- Joined
- Aug 22, 2020
- Posts
- 157
- Reaction score
- 173
- Location
- Central Washington
- Ram Year
- 2021
- Engine
- Hemi
Yarek, You pull a borrowed trailer 80 MPH? Does your friend know that?
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Yarek, You pull a borrowed trailer 80 MPH? Does your friend know that?
The recommended tongue weight for a conventional hitch is 10 percent of the gross trailer weight. The maximum tongue weight for Class IV receiver hitch is limited to 1100 lb.My opinion, it’s to big and heavy to be pulled behind a 1/2 ton truck.
Others have different opinions about towing.
The frame, suspension and brakes aren’t built for that much additional load on the truck.
My first concern is brakes in any towing setup.
If the brakes were to fail on the trailer for any reason. Can the truck stop going down a 20 degree grade doing 60 MPH?
If you’ve ever worked on a 3/4 or 1 ton truck compared to a 1/2 ton there is a HUGE difference in brakes and suspension.
Weight distribution hitches help but it still doesn’t change the amount of weight behind the truck.
I thought the 1/2 ton Rams were only rated at 500lbs tongue weight?
I’ve watched way to many YouTube videos of towing mistakes to give an unbiased opinion..
I would never tow anything that weighed more then 3K behind a 1/2 ton pickup.
Just because they say it can do it doesn’t mean you should.
Good luck, I hope you get it sorted out.
You really need to check the adjustment of the WDH, find a CAT scale and weight the truck and trailer loaded as if your going camping, then drop the trailer and weigh just the truck. Without checking actual weights your camper dealer is just guessing on how to adjust the WDH.. I did it on my return trip from the beach and that cured the tail wagging but now I have another problem with the front feeling light and it's hard to handle at speeds of 68 to 70. 72 was much better. I just went back to the camper dealer and he re-adjusted the hitch but he noticed how soft the suspension was in the rear by just pushing down a little bit on the hitch.
I have pulled a 2019 Keystone Cougar 29bhs with a 2020 Ram EcoDiesel Limited with the four corner Automatic Leveling Air Suspension. The only thing changed on the truck from stock was to upgrade to Load Range E tires.Our travel trailer tail is wagging our RAM 1500 dog. Our configuration:
2021 RAM 1500 Limited (V8 Hemi w/air suspension)
Weights per the door frame sticker are:
GVWR: 7100 lb
GAWR front: 3900 lb
GAWR rear: 4100 lb
Max payload: 1359 lb
Max towing: 8159 lb
Gulf Stream Conquest Lite 238RK (length 27' 11", spec dry wt 4815, hitch wt 640)
Reese hitch 49911 - max gross wt/tongue wt: 6000/600
Tires on the TT (ST205/75R14) have been upgraded to Goodyear Endurance tires.
We had ourselves weighed on the first trip, and the weights were:
Front truck axle-3320, Rear truck axle-3960, Trailer axle(s)-4880. Actual hitch weight unknown.
The weight of the trailer is well within the capability of the RAM 1500 and the rating of the hitch appears to be correct (hitch weight is only slightly over). The hitch was installed and adjusted by our dealer. The trailer was not heavily loaded, and not in any strange way that would have changed the tongue weight much. However, at speeds approaching 55 mph, it starts to approach a white knuckle drive. It seems to sway and is overly sensitive/bouncy to uneven roads. The Reese hitch is supposed to have integrated sway control, but it doesn't feel like it.
After posting this same question to a Facebook Newbie RV group, the leading theory is that the air suspension, once its reengaged (jack mode disabled per the user manual) is conflicting with the weight distribution setup ().
For those of you out there with a 1500 Limited and a similar size travel trailer, what is your experience? Do you stick with the user manual setup? Do you drive with jack mode left on?
I have the Equalizer WDH hitch also, it does an excellent job!Rickshein we have the exact same set up you do. 2021 Limited Hemi with air ride. We pull a 26.8 ft trailer that weighs 7700 pounds loaded. Last weekend took it to the Snake river to a park that does not have water. We filled the 80 gallon fresh water tank at the house and drove 100 miles. The truck was perfect in fact on a long straight I pulled at 65 mph which is fast for me. I like to pull between 55 and 62, depending on traffic. The only difference I see between your set up and ours is the WDH, we use the Equalizer. The truck has Goodrich tires and the trailer has Goodyear Endurance. We have pulled this trailer and others with 1/2 ton Fords and now the Ram. I feel that I have plenty of truck with this setup.
This has been a very helpful thread as I am new to towing. I have a 2019 Laramie 3.92 axle with 5.7 eTorque, sunroof and skid plates. When I put my VIN into the RAM site, I got 1340 lbs payload and 11200 lbs tow. But when I weighed my truck today with my wife and 2 small dogs (about 350 lbs total) plus full tank of gas, I got 5940 lbs (3500 front, 2440 rear). So my actual payload must be around 1500 lbs! Has anyone found similar differences?
I am shopping for a TT in the 5000 lb to 6200 lb (dry) range, with a maximum hitch weight of 1000 lbs (around 12% of TT weight). This seems a good hitch weight to get my rear axle weight close to the front axle weight. I prefer not to use a WDH since I plan to go off road - is that reasonable?
no, over 5K you need a WDHThis has been a very helpful thread as I am new to towing. I have a 2019 Laramie 3.92 axle with 5.7 eTorque, sunroof and skid plates. When I put my VIN into the RAM site, I got 1340 lbs payload and 11200 lbs tow. But when I weighed my truck today with my wife and 2 small dogs (about 350 lbs total) plus full tank of gas, I got 5940 lbs (3500 front, 2440 rear). So my actual payload must be around 1500 lbs! Has anyone found similar differences?
I am shopping for a TT in the 5000 lb to 6200 lb (dry) range, with a maximum hitch weight of 1000 lbs (around 12% of TT weight). This seems a good hitch weight to get my rear axle weight close to the front axle weight. I prefer not to use a WDH since I plan to go off road - is that reasonable?
So my setup is on a 4th gen. I can’t imagine there’s that much difference. 31’ Rockwood 5900# Dry 814# hitch weight. 2012 CC 4WD Hemi. We tow very nicely. My truck has a set of 20”Michelin Defender LTX tires, Airlift 1000 airbags. I run about 15 lbs in the bags, they are inflated independently and are not used to level the truck. They do add some cornering stability. Good year Endurance tires on the TT although they were installed this year. Didn’t notice much improvement in the towing performance as the trailer towed pretty nice before. The WDH is a Reese Straightline 1200. I feel this is the key to our stability, along with the Michelins on the truck. We have towed our trailer through every type of terrain and always been comfortable. Not sure if this helps. It works for us and has since we bought the truck in 2012.Our travel trailer tail is wagging our RAM 1500 dog. Our configuration:
2021 RAM 1500 Limited (V8 Hemi w/air suspension)
Weights per the door frame sticker are:
GVWR: 7100 lb
GAWR front: 3900 lb
GAWR rear: 4100 lb
Max payload: 1359 lb
Max towing: 8159 lb
Gulf Stream Conquest Lite 238RK (length 27' 11", spec dry wt 4815, hitch wt 640)
Reese hitch 49911 - max gross wt/tongue wt: 6000/600
Tires on the TT (ST205/75R14) have been upgraded to Goodyear Endurance tires.
We had ourselves weighed on the first trip, and the weights were:
Front truck axle-3320, Rear truck axle-3960, Trailer axle(s)-4880. Actual hitch weight unknown.
The weight of the trailer is well within the capability of the RAM 1500 and the rating of the hitch appears to be correct (hitch weight is only slightly over). The hitch was installed and adjusted by our dealer. The trailer was not heavily loaded, and not in any strange way that would have changed the tongue weight much. However, at speeds approaching 55 mph, it starts to approach a white knuckle drive. It seems to sway and is overly sensitive/bouncy to uneven roads. The Reese hitch is supposed to have integrated sway control, but it doesn't feel like it.
After posting this same question to a Facebook Newbie RV group, the leading theory is that the air suspension, once its reengaged (jack mode disabled per the user manual) is conflicting with the weight distribution setup ().
For those of you out there with a 1500 Limited and a similar size travel trailer, what is your experience? Do you stick with the user manual setup? Do you drive with jack mode left on?
I’ve worked for U-Haul for 15 years. In my time w/U-Haul I have dealt with countless complaints about trailers swaying. Every time, without fail, it was due to improper weight distribution. When you load the pillows in the front of the trailer and the refrigerator in the back, trailer life is going to miserable.the only time i have been whip by the trailer is when i had to much weight behind the trailer axles