New guy buying his first toyhauler - have concerns

[Nlambert182]

First off, I have browsed the forums for a while now while my wife and I searched for our first toy hauler. We are not new to campers, but we are new to campers this large. We have potentially made a deal on a 2008 Coachmen Adrenaline 400DS from a dealer in Kentucky, but I am getting some cold feet on it mainly due to the size of the trailer versus my truck. I am looking for some advice on whether or not my truck can tow this trailer.

Truck: 2012 Ram crew cab 2500 4wd - 6.7 Cummins (full deletes)

Camper: 2008 Coachmen Adrenaline 400DS
Dry Weight: 12,,552 lbs
GVWR: 18,000 lbs

Our dilemma is that we have a 2016 RZR XP 1000 4 seater (1,700 lbs) that requires at least 12' of garage space to fit. My wife wants a separate living space so that when we aren't towing the RZR along we can still use it as a typical camper with the garage as a bedroom for the kids instead of having the fold out couches and seats. Around my area, the only thing that fits our budget and needs is a 5th wheel hauler.

I could really use some discussion before we make the 3 hr drive to KY to buy this thing to make sure we know what we are getting into in advance. Is this camper too much for the truck?

[James57]

I bought a 43 ft. towed it home with my 2012 3500 srw
dodge ram plenty of power JUST NOT enough towing capacity
bought 2016 dodge ram 3500 drw rated to pull 30800 pounds pulls like a dream
No I would not pull it with a 2500.

[joebedford]

Any of the recent one ton dually diesels will tow it. There are lots of people who don't think twice about towing what you're proposing with a 3/4 ton. I wouldn't do it as my family means more to me than that.

[nwcutie]

We had the same trailer except it was a 2007 Adrenaline 400 DS. Towed with a 98 Chevy 3500 454 gas dually then a 2006 Ford F350 six leaker dually. I don't care what they say the weights are but when we were loaded with quads, water, fuel, and everything for a week of dry camping, that bad boy was slightly over 18000 lbs according to the scales.

I think you are smart to go with a smaller, lighter trailer.

[Nlambert182]

They may be different on the 2013+ trucks, but not on the 2012. That is all that I can compare against.

[tinner12002]

Nlambert182 wrote:

tinner12002 wrote:

I think the differential is different, heavier on the dually vs your truck. I would advise a smaller RV if you intend to stay with the truck you have. Your going to do what you want but many on here are telling you that you don't have enough truck...for your safety and your families safety don't do it!

They're identical per Ram customer service. The only difference in a 2500 and 3500 is the overload spring and extra rear tires. Or at least that is what Ram says. The overload spring can be added which then makes the limiting factor the tires. Granted, even if I tried I couldn't get to the listed payload capacity of the 3500 simply because of the lack of dual rear wheels so I get that.

However, as stated before this was just to gather information so this has all been good information to read and I do appreciate it all. I'm going to continue my search for a bit lighter toyhauler to ensure I don't completely overload the truck.

Any suggestions on a used model that would fit the bill? We've exhausted our searches at this point.

I think you should read my orig post...I said dually and they are not the same on later year trucks. Dually has a bigger ring gear in the rear and possibly a bigger pinion gear and/or different bearings.

[lincster]

Nlambert182 wrote:

lincster wrote:
I can tell you, for my Ford, there is more differences between SRW and DRW than just an xtra tire and leaf spring.

Rear end is different, rear brakes have different surface area dimensions. Etc.
I would do some more digging before you try and convince yourself that the only difference is a tire and a spring.

Without attempting to turn this into a debate (again, not my intention) I want to clarify some things.

I'm not attempting to convince myself... I talked with Ram directly, and that is what I was told. He looked everything up from Ram spec sheets. I've owned Ford F250's and you are absolutely correct. They ARE different. Rams are not.

2012 Ram 2500
Caliper:68049154AA
Pads:68049158AA
Rotor:52122184AA
Rear wheel bearing: 5086982AA
Hub Assembly: 5154282AA
Rear Axle Assy: 68158460AA

2012 Ram 3500
Caliper:68049154AA
Pads:68049158AA
Rotor:52122184AA
Hub Assembly: 68138151AA
Rear wheel bearing: 5086982AA
Rear Axle Assy: 68158460AA

The hub assy is the only difference on the 2500 and 3500 rear axle.

Fair enough.

[2001400ex]

Nlambert182 wrote:

tinner12002 wrote:
A 2012 Ram dually would handle it if you can find one for sale.

It definitely would..... however I have just spent a good bit of money with my deletes and other work and I would prefer to hang onto this one if at all possible. If anything I'll find another trailer.

That's exactly where I was, I have put $5,000 into my truck the last year, between delete, programmer, fog lights, shocks, Anderson hitch, B&W turnaround ball, airbags, etc. So I'm going to try to make it last another few years hopefully. Since you have invested the money, I personally would add the leaf springs and see if you can get the GVW changed. I also would look into getting a higher capacity tire, if you get up to 3,500 per tire, there's just that much additional capacity.

All of that is still cheaper than a new pickup.

[JAC1982]

Y-Guy wrote:
Reality is that nothing you add like air bags or helper springs changes the weight rating for your truck, might make you feel better though. I've lost count of the number of new Toy Hauler owners that buy to big, and then take a trip or two and realize they need a bigger truck. I had a 39' Raptor with a SRW F350, I knew I needed a dually, the safety of my family was the most important thing. So we made a change as I couldn't drive a dually for my daily needs.

That's what happened with our first hauler... the truck (F150) we had was nowhere big enough. But the 150 was 2 months old and we spent a bunch of money trying to get it to tow better (air bags, new tires, etc etc). It just wasn't good. A year later we bit the bullet and upgraded the truck to an F250, and it was great for the old hauler, but then we realized we didn't want to keep the old hauler long term, and what we'd want to replace it would require a 350. Thankfully F250s are super popular where we live so the dealer gave us what we owed on it and then some, after only owning it for a year, so the trade didn't hurt at all. In hindsight though, we should have just gone from the 150 to the 350.

In addition to my Explorer, we have a Fusion that we got at a good price to use as a commuter car if there's ever a day when we both need to commute (husband generally works from home). It is what it is. If you don't want to buy a new truck, then buy a smaller hauler, that's all there is to it in my opinion. Gotta pay to play.

[Y-Guy]

Reality is that nothing you add like air bags or helper springs changes the weight rating for your truck, might make you feel better though. I've lost count of the number of new Toy Hauler owners that buy to big, and then take a trip or two and realize they need a bigger truck. I had a 39' Raptor with a SRW F350, I knew I needed a dually, the safety of my family was the most important thing. So we made a change as I couldn't drive a dually for my daily needs.

[Nlambert182]

lincster wrote:
I can tell you, for my Ford, there is more differences between SRW and DRW than just an xtra tire and leaf spring.

Rear end is different, rear brakes have different surface area dimensions. Etc.
I would do some more digging before you try and convince yourself that the only difference is a tire and a spring.

Without attempting to turn this into a debate (again, not my intention) I want to clarify some things.

I'm not attempting to convince myself... I talked with Ram directly, and that is what I was told. He looked everything up from Ram spec sheets. I've owned Ford F250's and you are absolutely correct. They ARE different. Rams are not.

2012 Ram 2500
Caliper:68049154AA
Pads:68049158AA
Rotor:52122184AA
Rear wheel bearing: 5086982AA
Hub Assembly: 5154282AA
Rear Axle Assy: 68158460AA

2012 Ram 3500
Caliper:68049154AA
Pads:68049158AA
Rotor:52122184AA
Hub Assembly: 68138151AA
Rear wheel bearing: 5086982AA
Rear Axle Assy: 68158460AA

The hub assy is the only difference on the 2500 and 3500 rear axle.

[Bedlam]

lincster wrote:
I can tell you, for my Ford, there is more differences between SRW and DRW than just an xtra tire and leaf spring.

Rear end is different, rear brakes have different surface area dimensions. Etc.
I would do some more digging before you try and convince yourself that the only difference is a tire and a spring.

Ford used an 11k lb Dana 80 in the DRW and 9750 lb Sterling 10.5" in the SRW. Ram used the same AAM in DRW and SRW applications but used different hubs. Ford does use stronger brakes in the DRW than SRW, but towing makes less of difference if your trailer brake maintenance is kept up.

[lincster]

Nlambert182 wrote:

tinner12002 wrote:

I think the differential is different, heavier on the dually vs your truck. I would advise a smaller RV if you intend to stay with the truck you have. Your going to do what you want but many on here are telling you that you don't have enough truck...for your safety and your families safety don't do it!

They're identical per Ram customer service. The only difference in a 2500 and 3500 is the overload spring and extra rear tires. Or at least that is what Ram says. The overload spring can be added which then makes the limiting factor the tires. Granted, even if I tried I couldn't get to the listed payload capacity of the 3500 simply because of the lack of dual rear wheels so I get that.

However, as stated before this was just to gather information so this has all been good information to read and I do appreciate it all. I'm going to continue my search for a bit lighter toyhauler to ensure I don't completely overload the truck.

Any suggestions on a used model that would fit the bill? We've exhausted our searches at this point.

Those guys that answer the phones are not much better than salesman. Do your own research. Find actual spec sheets, layout diagrams. Etc. they exist.

[lincster]

I can tell you, for my Ford, there is more differences between SRW and DRW than just an xtra tire and leaf spring.

Rear end is different, rear brakes have different surface area dimensions. Etc.
I would do some more digging before you try and convince yourself that the only difference is a tire and a spring.

[Bedlam]

2001400ex wrote:

Bedlam wrote:
Although there are ways to modify your 2500 to handle the pin weight, it will end up costing you about $5k. I would look for a FW around 15K lb GTWR or look into long bumper pulls. Check out some of the car trailer based units with living quarters. These are typically lighter and have more "garage".

It won't cost $5k. You can usually negotiate airbags in with the camper purchase. Or your can add leaf springs as that's the main difference between 3/4 and 1 ton (mostly, some years and models there's other differences). This is assuming you have tires that can hold the weight. My tires are 3,415 pounds a tire and higher quit rating than the stock 1 ton tires.

All they being said, unless you register with the DMV at a higher GVW, you could be held liable if something went wrong and you are over legal weight.

The AAM 10.5" axle is good for over 10K lbs, but you will probably be pushing the limits of the suspension, rims and tires with that pin weight once you add the additional weight of gear and occupants to the truck. I ballparked $5k to upgrade stabilizer bar, shocks, leaf springs and 19.5" rims with 245/70R19.5 tires.

My F250 had close to 8k lbs on the rear axle at 12.5k GVW and was a solid setup after making similar upgrades.