Towing heavy with 3/4 Ton... How Many Know......

I think you are mistaking GVWR for the gross combination weight which is probably closer to 11,000#. A fiver weighing 10,500# is going to put approximately 2100# on the pin which is a bigger concern with a 2500.

Very few actually weigh ONCE let alone repeat weighing

IF they even lookup any info it is probably 'published tow ratings'

"Says right there I can tow 25,000#"

romore wrote:
I think you are mistaking GVWR for the gross combination weight which is probably closer to 11,000#. A fiver weighing 10,500# is going to put approximately 2100# on the pin which is a bigger concern with a 2500.

No confusion.
With my 2500 I towed a 5er with a GVW of 12,700#, my TV weighed 7,800# ready to tow my GCVW was 20,500#.

romore wrote:
I think you are mistaking GVWR for the gross combination weight which is probably closer to 11,000#. A fiver weighing 10,500# is going to put approximately 2100# on the pin which is a bigger concern with a 2500.

OPs 2001 2500 has a 8800# GVWR

With 5vr hitched (pin weight)...he scaled at 10,500# GVW
BUT did NOT exceed RAWR

GCVWR is probably closer to 20K range

HE was NOT mixing numbers up....believe me he knows what's what with ratings

:B

DRW here but the same applies. Simply put i cannot load to my RAWR and NOT be over my GVWR. YES i am over by 130#, normally I am right on 9,750# RAWR. Pay for extra tonnage and you are good to go!

I try very hard to never overload my truck. With my pin weight, I have enough remaining payload with my 1 ton SRW to be full of fuel and passengers and be below the GVWR.

I would buy any trailer that would overload my truck's GVWR when empty. If you were to have a crash, the legal and other consequences are not worth the risk. There are a ton of nice 24-28' 5th wheels I could pull if I had a 3/4 ton truck.

My next truck will likely be a dually just to eliminate this issue from consideration at all for any trailer I'd ever consider buying. I don't drive my truck empty very much so it'd be fine. The new SRW trucks do offer higher GVWR in a 1 ton though, so it'd be a tough choice. In 2005, it wasn't a tough choice; the 3/4 ton trucks hardly have enough payload to fill the cab with passengers (1600 pounds?!). By the time you install the hitch, there isn't enough GVWR left for pin weight. The GVWRs of trucks should have increased as the empty weight of trucks increased, but they didn't.

What I've learned recently is a lot of this is just the legal categories these trucks have to meet. It's really a shame; we could have had SRW trucks with 12k GVWRs a long time ago and 1 ton duallies with 15k even with normal 16, 17, and 18" tires. It's not like the powertrains and frames aren't strong enough for that. There's an ever increasing push for more horsepower, more torque, and higher GCWR, but it does us no good if we bust the GVWR first.

Most every time we pulled east out of Portland area I would pull across the ODOT scales east of Sandy. I was always within a hundred pounds plus or minus. Thats why I know pulling overloaded is no fun. Way more relaxing towing within trucks ratings.

I am about 300 lbs over my GCWR of 7200 lbs but 150 lbs under my RAWR of 4040 lbs with P-rated tires. Have LRE tires for a bit of added safety. All of this is weighed at the CAT scales loaded on the way home.

I think it is more common than what people think.

Truck GVWR of 9k here. Weighs 7900 with fuel, me, toolbox, and tonneau. With the trailer ready to camp my truck weight is at 8900lbs (4300lb measured on rear axle, way below axle & tire rating), but that is before the family, generator, and anything else I may shove in the bed. So I'm over my truck's GVWR 95% of the time I head out with the camp trailer.

My truck has scaled over 10k a few times. Two 650cc dirt bikes (over 300lbs each), four guys over 200lb each, generator, extra fuel and water, another cooler...

I do not have any aftermarket suspension assist (just stock springs without factory upper overloads), just the Equalizer 4-way that is set for my 'normal' load for family trips. I do not adjust for the trips to Moab with the guys (when I know I'm running heavier on both the truck and trailer).

While there can be other differences between 250/2500 and 350/3500 besides springs (like when Ford ran 17" wheels on the 250 but 18" on the 350 in the mid-2000's), many times it is as simple as a different spring pack for the rear such as on my 'older' Dodge. I carry what I want without regard to the truck GVWR. I did get the rear axle to 5600lbs once with a bed full of gravel (2500lbs worth), and if I was to carry that amount of weight on a regular basis, I would get bags/timbrens/ect to help carry the weight.

I am just wondering as one who towed for years with a Ram 2500 towing over GVWR. How many of the others that do the same keep a close eye on their other weights?

I keep a scale ticket of axle weights in all my cars and trucks. Just a habit from when I hauled for a living.