Towing Capacity Question

camp-n-family wrote:

naturist wrote:
It seems very few run up against max tow weight before running out of payload. You are not alone there. BTW, don’t forget to add the weight of a full tank of fuel to the weight of passengers, etc. At 7.2-7.4 lbs per gallon, a 20 gallon tank is going to add around 150 lbs to the mix.

Curb weight already accounts for full fluids, including fuel. It does not need to be subtracted from payload.

With my ram, you can insert your VIN and it tells you what your capacity is so you don't have to do the math. I'd rather do the math as I come out better by about 250 lbs... because of the 31 gallon fuel tank I'm thinking...

The United States Environmental Protection Agency regulations define curb weight as follows: Curb weight means the actual or the manufacturer's estimated weight of the vehicle in operational status with all standard equipment, and weight of fuel at nominal tank capacity, and the weight of optional equipment

Looks like the perfect match to get you going. No doubt that someday you will step up to a bigger trailer and tow vehicle. Always happens!

Enjoy your new rig. Happy camping!

Sounds much better, good luck!

Thank you for all the helpful advice. I agree with everyone here that the initial camper we were looking at would be too large for my TV.

Unfortunately, that is the danger of listening to a poorly informed salesperson! After having to explain to him that I would be really pushing the limits of my payload capacity (and him arguing with me that I would be fine because I have a towing capacity of 8,700), he called back saying he talked to one of their mechanics and the mechanic agreed that is was way too much for my TV. Lol, I won't be going back to this sales guy.

Anyways, we are now looking at a 23 footer that weights 3,900 with a 418 hitch weight. Much smaller than we had initially looked at but it will work just fine and we'll be safe pulling it. Correct?

Thanks again for everyone's help!

bikendan wrote:
How about posting a pic of the driver's door yellow sticker? Need to see the "Occupants and cargo should not exceed xxxxlbs" part.
And please don't use fictional brochure/website trailer weight numbers. Especially dry tongue weight numbers.

I mentioned it earlier, but it is listed as 1,200 lbs on the door sticker

kbucky wrote:
The sticker does not list the weight. It only gives the standard 1,200 payload number which is shown no matter what options to you add or remove

They already factored in the curb weight, so it's no longer relevant to determining the payload. They did that already...but if you don't believe the sticker, take it down to the scale and see what you really have.

There is no doubt in my mind you will be over the payload limits of that truck.

Will you die instantly if you ignore the good advice that you are overloading the truck? Probably not but you are far less safe and you are likely to wear out and break things at a much faster rate.

For that length, I would stay within a couple hours of home. With the lighter/shorter TV (vs a Truck), your drive will not be very comfortable. To me that trailer is on the verge 1/2 ton to 3/4 ton. I had a 30' total length that weighed 5500#. Towed mostly with a half ton and was ok going to the mountains in NC, but very tiring 4 hour drive. Towed the same camper with a F250 across the country and only felt it going across Kansas (wind!)

How about posting a pic of the driver's door yellow sticker? Need to see the "Occupants and cargo should not exceed xxxxlbs" part.
And please don't use fictional brochure/website trailer weight numbers. Especially dry tongue weight numbers.

C&D measured a 2018 SRT at 5457 lbs. Using 7100 as GVWR, that's 1643 lbs of payload.

I highly doubt you can pile on enough options to reach 5900 lbs in a Durango. So true payload is much higher than the 1200 listed on the doorjamb.

Figure 7000lbs and 800lb + hitch weight for the 261 you’re considering.
And let us know how it goes!