8,500 lbs plus dry weight

jwstewar wrote:
We have a Jayco 32BHDS. It weighs 7984 as shipped from the factory. I'm towing it with the '99 1500 Silverado in my signature. Looking to upgrade. But probably not for another year or so. Haven't weighed it loaded, but I know with 5 of us and all of our toys (5 bikes, 2 grills, full of water, extra 35 gallons of water, etc), I know we are heavy and over our weight limits. The truck actually does OK and sits level. If you were to just "look" at it, you would have no clue it is over weight.

I think I could tell by looking. But I have an idea of the weights and tow ratings involved. I also believe once you upgrade and tow your TT with a more capable truck. You will realize that your current set up doesn't really perform as well as you thought. My comments are not meant to bash your set up, but to point out that many feel they are fine until they eventually use the correct vehicle and learn from the driver's seat they were just getting by. This idea applies to vehicles of all sizes not just 1/2 tons.

I towed my prior 10K loaded 11k GVW TT with a 7.3 PSD Excursion.
AS mentioned most 3/4 ton vehicles with diesels or big blocks are capable of hauling the larger bunkhouses without issue.
I also towed the same TT w a V-10 X as well. The PSD did a much better job. But the V-10 was capable as well.

We've got a Jayco 33bhts triple slide and tow it with a '12 Ram 3500 Crewcab 4x4 single rear wheel diesel. Tows it with ease.

7500 lb Arctic Fox and weigh in @ 18,995 GVW pulling with a Chevy Duramax, turned up 60 hp and I drove big trucks 2 million miles. Might make a difference. I'm allowed 22K but don't want to pull that much.

sunset creek bunkhouse 8800 lbs loaded , tow it with a v 10 excursion no problems on the east coast hills .

Our Jayco Eagle has a GVWR of around 9500 lbs...we are typically 8700 lbs. when loaded.

We're towing with a 1 ton diesel....which is fun.:B

I wouldn't even think twice about towing an 8500# dry weight 10k ish loaded tt with my 02 f350 7.3 srw not a problem

My tt is 8200 dry, plus all the junk. Pull with a srw gmc2500hd, I can tell its back there for sure. Truck does ok. Equalizer hitch helps too.

We have a Jayco 32BHDS. It weighs 7984 as shipped from the factory. I'm towing it with the '99 1500 Silverado in my signature. Looking to upgrade. But probably not for another year or so. Haven't weighed it loaded, but I know with 5 of us and all of our toys (5 bikes, 2 grills, full of water, extra 35 gallons of water, etc), I know we are heavy and over our weight limits. The truck actually does OK and sits level. If you were to just "look" at it, you would have no clue it is over weight.

My 34' Avion is close to 10,000# fully loaded. I also put a quad in the bed of the truck, along with other items. The diesel is really nice with that kind of weight. Anything close to 7,000# and it is really nice to have a diesel. That is just my experience with towing many heavy trailers across the country over the years.

I towed a 7300lb TT with an F150 and a Ram 2500 CTD. I now tow an 8500lb loaded weight 5'er with the 2500. I doubt that another 1500lbs would do anything to bog the Ram down. Would kill the F150 though. IMO 7000lbs is the cut off for 1/2 tons. 8-9000lbs is def 3/4 ton territory. 9000lbs and up is where IMO a diesel is the way to go. Sure the gasser will and is rated to tow it, but it's near the upper edge unless you get the 4.10 or 4.30 gears. The mpg empty goes down a bunch. With 8500 dry and we load about 1200lbs ourselves in so 9700lbs and for me it's 3/4 and diesel. For me it's about having enough truck to not worry about 50-100lbs here or there. I picked a small enough 5'er that has 4300lb CCC so between the 2500 and the 5'er I just load what I want and hit the road. None of the hitting cat scales to fine tune anything. I read about lots of guys on the weight edge thinking if they put a bag of Doritos in that back that their TW will be okay. I just don't want to be in that position.