hitch weight rating

There should be a payload sticker on the driver's door. It's usually white and yellow and it will list your payload capacity. Subtract the weight of your passengers and gear and that's what's left for your hitch weight.
Or, you can truck the truck fully loaded with fuel, passengers, and gear to a scale and weight it. Subtract the scaled weight from the GVWR and that's how much hitch weight you can carry.
Scales can be found at truck stops, quarries, feed mills, scrap yards, and land fills.
While your at the scale, you might as well weigh the front and rear axles separately. Many people, including DOT officers, go by axle and tire weights rather than GVWR. If you subtract your fully loaded rear axle's scaled weight from the RAWR on your door sticker that will likely give you a bit larger number for your tongue weight.

“I know cargos vary but is there any kind of basic standard?“

No math needed. The manufacturer dictates the max tongue weight without a WDH and with a WDH. Look at your RAM literature.

I don't know why, but I have never seen a hitch rating sticker on RAMs. I know my 2012 doesn't have one, and it has prevented the local rental store for renting me a trailer due to their insurance policy.

Will be following to see what you find out. I am sure the rating is out there somewhere (although I don't think you should go by the door sticker for the hitch rating).

https://www.ramtrucks.com/en/towing_guide/pdf/RAM.2500.3500.Towing.Specs.pdf
Note #3 says 500 lbs for the bumper and 1200 lbs for the receiver.
2010-11-12 are the same.

As mentioned there's no sticker on the receiver.

Bionic Man wrote:
I don't know why, but I have never seen a hitch rating sticker on RAMs. I know my 2012 doesn't have one, and it has prevented the local rental store for renting me a trailer due to their insurance policy.

Will be following to see what you find out. I am sure the rating is out there somewhere (although I don't think you should go by the door sticker for the hitch rating).

My 2013 has the specs molded right into the rubber step on the bumper

pitch wrote:

Bionic Man wrote:
I don't know why, but I have never seen a hitch rating sticker on RAMs. I know my 2012 doesn't have one, and it has prevented the local rental store for renting me a trailer due to their insurance policy.

Will be following to see what you find out. I am sure the rating is out there somewhere (although I don't think you should go by the door sticker for the hitch rating).

My 2013 has the specs molded right into the rubber step on the bumper

I am almost positive that those specs are for using the bumper hitch, not the receiver hitch.

I just looked at my Ram 1500. The info stamped in the bumper specifies that it is only for the bumper, and refers you to the owner's manual for the receiver.

And I'm pretty sure my class IV receiver is rated around 1200 lbs via my owners manual. On edit, that should be 1100 lbs. I looked it up. :)

Weight on the receiver has little to nothing to do with the truck.

You will want to identify the hitch by scrolling through pictures. Use any search engine except google and click on the "images" at the top to get pictures rather than web links. Match your hitch up. Then search for info on it. This will get you close at least.

Usually trucks will have a class 3 hitch from the factory/dealer. Those are around 500lbs as stated for tongue weight. I doubt it would be over 1,000lbs for a class III Total trailer weight will be in the 5,000 lb range likely.

You can load way more than rated on the hitch, then it will start to crack. Hopefully slowly and over many, many thousands of miles the crack will enlargen. Keep an eye, particularly towards the back, where the hitch bends 90 degrees to mate up to the truck frame, this is a weak spot due to the bend.
You would really have to go way over the max load to cause a catastrophic failure, mostly it will crack and give you time to find it. Mostly, but dont be the one.

No one is advocating overloading a hitch, and this will prompt many, many Captain Obvious' to let you know the obvious that you already know which is so obvious, but some struggle with the obvious even, so get excited when they realize the obvious and have to share the obvious. The obvious is, dont overload your hitch. But read below for more obvious post pointing out the obvious. lol.