinions vary. It won't exceed with payload and it won't exceed per axle weights, so you can carry it and you can stop it. It will just exceed max trailer weight. How theoretical is that? Are you going to just cause the engine to rev higher and the transmission to work harder? I assume so (the engineers at Ram had a reason to say 8000 was the max) but I know people do it all the time.

The different tow ratings for the different gearings in an otherwise identical truck are purely based on the requirements in SAE J2807. These requirements include repeated hill starts and the capability to keep a minimum speed on certain grades without overheating, throwing check engine light etc.. In the flats it's not likely to cause issues but in the mountains it can overtax cooling causing premature wear.

 

[Toddbigboytruck]

Hey all,

I am in the early phases of planning and searching for a travel trailer. I have never towed before and I wanted to get some advice for my first time (soon) tow.

I have a 2019 Ram Classic 1500 Warlock 5.7 4x4 (has towing package). It has the 3.21 axle ratio unfortunately, which is not the best for towing but I think it will get the job done, but I will watch my tow limit of 8,200 lbs.

The trailer that I keep coming back is the Forest River Rockwood Mini-Lite 2511S, perfect for 2 and a UVW of 5492 Lb. 25' length dual slide out.

I have the heavy duty springs, I was still planning to get some AirLifts or other air bag. Additionally, I plan to get a weight distribution trailer hitch for better handling.


I am still a year out from my purchase but I am looking for any advice you might have for towing. I was worrying about my tow capacity, I think I am at the limit I would want to tow with this particular rig - what do you think?

Wow you got a lot of responses on your question. I can only tell you why I have and what works for me and letting you decide
I have a 18. Laramie 5.7 crew cab 6.4 bed 4x4 3:21. I tow a 23 ft coachmen tqx triple hybrid. It max out out at 5800 But we’ll all don’t travel with our tanks full so with the kids dogs payload. I am probably at 5800 lbs. we have towed that trailer over 10000 km in the first year we have owned the truck and trailer. It worked hard on Mountain but pulled like a champ. I woo wish I had a different rear end buy I have what I have I do recommend the airbag. Over replacing the springs. ( installation bags this spring) to handle the sag with the weight distribution hitch


Good luck. Happy camping

 

[CamperMike]

Well, in general I don't like to exceed any of the "max" numbers. The payload yes is the same regardless of gearing, but the max trailer weight rating for my truck with 3.21 gears would be 8000 lbs vs. 10150 with 3.92.

Can (or should) you tow 10000 lbs with a 3.21? Opinions vary. It won't exceed with payload and it won't exceed per axle weights, so you can carry it and you can stop it. It will just exceed max trailer weight. How theoretical is that? Are you going to just cause the engine to rev higher and the transmission to work harder? I assume so (the engineers at Ram had a reason to say 8000 was the max) but I know people do it all the time.

I think I was misunderstood. I wasn't suggesting you could tow 10000 lbs with a 3.21. I was suggesting that more than 8000lbs at least with a travel trailer's 12-15% tongue weight will probably cause you to go over on payload and maybe rear axle ratings especially when with passengers and packed for a trip regardless of which gear ratio you have. 12-15% tongue weight on 8000 lbs would be 960-1200 lbs. That doesn't leave much for people and cargo.

 

[BruceMorgan]

I think I was misunderstood. I wasn't suggesting you could tow 10000 lbs with a 3.21. I was suggesting that more than 8000lbs at least with a travel trailer's 12-15% tongue weight will probably cause you to go over on payload and maybe rear axle ratings especially when with passengers and packed for a trip regardless of which gear ratio you have. 12-15% tongue weight on 8000 lbs would be 960-1200 lbs. That doesn't leave much for people and cargo.

Sorry, yes I did think you said to tow 10000 lbs with a 3.21. Thanks for clarifying.

And yes, 8000 lbs even on a 3.92 does get close enough to max payload (1570 for my truck) to squeeze your ability to carry additional cargo.

Towing math always works out the same. You can’t max out the trailer and expect to carry much more than the driver. Conversely, if you load up the truck with your 5 person family and your Lab, you can’t tow that big trailer loaded with gear.

1500s are good for towing trailers big enough for couples or smaller families. For the big family with teenage kids and big dogs, you need to bump it up to a 2500.

 

[BruceMorgan]

The different tow ratings for the different gearings in an otherwise identical truck are purely based on the requirements in SAE J2807. These requirements include repeated hill starts and the capability to keep a minimum speed on certain grades without overheating, throwing check engine light etc.. In the flats it's not likely to cause issues but in the mountains it can overtax cooling causing premature wear.

Thanks for sharing that!

"Minimum speeds on certain grades" is why we traded up from the Frontier to the 1500. Yes, it wasn't the flats that caused issues but the Cascades. One trip up and over the mountains convinced me that we needed a more appropriate truck for towing.

 

[JMod45]

As far as tongue weight is concerned, it's not a bad idea to verify the numbers with the manufacturers website, just to be safe. I ended up with some issues, but that's because I bought a toy hauler, and the dealership didn't understand those are different. I traded my 1500 to a 2500 diesel for two reasons. Primarily because I was at my payload numbers with all of my luggage in the back end of the trailer, and second, trying to pull up to a gasoline pump at a busy station made hair start falling out faster than it already is. Diesel truck lanes are wonderful for that.

I did pull the trailer 2 or 3 times with my 1500. It was a 2012, 2wd, 5.7L 6 speed transmission, and 3.55 gears. Trailer says it is 5500 lbs unloaded, when I took it to some CAT scales, it weighed in at about 6,000 lbs. That truck is only rated for 8450 lbs towing, and I never had an issue pulling. The transmission did run a little warmer when towing, but it was still considered to be in the cool range. Only time I got the temperature to rise noticeably, is when I decided to accelerate while going up an incline on the highway. Even at that, it wasn't enough to be concerned about.

Yes, you have 3.21 gears as opposed to the 3.55 that I had, but you also have the 8 speed transmission, where I had the 6. The 8 speed is supposed to be much better, so I'm sure your truck will be just fine at the same weight range.

As far as RV information is concerned, have you looked at dedicated RV forums? I get on irv2.com from time to time, they have good info, but not as helpful as this one.

 

[dexter]

Hey all,

I am in the early phases of planning and searching for a travel trailer. I have never towed before and I wanted to get some advice for my first time (soon) tow.

I have a 2019 Ram Classic 1500 Warlock 5.7 4x4 (has towing package). It has the 3.21 axle ratio unfortunately, which is not the best for towing but I think it will get the job done, but I will watch my tow limit of 8,200 lbs.

The trailer that I keep coming back is the Forest River Rockwood Mini-Lite 2511S, perfect for 2 and a UVW of 5492 Lb. 25' length dual slide out.

I have the heavy duty springs, I was still planning to get some AirLifts or other air bag. Additionally, I plan to get a weight distribution trailer hitch for better handling.


I am still a year out from my purchase but I am looking for any advice you might have for towing. I was worrying about my tow capacity, I think I am at the limit I would want to tow with this particular rig - what do you think?

I full time in a TT.
The only thing you need is an Equilizer weight distribution hitch.

Don't get air bags or anything else.

You don't need to change springs.

The 3.21 are fine. The only thing the ratio affects is getting moving. A 4.10 gear would get you moving faster and easier then 3.21 when towing.

The key number is your payload, not tow rating.

 

[sirguynate503]

I get on irv2.com from time to time, they have good info, but not as helpful as this one.

Oh yea, I just signed up over at irv2.com last week!

 

[sirguynate503]

I full time in a TT.
The only thing you need is an Equilizer weight distribution hitch.

Don't get air bags or anything else.

You don't need to change springs.

The 3.21 are fine. The only thing the ratio affects is getting moving. A 4.10 gear would get you moving faster and easier then 3.21 when towing.

The key number is your payload, not tow rating.

I will probably wait on the springs or bags until I get the TT and feel how bad the sag is.

I have a list of accessories that I have done some research on, the hitch I am looking at right now is: Husky 32218 Center Line TS with Spring Bars

 

[sirguynate503]

My wife and I also camp with Danny, our Corgi! He's 13 years old and loves camping. He's our adventure boy, always looking to get muddy.

I got a huge soft spot in my heart for Corgis!

 

[Grimson]

Hi Nate,
I’m pulling an Open Range 272RLS with my 2019...It’s a biggie with 2 huge slides. Running The Husky Centerline. Conditions entirely dictate the experience...She’s been smooth as silk @75 and also white knuckle at 60... Hitch does a good job with sway but truck isn’t stable. Timber Grove bags ordered so I don’t have to use so much springbar. Also upgrading my 20” Duellers to proper LT’s. Payload is good at 1720 but still the limitation. To stay legal I can’t load the truck-bed when family is aboard. Luckily the trailer holds a ton of stuff! Still love the truck!


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