Hello friends!I'm looking for purchasing my first truck and then I'd like to shop for an RV. I have no preferences at the current moment, but I'm in love with Airstreams.So, I've found the Ram truck:2019 RAM 1500 LARAMIE CREW CAB 4X4 5'7" BOX8-Speed Automatic 8HP75 Transmission5.7L V8 HEMI MDS VVT eTorque Engine-3.92 Rear Axle RatioIt has 7100 GVWR according to Ram's Towing Chart. I'm trying to match this value with GVWR requirements for Airstreams (https://www.airstream.com/blog/the-complete-airstream-towing-guide/).As I understand that I can tow only trailers that have less than 7100 GVWR in their charts? I'm I, right?I need some real-world experience with these numbers, thanks! :-)

First no that is the GVWR of the truck, the maximum weight that the truck can weigh including fuel, people, cargo, and any transferred weight from the trailer. The most important stat for towing a trailer with a half ton is payload. On that chart it's listed as a maximum of 1,720 pounds. That's what a base model work truck in that configuration can hold as far as people, stuff in the bed, and transferred weight. It's very unlikely that the actual vehicle you go to buy will actually have that maximum payload as every option added to the vehicle over the base takes away from it. You'll need to look at the yellow sticker in the driver's side door jamb to see what the actual capacity of the truck as it came from the factory is actually able to hold.Now how that number is relevant, you need to add up the weight of your family and subtract 150 pounds from that, add a few hundred pounds for stuff in the bed (very few campers are going to have less than ~200 pounds of stuff in the bed, especially with the limited storage in an airstream), add 100 pounds for the weight distribution hitch, and finally 15% of the GVWR of the trailer as likely transferred weight.IMHO do yourself a favor and if you're going to buy the truck first just go with a single rear wheel 1 ton as it will mean you can tow anything but the largest fifth wheels without worrying about it. I wish I had done that. If you're not willing to do that then I'd strongly recommend you buy or at least know exactly what trailer you plan to buy and then pick the truck based on that. I know that one of the families I follow on YouTube was completely maxed out with a family of 5, a 30' Airstream and a F250 Platinum because the diesel engine and Platinum package ate the payload down to about what the theoretical maximum cargo of the model you listed has (I believe it was a bit over 1,800 pounds).

Take it from someone who has owned 5 Airstreams. With the truck you have picked out you should buy a 25 foot Airstream. Anything bigger will make for an uncomfortable towing experience due to to much trailer for the truck. Airstreams are very nice to tow and have good manners while being towed.

afidel gives you good advice. If your heart is set on an Airstream then ...they are a heavy trailer. Check out the price difference between the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. Diesel or gas, either way, your payload numbers are what are important. Tongue/pin weights of the trailers too. The dry weight numbers they give on trailers are pretty much useless because you are going to work with real world loaded and ready for camping numbers. Don't let any salesman tell you that you can pull ANYTHING with XXXX. The numbers tell the true story.

Buy the trailer first, then match a truck to it. You also need to learn what all the weight ratings mean (and how to apply them) for a tow vehicle and a trailer.It’s all basic math and can save you from buying the wrong truck which looks like you might be considering.Payload is probably the most important for the truck.Trailer dry weight, cargo capacity, gross weight, tongue weight (as a percentage of trailer weight).Good luck.

Thank you very much guys for your advice!The yellow sticker says the towing capacity is 6280 lb.I'll deep into the numbers.

Trying to figure out what trailers I can tow | Good Sam Community

MFL
Nomad II
Apr 18, 2022
Boomer...I think what Grit is saying, is that some of the discussion, just adds more confusion to the OP. Who is he supposed to believe? The guy that writes the longest book (adding more confusion)? The guy that writes his misunderstanding in bold, to make his wrong, seem right? The guy that has no clue, that gasoline is much lighter than water?

Like you said, some know a little, but after a while, wonder off, where their knowledge tends to stray from reality.

Anyway, I agreed with you on page 2, to keep it simple, by just subtracting one sticker from the other.

The truck the OP is looking at will work, for the trailer he is considering.

Jerry
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Apr 18, 2022
toedtoes wrote:
GrandpaKip wrote:
654 + 400 + 300 = 1354 leaving you with about 100 pounds
Depending on the WD hitch, that may be gone.
You may be able to keep stuff to about 500 lbs, but most on here will say closer to 1000 lbs.
We’ve got about 800 in the trailer and for a 2 week trip another 300 in the truck.
Can you do it? Sure, lots of people overload their trucks. See it all the time in campgrounds.
I drove at max for years and probably was over for quite a bit of that time.
I now have about a 300 lb cushion.

If the 300lbs is IN the trailer as the OP states, then your calculation would be wrong.

OP.

Payload (1447) = weight of driver, passengers, stuff in or on tow vehicle and hitch weight (260 + 200 + 654 = 1114lbs total).

Towing capacity (6280) = gvwr of trailer (estimate) OR weight of loaded trailer (actual). The 300lbs of "stuff" you expect to put IN the trailer is already assumed if you use the gvwr of the trailer.

These numbers leave you a "cushion" of about 333lbs of payload (less if you add a WD system) and 280lbs of towing capacity.

Now you need to consider where and how you will be driving. If you will be traveling in the mountains and/or driving long distances, you may be cutting it tight. For most, it is preferred to stay about 20 percent under capacity - it reduces the strain on the truck's engine AND it is less stressful for the driver (especially if you are not an experienced tower).

That would mean staying at or under a trailer gvwr of 5,000lbs for a truck with a 6,280lb towing capacity OR at or above a truck towing capacity of 7,500lbs for a trailer gvwr of 6,000lbs.

If you will be driving flat terrain only and/or short (1-3 hour) trips, then you may not need or want that extra cushion.

You are correct. BCC (before coffee calculation)
Boomerweps
Explorer
Apr 18, 2022
Grit dog wrote:
So, do the majority of persons replying here, who are either arguing semantics or instructing how to theoretically determine what is permissible by the trucks ratings….do you guys actually know the answer or do you just like hearing yourself talk?
“An excellent missive…”. WTH kind of reply is that?
If you don’t have a relatively educated ACTUAL response for the OP, then it means you’re as clueless as him. So why not refrain and hope to gain something g from the thread rather than polluting it with arguments about how much the avg human weighs or mis interpreting the unit weight of gasoline?
Good grief…

STAND BACK!
I’ve got a large vocabulary and I’m not afraid to use it! ;)
It’s called a discussion. OP isn’t paying for answers and they get their money’s worth.
Like any other web forum, OP gets to sort through the chaff (like this post) & gets to have the final decision.
Bad day, Grit dog?
ssthrd
Explorer
Apr 18, 2022
TurnThePage wrote:
I still don't understand that low towing capacity number, but regardless, I think that truck would easily handle that trailer.

Should be the same or close to my 2013 Tundra which was 9800lbs. OP, you should be good. Go have some fun.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Apr 18, 2022
GrandpaKip wrote:
654 + 400 + 300 = 1354 leaving you with about 100 pounds
Depending on the WD hitch, that may be gone.
You may be able to keep stuff to about 500 lbs, but most on here will say closer to 1000 lbs.
We’ve got about 800 in the trailer and for a 2 week trip another 300 in the truck.
Can you do it? Sure, lots of people overload their trucks. See it all the time in campgrounds.
I drove at max for years and probably was over for quite a bit of that time.
I now have about a 300 lb cushion.

If the 300lbs is IN the trailer as the OP states, then your calculation would be wrong.

OP.

Payload (1447) = weight of driver, passengers, stuff in or on tow vehicle and hitch weight (260 + 200 + 654 = 1114lbs total).

Towing capacity (6280) = gvwr of trailer (estimate) OR weight of loaded trailer (actual). The 300lbs of "stuff" you expect to put IN the trailer is already assumed if you use the gvwr of the trailer.

These numbers leave you a "cushion" of about 333lbs of payload (less if you add a WD system) and 280lbs of towing capacity.

Now you need to consider where and how you will be driving. If you will be traveling in the mountains and/or driving long distances, you may be cutting it tight. For most, it is preferred to stay about 20 percent under capacity - it reduces the strain on the truck's engine AND it is less stressful for the driver (especially if you are not an experienced tower).

That would mean staying at or under a trailer gvwr of 5,000lbs for a truck with a 6,280lb towing capacity OR at or above a truck towing capacity of 7,500lbs for a trailer gvwr of 6,000lbs.

If you will be driving flat terrain only and/or short (1-3 hour) trips, then you may not need or want that extra cushion.
TurnThePage
Explorer
Apr 18, 2022
I still don't understand that low towing capacity number, but regardless, I think that truck would easily handle that trailer.
GrandpaKip
Explorer II
Apr 18, 2022
654 + 400 + 300 = 1354 leaving you with about 100 pounds
Depending on the WD hitch, that may be gone.
You may be able to keep stuff to about 500 lbs, but most on here will say closer to 1000 lbs.
We’ve got about 800 in the trailer and for a 2 week trip another 300 in the truck.
Can you do it? Sure, lots of people overload their trucks. See it all the time in campgrounds.
I drove at max for years and probably was over for quite a bit of that time.
I now have about a 300 lb cushion.
Grit_dog
Navigator
Apr 17, 2022
It’s still no problem to pull a trailer that size, but you’re still grossly off on either your truck’s options or your truck’s towing capacity. Hemi/3.92 gears is way more than 6800lb tow rating.
uses1823
Explorer
Apr 17, 2022
I've made some calculations on an online towing capacity calculator, and it looks good.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vumx65pr4ssfpug/2.png?dl=0
uses1823
Explorer
Apr 17, 2022
Guys, I finally got all the numbers!

At I read it correctly, it has:

GVWR: 7100 LB
GAWR FRONT: 3900 LB
GAWR REAR: 4100 LB

The total payload allowed: 1447 LB
Towing capacity is 6280 LB

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8se8qrj8lcp125c/1.jpeg?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/43u0en4ui8u88zp/2.jpeg?dl=0

Do these numbers allow us to calculate the compatibility of trailer and truck? The trailer for instance is Flying Cloud 23ft with the following towing requirements:

GVWR: 6000 LB
NCC: 1239 LB
UBW: 4761 LB
Hitch Weight: 654 LB

Additional payload in a truck will by 2 people (including a driver) and stuff: 260 LB + 200 LB = 400 LB.

The additional payload in the trailer is going to be about 300 LB (mostly clothes and kitchen stuff).

Much appreciated your guidance, hope to learn how those calculations are usually made.