Another Towing Question

[jrb988]

Forgive me if this has been asked before or if it seems like a dumb question. First of all some numbers on tv... 2011 Ram 2500, 6.7L Cummins, 3.73 gears, 20,000 GCWR, 12, 250 max trailer, 2,020 payload. Currently have a TT but looking at a 5er. The one we like is a Cougar 27SGS with numbers that look like this...shipping weight 8046(which I know will be more), cargo capacity of 2244, and pin of 1495. Ok finally the question...if I know for a fact I won't be towing with full tanks(because in 15 years of camping I never have) can I subtract that from the cargo capacity? This particular model has fresh, black, and grey water capacities of a total of 1245 lbs. I know we will pack more in a bigger camper but not enough to make up 1200+ lbs.

[Canonman]

Your numbers look very much like ours. You will be over your Ram payload number even with a partially filled fresh water tank. The cargo hold is forward as is the bedroom storage area. If your DW packs like mine, clothes and shoes alone will send you over the 2k number:) Also, you'll likely be pushing the 20k GCWR. Seriously, 500 lbs. of cargo, passengers and other can't live without stuff adds up really fast.
The Ram 2500 is only 1,000 lbs. less payload than a comparably equipped 3500. Like you, we already had the 2500 and chose to watch our loading to keep the pin weight as low as possible. One other consideration was to use an Anderson Ultimate hitch (50 lbs.) instead of the 250 lb standard type hitch. We feel very comfortable towing and most importantly stopping our Cougar/Ram combo.
That said, you might want to look at a slightly lighter floor plan if planning to keep/use the 2500.

[chuckster57]

1495 pin will be higher as you stated. EMPTY trailer allows for about 700 pounds in the truck. How many people, how much gear in the truck? As stated just packing the “have to have” will put you at or over max.

Choice of hitch will subtract from truck carrying capacity, granted Anderson will be the lightest, but even at that your pushing it. NEVER travel with full tanks? I said the same thing from 1989 with my first fiver until 2009 with my third fiver and had to haul my gray and black from Nebraska to South Dakota.

It’s your choice, but I agree you should find a lighter trailer.

[jrb988]

I had a couple of my numbers wrong. My payload is actually 2190 and max tow is 12450. Not much difference but still different. Thanks for the responses but it still didn't answer my question of do you have to include weight of full tanks. Because according to a 5th wheel weight calculator I'm approximately 50 lbs over on payload and 50 over on GCWR. Is 50 lbs enough to hurt the tv or be a danger on the road?

[JRTJH]

I had a couple of my numbers wrong. My payload is actually 2190 and max tow is 12450. Not much difference but still different. Thanks for the responses but it still didn't answer my question of do you have to include weight of full tanks. Because according to a 5th wheel weight calculator I'm approximately 50 lbs over on payload and 50 over on GCWR. Is 50 lbs enough to hurt the tv or be a danger on the road?

Your RAM is a 2011 model. We all consider our vehicle maintenance as "always the best because I see to it myself".... That said, your truck is already 8 years old, has been subjected to road conditions that don't make for "museum quality care". So, when you consider the "new truck ratings" and the "current truck conditions" they aren't going to be the same. How much "wear degradation" has your truck suffered? I can't tell you, but I can assure you that it's not "in new condition throughout the vehicle". Whether it's rivets that hold the chassis together, welds that have been subjected to flexing, brake lines/wheel cylinders/master cylinder use, corrosion or fluid contamination, steering component wear, driveline "slop" from U-joints and gear wear, shock wear, spring flexion/metal fatigue... The list goes on and on.

Your truck was rated with the numbers you posted when it was new. It's no longer new, and it's not going to perform as well as it did then.

Improvements? Yeah, they help, but they don't over-ride everything that's subjected to wear or fatigue.

So, IMHO, pushing a 8 or 9 year old vehicle to the "top of the ratings" and expecting performance to be "like when it was new" is just not going to happen.

Sure, you may "get away with it" for a while, but if (when) the slop bucket tips, will the truck perform "like it did in 2011?????

I wouldn't push a vehicle that old to "new vehicle specs. YMMV