Just traded in a 2009 Jayco 28 QB Greyhawk for a 2016 Forest River Heritage Glen 272 BH. Very excited and nervous-have never towed anything before. TV is a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500.A few questions- the tt dealer will be installing trailer brakes- any questions I should be asking them about this install? I'm still trying to understand the weight guidelines. The dry weight of the tt is 6400 lbs and the towing capacity of the TV is 8300. What else should I be looking at?In two weeks we pick it up and have our walk through- what type of questions should I be asking?Thanks for any insight.

Be looking at the cargo capacity of your 1500 truck. 640 pound hitch weight on your camper, empty. Add water, fuel, gear, etc, plus whatever you have in your truck bed, and you'll have some weight on your truck. A properly-set weight-distribution hitch is necessary, as well as anti-sway bars. 32' trailer is a lot for a half-ton truck. You can pull it, but make sure trailer brakes are setup properly, or you won't be stopping it. Also, a good crosswind could get that 32' parachute swaying and throw your truck off the road. Not likely, but its possible with any trailer, and getting above 30' with a half-ton truck (in my opinion) increases the chance of something happening.

cccougar wrote:Just traded in a 2009 Jayco 28 QB Greyhawk for a 2016 Forest River Heritage Glen 272 BH. Very excited and nervous-have never towed anything before. TV is a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500.A few questions- the tt dealer will be installing trailer brakes- any questions I should be asking them about this install? I'm still trying to understand the weight guidelines. The dry weight of the tt is 6400 lbs and the towing capacity of the TV is 8300. What else should I be looking at?In two weeks we pick it up and have our walk through- what type of questions should I be asking?Thanks for any insight.The dry weight is almost useless when trying to determine if your truck can tow your RV. If you are like 90% of RVers, your "important RV junk" i.e. food, clothes, shoes, toys, books, CD's etc etc. that you add when preparing to go on a trip is approx. 600lb. to a 1000lbs. Most of us also run with about a 1/4 of our H2o tank full to use when you are traveling to your destination i.e potty stops etc etc.

cccougar wrote: the tt dealer will be installing trailer brakes- any questions I should be asking them about this install? I had a brake controller installed by a dealer ONCE. He screwed it to the lower portion of my dash like he could care less where it went...looked like :EOn your 2014 Ram, it is plug and play. The wires are under the steering column, simply plug it in. My suggestion would be to install it yourself (save some money), or hang out in the garage with him to make sure he installs it where you want it.My personal preference with the RAM, is for the intergrated brake control installed by a dealer. Expensive install (I think mine cost $400.00) compared to an after-market ($100.00-$150.00) but it works with your brakes. The harder you push...the stronger the signal sent to the trailer. The computer allows them to work as one. No delay, and no lag. It has it's own spot on the dash and it shows up on the HUD

cccougar wrote:In two weeks we pick it up and have our walk through- what type of questions should I be asking?Make sure you fully understand how everything works----and that it does work. Got a 3 way frig...have them Demo ALL the settings, insuring they work. Not sure how the poop hose works, have them show you. Take all slides, out and in. Hook it to water, see that it works. Both city and from the pump. ETC....ETC.....ETC....Do NOT just stand there like :h or you may later be at a camp ground like :S. As you drive of the lot you should be :B, NOT :?

cccougar wrote:Just traded in a 2009 Jayco 28 QB Greyhawk for a 2016 Forest River Heritage Glen 272 BH. Very excited and nervous-have never towed anything before. TV is a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500.A few questions- the tt dealer will be installing trailer brakes- any questions I should be asking them about this install? In two weeks we pick it up and have our walk through- what type of questions should I be asking?Thanks for any insight.Ask What kind of brake controller it is, and if they tell you it is "TIME" based controller. Tell them to get it out of the truck NOW!!!!!!. You want a Prodigy, or P2. At any rate you want a inertia based proportional brake controller. Also practice before you hit the road, drive around the lot some before you leave. And in truth. It is going to be real close to your towing capacity, Time you load the truck, and then the TT. You could be over.

Newbie to TT | Good Sam Community

JaredWPhillips
Explorer
Apr 13, 2015
Be looking at the cargo capacity of your 1500 truck. 640 pound hitch weight on your camper, empty. Add water, fuel, gear, etc, plus whatever you have in your truck bed, and you'll have some weight on your truck. A properly-set weight-distribution hitch is necessary, as well as anti-sway bars. 32' trailer is a lot for a half-ton truck. You can pull it, but make sure trailer brakes are setup properly, or you won't be stopping it. Also, a good crosswind could get that 32' parachute swaying and throw your truck off the road. Not likely, but its possible with any trailer, and getting above 30' with a half-ton truck (in my opinion) increases the chance of something happening.
MarkTwain
Explorer
Apr 13, 2015
cccougar wrote:
Just traded in a 2009 Jayco 28 QB Greyhawk for a 2016 Forest River Heritage Glen 272 BH. Very excited and nervous-have never towed anything before. TV is a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500.

A few questions- the tt dealer will be installing trailer brakes- any questions I should be asking them about this install?

I'm still trying to understand the weight guidelines. The dry weight of the tt is 6400 lbs and the towing capacity of the TV is 8300. What else should I be looking at?

In two weeks we pick it up and have our walk through- what type of questions should I be asking?

Thanks for any insight.

The dry weight is almost useless when trying to determine if your truck can tow your RV. If you are like 90% of RVers, your "important RV junk" i.e. food, clothes, shoes, toys, books, CD's etc etc. that you add when preparing to go on a trip is approx. 600lb. to a 1000lbs. Most of us also run with about a 1/4 of our H2o tank full to use when you are traveling to your destination i.e potty stops etc etc.
cbshoestring
Explorer II
Apr 13, 2015
cccougar wrote:
the tt dealer will be installing trailer brakes- any questions I should be asking them about this install?

I had a brake controller installed by a dealer ONCE. He screwed it to the lower portion of my dash like he could care less where it went...looked like :E

On your 2014 Ram, it is plug and play. The wires are under the steering column, simply plug it in. My suggestion would be to install it yourself (save some money), or hang out in the garage with him to make sure he installs it where you want it.

My personal preference with the RAM, is for the intergrated brake control installed by a dealer. Expensive install (I think mine cost $400.00) compared to an after-market ($100.00-$150.00) but it works with your brakes. The harder you push...the stronger the signal sent to the trailer. The computer allows them to work as one. No delay, and no lag. It has it's own spot on the dash and it shows up on the HUD
cbshoestring
Explorer II
Apr 13, 2015
cccougar wrote:

In two weeks we pick it up and have our walk through- what type of questions should I be asking?

Make sure you fully understand how everything works----and that it does work. Got a 3 way frig...have them Demo ALL the settings, insuring they work. Not sure how the poop hose works, have them show you. Take all slides, out and in. Hook it to water, see that it works. Both city and from the pump. ETC....ETC.....ETC....

Do NOT just stand there like :h or you may later be at a camp ground like :S. As you drive of the lot you should be :B, NOT :?
Terryallan
Explorer II
Apr 13, 2015
cccougar wrote:
Just traded in a 2009 Jayco 28 QB Greyhawk for a 2016 Forest River Heritage Glen 272 BH. Very excited and nervous-have never towed anything before. TV is a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500.

A few questions- the tt dealer will be installing trailer brakes- any questions I should be asking them about this install?

In two weeks we pick it up and have our walk through- what type of questions should I be asking?

Thanks for any insight.

Ask What kind of brake controller it is, and if they tell you it is "TIME" based controller. Tell them to get it out of the truck NOW!!!!!!. You want a Prodigy, or P2. At any rate you want a inertia based proportional brake controller.

Also practice before you hit the road, drive around the lot some before you leave. And in truth. It is going to be real close to your towing capacity, Time you load the truck, and then the TT. You could be over.
rbpru
Explorer II
Apr 13, 2015
As you have probably figured out a TV can pull more than it can haul. You will probably exceed the max cargo once you load your stuff.

Once you are loaded and underway with your "necessary gear" you will know how it pulls, the effects of cross winds, trucks passing, braking and gas milage.

A trip to the scales will show you where you stand. With luck you may be under your max cargo but probably not. However you will have firm numbers to make your decisions. I suspect there are any number of half tons a bit over weight.

Our first TV was under powered at 200 horsepower eventually we replaced it.
Dakota98
Explorer
Apr 13, 2015
OP Quote:
I'm still trying to understand the weight guidelines. The dry weight of the tt is 6400 lbs and the towing capacity of the TV is 8300. What else should I be looking at?

Look at it this way. If you load 1000# of stuff into the TT, which is very common, your tongue weight @ 10% will be 740 lbs. Tongue weight should be between 10-15%. Subtract the 740 lbs + the weight of the hitch itself from the "payload" capacity indicated on the drivers door jamb sticker & what you have left-over will be the allowed remaining weight of passengers, fuel, & all other stuff to include the dog & not exceed the GVWR TV rating.

What figure do you come up with ????
gchackett
Explorer
Apr 13, 2015
cccougar wrote:
Very excited and nervous-have never towed anything before.

Just remember to take your time while driving. Don't try to drive it like a sports car. The trailer will follow you while driving forward. Just don't follow too close and take the corners wider and just because you can go 70mph doesn't mean you should.

As for backing up. I would suggest some practice in an empty parking lot. Once again take your time, all steering will be backwards turning left will make the trailer swing to the right and vice versa.
lil_camping_fam
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
If the brake controller has an adjustment for the trailer brakes, make sure that you adjust accordingly before every trip.

When adjusting, get moving at about 10 to 15 mph and apply the brakes enough to feel how your vehicle is responding. You do NOT want the trailer to "push" or "pull" the TV. You want them to have the same amount of braking applied. It does take a little bit to get a feel of how to adjust.

My dealer did have mine set WAAAAYYYY to high after we did our walk through. Of course, you leave the lot and they don't care after that!
cccougar
Explorer
Apr 14, 2015
Thanks for the insight. Again, this is new to us.

I looked up our vin # on the dodge website and it says that the max payload is 1436 lbs and the max towing is 8,600 lbs with a max GCVW at 14,150.

In terms of cargo, we usually do not load up with water in the tanks, we normally do not bring bikes and out trips consists of 2-3 day jaunts so interms of alot of clothes and gear I guess it's about average.

I guess I need to weigh my Dodge and get a sense of its actual weight? Online it says the curb weight is 5350- but for some reason I don't believe this.

Anybody have a Dodge 1500 and how is it towing??