Ram 1500 with starcraft 289bhs

Chuck,
Congratulations and good luck with your new rig; enjoy the new camping season. :C

Hi all.
Sorry for the long post. But here is how it went down today.

Got to the dealership, and I gotta say, I am in love with this trailer.
I took all advice and made the decision that was best for me.

So with my Ram 1500 with trailer tow package, I got the Starcraft Autumn Ridge 289bhs.

Distribution hitch: I picked up an E2 E2 link Please post any commnets on this hitch. It took a while to set it up. I spoke with a guy who really knew his stuff. Explained everything to me. Of course with my luck, he had to leave for lunch and I had someone else hook it up. I told him I wanted him to do it and he said if there were any problems to let him know. It was hooked up and I saw what was too much sag so I had the first guy paged, and he left his lunch and worked on it for an hour and a half until I was happy. I measured before and after and it looked good. I took with my my hockey gear in the box, some other heavier items to simulate some load on the truck too.

I have Air Lift 1000 bags, but did not get a chance to install them.

Driving: The dealership was 1.5 hours away from my house. And I think I had the best test route in I could find. The whole way on the 401..."Canada's most dangerous highway". It was also pretty windy. The truck did just fine. At first while I got used to it, I did sway a little bit. But I did the speed limit, took my time and got used to it at my own pace. I was passed by TONS of 18 wheelers and didn't notice much. For you fellow Canadians, on the way to the dealership, I got 23 liters per 100kms with my 4500lb trade in. On the way back I got 22 liters per 100kms on the 7000lb trailer. I understand this could be a due to geography and bit, but the 401 is very flat. So even if loaded, doesn't appear my mileage will be much worse with the new rig. I actually think this new set up is a good thing, because it has forced me to be a more responsible driver. I have driven a dump truck with a 25 foot hydro seeder fully loaded in my previous career and I think with my old trailer, I may have been a little over confident and maybe driving faster than I should have at times. Speed limit from here out!!

So all in all, so far a VERY positive experience. I will post pictures in the TT pictures thread if you want to have a look or I can attach some here too.

I also want to thank EVERYONE who contributed GOOD and BAD comments. Actually, there were no BAD comments, just different opinions which we are all entitled too. I was impressed with how thorough everyone was.

Lastly, I want to say a special thank you to jerem0621. He has been EXTREMELY HELPFUL.

Long day, so now time for a couple of beers and watch my favorite movie, Donnie Darko....Maybe I will see some of you on the road North of the Boarder some time??

Chuck

I can tell you that towing your trailer will be fine as many have said the payload will be over if the numbers you provided are correct. That said I have a 2011 Ram 1500 outdoorsman with 3.92 gears and heavy duty towing package. This added a trans cooler and the gears also have LT tires from the factory. I have a 2013 shasta revere and it weighs 6800lbs loaded ready to camp. I have towed 300 miles one way to campgrounds with absoulutely no trouble. I have a weight distribution hitch and antisway. My tongue weight is right around 850lbs loaded ready to camp. My payload on my truck is 1400lbs I forget the exact number but it is very close to that. That number is right off the sticker again I dont have it in front of me but I know its more then you are claiming yours is. Max tow is 10,500lbs. I am guessing you have either a Laramie or an outdoorsman because normally they have 3.55 gears and max tow of 9500lbs. My truck has a class 4 hitch as well as an intergerated brake controller in the truck. I tow mine with no issue at all. I know the weight police are going to tell me I am wrong but I know what my numbers are and have been towing for years. I have scaled the truck and trailer and family in the truck and I come in just below my payload. Its not by much but we make it.

Good luck and happy camping.

Check your truck's owners manual on how to adjust a WDH.

Typical loading of properly adjusted WDH for RVers shows that 80% of TW is carried by the TV rear axles and 20% by the TT axles. So some TW is removed from the TV axles increasing payload. However, Ford and GM now (for 2014 models) only recommend restoring half the weight removed from the front axle. That would mean the TV rear axle carries about 100% of the TW, FA removes 10% and TT axles carry 10% of TW. Payload is not increased as much.

Study this on how to adjust your WDH after reading your owners manual.

If you still have "P" rated tires on it I would recommend upgrading to "LT" tires. Loaded they handle better. In my opinion "P" tires have no business on a truck anyway.

For what it's worth...I had a 2003 Ram 1500 4x2 with the HEMI and 3.55 gears. Bought a TT...31' and 5800lbs dry (trailer in sig), and towed it for 2 years with no issues. Today's rams are better all the way around...I think you would be fine.
I moved up so it would tow a bit easier, and for future upgrade of said trailer.

I have a dump close to me. I can go get on their scales. That is not a problem. What I am most worried about, is to get it there, I have to leave with the trailer. What if the numbers I tell you are to much Which leaves me stuck with it and not enough money left over for a new tow vehicle until at least next year. Then I have a pretty expensive lawn ornament.

samhain7 wrote:
It's a husky round bar. It says with spring bars and it has a load of ranges but doesnt say which range it is capable of.

I am more interested in his comment that they sell truck/trailer combos of my trailer and ram 1500s all the time with the we hitch he wants me to use. And that his hitch will move so much wieght over the axl of the trailer that I will be fine.

Also, another thought. So thinking in physics, would not the tires of a trailer be the fulcrum point. And if I loaded the back of the trailer with most of the wieght, would that not reduce the hitch wieght, thereby allowing me to be within range?

Here are a few observations.. Sorry, this is going to be lengthy.

1) Round Bar WD hitches use to max out at about 1000 lbs.. they now make round bar hitches that go all the way up to 1400 lbs (Curt specifically)... However, the hitch the RV Dealership is trying to sell you will likely be a 1000-1200 lb trunnion style hitch...this is not a bad thing.

2) Weight Distributing hitches serve one specific function. They restore the front axle weight to unloaded weight, by a byproduct of WD the front fenders ride height should be restored from spot on to approx 1/2 inch from the unloaded height. Basically, without this hitch your headlights may be pointed at the sky.. I know you have seen those vehicles before.. headlights pointed at the sky while towing. A WD hitch properly set up will properly fix this problem and restore unloaded steering geometry back to the truck. This is a SAFETY issue. You NEED full handling especially while towing.

3) A WD hitch does project some percentage of the tongue weight from the rear axle to the front axle and back to the trailer axle.

-The guesstimated % of the tongue weight distribution is 20% front axle, 60% rear, and 20% trailer.. These are totally guesses and are based on other figures I have read.
- After you are hitched up the tongue weight WILL spread out across all axles to some degree.. The only real way to know how much is to weigh your truck before you hitch up and get your actual unloaded front and rear axle weights. After you hitch up get another set of weights. This will tell you how much of your tongue weight shows up on the TRUCKS axles.

4) You can pack some things in the rear to remove some tongue weight.
-However, you are playing a dangerous game UNLESS you buy a Shirline scale (google this) and weigh your tongue weight before every pull to make sure you have 10-13% of the trailer weight on the tongue.
-You can cause an out of control sway event by overloading the rear and making the trailer tongue too light... trust me friend.. a slightly overloaded truck that is in control with proper loading is MUCH BETTER than a truck under ratings but with a poorly loaded trailer.
-The MORE tongue weight the BETTER the trailer will handle. This is the single greatest reason that fifth wheels tow so great.. they have 20-25% tongue weight (Called Pin Weight in fifth wheel vernacular.)

Here is a great video to show you what may happen if you load the back of the trailer heavier than the front. It's in Spanish or Portuguese (I think) but the 3d model is great.

Trailer Sway

4) We haven't talked about sway control. There are two basic kinds of sway control.
- Add on sway bars are the most common. They work well when used properly... your trailer length needs TWO.. One of the left and one on the right. Make the dealer give you two.. DESPITE ANYTHING THE DEALER SAYS... if they are trying to sell/give you a standard wd hitch with a sway bar.. YOU NEED TWO SWAY BARS.. due to your trailer weight.

- Integrated sway control. These are good options because when you hitch up you are done, you have WD and SWAY control. On this board there are three really popular versions.

* Reese Straightline/Dual Cam sway control
* Equal-i-zer (this is the brand not just an equalizing hitch)
* E2

Any of these hitches will do a great job if set up properly.


Take Aways for you

1) Weigh your truck (front and rear axle)
2) You need a 1000-1200 lb WD hitch
3) You need Sway Control (if standard WD hitch, you need TWO sway bars)
4) Learn how to load a trailer correctly (google this and study!!)
5) DO NOT LOAD THE REAR OF THE TRAILER HEAVY
6) Air up your tires (all 9) to MAX PSI (you do have a spare on the trailer... right?)
7) This is a big one.. I want you to do this ASAP... the next time you are on flat ground with your truck unloaded... maybe in your driveway right now... grab a tape measure and measure how high the wheel well lip is on the front fender.
-Write this number down.
-When you go to pick up your truck and trailer after the dealer has "set your WD hitch up right" take your tape measure and measure the front fender again in the exact same spot.
-Is it within 1/2 inch of the original unloaded measurement? Yes.. GREAT... go pull your trailer.. NO.. Make the dealer tech do it again until you are within 1/2 inch of the UNLOADED height on your front fender wheel well lip.
8) Get weighed again with the trailer in tow.

Thanks and good luck!

Jeremiah

It's a husky round bar. It says with spring bars and it has a load of ranges but doesnt say which range it is capable of.

I am more interested in his comment that they sell truck/trailer combos of my trailer and ram 1500s all the time with the we hitch he wants me to use. And that his hitch will move so much wieght over the axl of the trailer that I will be fine.

Also, another thought. So thinking in physics, would not the tires of a trailer be the fulcrum point. And if I loaded the back of the trailer with most of the wieght, would that not reduce the hitch wieght, thereby allowing me to be within range?

samhain7 wrote:
So I spoke with the dealership.
The head of the service dept said that my roundbar hitch was insufficient. But he could hook me up with a square bar WD hitch and sway control that would put the wieght of the trailer over the axl's... They said they sell the same trailer as a trailer/RAM 1500 combo (they are an auto dealer too). He said he has all the confidence that this new hitch will be perfectly fine for my set up.

Thoughts on this?

Don't trust the dealership so readily. In your owner's manual, or on the hitch there should a sticker or section stating what tongue weight the hitch can handle, and how much it can handle with weight distribution. For example, My F-150 noted 500 lbs W/O weight distribution, 1,000 lbs W/ weight distribution. My RAM does similar with higher ratings. Check that first and then ask the service man why it is insufficient.