Forum Discussion

roned2b's avatar
roned2b
Explorer
Mar 23, 2015

Ram 1500

Hi being a newbe hear aand in rv'ing
I see a lot of post's concerning towing with a half ton p/up
I have a 2014 Ram 1500 with a 10/k hitch and with a 14150/bs GCVW
my trailer is a 2007 forest river Cherokee 27Q weighing in at 6600 pounds
I have a WDH and air bags on the rear springs
Is this a comfortable situation for towing?
  • good morning and thanks to all
    actually my gear ratio is 3.55 and my towing capacity is 9200 as stated on the door jam
    the GCVW is the total as stated also
    I checked with the Ram dealer and the trailer dealer (camping world) and both stated I was fine
    I just wanted you guys honest opinions and appreciate them all
  • Post a picture of the sticker in the door jamb. Then you won't be getting guesses on the answer to your question.
  • One other number to look for is your axle ratio. It'll be something like 3.55 to 1. The higher the first number, the better mechanical advantage for pulling. Your economy drops with the more extreeme number. For instance, 4.11 to 1 is great for pulling and will pull a house. Your top speed with really drop if you don't want your engine screaming. 2.91 is useless as a pulling gear. If your ratio is 3.55 to 3.73, you're right in the sweet spot.
  • According to NADA guide, that 6600 lb figure is an unloaded weight. When that trailer is ready to hit the road on a camping trip, it could easily weigh 900 - 1000 lbs more. That would put trailer weight around 7500 lbs., with tongue weight in the area of 950 lbs. The weight of your WD hitch would add another 75 - 100 lbs. The number that may bite you, is your available payload. You will run out of payload and exceed GVWR, before you get close to that 10,000 lb hitch rating.

    On your drivers door jamb, should be a tire and loading sticker. It will show a max weight number, for occupants and cargo. That's your truck's capacity to carry any aftermarket accessories (bed cap, bed liner, step bars, etc), driver and passengers, cargo in truck bed, WD hitch, and trailer tongue weight, all combined.

    Not all Ram 1500's are created equal. They each have their own payload number. I've seen some as low as 1200 lbs, and some as high as 1900. You may or may not be over on your ratings.

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    Example:

    Say your sticker says max passenger / cargo is 1500 lbs. You add a 200 lb bed cap and put 100 lbs of tools in the bed. You now have 1200 lbs of payload available.
    Your family gets in the truck, with combined weight of 450 lbs. Now, you're down to 800 lbs available payload.

    If your trailer has loaded weights of 7500 lbs, with 950 tongue weight, and your WD hitch weighs 100 lbs. You'd be 250 lbs over on payload and GVWR.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
  • ok great
    I know I didn't give a lot of info but the rest is the truck weighs in at 4700
    I had load lift 1000 air bags installed w/on board compressor
    the Ram has the 5.7 hemi w/6 speed auto the wdh is about 100 and the trucks tires are 20"
    I pulled the trailer with this from Wauconda IL to Lombard with no problems
    now I'm planning a 2 week trip to DC
    then if all works out we're planning a 4 month long trip west ending up in Seattle
  • You may be over one of your truck's ratings, but you got what you got. I highly recommend a trip to the scales to fine tune that WDH. 3 passes, truck alone, truck with trailer without WD, truck with TT with WD.
  • Based on the limited info you provided you may be OK. You could also be exceeding some of the trucks ratings but we would need more information to comment on that.
  • Actually, you are the best one to make that call. If you are towing comfortably right now, your truck does not struggle, and you are able to brake and actually "stop" your rig, then your set-up is just fine.

    Folks talk about weights, and yes they are important. I don't think your combination of truck and trailer is outlandish or anything. If you currently have the truck and trailer, experiencing no problems, then you are fine! Don't worry, just enjoy! Today's trucks are built pretty stout. If your truck had difficulties, I think you'd know it by now.

    Enjoy the ride! (IF) the ride becomes uncomfortable or you begin to experience mechanical issues with your truck, then you might need to recompile all your data and think about a heavier truck. Until then ... nah!