Nlambert182 wrote:
I've received so much conflicting information that it had me second guessing everything. I'm not new to pulling or navigating large vehicles. I've done that my entire life, however I've never spec'd out a towing combo as that part was already done for me. The safest thing that I know to do is to gather information and try to make an informed decision.
I've contacted just about everyone to try and obtain more information before making a decision. Here's what I've been told so far.
Ram (customer service, not a dealership) - The trucks are underrated on the stickers because they assume that people will see that number and try to push their limits with them. I explained my situation to the guy and he said that "unofficially" the truck should handle it just fine. Granted, not as stable as a 3500 but it has the capability. He recommended air bags or helper springs to level the truck (or to swap to a 3500 leaf spring) and advised that I lock out 6th gear and hold my rpms between 1800-2000 when towing and to monitor my temps closely. I took this with a grain of salt but it was interesting to hear nonetheless.
Firestone - Firestone (manufacturer, not shop) told me that my tires are rated at 3,196 lbs each and that the tires on the rear axle are capable of carrying around 6k lbs safely at 80psi cold. My rear GAWR is 6,010 lbs.
The reason I posed the initial question is as follows:
Dry weight of the trailer: 12,552 (per spec)
Actual weight of the RZR: 1,637 lbs
Onan 5.5KW weight: 279 lbs
Propane tank weight: 80 lbs
Battery weight: 40 lbs
30 gallon fuel station weight: 201 lbs (6.7 lbs per gallon)
150 gallon fresh water - 945 lbs (6.3 lbs per gallon)
Miscellaneous luggage, tvs, "junk": 400 lbs (estimated)
B&W Companion slider 5th wheel: 206 lb (B&W spec)
We don't intend to go off the grid, so there is no reason for us to fill the fresh water tank, however I factored it in to add some margin of error.
If I based the estimated weight of the trailer against the numbers above the total weight would be 16,134 lbs. At 20% pin weight that brings the load on the truck to 3,432 lbs. With the fresh water tank empty, the weight is 15,395 and the 20% pin weight would be 3,079.
Dodge claims the payload capacity of a 2012 Ram 3500 DRW with 3.73 gearing (same as mine) is 4,500 lbs. The only difference is an additional set of wheels and an additional leaf spring (which can be added very easily).
When stumbling upon this information it began to make me question why the ratings were so different. If I were to add a helper spring or swap to a 3500 spring set, the only difference would be the tire's capabilities. It seems to me that in theory, if the suspension is equal to the 3500 then the limiting factor is the tires and what they can support.
Just to add.... we have not pulled the trigger on this trailer. I am gathering information so that we make a wise choice. I wanted to be clear on that because it seems that this could very quickly turn into a heated discussion, which is far from my intent.
I think the differential is different, heavier on the dually vs your truck. I would advise a smaller RV if you intend to stay with the truck you have. Your going to do what you want but many on here are telling you that you don't have enough truck...for your safety and your families safety don't do it!
