Quick quesiton about Equalizer 10k hitch and my setup

[bigredcherokee]

so from what I have figured is im close to max for this hitch. I have a Equalizer 10k

My trailer is a Hideout 27BDS and I have a 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 with 17"rims,3.21 gears andAirlift bags. I will be upgrading the gears will according to Dodge will up my tow rating a bit.

My Tongue weight is 865 and the trailer weight is 7865 Gross.

Called Keystone and they say that the trailer tongue weight includes the propane tanks but not the battery. So i figure the battery is about 30lbs.

That brings my tongue weight up to 885 and if I put anything in the bed of my truck thats behind the rear axle Im over on the hitch limit. so no coolers , bikes, firewood etc.

Am I correct in this thought process?

Also I recently went to the CAT scales and weighed the setup with everything hooked up including the wife and two kids.

Steer axle was 7000 lbs, trailer was 6240 thats a total of 13,240. I think I weighted it wrong.

Any help greatly appreciated I may be overthinking this.

[BirchyBoy]

I could be wrong, but I think the 1k tongue weight is only for the trailer weight, not the weight in the bed. So, your tongue weight of 885 is less than the 1k rating. Also, your weight of 7,865 is less than the 10k. I don't think you'll have any issues with the hitch.

Where you do need to do some math, though, is your payload rating. Your tongue weight will reduce the amount of cargo (people, coolers, gas, etc.) that your truck can carry safely/legally/etc. If your Dodge is only rated for 1,300lbs, then you'll have 415lbs (1,300 - 885) left over for you and everyone else.

I could be wrong. Hopefully someone else with chime in if I've misstated anything. Good luck!

[sourdough]

The hitch will have a 1000/10000 lb rating. What is the rating on the truck receiver? I doubt it will be over 1000lbs.

If the dry tongue weight is 865 add another 40 for the battery and another 100 for the hitch = 1005lbs. That would overload your hitch and the tongue weight will only get heavier when you load the trailer. You could upgrade the hitch to the 12k unit but you would still have the truck receiver overloaded.

From what I can find the max trailer weight you can pull is 5700lbs with the 3.21 ratio. Your gross trlr weight is 7865 - significant overload there.

From your weights it appeared you weighed the truck and then the trailer. If that's the case the GVWR of your truck is 6800lbs vs the 7000lbs you list. The GCVWR of 13240 is considerably over the 11000lb max for the truck.

Upgrading your rear axle ratio to a 3.92 would give you a max GCVWR of 14000 which would cover what you have and increase the max tow to 8700 which would cover the trailer. It will do nothing to improve the GVW or hitch limitations.

[bigredcherokee]

WC/TW WD/TW Capacity
WC/TW 6000/600
WD/WDTW 10000/1000

You are correct. on the hitch capacity and thats what I figured.

One the scales I pulled the truck and trailer on at the same time with the WDH on. Think I may have went wrong their.

So basically I need upgrade the hitch and find a 2500 Crew cab

[sourdough]

A 3.21 rear end is not really meant for towing. The specs on the receiver on the truck would indicate a Class III hitch which is not a lot of hitch. I doubt the truck has a "tow" package per se.

Your trailer would be towable by one of the newer 1/2 tons with the tow packages, HO enginge and a class IV hitch but you would be better off with a 3/4 ton IMO...just do your homework on the hitch, payload, truck and axle configuration etc. - they all play into the overall picture. Also remember that changing the ring and pinion to a 3.92 will not improve any of the above. Good luck.

[michol02]

This post struck my curiosity, so I compaired my Equalizer 14,000lb to a 10,000lb unit.

Hitch on left is 14000lb unit.
Metal is thicker.

[michol02]

Metal is also thicker here.

[michol02]

10000lb bars are slightly too small to fit the 14000lb unit.

[GMcKenzie]

Thanks for the pictures. Answer my other thread (which is now a bit irrelevant, but good to know).
Be interested to see the 12K vs 14K to see where the difference cut-off is.

[bigredcherokee]

Well fixed the truck issue

6.7l and 3.73 gears


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[GaryWT]

Very nice truck.

[sourdough]

Yep, I think you fixed the truck issue. Nice looking truck.