Towing Advice

brioux1 wrote:
Every time I enquire I just get the "Oh your fine, you can tow anything" answer.
Info- Tire and loading
combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 1070 lbs. (this one confuses me)

Standard BS salesman line.

Deduct the passengers and cargo from the 1070. The result would be the maximum hitch weight.

My guess is that you will need to stay under 5000 max trailer weight.

combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 1070 lbs

You say "this one confuses me," so let's try to make it a little clearer.

What this means is, the total weight of everyone in your truck, plus anything else you have in the cab or bed, plus the weight of the trailer tongue should not exceed 1070lbs. This includes accessories such as bed toppers, bed mats, running boards, and stuff like tools, roadside emergency equipment, etc..

1070lbs is VERY low for a payload rating. You must have a truck with every option known to man on it.

If you have your wife and three linebacker sons in the truck with you, you could easily eat up that 1070lbs before you even hitch up.

I'm just stating this so you have the information to know how to go "by the book." You can always throw the book out the window if you want. HOWEVER, I really don't think you should shoot for a 10,500lb trailer because you simply won't be happy with the performance.

The only numbers that are useful off the door sticker are GVWRs (front, rear, and total)... and then only after you've weighed the truck fully loaded (passengers, fuel, hitch, pets, and all the junk you'll go camping with). Subtract those scale weights from the GVWRs on the door sticker and you'll have your real payload numbers. With most 1/2 - and 3/4 tons, for that matter - you'll run out of rear axle capacity before you hit the maximum towing limit. Also use the GVWR on the trailer - not empty or factory weight - and calculate 12 - 14% of that for a loaded tongue weight. Finally, and only after you're within the specs of the tow vehicle, proper setup of a good WD hitch with anti-sway will put the icing on the safety cake.

Rob

Agree with Lynnmor, a 5K loaded trailer wt will be about it due to low payload of 1,070. At 5K, you will have 600+ lbs tongue wt. That only leaves about 400 lbs for everything else in the truck.

Your engine/driveline is designed to tow 10,000, but with a GVWR of only 6,800, you simply don't have the payload.

Similar trucks may have 1,520 payload, but the sticker on YOUR truck indicates 1,070 payload as it left the factory, before going over GVWR. This has to do with options added to YOUR TRUCK, options add weight.

Some choose to go over GVWR a little, but stay under RAWR of 3,900.

Hope you find a nice trailer, that works for you!

Jerry

brioux1 wrote:
2014 Ram 1500 Big Horn 5.7L Hemi w/ Tow package Crew Cab 6'4" box

From The Sicker on the door:

GVWR 6800 LB
GAWR Front 3900 LB
Rear 3900 LB
Info- Tire and loading
combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 1070 lbs. (this one confuses me)

From Manual:

Towing- 10,000 lb.
Payload- 1520 lb.

If I have left out any relevant info please let me know. I am a little new to this so I may have missed something.

Finally, I will be traveling with my wife and two young children. Basically I just want to know what weight of TT I should be looking at.

Any help will be much appreciate
Thanks

The payload number from the manual is a generic payload for a base model truck. Actual payload varies, depending on installed (4X4, crew cab, etc) options. F150, for example, has versions with payload anywhere between 750 lbs and 3200 lbs. They all carry the same manual.

The max occupant / cargo number, from your door post, is the payload for your specific truck, as it was configured when it left the factory. Any weight added buy a dealer (bed liner, floor mats, undercoating, etc) or the end user (bed covers and accessories), reduces that number further.

Your payload gets eaten up by weight of people, pets, cargo (in the truck), weight distributing hitch (80 - 100 lbs), and trailer tongue / hitch weight.

If you know what your available payload is (1070 minus weight of added options and accessories, minus weight of WD hitch, minus weight of family, minus weight of truck cargo, equals available payload), divide that number by .13. That will give you a ball park figure for max "loaded" trailer weight.

RV sales people have no idea what you're going to load in your trailer, so, many of them base their recommendations on unloaded weights (including tongue weight) of the trailers. You can get a rough idea of loaded weight by adding 800-1000 lbs (average load of camping gear, bedding, dishes, groceries, water, etc) to the unloaded trailer weight.

Average tongue weight is 12.5 percent of loaded trailer weight. Based on what you load, and where (in relation to axle location) you load it, tongue weight goes up and down during every trip. Water and groceries get used up, holding tanks fill up. On my trailer, advertised tongue weight is 880 lbs. During a camping trip, my actual tongue weight can be anywhere between 975 and 1100 lbs.

Here's a link that may help.

Or, in laymans terms, if you insist on a 1500 series truck find a trailer with a GVWR of 7,000 pounds or less, and,plan to pack sparingly.
If you want more, longer trailer step up to a 2500 series truck. Does not have to be a diesel, but that option will return beter fuel economy. The 2500 series truck will have,,,,,,,, better resale value, stronger frame, wheels,tires, better brakes, and most important more load carrying capacity.

Finally, I will be traveling with my wife and two young children. Basically I just want to know what weight of TT I should be looking at.

Any help will be much appreciate

Use about 15 percent of the trailer's gross weight for a tongue weight estimate. For example if a trailer's gross weight (not brochure or dry weight) is 5000 pounds the tongue weight will be around 750 pounds plus the weight of the hitch that could be another 75 or more pounds. Then add all the weight of the people, tools, bbq, bicycles, kayaks, chairs and other stuff and subtract that from the payload available. If you want to get real technical about 20-25 percent of the redistributed tongue weight by the weight distribution hitch is carried by the trailer axles not the truck. A 10,000 pound trailer that fits within your truck's towing rating would have a tongue weight that consumes most if not all of your available payload not counting anything or anybody else.

The 'rule of thumb' in RVing is to get the RV first, then get the truck to tow it.

I'd agree that 5-6k lbs is going to be the ceiling with that truck. The good news is that a 2014 Ram is still going to be worth a lot, so if you're unhappy with your limited trailer options you could upgrade to a heavy duty Ram for not a lot more money. That would also open up the possibility of fifth wheels.

My first truck was a half ton and that'll be the last half ton I ever own, so I am admittedly not a big fan of them.

brioux1 wrote:
2014 Ram 1500 Big Horn 5.7L Hemi w/ Tow package Crew Cab 6'4" box

Find out what was included in the tow package. What you want is a heavy duty radiator and an auxiliary transmission cooler.

What is the rear axle ratio ?

brioux1 wrote:

Info- Tire and loading combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 1070 lbs. (this one confuses me)

This is maximum load PER TIRE, time 4 = 4,280 which sounds a bit light to me, especially for a crew cab.

A little quick research and I come up with the standard load rating on 275/60R20 Load Rating 115T tires (the standard size for your truck) is 2679 lbs. Go look at what it says on your tires.