3 years ago I bought a new travel trailer. GRVW of 10,160 (8,812 dry). At the time I had a Ram 1500 with a towing capacity of 10,500. Obviously, any weight in the truck made that a dicy situation. At 100k on the motor, it started misfiring (right around the time I got the camper - coincidence? Who knows).
In any event, I wound up trading that vehicle in and got a Ram 2500. Towing capacity north of 15,000 so no issue. The problem there is, the truck is an absolute beast. Crew cab, 8’ box… horrible daily driver (it’s impossible to park… it’s a commercial vehicle, NY is riddle with parkways I can’t drive on, not to mention gas, etc). In any event, I was talking to a buddy the other day who said they raised the towing capacity on the Ram 1500’s to north of 12,500.
So I went and looked at one yesterday and sure enough, it has a towing capacity of 11,290 - 11,460. So the question is this (if anyone knows or knows someone who does) - Is 11,460 still way to close to be pulling a trailer with a GRVW of 10,160? Even if allowed 1,000 lbs in the truck and max out the weight in the camper, I’m still on the positive side.
Do you think it’s a bad idea to try and pull that much weight with a 1500 / tow capacity of 11,460? Thanks in advance!
I think a lot depends on where you plan to tow. I tow in the Sierras and Rockies. Those are some big hills and I’d want a substantial truck. If you are mostly on flat terrain, you can cut it closer. Also, you might find out a beefed up half ton doesn’t drive much smoother or get significantly better mileage than a 3/4 ton.
While “weight” and “size” often go together as long as you’re in spec (and for me I chose to max out at 80%) I would consider size to be the bigger factor in deciding.
Let me explain: New F-150 EcoBoost trucks are rated to tow as much or more than my F-250 gasser (and have more HP) so by that logic I should have bought the F-150, right? Wrong…
There is a HUGE difference between carrying a heavy cargo trailer and a long travel trailer and it has more to do with aerodynamics and stability than weight.
My F-250 is longer, wider, and heavier than any F-150. So when a tractor trailer is passing me at 75 MPH which one do you think will be more stable?
One thing to consider also is the amount of tongue weight. I would guess your travel trailer is pushing 1,000lbs+ tongue weight and that may be getting close to maxing out a 1/2 ton truck, especially if it’s also loaded with people and cargo. A good weight distribution hitch does help with that though.
Hey Dustin… I did some math and basically, what it comes down to in my case is payload. I do have a weight distribution hitch already, though. With my 2500, I’ve got plenty of payload… but with this new truck I’m looking at, I basically max it out with just me and my family (plus the tongue weight of the camper). How does that help with payload?