Swear my last question not. TT weight

Ok it's 2011 Dodge Ram 1500. Quad cab with 3.55 gears. Ok what advice do you have on finding a camper that is 28-29' that would be tow able?

SoundGuy wrote:

Camper76 wrote:
My truck can tow up to 8500lbs.

You haven't provided any details about your truck but if you're quoting it's so-called tow rating then it's easy to say - not a chance on the planet you should be towing that much trailer with this truck. :E If it's a typical 1/2 ton I wouldn't tow much more than ~ 6000 lbs fully loaded and ready to camp, otherwise gross tongue weight with a family and cargo in the truck will in most cases push the truck beyond it's payload capacity and probably it's Gross Rear Axle Weight Rating.

IMVSO this is EXTREMELY SAGE ADVICE:B ... and inexperienced folks don't realize how much they actually end up adding to the dry wt of a trailer nor how stressful it is on one to not have a lot of "towing safety margin wt wise" when matching a TT to a TV. This is especially true of 1/2T gas based vehicles.

Larry

Camper76 wrote:
My truck can tow up to 8500lbs.

You haven't provided any details about your truck but if you're quoting it's so-called tow rating then it's easy to say - not a chance on the planet you should be towing that much trailer with this truck. :E If it's a typical 1/2 ton I wouldn't tow much more than ~ 6000 lbs fully loaded and ready to camp, otherwise gross tongue weight with a family and cargo in the truck will in most cases push the truck beyond it's payload capacity and probably it's Gross Rear Axle Weight Rating.

I always recommend taking the dry weight and adding 1200-1500bs. This will get you a very close ready to travel weight. No family of 4 will load less than 1000lbs. Ask any one of us, you are more likely to add 1500lbs. I'm at 2000lbs more than my dry weight!

Tow rating does not always equate to a travel trailer either...

It also does not always equate to an enjoyable tow...

Sure, it might be able to tow that much by the numbers... But, in reality, it's not gonna be enjoyable.

My truck has a "tow rating" over #11,000... I'm towing a #5000 GVWR TT with it, but if I ever decide to get a bigger one, I'll stick to around #7500 GVWR..

Unlike Terryallen, I DO load my trailer to it's max, so I know that going in.. Like I'm going to tell my wife, "you have all this storage space, but you can't use it..".. Yeah, that's going to go over well, ha, ha! :)

Plus, I tend to be the over packer on the truck side, so there you go right there..

Anyway, do what you feel you need to do... None of us is going to be towing your combo, nor buying it, so we really don't have anything to lose..

Good luck!

Mitch

For starters, that 8,500 pound tow rating is the most exaggerated and misunderstood number in towing. We have seen it be as low as fifty percent of the tow rating when all the variables quit being variable and can be measured and verified. If you have lots of money, buy any trailer you want. Get it weighed and come back for some valuable help in selecting a tow vehicle. A less than capable tow vehicle is not just an aggravation, it is a real danger. The good news is that they make tow vehicles that are suited to towing any travel trailer you might like. All it takes is money.

Presume you are talking about towing with a 1/2 ton. You just don't have the cargo capacity for much over 6,500 lbs. That puts you at 950-1,000 lb tongue weight with WDH. I had an F-150 with a 9,500 lb tow rating and a generous cargo capacity for a half ton and 6,500 was the limit to stay within numbers and the biggest number was cargo capacity and hitch rating (950 lbs).

Yes, I'm part of weight police but I hate for someone to buy too much trailer and then have a whiteknuckle experience or worse. Maybe push a little if you are just taking it to the local lake for the weekend but not cross country and not in hills.

Camper76 wrote:
Ok I'm going to pass on it. But know I'm looking at 29ft that is at 8200 lbs

Again. Look at the yellow sticker factory dry weight.

example. My yellow sticker dry weight is 4811lb. That is with out any fluids, but does include battery, and empty propane tanks. My GVWR is 7400lb. That is the max it can weigh. That is 2689 pounds of carry capacity. I will NEVER load the TT to 7400lb, But it does weigh loaded, ready to camp 6000lb.

The GVWR is not the end all, and in truth means very little to me.
you really need to stay in the less than 5000lb dry range, +/- 500lb and right around 6000lb loaded. Give or take a few hundred pounds. 6000 to 6500lb loaded ready to camp. Is where you want to be

If you don't have a 3/4 ton I'd be looking for 6K. My truck can tow GCVW of 20,000 and my TT scales 9900 loaded. Ya it's 7000 lb empty. Water some sewage, Gre water, bedding, pots and pans, propane, chairs, awning, tools fuel etc all add up so weigh it at a scale.

Ok I'm going to pass on it. But know I'm looking at 29ft that is at 8200 lbs