Towing with lifted truck; need assistance

[emilyjane918]

Hi everyone!
I’m super new to gvwr, pin weight, axles, etc. and have no clue how to calculate a safe towing weight that I can haul. I have a 2015 4x4 6.7l turbo diesel ram 2500 truck that’s lifted (I think 6 inches) and not sure how big the tires are. Attached the side door jam stickers info below. I’m okay with doing a travel trailer (preferably a toy hauler style) using a drop hitch to balance out the lift, would also like a fifth wheel toy hauler if possible (I doubt though due to the lift). All this math is difficult for me to do and I just want to make sure my truck won’t get damaged or my family is at risk by being overloaded or towing improperly. Could I get a gvwr rv range (not dry weight) that would be best for my truck? Looking to live out of it and not financially able to purchase a dually unfortunately. The weight of my family & belongings (car seats, bags, etc) is around 600 on the high side

Combined weight of cargo and occupants never exceed 2155 lbs. Front & Rear tires 295. GAWR front 6000, GAWR rear 6500. GVWR 10,000.

[FireGuard]

A lot of good info by other members so I won’t repeat it.
If you don’t want to remove the lift I would focus on the tires.
If you have a large soft sidewall tire like a C or D rated you can improve your setup.
I would go back to stock size (275 or 285 /70/17) on the factory wheel or equivalent.
You can also get some better tires with a stiff sidewall and way more capacity than many big tires used on lifted trucks.
The right tire will make a HUGE difference in stability.
Good luck.

[GIB2]

You might want to check with your insurance provider to see how they feel. As mentioned you appear to be looking for a support group but where will they be in the event of a catastrophe ?

[cptqueeg]

MFL wrote:


Lot of replies, some rude, some well meaning, but little help to OP, who is no longer responding.

Jerry

SOP

But many/some/few follow along and glean bits and pieces of info along the way so it's not totally in vain.

But we could do w/out rudeness.

[MFL]

Four pages after asking, only one response, from a member actually towing with a lifted truck, but not same truck.

Early on, I mentioned a similar truck (Grit dog's truck), towing a TT toy hauler that is 34.5' long, and 8.5' wide, without using any WDH. Yes, he is experienced, and understands lifted trucks, more than most. Too bad he did not chime in, with his thoughts.

Grits rig: 2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29

Lot of replies, some rude, some well meaning, but little help to OP, who is no longer responding.

Jerry

[Pbutler97]

schlep1967 wrote:


WIthout knowing what was added to the truck everybody on here is just guessing.

JRscooby wrote:

We really can't know.

Exactly.......Hello.......Bingo!

But those simple facts will not stop the post after post of complete BS, heresay, and opinion now will they? But enjoy, it's all good. I'd expect nothing different.

[JIMNLIN]

HTElectrical wrote:
I can not believe all of the nonsense on this post. I have a 2007 2500hd Duramax with a 7" to 9" Cognito lift, and Deaver springs. I tow a 28'6" Vortex trailer that weighs in at 12780 lbs, and a tongue weight of 1340lbs, resting on an Equalizer hitch with 1,400 lb bars. Been towing for 11 years and it is rock solid even in the wind.

Does your 2500 GM product have rear coil springs ??

Those rear coil springs open up a whole different game played with suspension lifts or body lifts on rear coil suspensions.

Best advice for a rookie with a lifted truck that nothing is known about the lift (body or suspension/play or work lifts) who say weights and specs are new needs to find out what type of lift and the lift mfg specs say.....especially a truck with rear coils.

[schlep1967]

In my opinion... Look at the lift equipment rims and tires. Figure out who manufactured the lift kit and contact them to find out what the max load is on their components. Look at the tires and find a max load rating. Also look at the rims for their max load rating. Then go with the lowest number for your max load rating.

There are lift components and rim and tire components out there that wouldn't hurt you a whole lot. But there are also plenty of cheap parts out there that would totally destroy your towing capacity.

WIthout knowing what was added to the truck everybody on here is just guessing. Including the original poster.

[RetiredRealtorR]

NamMedevac 70 wrote:
lower the truck and all is good.

Best suggestion yet.

It still baffles me why anyone would purposely drastically raise the center of gravity of a vehicle, making the likelihood of it flipping during an evasive maneuver so much greater than a stock vehicle, endangering not only the occupants of the vehicle, but others around you. But if ya gotta look cool, ya gotta look cool (I guess).

[JRscooby]

Pbutler97 wrote:

Thermoguy wrote:

however, with the modifications to your truck you have reduced that limit.

Really? How so?

We really can't know. Is the lift kit homemade, or store bought? Now I don't say homemade is always bad, but it must be made in the right home. Also a lot of stuff is made to sell, not to use.
This statement applies to most things, I have no reason to think it would not apply to lift kit.

valhalla360 wrote:


we don't know how your lift kit installation negatively impacted payload.

You also don't know how the lift kit did not impact payload by one single pound. This is a screen of a screenshot from Rocky Ridge if you know who they are. I'd be willing to bet they know more how a lift affects payloads and towing more than anyone on these boards, but then again it's RV.net.




I know, they say "towing capacity" and not "payload". That should be good for 6 pages of BS hair splitting foolishness lol.

Now we are to believe used car salesmen too? And the TT salesman telling you what you can tow?
But you quote a sales flyer as fact?
You make a box bigger, that box will get heavier or weaker (Maybe both). Any added weight must be subtracted from GCVWR. And weaker is kind of self defeating.
Then there is issue of tires. Look at tow specs put out by any truck manufactures. Most every tow package to increase tow capacity you will see a change in gear ratio to lower speed gears. Taller tires goes the other way.

JRscooby wrote:
And prefer not to share the highway.

ROFLMAO

Well, I have drove millions of miles. Over time I have learned that if you see a driver acting stupid, or a vehicle that looks unsafe, the best action is put extra distance between you and them. Give yourself more time to react when snot hit the fan.

[bucky]

HTElectrical wrote:
I can not believe all of the nonsense on this post. I have a 2007 2500hd Duramax with a 7" to 9" Cognito lift, and Deaver springs. I tow a 28'6" Vortex trailer that weighs in at 12780 lbs, and a tongue weight of 1340lbs, resting on an Equalizer hitch with 1,400 lb bars. Been towing for 11 years and it is rock solid even in the wind.

But you are not a noob with a new toy to learn about. If they can afford a new trailer they can also afford to at least get the truck inspected by a shop trained in lifts and suspensions. There are lots of variances in the quality of lift kits, from pot metal EBay stuff to quality machined components.

[valhalla360]

Pbutler97 wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:


we don't know how your lift kit installation negatively impacted payload.

You also don't know how the lift kit did not impact payload by one single pound. This is a screen of a screenshot from Rocky Ridge if you know who they are. I'd be willing to bet they know more how a lift affects payloads and towing more than anyone on these boards, but then again it's RV.net.




I know, they say "towing capacity" and not "payload". That should be good for 6 pages of BS hair splitting foolishness lol.

Assuming they lifted it to fit bigger tires, it most certainly does impact towing.

It might still have enough power but we don't have all the details.

To the OP: Some people on here will say you can tow 10k with a 1980's vintage lifted, 4 banger Ford Ranger. Believe them if you want or believe the engineers that designed the truck. Your choice.

[Pbutler97]

Thermoguy wrote:

however, with the modifications to your truck you have reduced that limit.

Really? How so?

HTElectrical wrote:
I can not believe all of the nonsense on this post.

I can. Here at RV.net? You're kidding, LOL.

valhalla360 wrote:


we don't know how your lift kit installation negatively impacted payload.

You also don't know how the lift kit did not impact payload by one single pound. This is a screen of a screenshot from Rocky Ridge if you know who they are. I'd be willing to bet they know more how a lift affects payloads and towing more than anyone on these boards, but then again it's RV.net.




I know, they say "towing capacity" and not "payload". That should be good for 6 pages of BS hair splitting foolishness lol.

JRscooby wrote:
And prefer not to share the highway.

ROFLMAO

[HTElectrical]

I can not believe all of the nonsense on this post. I have a 2007 2500hd Duramax with a 7" to 9" Cognito lift, and Deaver springs. I tow a 28'6" Vortex trailer that weighs in at 12780 lbs, and a tongue weight of 1340lbs, resting on an Equalizer hitch with 1,400 lb bars. Been towing for 11 years and it is rock solid even in the wind.

[valhalla360]

emilyjane918 wrote:

I’m totally fine with doing a smaller travel trailer. Would you all recommend 10,000 gvwr max for the weight of the trailer?
Unfortunately just bought this truck and didn’t even think about towing when purchased so it’s definitely a lesson I’ve learned. I’m not looking to trade in for a dually or pay to lower the lift/smaller tires at the moment, therefore I understand a smaller trailer is what I’ll have to settle for. Just need to know what gvwr weight for the trailer I should not go over

For a 10k GVWR trailer, you can expect a hitch weight on the order of 1300-1500lb.

If it's 1500lb, that leaves you 615lb for people and gear in the truck.
- Family of 4 could easily be 500lb.
- Hitch 100lb
- Oversize tires, 100lb.

Before you put a bike, stick of firewood, cooler or anything else in the truck you have exceeded the trucks "official" payload but as mentioned, we don't know how your lift kit installation negatively impacted payload.

[time2roll]

My three suggestions in no particular order:

lower the truck
trade the truck
get a motorhome