Hi from Colorado - Towing Capacity Question

[LeonineThor]

Good Morning ladies. I am so thankful to see a group of women that won't scoff at me! I am a working mom who moonlights as a want-to-be camper in the summer with my boys - 6 and 8, and my occasional husband (meaning he occasionally attends the camping trips.... )

I've had a pop-up for 7 years, we do 7-9 weekends and a 5 night trip each year. Towing is no problem for me, and I am finally a confident backer! I'm not the most mechanically inclined, but so far haven't had any real issues - I mean really, not that much on a pop-up with no slides.

Back to my occasional husband - he is finally getting the idea that this camping thing isn't just a fad I'm passing through, and he has expressed that he would like a bigger camper so he would enjoy coming with us. Soooo....we are starting the search for a small 5th wheel bunkhouse. OK, truth be told, I've completely fallen in love with the Keystone Cougar 1/2 tons... 280BHSWE to be exact - of course they didn't release those in Colorado, so I am going to have to road trip when I find one.

I spent the past 2 days being insulted by truck dealers and RV salesmen alike.....So I came online looking for some honest opinions from people that don't have a monetary interest in my decisions!

The RV I want is labeled as:
Shipping Weight 7742 lbs
Carrying Capacity 2468 lbs
Hitch/Payload 1410 lbs

The truck I am really jazzed about is the Dodge Ram 1500
Loaded Trailer Weight 10360 or 10150....based on 4x2 or 4x4
Payload 1610 or 1480 again based on 4x2 vs 4x4

And that is where the conversation with the salesmen get difficult and I need experienced answers - not salesman answers.
1. How likely am I to actually reach the carrying capacity? 43 gal water = 360ish pound, and 60 pounds of propane plus my stuff
2. Truck dealer says 4x4 (lowers payload dramatically), camper dealer says 4x2 (I worry about snow/mud in CO)

This is my everyday truck - I will also be toodeling around town to baseball games and the grocery store.

Thanks a ton! Hope it was ok to combine introduction and towing question.
Darcy

[Olive600]

Welcome! Boy oh boy are you in the right place. I suggest contacting MelissaD. She's the resident expert on all things towing and trucks and weight and all that stuff. At least she knows more than many of us. And, she's very generous with her knowledge. You can send her a private message. Please start a thread in tech/maint for your conversation so all of us can learn. Wow! So glad you came here to ask.


Nikki

[IrishIroamed]

Welcome Darcy Can't help much with the towing questions since I don't have a RV of my own just quite yet (me thinks we need a crying icon )

Where abouts in Colorado are you from. I've spent a lot of time in CO, but never quite got off the front range (there's that crying icon again )

[avalen]

Welcome I'm from Colorado too but sadly got transplanted in Arizona for too long, stuck here now until retirement but thats soon
I second the motion on MelissaD, she's very knowledgeable in that department, I have 29' fifthwheel but have not towed it yet. I need a
truck and the truck I need will at least need to be 2500 HD. Towing will be easy but its most important that your vehicle be able to
stop the rig as well. Lots of times salesman neglect to mention that fact and try to sell you what they want to sell. Back in the day of
having horses, I had a regular old 1/2 ton pickup and towed a 4 horse trailer with big horses. Yep, it towed it just fine but stopping was
another story entirely. Thankfully for me and my poor truck, that was just an emergency one time haul to help out a friend stranded
in the middle of nowhere with a horsetrailer. Stopping is my biggest fear.

[BirdbyBird]

Welcome to the forum. I think you will enjoy the amenities of the 5th wheel even while you may sometimes miss the smaller campsites you could fit the pop up into.

I don't know the particular answer to you questions but I do know that it is important to have a tow vehicle that can handle whatever you want to tow AND not to trust either the truck salesperson or the RV salesperson when they tell you that a certain combo will work. You do have to do your own research at a higher level. Good luck getting down to the facts and keep us in the loop. The search for the right rv is all part of the adventure.

[LeonineThor]

Well. I spent the day researching, calculating and talking to friends I respect. Everything tells me I will be just fine if I go for the 4x4 1500 Ram. Sooooo. I jumping in on the truck tomorrow.

I have several leads on the bunkhouse I want, so maybe I'll be able to get that next month or so. Wow. I am actually doing this upgrade thing!

Woot woot!
Darcy

[cpatinjones]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

[LeonineThor]

Where abouts in Colorado are you from. I've spent a lot of time in CO, but never quite got off the front range (there's that crying icon again )

I live on the Front Range - CO State University. 15 minutes to the mountains. 45 to Rocky Mountakn National Park - although the locals don't go there during the summer tourist season. We are currently slated to camp there the last weekend the main campground is open this year to be with the elk during rutting season. We do most of our camping in Northern CO and Southern WY. Planning to expand our range next year when stopping for a night isn't such an ordeal!

Thank you ladies. I look forward to learning from you all

Darcy

[Cudedog]

Years ago, when I still did a fair bit of riding, I used to haul my horses in a two-horse tandem trailer - not too often, though, because hauling horses kinda made me crazy. Too much imagining what might happen.

My imaginings were never good.

Anyway, was out with the trailer with the horses loaded up one day and some wizzo cut me off, then slowed almost to a stop (it is true that people that drive passenger cars have no clue about how long it takes to stop a load). I was always extremely cautious when hauling the horses (gradual starts, gradual stops so the horses would not slide around and lose their footing); maybe he didn't like the way I was driving and wanted to "teach me a lesson".

A lesson was almost learned that day, and not by me.

A split-second decision here: I had the choice of either rear-ending the guy who cut me off, or swerving to do a roll-over in the ditch. I chose the rear-ending deal, and stood on the brakes.

I was extremely surprised, shocked even, when my screeching, moaning vibrating truck stopped mere inches from this guy's bumper. He, of course, promptly sped off.

It wasn't my truck that stopped the trailer - at least not entirely. It was the electric brakes on the trailer. I was pretty shook up (I was shaking), and pulled over to the side of the road to check on the horses. They were fine.

But the smell coming from the trailer brakes told me they had done a job of work that day.

Never did haul the horses too much after that. . .

Excuse the dumb question, but don't most travel trailers and 5th wheels have electric brakes?

Anne

[VickieP]

Excuse the dumb question, but don't most travel trailers and 5th wheels have electric brakes?

Anne

No question is a dumb question! Unless you're asking if Mitch is tall!

To answer your question, yes, tt's & 5ers have trailer brakes & your vehicle has an adjustable brake controller.

[rvgrammy1953]

Welcome, Darcy....and you are doing a great job on your research... In most states you are required to have electric brakes for towing/hauling anything that is 3000 lbs. or more...we found that out when we purchased our 1st TT in 2004...a 17ft. hybrid.. ..we now haul/tow a 30ft, 7770 GVW, Open Range 5er with 2 slides, with a 2008 Toyota Tundra 5.7, 4x2, short bed truck....this is our 2nd 5er and have had our "house on wheels" out to WY, NV, AZ and back east in the last 2 yrs...with no issues....we've been full-timing for 9 yrs. now....and have learned to listen to all advice, use what makes sense to us and what's legal & safe for us, and go with that.... And it seems that we tend to get the truck 1st, that we like, then shop for the camper... But hey, that has worked for us....Good luck with the shopping....When all is said and done, don't forget to post photos.....we LOVE Pictures!!!!

[mitch5252]

...Unless you're asking if Mitch is tall!

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[MelissaD]

Good Morning ladies. I am so thankful to see a group of women that won't scoff at me! I am a working mom who moonlights as a want-to-be camper in the summer with my boys - 6 and 8, and my occasional husband (meaning he occasionally attends the camping trips.... )

I've had a pop-up for 7 years, we do 7-9 weekends and a 5 night trip each year. Towing is no problem for me, and I am finally a confident backer! I'm not the most mechanically inclined, but so far haven't had any real issues - I mean really, not that much on a pop-up with no slides.

Back to my occasional husband - he is finally getting the idea that this camping thing isn't just a fad I'm passing through, and he has expressed that he would like a bigger camper so he would enjoy coming with us. Soooo....we are starting the search for a small 5th wheel bunkhouse. OK, truth be told, I've completely fallen in love with the Keystone Cougar 1/2 tons... 280BHSWE to be exact - of course they didn't release those in Colorado, so I am going to have to road trip when I find one.

I spent the past 2 days being insulted by truck dealers and RV salesmen alike.....So I came online looking for some honest opinions from people that don't have a monetary interest in my decisions!

The RV I want is labeled as:
Shipping Weight 7742 lbs
Carrying Capacity 2468 lbs
Hitch/Payload 1410 lbs

The truck I am really jazzed about is the Dodge Ram 1500
Loaded Trailer Weight 10360 or 10150....based on 4x2 or 4x4
Payload 1610 or 1480 again based on 4x2 vs 4x4

And that is where the conversation with the salesmen get difficult and I need experienced answers - not salesman answers.
1. How likely am I to actually reach the carrying capacity? 43 gal water = 360ish pound, and 60 pounds of propane plus my stuff
2. Truck dealer says 4x4 (lowers payload dramatically), camper dealer says 4x2 (I worry about snow/mud in CO)

This is my everyday truck - I will also be toodeling around town to baseball games and the grocery store.

Thanks a ton! Hope it was ok to combine introduction and towing question.
Darcy

Please hold off on the Ram 1500. The 1/2 tons (1500/150's) normally can pull around 10,000# but you are limited on what the truck can carry. Dry weight is useless, its what it weights when loaded that matters. Your looking around 10,200# (7,742 + 2,468 = 10,210) trailer and on average 25% of that will be in pin weight or around 2,500# That's a lot of weight in the bed of a 1/2 ton truck. 2013 Ram 1500 website says it's 1,400# capacity. Also truck capacity does not include the weigh of passengers (husband and kids) fuel, hitch 200#'s and other stuff you put in trucks. If you open the driver's door their is a sticker on the column by the seat which will list your axle ratings and the Gross weight for the truck (truck + passengers +hitch + fuel + luggage + trailer pin weight = gross weight) This will be higher in a truck with a tow package. Many people use 4x4's with good reason and it will decrease tow ability but with a tow package normally around 500#.

Manufactures want to sell trailers and sales men want to trailers its up to you to make sure you are safe. In the later model trucks you are in the 3/4 ton area. In the mountains you would be more comfortable with the power and braking of the 3/4 ton 2500 series. Same size truck as the 1500 just more power, suspension and larger brakes.

Yes, the trailer will have brakes but you don't want the trailer to push the truck around. You don't want to bend or break axles and/or pop drive tires. There are 5th wheels for 1/2 ton trucks but they less than 7,000#. The only time the trailer will weigh it's "empty weight" is when it leaves the factors. Need to look at the gross weight.

My trailer dry weight was 10,500# and its around 12,000# with our stuff in it for a trip. I gross 20,000# truck, trailer, people and fuel. Water tanks are empty, propane is full.

[Cudedog]

Er. . . [can't help it] . . . is Mitch tall?

[mitch5252]

Er. . . [can't help it] . . . is Mitch tall?

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What do you think?



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