Newbie to TT

[cccougar]

Just traded in a 2009 Jayco 28 QB Greyhawk for a 2016 Forest River Heritage Glen 272 BH. Very excited and nervous-have never towed anything before. TV is a 2014 Dodge Ram 1500.

A few questions- the tt dealer will be installing trailer brakes- any questions I should be asking them about this install?

I'm still trying to understand the weight guidelines. The dry weight of the tt is 6400 lbs and the towing capacity of the TV is 8300. What else should I be looking at?

In two weeks we pick it up and have our walk through- what type of questions should I be asking?

Thanks for any insight.

[handye9]

With all these people saying you'll be close and possibly over weight on payload, GVWR, GCVWR, axle ratings, tire ratings, etc, you're probably wondering, how can Ram rate this truck to tow 8600 lbs. And, how can they be saying this trailer is going to be so heavy.

Here's the theory:

Based on frame, power train, drive train, cab confifuration, suspension, brakes, tires, etc, the truck is rated to tow 8600 lbs with 1400 lb payload.

Out of the 1400 lb payload, the driver weighs 150 lbs, the WD hitch weighs 100 lbs, there's 200 lbs of fuel in the tank, and the trailer tongue weight (11 percent) is about 946 lbs. That leaves 4 lbs of payload, before the GVWR is
exceeded. There are no passengers, there is no cargo, and there are no aftermarket accessories. In theory, this truck can pull that 8600 lbs.

In the real world

You probably don't weigh 150 lbs, you're probably going to add some aftermarket goodies, you're probably going to carry some cargo, and you're probably not going camping alone. All of that extra weight, eats up part of both payload and towing capacities. If you put 800 lbs of people and cargo in or on the truck, its real world capacities are 600 lbs available payload and 7800 lbs left in tow capacity.

There are also, weight discrepancies with the trailers, that are not well advertised.

1. Dry weights are notoriously wrong. Some manufacturers weigh a basic model at the beginning of a production run. Then use that dry weight on the rest of that particular model, no matter what options are installed. Some manufacturers weigh each unit as it comes off the line, and each unit has it's own dry weight. Of those who weigh each unit, some include estimated weight for propane and one battery, some don't. Kind of a******shoot, as to how accurate your dry weights are.

2. Some makes / models have options that are installed by the dealers. Those options are not normally included in dry weights.

3. Tongue weight does not remain constant. It fluctuates, depending on what you load and where you load it. Then, during your travels, water and groceries get used up, while holding tanks are gaining weight. Depending on tank locations, in relation to trailer axles, your holding tanks can have a significant impact on tongue weight. If you're already borderline on payload, this could be an issue. My weight sticker says I have 850 lbs of dry tongue weight. However, my fresh tank takes weight off the tongue, and my galley tank adds weight. During an outing, my tongue weight can be anywhere between 950 and 1200 lbs.

[rbpru]

I lost 250# of cargo weight when I added the fiberglass truck cap. It sounded a bit heavy but it is what the cap dealer told me.

[kzspree320]

Your 1,436 lb payload seems reasonable so let's assume it is right.

Empty trailer is 6,400#. Assume loaded trailer is 7,400#. Tongue weight is about 750 to 800# or so. Let's use 800#. You are now down to 636# of payload.

Next subtract weight of the WD hitch. If I use my old equalizer with bars, the total weight was about about 80#. You are now down to 556# of remaining payload.

If you only carry a minimal 50# of jacks, tools and other misc cargo in truck or truck bed you are now down to about 506# of remaining payload for 4 passengers.They had better be small people averaging about 125# each.

Point is you will probably be above your GVWR by a couple of hundred lbs, which is certainly not that big of a deal, but you should recognize this and load lightly with minimal stuff inside the truck. Pack as much as possible in trailer and not truck.

The bigger issue is if you are over your rear axle weight rating (RAWR). I don't know what that is for your truck but it is often the total of the 2 rear tires weight rating. You do NOT want to be over your RAWR. Only way to know is to fully load everything and go weigh it at the CAT scale. If your people are all under about 200# on average, I suspect you will be slightly above your GVWR but close to or slightly under your RAWR. There is no way of knowing other than to weigh it at a CAT scale. Many truck stops have CAT scales and it only costs about $10 to weigh it.

Hope this helps. Good luck and enjoy. Keith

[fla-gypsy]

Be certain you understand the payload capacity. Sounds like you will be close with the information given.

[arwenmark]

Just as an aside, Many Trucks that have tow packages have a built in trailer brake controller.
We have a GMC 3500 HD dually and we did not realize we already had one and we bought another brake controller fortunately when my husband went to install it he found that it already had it built in. LOL

[Doug33]

How did you trade one TT for another TT, but have never towed before? Was it permanently on a site before?

[APT]

Open your driver's door and locate this sticker. Note what your truck has for as equipped payload where mine says 2051:



At 6400 pounds dry, you will be closer to 7500 pounds loaded for a long weekend with 900-1000 pounds of tongue weight. Does does your truck have enough payload for 900 pounds of tongue weight, 200 pounds of camping gear in the bed, and your family inside the cab? If so, then make sure you get a WDH with integrated sway control and a proportional brake controller if your truck does not have the integrated one.

You have plenty of power and gearing. Use tow/haul mode whenever the trailer is connected. You probably also want to limit the transmission gears to the first 5-6 (if you have thee 5.7L/8-spd).

[snowpeke]

Get a bigger truck.

[cbshoestring]

We tow with a 2013 RAM 1500, but our "packages" are night and day. I have a Tradesmans model, 2 door, 2WD, Hemi, with and 8' bed. It has the HD tranny cooler, 373 rear end and almost 1700 lbs of payload. We pull a 2012 19' KZ Sportsmen Clssic 170 (3500#)with WDH/Anti-sway.

My experience is going to be way different then yours. I am basicly running empty as far as weight is concerned. Easy to pull, easy to stop. Trailer does not give me any problems.

Kinda reminds me of running a tractor trailer---EMPTY. Sure, I am still driving a combination unit that needs respected. It will take a bit longer to get going, takes up more room, and harder to stop.

You will be running a fully loaded 80,000lb semi. You have to work at it a bit more---all the time.

[cccougar]

Thanks for the insight. Again, this is new to us.

I looked up our vin # on the dodge website and it says that the max payload is 1436 lbs and the max towing is 8,600 lbs with a max GCVW at 14,150.

In terms of cargo, we usually do not load up with water in the tanks, we normally do not bring bikes and out trips consists of 2-3 day jaunts so interms of alot of clothes and gear I guess it's about average.

I guess I need to weigh my Dodge and get a sense of its actual weight? Online it says the curb weight is 5350- but for some reason I don't believe this.

Anybody have a Dodge 1500 and how is it towing??

[lil_camping_fam]

If the brake controller has an adjustment for the trailer brakes, make sure that you adjust accordingly before every trip.

When adjusting, get moving at about 10 to 15 mph and apply the brakes enough to feel how your vehicle is responding. You do NOT want the trailer to "push" or "pull" the TV. You want them to have the same amount of braking applied. It does take a little bit to get a feel of how to adjust.

My dealer did have mine set WAAAAYYYY to high after we did our walk through. Of course, you leave the lot and they don't care after that!

[gchackett]

cccougar wrote:
Very excited and nervous-have never towed anything before.

Just remember to take your time while driving. Don't try to drive it like a sports car. The trailer will follow you while driving forward. Just don't follow too close and take the corners wider and just because you can go 70mph doesn't mean you should.

As for backing up. I would suggest some practice in an empty parking lot. Once again take your time, all steering will be backwards turning left will make the trailer swing to the right and vice versa.

[Dakota98]

OP Quote:
I'm still trying to understand the weight guidelines. The dry weight of the tt is 6400 lbs and the towing capacity of the TV is 8300. What else should I be looking at?

Look at it this way. If you load 1000# of stuff into the TT, which is very common, your tongue weight @ 10% will be 740 lbs. Tongue weight should be between 10-15%. Subtract the 740 lbs + the weight of the hitch itself from the "payload" capacity indicated on the drivers door jamb sticker & what you have left-over will be the allowed remaining weight of passengers, fuel, & all other stuff to include the dog & not exceed the GVWR TV rating.

What figure do you come up with ????

[rbpru]

As you have probably figured out a TV can pull more than it can haul. You will probably exceed the max cargo once you load your stuff.

Once you are loaded and underway with your "necessary gear" you will know how it pulls, the effects of cross winds, trucks passing, braking and gas milage.

A trip to the scales will show you where you stand. With luck you may be under your max cargo but probably not. However you will have firm numbers to make your decisions. I suspect there are any number of half tons a bit over weight.

Our first TV was under powered at 200 horsepower eventually we replaced it.