[Carrottop]

I am glad to hear you have lowered your expectation of a trailer weight wise down to the 6000lbs + range. In my opinion you are still swinging at the fences in that range. Again this is just my opinion

Rear axle ratio: 3:21 this is the weakest axle available for trailer towing offered by Ram. The middle of the road is the 3:55 and the best for towing would be the 3:92. Yours is equipped with the 3:21

Tires: By the placard you posted your truck is not equipped with LT tires. This is another reason your truck will underperform when pulling any kind of weight. Easy fix go trade those tires in for some good LT tires before you put too many miles on them.

Payload: 1667lbs. Lets assume you buy that trailer at 6000lbs dry weight here is the math.

6000lbs x 15% Tounge weight = 900lbs

Your weight = assume 180lbs
Your sons weight = assume 90lbs
bikes, camping stuff bbq = 250lbs (it does not take much to load 250lbs)
Weight distributing hitch = 101lbs
this totals = 1521lbs.

your truck can handle 1667 - 1521 = 146lbs from max. This is using dry weight which no matter what you say you cannot use as towing weight (even if you add an additional 1000lbs to the dry weight your so close to your max of your truck and that it is not good.

Again I am being very general here and I don't believe that the weights I typed above are realistic I am going of the posts you made on what you would carry.

Here are some questions for you.

What if your son wanted to bring a friend? you do not have the payload capacity for that.

What about when your son gets a little older and gets bigger or you meet a significant other? You do not have the capacity for that.

Did you add any accessories to your truck such as a cap or tonneau cover?

I am really not trying to be negative here but trying to help you make a decision that will not cost you money upgrading in the future and provide a safe and enjoyable experience for you and your family.

I am literally towing with a similar sized truck that has every towing and payload option offered by Ford in 2009 and when my wife and I shopped for trailers we quickly came to realize that we had to limit our trailer GVR to 7000 or so. That meant a dry weight of no more than 5000-5200lbs.

I am not going to sit here and chastise you should you choose to go heavier than that as it is your money, your responsibility and your safety.

We are more than happy to answer any questions you have to help you gain the knowledge and information to make the best decision for you your family and the general public that would be driving around you.

Best of Luck!

John