Need some advice

summitpower wrote:
So not trying to sound stupid but, my truck will haul 7180, I weigh 220 and wife is 115 all 3 kids combined are 100, I wouldn't travel with water tanks full, and if we take dogs we would take 2 vehicles...also I didn't plan on going to 3/4 ton next year...just was going to get different ram with a V8

While it may be tough, do not even really consider what the trucks "tow rating" is, regardless of if it's your current truck or the next truck until you confirm the truck will have the payload for all the things I mentioned in my previous post..... Once you have confirmed adequate payload (taking into account the 100lbs of kids will continue to get heavier!), then confirm the truck has the most proper tow rating by having the correct motor, trans, axle ratio, tow package, etc.... Understand the tow rating are based on 2 people (I think based on 150lbs each) in the truck (when the new standard tow test is used), with a 10%tw and a flat bed trailer. Once you exceed the passenger weight, the tw, and try haulin a high walked rolling brick (travel trailer) the tow rating is reduced. Some vehicles even have a limit for the surface are of the front of the tt (or enclosed trailer) due to wind drag.

The Shadow Cruiser has a "brochure" dry tw of 675lbs, add a battery and 2 full 20lb propane tanks and it is already ~800lbs, before even loading the trailer. You could possibly see a tw of 900lbs+, if not more. The Dutchmen had a "brochure" dry tw of 881lbs, so not sure if it's 2-20lb tanks or 2-30lb tanks, but with a battery and 2-20lb propane tanks you are already at ~1000lbs tw, again before loading anything else for a trip.... The Durchmen had a front pass through storage, not sure about the Shadow from the floor plan on their website, but any trailer that does have a front pass through storage adds most of the stored items weight to the tw of the trailer. That can add up. As a comparison our "brochure" dry tw of 920lbs for our 32 BHDS is about 1400lbs loaded. That tw alone is all most as much as most 1500/150 trucks have for available payload.

Obviously in the end you can only decide what is best for you and your family, but some of us have been in your shoes. Our last truck was a Chevy Silverado 1500 CCSB 5.3/6spd/3.42 4x4 with a "tow rating of" 9600lbs (or 9500lbs, right around that amount). Towing ~7200lbs with ~920lbs tw we were over the gvwr of the truck by about 200lbs. That was with 4 bikes, a tool box, and I think a cooler in the bed, and maybe a couple 2x10's for leveling the trailer, and a family weight of about 460lbs. Granted, I did have a cab high truck topper, spray in bed liner, and step bars on the truck, but hopefully you can see how quickly the weight adds up. And our twin boys were only 10yrs old at the time.

Also take into account that the Ram trucks generally have a little less payload than the comparable GM Twins or Ford. POWER WISE, a hemi with the correct axle ratio won't have any issues with what your looking at. It all comes down to the payload of the truck!!!

One thing to watch with having a fridge in a slide is possible cooling issues due to less air flow for the fridge. Some members have installed fans to help the airflow. Something to keep in mind. We almost went with a kitchen slide that had a floor plan comparable to what we have otherwise. One other thing to keep in mind is the awning possibly rubbing on the slide. But a couple pool noodles can solve that issue. Our main reason was a curtain vs door for the bunk room.

I will say having an entrance directly into the bathroom is awesome!!! A very nice convenience.

Good luck!!!