Tow Opinion
I have an opportunity on a great deal on a 2014 Streamlite Ultra Lite 30KBS. However, my main concern is that it is too much trailer for my 1500 Ram. I have my Ram setup for towing, 3.92 gears, ...
Forum Discussion
I used to tow with an 08' 1500. It had 3.92 and 20" wheels. It didn't have airbags, but it did have Firestone Work Rites which are similar to Timbrens. The heaviest trailer we towed with it was 8,200 lbs on average. Like your plans, we never loaded the trailer up to the full 10,000 GVWR. The truck pulled, handled, and stopped the trailer just fine for me.
No it didn't handle like a bigger more capable truck. When the wind would kick up, we would get blown around a bit. We had a good hitch that was setup correctly so passing trucks didn't turn into white knuckle events, but you would still get moved a bit. It never was an ideal situation, but loading to the max will never be ideal with any vehicle. Within it's limits it did a good enough job which is all that I needed. These days my non RV loads have changed quite a bit so an upgrade was necessary.
Being over you payload limit won't cause your truck to immediately shatter into a million pieces, but it does greatly impact driveability and creates unsafe driving conditions. The higher you go, the worse conditions will become. Also, parts on the truck are designed to operate within the limits of the truck. Once you start exceeding that, you also start accelerating wear.
No it didn't handle like a bigger more capable truck. When the wind would kick up, we would get blown around a bit. We had a good hitch that was setup correctly so passing trucks didn't turn into white knuckle events, but you would still get moved a bit. It never was an ideal situation, but loading to the max will never be ideal with any vehicle. Within it's limits it did a good enough job which is all that I needed. These days my non RV loads have changed quite a bit so an upgrade was necessary.
Being over you payload limit won't cause your truck to immediately shatter into a million pieces, but it does greatly impact driveability and creates unsafe driving conditions. The higher you go, the worse conditions will become. Also, parts on the truck are designed to operate within the limits of the truck. Once you start exceeding that, you also start accelerating wear.
