Cougar 25RDS Weight Dilemma

[WDPatterson]

How/why the tongue weight is what is it I don't know. I do know 2 independent weigh sessions telling me that same thing...OK. I know a specialized hitch shop telling me that they aren't going to mess with me because what I have is beyond the truck capability and more or less dangerous...I'm out and a new truck is in.....for too many important things (family/life) in the equation.
Now the old conversation of 3/4 vs 1 ton - btdt. You need a new truck for the trailer...by what you've presented I don't think that can be refuted. If buying a new truck (used?) always remember that the cost between the 1 ton and 3/4 is minimal. Ride difference is negligible. Payload? Priceless. Good luck and sorry for the situation....it is repeated constantly.

You're right. Furthermore, while the difference in price, between three quarter and one ton is negligible, the ride quality difference is, by far, significant.
I enjoyed pulling our fifth wheel with our F250 (could still feel it was back there). But, I significantly more enjoy pulling it with the f-350 (it's like a fly on an elephant).
The amount of confidence, comfort, and safety margin makes you less fatigued at the end of the trip.

 

[HarryG-KEY]

Very concise and helpful video, thanks!

 

[Kirk's Outback.]

The tow vehicle is a 2017 RAM Crew Cab with 4 x 4 and a 5.7 Hemi engine and has the optional 4 corner air suspension. Sounds like you have the goods to get it done with your 1500. I'd love to know what your tongue weight is measuring with a full tank of water. My tanks are empty and the front cargo has maybe 125 lbs in it, so its perplexing that the TW is coming in at 1340 lbs. What is you Huskee Centerline hitch rating?

Is your from cargo bay only half full?
With the stuff I use on every camping trip stored in my front cargo bay, I'm easily over 200 lbs. (Fresh Water Hoses, Waste Tank Hoses, RV Cords and Adapters, Leveling Blocks, Exterior Carpets, Portable Grill and Griddle...
I occasionally do an actual weight and balance calculation to keep it under control.
If you're not there yet, you will eventually.

 

[Cajun Couple]

HarryG...we have the same camper and have been pulling with it for over a year. Towing with a '21 FX4 Expedition with the max towing package and a payload of 1769 lbs. Rated to pull 9200 lbs per Ford. 3.73 gearing and running 10 ply BFG's aired up to 70 psi when towing. With the glass windshield..2nd AC up front in the bedroom and 2 full 30lb tanks my hitch weight is in the 1200 lb range. Just wife and I so we load the camper lightly and also the tow vehicle. Using a 4 point Equalizer hitch with 12K pound bars and hitch head. Told me it was a 10K pound one when they threw it in with the deal!! Actually the rig handles very well on backroads in the 55 to 60 mph range but on the interstates on a windy day you can really feel it. Night and day difference from our previous 41' 17K pound Solitude towed by a F350 DRW diesel. Miss the exhaust braking on the F350 instead of the transmission in the Expedition doing the work. Small fuel tank only 23.5 gallons so only 200 miles before needing fuel when towing. We've been only taking short trips of 100 to 200 miles and run backroads or limit speed to the 55 to 60 range. Any long trips we can borrow one of my son in laws trucks that are both 3/4 ton diesels!!

 

[GlasNav]

Curiosity got the best of me

Ordered a tongue scale from etrailer, and with the same unit I'm getting 1100 lbs.
Both propane bottles are full, there is a custom battery box with a pair of 100 AH BattleBorn LiFePo bolted to the original battery rack brackets, and the pass thru is full of stuff, including the inverter mounted in the most ridiculous location, all the way forward at the driver side pass thru underside of the bed frame. Sometimes I wonder who decides where to place the equipment! Additionally, we also have a front A/C. However, at this time all tanks and the hot water heater are empty. Fridge is empty, but the cabinets are full of cooking utensils. As far as balance, the aft wrap around benches RDS are also partially full. A custom generator box, is permanently attached to the reinforced rear bumper, as well as a BAL hide a spare behind the suspension.
In conclusion, the 800+ lb dry tongue weight is probably accurate.

 

[Bob n Bonnie]

Know how you feel. We were pulling our rv with a 2500 that had aprox 2500lbs payload and the empty pin weight was around 1800. add normal stuff and I was way over so...we got a 3500 that had almost 6000 lbs payload. way more comfortable ride but some sticker shock on the purchase of the 3500. As an after note, with the extra payload, we added a transfer tank and carry over 100 gals with us. No more worrying about getting fuel with the rv attached.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

Our “Super Light” Passport (5,000 lb dry, 7,000 lb GVWR) has a published tongue weight of 535 lbs. Actual tongue weight is 980 lbs with water and holding tanks empty and almost nothing in the passthrough. Loaded for a regular camping trip, we are at 1,020 lbs. The OP’s figures seem “normal” to me.

One thing factory dry weight doesn’t consider is weight of full propane tanks and batteries, plus anything not from the factory. Add a single can of soup forward of the axles and it adds tongue weight.

Really simple and time proven method to determine tongue weight (aside from a CAT Scale), is 15% of GVWR.

For what it’s worth, I hated the way my half ton truck handled the trailer so I upgraded the truck to a beefed up 3/4 ton with 3,400 lbs of cargo capacity and now it’s so easy to tow that my wife will do it.

 

[GlasNav]

In the early 90s, we were towing a 33 ft Cobra, now Rockwood that was actually closer to 38 ft. I got disgusted fighting a beefed up F150 and bought a F350 diesel and the following year dumped that for the first F350 7.3 DI with waste gate, that truck was super stable, and had outstanding power, able to tow in the passing lane up mountain grades with everything LOADED kids dogs, generator, etc. Installed a custom cowboy drop bump rated at 15,000 lbs and would just drop the tongue on the ball and go, no compensator hitch or anything. Sure miss that beast, we sold it several years later when the kids went off to college and my wife and I were too busy to use the trailer.

 

[adm49]

My 2 cents

I have a 2022 25RDS. I was pulling it with a 2020 F150 w/Ecoboost. Most of the time it seemed to pull fine but it was terrible on windy days. Gas mileage was always between 6 and 7 mpg. I finally broke down and bought an F250 with the diesel. The difference in pulling was night and day. Hardly feel any sway at all on windy days and fuel mileage went up to 11 mpg. As a side note, fuel mileage is between 19 and 20 when I'm not pulling.

 

[Sean D-KEY]

I have a 2022 25RDS. I was pulling it with a 2020 F150 w/Ecoboost. Most of the time it seemed to pull fine but it was terrible on windy days. Gas mileage was always between 6 and 7 mpg. I finally broke down and bought an F250 with the diesel. The difference in pulling was night and day. Hardly feel any sway at all on windy days and fuel mileage went up to 11 mpg. As a side note, fuel mileage is between 19 and 20 when I'm not pulling.

I could contest to this I had a 2015 Silverado 5.3 pulling our 25DBSWE. Sure it could pull it on flat ground but I would drive further routes to avoid mountain passes or large hills. Not to mention coming down the mountains with the trailer brakes set I was cooking the brakes off the truck. I needed up getting a diesel F250. Night and day. Like stated above the exhaust brake will hold your speed coming down hill you rarely even use the brakes.

 

[GlasNav]

Revisiting: 25RDS Weight Dilemma

On the way home from KC today I stopped at Love's in Topeka and put the rig on their CAT Scale. That 1,300 report by HarryG the OP appears at least 200 pounds with his light trailer over mine and seems very questionable. However, the 800 lb tongue weight advertised for the trailer is way under.

Otherwise, the weights on the trailer sticker are pretty close.

Tow vehicle 2019 RAM 3500, DRW, 6.7 Cummins, Aisin Transmission, 4x4.
Towing on a 22,000 lb tow, 3000 lb tongue rated ball, without WDH.

Steer Axle: 5020 lb
Drive Axle: 6160 lb
Trailer Axles: 6980 lb

Gross: 18160 lb

When I got home I measured the tongue weight: 1150 lb
Potable water tank full, 1.5 30 lb Propane full
Battery box with a pair of BattleBorn on tongue
Pass thru full.

6980 + 1150 = 8,130 with the unit loaded.
This leaves an additional 670 lb for the 8800 lb Trailer GVRW

 

[Randy23LT]

A bigger truck would make everything better

My RAM 2500 CTD pulls my 2024 CougarRDS like a champ!

 

[ADQ K9]

My Cougar has a GVW of 8800# also and the TW is 1400 loaded to the gills. I have not weighed it since moving the spare tire back behind the axles It was in the front pass thru. My TV weighs 8500# empty with driver and full tank of fuel. They are connected via a 15K weight dist. hitch. So my truck will always be heavier than the trailer and the tail will never wag the dog in theory. I suggest sucking it up and getting a bigger truck IMO

 

[GlasNav]

A bigger truck would make everything better

My RAM 2500 CTD pulls my 2024 CougarRDS like a champ!

Nice rig, looking at the picture, it appears that the front of the trailer needs to come up a couple of inches for a level tow attitude.

 

[flybouy]

Nice rig, looking at the picture, it appears that the front of the trailer needs to come up a couple of inches for a level tow attitude.

Looking at the roof line, I think the pavement is dropping off creating an illusion. Hopefully Brooksfan will clarify.

 

[wjfyfe]

A lighter trailer/TV situation where we purchased a Keystone Bullet Crossfire 1800RB, our first fully self contained trailer. Manufacturer's specs gave a TW of 480 pounds. Our Honda Ridgeline has a max TW of 600 pounds so we thought we were golden. Putting a scale on it after getting it home it turned out to be actually 680 pounds. OUCH! We have since learned that with loading the majority of our gear aft of the axle, and leaving the tanks empty, we are able to sneak that TW to damned near that 600 pounds. Since we are still at the max TW for the Ridgeline we did install a Blue Ox Track Pro WDH with 800 pound bars.

GVWR and axle weight is 4400 pounds. At a minimum of 10% Gross for TW, that is 440 pounds of TW at gross so we have lots of wiggle room on the lower side.

So, taking the long way around the barn here, I am wondering how much the OP can reduce their TW by loading gear aft of the axle, like we have learned to do? We fill our fresh water tank on the front of the trailer at the destination, if they have water. Otherwise, if we are dry camping, we fill 6-6 gallon water jugs and carry them in the rear lav, further reducing TW to closer to 570 pounds, but adding 300 pounds to the gross load. Without water we are around 4000 pounds, adding water puts us pretty near to that 4400 pound max. Related, both our gray and black tanks are behind the axle so having water in them just improves our TW situation until we can dump. I am happy to report, however, that the the rig does handle just fine with no squirrleness while retaining a level stance with both trailer and TV.