What weight can I tow?

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Bones281

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Well I've been looking and I have yet to find exactly what weight my truck can tow. What I have is a 2018 1500 3.21 4x2 Lonestar everything thus far is stocked. Me and the wife are looking at TT's to hual and I've been reading different weights for my size truck and it's getting confusing.
 

ronheater70

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What engine do you have? With a 3:21 ratio, even with the Hemi, you would probably be kinda limited.. but it seems you are in texas so it's kinda flat? Whats the payload sticker on your door frame say? Thats often limiting factor.
 
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Bones281

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I knew I was forget something. It's a 57 Hemi...
 

Jughed

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On flatter roads the 5.7 can pull the listed 8k+/- (max) with no problems, even with the 3.21. The long grades y'all see out west will be a different story...

Max cargo weight is 1600# +/-, tongue weight is a part of that figure. So if you get a TT near the max weight of 8K, you can expect 1100-1200# of tongue weight - leaving little for cargo. And fuel/people are included in the cargo figure.

And none of that covers handling/braking - these trucks are "rate" to tow 8-10k - but IMHO, they are not good at it at all. Braking, handling, soft rear end... (I tried towing 8.5K with my old 1500 and hated every min of it). So you will need air bags, helper springs, timbrens...

And, these trucks come with passenger rated "P" tires. They are not load rated, and in no way match the tow ratings of the vehicle - so you will need to upgrade to LT tires.

When looking at the TT weights, assume you will be at the max weight of the trailer, not the dry weight. The dry weight is the TT with no extras at all, no propane, gear, supplies, water, food - sometimes they don't even include the A/C unit in the dry weight.

So expect trailers in the 28-30' range to be 8-9k loaded... IMHO, 24' is about the realistic limit of that truck.
 

Firebird

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And none of that covers handling/braking - these trucks are "rate" to tow 8-10k - but IMHO, they are not good at it at all. Braking, handling, soft rear end... (I tried towing 8.5K with my old 1500 and hated every min of it). So you will need air bags, helper springs, timbrens...

And, these trucks come with passenger rated "P" tires. They are not load rated, and in no way match the tow ratings of the vehicle - so you will need to upgrade to LT tires.


Well said, and I couldn't agree more. Even though the 1500 is "rated" to tow that much, I wouldn't recommend going there. The 1500's have a spongy suspension, very light duty "P" rated tires, add the fact that you have 3.21 gears, and that is not a good recipe for towing. There is nothing worse than being caught towing when your load manhandles your truck, the pucker factor is huge!
 

mtofell

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Payload is often the limiting factor with 1500 trucks but yours is pretty good @ 1600#. The 3.21 gearing will limit you. Look up the tow chart someone posted, look at your door sticker and you should start to get an idea of what you can do. Just guessing, I'd say you should be looking in the 4000# dry weight range. 1000# of stuff in the trailer, some people and stuff in the truck should put you around 6,000# total of people/things in, on and behind the truck.

Most importantly, don't get too focused on any one number. You need to be under ALL numbers. The two main numbers/concepts are that the truck has to carry AND pull the weight.
 

GsRAM

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As has been said. Good info provided thus far. You can choose to push the payload limit some as long as you stay under your grawr (gross rear axle weight rating)

Just using general figures you should stay below 7,000 loaded trailer weight and under 30' just my .02

You will need a good wdh, good brake control and scale the set up to confirm your weights if you push your limits...and as has been said, upgrade to it tires and add air bags. You can tow heavy with s half ton and I've done it but it requires a Good thought out set up. Regardless you need to take your time towing and be aware of the mass/weight behind you. Its not a speed cointest. Your engine will need to turn more rpm on the grades, but dont let that bother you. Its working as designed, just be dilligent with your maintenance. Good luck
 

WAKEMASTER

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Its funny how we use to tow the same things with a whole lot less truck back in the day. Trucks in both 1/2 ton and HD class trucks had over half the power in some instances and less brakes, less suspension, less stability. As long as you are under the capacity's of of the truck eg. Payload, max towing etc... and have a safe and proper setup you are good to go. Just remember to take things slow and leave extra room for emergency stops and braking, take corners slower than you would typically.
 

VernDiesel

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Bones if you are still following this thread.. I would suggest you limit yourself to a max dry weight of 7k. Reason being by the time you add batteries propane minimal water & supplies it most commonly adds nearly 1,000 pounds. 8k is about the practical comfortable max for a properly optioned 1/2 ton with a well set up hitch & travel trailer to encounter mountains wind etc. This is assuming you don’t need to load the bed heavy such as with an ATV. If so you will want a smaller trailer or larger truck to stay within Mfg specs for the truck.

Even with the 3.21s you will have enough power & gearing it will just work a lil harder & take a bit longer than say with the 3.92s. Thank you excellent 8 speed transmission. The key to doing it safely comfortably & within Mfg specs is in the setup. The only concrete way to get the setup right is to adjust & set your WDH & loading so as to get your tongue weight and axle weights to within Mfg specs per CAT scale results. Once you get it setup right you don’t need to come back to the scales for future trips unless you dramatically change your loading.

The CAT scale is 3 scales that weigh your steer, drive, & TT axles at the same time to see what your eyes or even measurements cannot. CAT has a free app with gps directions and normally costs about $12 & $2 per additional weigh. A cheap price for the safety of your family & for making sure your set up is easy & enjoyable to drive.

Weigh your truck n trailer then pull off and unhook your WDH & drop the trailer. Then weigh just your truck. Subtracting one slip from the other you can find the weight of your TT. Also subtracting the axle weights of the unloaded truck from the loaded truck will tell you your actual seen tongue weight. This is the only way to get tongue weight when using a WDH as it’s spreads tongue weight between truck & trailer.

Your hitch & loading adjustment goals are going to be getting your tongue weight within 10 to 15 percent of gross trailer weight. At 12.5 percent of an 8k trailer this is 1,000 pounds of tongue weight. If you her & basic supplies makes the truck weigh 6K plus the 1,000 tongue weight you are at the trucks GVWR. Your other adjustment goals are to generally replace your unloaded trucks steer axle weight and keep your drive axle at or below the max axle rating of 3,900 pounds. Get those 3 specs in range & you will have a safe stable setup that handles & stops as designed. Without it you could be one of the guys that blame their truck for being a “white knuckle ride”.

Tips to a better towing experience. Use a WDH with built in sway control and if it has spring bars make sure they are rated for your tongue weight. Axle to frame air bags such as Timbergroves help to support dampen & control your rear suspension over rough pavement plus more. They are a great compliment to your WDH with that tongue weight & for a bed load. Factory TBC trailer brake controller can be used to engage only your trailer brakes to immediately stop any trailer sway. XL load or better tires.
 

Mcgruff

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Vern is the 1500 heavy towing guru. Listen to him.

On the subject of tongue weight: I would also weigh the truck/trailer combo with no WD set to get the actual TW. Difference between truck weight with and without trailer is your tongue weight.

The purpose of loading your trailer to 10-15% tongue weight is not about how much downward force is placed on the back of the truck. It is a direct indicator of load balance / center of mass of the trailer. Torquing the truck and trailer frames to spread the axle load has many benefits, but does not change the center of mass of your trailer load. 10-15% TW tells you that the center of mass is somewhere just ahead of the trailer axles, which is what you need to maximize stability.
 

chiefg

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Hello everyone, new to the forum and recently purchased a 2018 2500 diesel 6.7 l6 liter, 68RFE transmission and 3.42 axle ratio 4x4 Crew Cab Short Bed.

I will be installing a 20k fifth wheel.

Looking at a pdf downloaded from the Ram website is telling me that based on my vin the max towing is 17280.

I'm looking to purchase a 5th wheel toy hauler whit a dry weight of 12,400 and GVWR 16,500.

There will be two HD street glides in the trailer's back, plus water, fuel, the usuals.

Based on the above, will the truck handle the trailer ok?

Thanks
Mike
 
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