how much weight can we have?

[TraciK]

Truck 2003 Dodge ram 2500 heavy duty 4x4

inside the door this is what it says

GVWR 8800

GAWR 5200 front 6000 rear

[TraciK]

OUCH is right!!

Well, we will be using this for 4 wheel riding. We go about 4 times a year. But, I'm hoping if we have a/c and toilet and shower we might go more. No new truck for dh!! lol

[abslayer]

TraciK wrote:
Thank you for all y'alls help. I guess I will start looking at pop up tc. I really didn't want one. But, I don't want to spend a ton on upgrades.

I made that mistake you are talking about Pop up
Ended up selling TC and truck for a loss , Just was to small after looking at all the nice TC with slides I said to hell with this Pop Up.
Got new F350 and new Adventure 980RDS TC love this set up now.
But of this all set me back $85,000 OUCH

[TraciK]

Thank you for all y'alls help. I guess I will start looking at pop up tc. I really didn't want one. But, I don't want to spend a ton on upgrades.

[Reddog1]

JIMNLIN wrote:

I don't understand your post. Maybe I missed the OP saying they had a gasser?

They did say Truck 2003 Dodge ram 2500 heavy duty 4x4. They also stated, GVWR 8800 - GAWR 5200 - front 6000 rear.

The '03 is the first year for the all new 3rd gen trucks that came out with the new 9000 GVWR and 6000 RAWR for the Cummins but kept the 8800 GVWR for the Hemi.

The '02 and older 2nd gen 2500 Dodge/Cummins like yours and my previous '01 had a 8800 GVWR with 6084 RAWR.

I think I understand now. When the OP stated they had an '03 with the 8800 GVWR, that identified the truck as a gasser and not a DSL.

[JIMNLIN]

I don't understand your post. Maybe I missed the OP saying they had a gasser?

They did say Truck 2003 Dodge ram 2500 heavy duty 4x4. They also stated, GVWR 8800 - GAWR 5200 - front 6000 rear.

The '03 is the first year for the all new 3rd gen trucks that came out with the new 9000 GVWR and 6000 RAWR for the Cummins but kept the 8800 GVWR for the Hemi.

The '02 and older 2nd gen 2500 Dodge/Cummins like yours and my previous '01 had a 8800 GVWR with 6084 RAWR.

[Reddog1]

JIMNLIN wrote:
IMO folks are missing the 8800 GVWR which is what the '03 2500 Hemi comes with so weights with the Cummins do not apply.

I don't understand your post. Maybe I missed the OP saying they had a gasser?

They did say Truck 2003 Dodge ram 2500 heavy duty 4x4. They also stated, GVWR 8800 - GAWR 5200 - front 6000 rear. I do know the 4x4 is heavier than a 2WD. I don't remember by how much.

This is the decal on my 1996:

JIMNLIN wrote:
I have a '03 2500 Dodge/Cummins NV5600 2wd Quad Cab 2wd with 4000 lbs on the front axle and 2860 lbs on the rear axle or 6860 lb unladen. The Hemi is much lighter and will have more payload.
IMO the 2500 Hemi may weigh close to 2500-2700 on the rear axle which leaves him around 3300-3500 lb for a payload. Thats a max rear axle/wheels/tires and springs. I would't go over that unless upgraded components are added.

I find the differences in your trucks weight and mine interesting, especially the rear axle. My truck is an auto trans.

[wintersun]

The manufacturer's rear axle rating is based on the weakest link of the truck configuration as it left the factory. It was accurate at that one point in time.
The payload capacity from the manufacturer is based on an estimated average passenger weight of 150 lbs. so a truck with a cab that holds 5 passengers will have a 600 lb. lower payload rating than a regular cab.

Most Dodge heavy duty trucks have a rear axle and wheel bearings that are load rated to 8,900 lbs. and this is likely to be true for your truck. If the truck with the bed empty is weighed at the scales and is at say 3000 lbs., that leaves 5900 lbs. of potential payload. Next you need to check the load rating for the rear rims and rear tires.

With the factory configuration it is likely that the rims are rated at 3800 lbs. or less and the tires are 3200 lbs. or less so taking the lower of the two and figuring on two tires the wheels can handle 6400 lbs. less the 3000 lbs. of the truck for a possible payload of 3400 lbs. though rims and tires are easily changed and this is often done. 19.5 rims and tires are available that are rated for loads of 4800 lbs. per wheel or 9600 lbs. at the rear axle for the pair.

For safe handling the factory shocks should be upgraded and you may need to add leaf springs or Supersprings, and may want a heavy duty rear anti-sway bar. Most people make modifications to their stock trucks to handle the weight of the camper and to provide safe handling when this top heavy weight is in the bed.

[TraciK]

UGH!!! lol

[JIMNLIN]

IMO folks are missing the 8800 GVWR which is what the '03 2500 Hemi comes with so weights with the Cummins do not apply.

I have a '03 2500 Dodge/Cummins NV5600 2wd Quad Cab 2wd with 4000 lbs on the front axle and 2860 lbs on the rear axle or 6860 lb unladen. The Hemi is much lighter and will have more payload.
IMO the 2500 Hemi may weigh close to 2500-2700 on the rear axle which leaves him around 3300-3500 lb for a payload. Thats a max rear axle/wheels/tires and springs. I would't go over that unless upgraded components are added.

[Reddog1]

TraciK wrote:
I had put the KG in the first time went back and corrected it.

I think we have it figured out.

From what we can tell without weighing the truck is its curb weight is around 6000. So, we are thinking we can haul around 2800 pounds.

So, our max weight for a tc would be 2000. I'm thinking 800-1000 for extra weight. Does this sound about right?

I saw a tc that I really like and wouldn't mind going to look at but it weighs 2200. So, we would be over by 200 pounds give or take. How bad is that? lol

"How bad is that?", will get you answers from the sky is falling to no problem. There are so many things to consider, I doubt you will/could get a clear answer. I have been on RV.NET for many years, and have owned trucks and TCs since the early 70s. I feel very comfortable in saying you must look for truck/TC combinations, and ask the owner what they do and do not like about their setup. It is equally important to ask what is different about their truck from factory stock. Keep in mind, something as simple as shocke will make a big difference in a given truck. An anti-sway bar can be the difference between your truck/TC having decent road manners or being a white knuckle ride. Unfortunately, my observation is the first priority in choosing a truck and/or TC is the color, and floor plan.

If you are not willing to spend a lot of money on truck suspension upgrades, be very conservative with the TC size/weight. My experience is the tire/wheels are the primary parts to fail if overloaded. Start there. The side of the tire states the maximum load capacity of the tire. Add the two rear tire load capacities. If the rear axle of your truck with camper exceeds the total of the two tires, stop you will definitely be overloaded and unsafe in my opinion.

My 1996 Dodge DSL 2500 2WD extended cab long bed is probably a lot lighter than your truck. I have weighed it many times, for different reasons. I seriously doubt your truck weighs 6000 pounds, probably closer to 7000 to 7200 pounds or more.

My truck empty:

Total weight without tailgate = 6200 pounds
Front axle = 4000
Rear axle = 2200


My truck with my TC fully loaded ready to camp:

Total weight = 10400 pounds
Front axle = 4200
Rear axle = 6200

I would not load my TC on my truck without my upgraded tires (19.5s, 4900 lbs/tire), air bags, anti-sway bar, and adjustable shocks.

I will not argue with others as to what is the maximum load to carry. They should go with their comfort level, as I do. My setup has served me well for over seven years and about 130,000 miles.

Wayne

[countrykids]

Based on truck weight estimates of others it's pretty likely that total going down the road weight will be 10k or more. Since it is an HD I'm thinking the brakes might be O.K. A weak point may be tires and rims. Are they "e" tires? What about rim ratings? You might also have to beef up the suspension. Maybe air bags or Supersprings.

It's a shock to a lot of us that this heavy duty 3/4 ton truck we have can't haul as many campers as we thought. Lots of good advice in this forum. Read it all and decide what your comfort level is.

[campn4walleye]

Another thing you can do is try to find the camper's base wt, then add each "extra feature" that's on the TC, such as the genny, AC unit. Arctic Fox's website has the wts of each thing posted in their catalog, so add those wts together to get a dry estimate, then add the wt you think your "stuff" will weigh. That's how we started.

As it turns out, the tires are a lot of the limiting factor. Look as those too.

Is your head spinning yet? This is the hard part, after you find the right one, it will be easier. Happy hunting!

[campn4walleye]

If I'm reading correctly, the TC's dry wt is 2200 lbs. Add another 800 for "stuff" and you'll be over by a lot more than 200 lbs. Typically, you cannot trust the weight written on the TC...it's usually more! It must be weighed to find out actual wts. There are some very interesting past posts where folks have been surprised on their wts. You cannot just guess or round up. Not safely anyway.

When we researched TCs, were learned so much about wts. We had a 3500 SRW and found it wouldn't handle the TCs that we wanted. We would have had to add a lot of expensive mods. We went up to a DRW. No mods, and we feel safer. You may find you need to go to a bigger truck or a smaller TC. It's an expensive lessen to buy before researching carefully.

I don't mean to be a downer, but TCs are a whole different animal. TCs are "payload", not pulling capability. BTW, you have add that in too if you plan to pull a trailer or boat, etc.

[TraciK]

http://jackson.craigslist.org/rvs/4036070607.html

here is the one I'm interested in. generator is included and he built that cargo thing on the back.

I wish I knew how to put the link in here right! sorry!