First TT advice

Jebby14 wrote:
1590
- your family (going to guess 500 lbs adjust as you like
-100 lbs for hitch
- whatever you have in the car (going to guess 250 lbs adjust accordingly_
=740 left of your payload
740/1.15 = 4933 lbs gvwr.

I don't know your weight numbers but I suspect you are way out of payload

It's just me and my wife so including stuff in the Durango and the hitch I wouldn't think I'd use enough payload to eat into that 870 tongue weight cap.

Huntindog wrote:
First off, forget all the bravado talk about how much power your Durango has, as in how it laughs at trailers... Power has nothing to do with being able to tow safely and under control. In fact, having a lot of power in an other wise towing challenged platform can just get you in trouble faster.
Some well regarded TVs in the past such as the early Dodge/Cummins and Ford Powerstrokes were far more capable than your Durango, with much less power.

That said, you do seem to realize that your limitation will be payload. In my situation, I have a 1 ton dually CC, So I don't pay a lot of attention to it.... But you NEED to KNOW your numbers everytime, as you will be cutting it close. This is difficult with a TT, as normal usage can drastically alter the TW of the TT in the course of a trip. Propane gets consumed and disappears, FW leaves its tank and ends up in the black/grey tanks. Food/drink gets consumed and leaves the pantry/fridge, and ends up in the black tank. Clothes get used, an leave the closets ending up in the hamper etc. Many other items may ride home in a different location than they started the out on the trip.

So you need to know your weights..No guessing or estimating. Get it weighed (Durango and TT) ready to camp, at the heaviest you will ever be. Figure out where your TW needs to be. Then get and USE a Sherline TW scale Everytime you hitch up. Doing this will allow you to make any needed adjustments BEFORE getting on the highway and finding out the hard way that your TW is too low.

Be safe out there.
Happy camping

I actually have one of those Sherline TW scales in my amazon cart as we speak. I'm thinking of getting one of othe OBDII Haul gauges to use after I cross reference it to actual weighting the trailer and Durango to make sure that Haul gauge is accurate.

You are right power only gets you going, stopping and maneuvering the trailer is really where a vehicle has to work to handle a trailer. I know it may have sounded as if all I was talking about was the power of the Durango SRT, but I was also referring to how well the suspension and rest of the vehicle took it. I've towed a much larger trailer with a half ton truck that was comparable when looking at trailer weight vs max trailer weight and it yanked that half ton around a lot more than the Durango. I was truly surprised just how planted the vehicle was. I've talked to similar people that towed closer to the 8700# cap with the SRT and they had similar observation on how well it handled the load. As long as the tongue weight or payload isn't exceeded I bet it would surprise any "truck guy" with how confidently it tows. I know because I used to be one that only ever owned trucks and I was impressed.

philh wrote:
Are you a family or just a couple?

We fell in love with the Coachman 192 RBS

Just a couple... with two fur-kids aka two cats haha

Grit dog wrote:
^Mitch.....and the wheelbarrow legs (the rear axle in your example) now have 0 weight on-them because your wdh (arms) put the weight more on the front axle and trailer.
My only issue with using the SRT Durango is the fancy self leveling and adjustable damping is not made to, imo, manage a heavy trailer with a large duty cycle and that stuff is expensive.
Aside from wear n tear on that, any reasonable sub 1000lb tongue weight with a wdh will work great. And the rest of the vehicle is more capable than a 2500 Hemi (engine, trans and brakes)

Thank you, I don't think many people realize how well set up the Durango SRT is. It's definitely going to cost a lot more in wear and tear to tow than a 2500, but it sure won't fuss about it in the process.



Also to challenge the general consensus, The "technical" articles I've read in regards to towing all say to count the weight of the WDH for payload and GAWR, but DO NOT count it towards tongue weight. To be safe you can count the weight of the spring bars and the brackets that attach to the trailer tongue, but that's it. Unless the manufacturers are rating the actual weight applied to the reciever, they are referencing the weight applied vertically to the hitch at the center point of the ball. I'm referencing the thread on this forum https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/14265335.cfm

Based on this thread, if I tow a trailer with a WDH with a tongue weight less than 870# (as measured at the hitch with a Sherline TW scale or similar not including the weight of the WDH) and total weight less is than 8700# AND both the front ant rear GAWR GVW and GCWR of the tow vehicle are not exceeded I'm technically in the green. I'm curious where everyone is getting to add the weight of the WDH to the tongue weight?