A look at carrying capacities

Jim, you're up bright and early.:)

I wouldn't lose any sleep over it, a lot of people out there towing over one limit or another on there truck, and there aren't very many manufacturers using the SAE standard anyway.... Before the standard was brought up, no one really cared. There are quite a few articles stating the Ram 2500s and 3500s are certified....just saying, as most usually do on these forums,.....it's just a number., doesn't necessarily mean anything, ( no I don't believe that, but a lot do)..and remember I've been tagged on this forum for YEARS as one of the "weight police".

So, so far, one truck found out of compliance?

Here is an exert from a FCA press release.

Beginning with the 2015 model year, Ram will become the first automaker to adopt the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) J2807 standardized tow rating practices across all three fullsize pickup truck segments, including the ½-ton Ram 1500, ¾-ton Ram 2500 Heavy Duty and one-ton "King of the Hill" Ram 3500 Heavy Duty.


How can a truck with 950lb payload have an J2807 rating on 10,000 when J2807 states a 10% hitch weight?

It's just a question. Not being anti RAM. Hope there is a valid explanation.

spud1957 wrote:

NC Hauler wrote:

spud1957 wrote:
Interesting comments regarding RAM using SAE J2807 for their ratings.

"All this is interesting because we were told the short-bed Rebel crew cab (with a Hemi V-8 and a RamBox) had a towing capacity of around 10,000 pounds. That seemed odd to us, because it doesn't follow the Society of Automotive Engineers' J2807 standard requirement of 10 percent of towing capacity for the recommended tongue weight. Following that formula, the Rebel's 10,000 pounds of towing capacity would have put us 100 pounds over our 900-pound max payload capacity, and that's before adding a driver, passenger or cargo. We should also note that SAE J2807 criteria recommends, before adding tongue weight, adding 300 pounds for passengers as well as 25 to 65 pounds for the receiver and trailer hitch or weight-distributing hitch."

So those Boys beating their chest and saying RAM uses J2807 standard where others don't, you might want to look a bit further. RAM kind of uses it but kind of doesn't use it either.

Do you know of any other manufacturer that, uh.."kinds of uses it, and kinda doesn't"? Or is Ram the only bad guy here?

Didn't imply anyone else uses it.

If you are going to "advertise" using a standard then you should use the complete standard. Not just the parts that make for good marketing. If they used the complete standard then the tow rating would be less.

My point is that the RAM ratings are no more valid/true than those manufacturers that don't use SAE J2807.

The RAM discussed in the article is rated higher than it should be to stay under its ratings. No different that the other manufacturers.

2015 and up 2500s and 3500's are SAE J2807 certified...Don't know about 1/2 tons, haven't owned one since 1999...

Ten percent is the recommended tongue weight for a TT, yes?

NC Hauler wrote:

spud1957 wrote:
Interesting comments regarding RAM using SAE J2807 for their ratings.

"All this is interesting because we were told the short-bed Rebel crew cab (with a Hemi V-8 and a RamBox) had a towing capacity of around 10,000 pounds. That seemed odd to us, because it doesn't follow the Society of Automotive Engineers' J2807 standard requirement of 10 percent of towing capacity for the recommended tongue weight. Following that formula, the Rebel's 10,000 pounds of towing capacity would have put us 100 pounds over our 900-pound max payload capacity, and that's before adding a driver, passenger or cargo. We should also note that SAE J2807 criteria recommends, before adding tongue weight, adding 300 pounds for passengers as well as 25 to 65 pounds for the receiver and trailer hitch or weight-distributing hitch."

So those Boys beating their chest and saying RAM uses J2807 standard where others don't, you might want to look a bit further. RAM kind of uses it but kind of doesn't use it either.

Do you know of any other manufacturer that, uh.."kinds of uses it, and kinda doesn't"? Or is Ram the only bad guy here?

Didn't imply anyone else uses it.

If you are going to "advertise" using a standard then you should use the complete standard. Not just the parts that make for good marketing. If they used the complete standard then the tow rating would be less.

My point is that the RAM ratings are no more valid/true than those manufacturers that don't use SAE J2807.

The RAM discussed in the article is rated higher than it should be to stay under its ratings. No different that the other manufacturers.

There are no good guys in this situation. They highlighted Dodge because they were doing an article on those trucks and had them on hand.

NC Hauler wrote:

spud1957 wrote:
Interesting comments regarding RAM using SAE J2807 for their ratings.

"All this is interesting because we were told the short-bed Rebel crew cab (with a Hemi V-8 and a RamBox) had a towing capacity of around 10,000 pounds. That seemed odd to us, because it doesn't follow the Society of Automotive Engineers' J2807 standard requirement of 10 percent of towing capacity for the recommended tongue weight. Following that formula, the Rebel's 10,000 pounds of towing capacity would have put us 100 pounds over our 900-pound max payload capacity, and that's before adding a driver, passenger or cargo. We should also note that SAE J2807 criteria recommends, before adding tongue weight, adding 300 pounds for passengers as well as 25 to 65 pounds for the receiver and trailer hitch or weight-distributing hitch."

So those Boys beating their chest and saying RAM uses J2807 standard where others don't, you might want to look a bit further. RAM kind of uses it but kind of doesn't use it either.

Do you know of any other manufacturer that, uh.."kinds of uses it, and kinda doesn't"? Or is Ram the only bad guy here?

Ford and GM literally pull parts like bumpers, spare tires, jacks and center consoles off their trucks before determining official ratings.

Anybody who is just now realizing that half tons can't tow anywhere near their advertised "max towing weight" in the real world hasn't been paying attention.

As far as the article goes, I'd be curious about where they got their max tow number from. It just says they were told it was around X lbs. Maybe Rebels aren't rated to tow as much as somebody assumed? I know the Powerwagon is downrated quite a bit compared to a regular Ram, so it seems logical that a Rebel might be as well.

spud1957 wrote:
Interesting comments regarding RAM using SAE J2807 for their ratings.

"All this is interesting because we were told the short-bed Rebel crew cab (with a Hemi V-8 and a RamBox) had a towing capacity of around 10,000 pounds. That seemed odd to us, because it doesn't follow the Society of Automotive Engineers' J2807 standard requirement of 10 percent of towing capacity for the recommended tongue weight. Following that formula, the Rebel's 10,000 pounds of towing capacity would have put us 100 pounds over our 900-pound max payload capacity, and that's before adding a driver, passenger or cargo. We should also note that SAE J2807 criteria recommends, before adding tongue weight, adding 300 pounds for passengers as well as 25 to 65 pounds for the receiver and trailer hitch or weight-distributing hitch."

So those Boys beating their chest and saying RAM uses J2807 standard where others don't, you might want to look a bit further. RAM kind of uses it but kind of doesn't use it either.

Do you know of any other manufacturer that, uh.."kinds of uses it, and kinda doesn't"? Or is Ram the only bad guy here?