towing near max weight. advice?

ah64id wrote:
The max tow rating is GCWR minus 150# for driver and the base weight. So we know that the trailer weight is 7650+150 for a driver is 7800lbs. 13000-7800 tells us that your truck weighs about 5900lbs. I would guess the weight split is 3200/2700. That gives you 1200 to spare on the rear.

From StarCraft's website the GVWR of the 289BHS is 8500lbs, which should have a max tongue weight of 1275lbs.

The trailer is a bunk model, so you have a few kids and a wife. Even small kids and a small wife will add 200# pretty quick with seats, toys, food, etc... Now you are looking at 400# in the truck with not much but a couple kids, their traveling gear and parents. That reduces your tow rating from 7650 to 7350. If you have anything in the bed it drops the tow rating 1# for every 1# of gear.

So with a minimal load you are only able to put about 400# of gear in the camper. That's cookware, water, clothes, sheets, mattress pads, food, chairs, firewood, etc...

Your rear axle can only take 1200 more lbs, a WDH will eat up 100lbs of that. Cargo in the cab will add weight to that as well, so you might have 1050lbs of rear axle capacity with nothing in the bed. Trailers of that model seem to run more in the 13-15% on TW, which would put TW around 950lbs+ pretty easily, and probably closer to 1100 with propane.

I don't see how you can even come close to pulling that trailer off, it's a few thousand pounds heavier than you are rated for.

This is a good website, what are your trucks specifics?
http://www.dodge.com/towing/D/vehicle_to_weight.jsp

Thanks for that info and link ah64id!

I plugged in my specs 2007 quad cab 1500 2wd with 6.25' bed and hemi and I got 2 weights. One says I can tow 7650 and the other says I can tow 8750. Not sure the difference. I feel borderline on one and comfortable with the other.