What truck do I need to pull this trailer

Travelnfam wrote:

Dry Weight 14,095 lbs. GVWR 17,000 lbs. Hitch Weight2,800 lbs.

Here's how the math works. Dry hitch weight of 2800 divided by dry weight of 14095 gives you a pin weight of 19.8%. Multiply that by the GVWR of 17000 and you get 3377, or what the pin weight will be when fully loaded.

2 parents = 350 lbs
3 kids = 300 lbs
stuff in the truck = 200

Total weight in the truck = 4,227 lbs. (These numbers are just placeholders, use the right ones for your family.)

I just bought a 2015 Ram 3500, crew cab, long box, single rear wheel, Cummins diesel with 81k miles for $37k. This is the Laramie trim with heated/ventilated leather seats, heated 2nd row seats, etc. it's rated the carry 4300 lbs net based on the door sticker, but with your weight I would look for a dually.

I had a nationwide search running on all 3 major used car sites for over a month trying to find a truck under $40k that wasn't a short box or a dually. Dually is only $1200 option on the Ram, so the majority of 3500 diesels are duallies. Of course I also wanted one owner, clean CarFax, etc.

I personally would never buy a Ford diesel after their issues with the 6.0L and 6.4L. GM has had a consistently good powertrain with their Duramax diesel and Allison Transmission (except for 04-05 overheating issues) but trying to find out ratings and GVWR when shopping used was a nightmare.

I settled on Ram because the Cummins diesel had been a strong performer, and you can pull up the original window sticker on any used Ram and see what options it shipped with. Some may not be obvious like HD alternator, rear axle ratio, etc. The HO Cummins with the Aisin transmission is a great combo but difficult to find a decent used one under $40k.