Ball recommendations, payload, and other newbie towing questions

[revvr]

That's fine. So a difference in 90 lbs between the sunroof and the Ramboxes would kill payload capacity from 1700s to 1200 lbs?

I went ahead and used Ram's website to build my exact same truck and I get the 1720 lbs payload capacity witht he same GVWR: 7100 lbs. I'm struggling to understand why my particular unit has such low payload rating.

 

[devildodge]

Re read. You are again using the configuration

Ram Towing | Find the Best Truck for Your Towing Needs

Find everything you need to know about Ram towing capacity, payload & more here. Discover the best Ram truck or van that fits your towing needs today.

www.ramtrucks.com

Go here. Go to the bottom were it says look up my vehicle. Click the tab. Then Enter your VIN.

The truck you are comparing has 1292 pounds to your 1191. 101 pounds difference.

That difference is its sunroof and your RamBox.

The configuration is giving you tradesman trim numbers.

Check back.

 

[devildodge]

I'm struggling to understand why my particular unit has such low payload rating.

That is the configuration. It is a tradesman trim numbers.

YOU HAVE TO ENTER YOUR SPECIFIC VIN. SEE ABOVE FOR PROCESS.

I already posted the screen shot of the other trucks VIN NUMBERS.

Your trucks curb weight is not the listed 5380 in the configuration...that is a tradesman.

Your trucks curb weight is figured this way.

GVWR MINUS PAYLOAD EQUALS CURB WEIGHT.

7100 minus 1191 is 5909. So your truck has options that make it weigh 529 pounds more than a tradesman.

Now does it make sense?

 

[Sascwatch]

Your payload is lower because of options, I don’t have ram boxes and mine is 1324.

Let’s say I got ram boxes aswell, 1324-168=1156

Any payload, curb weight, towing weight you see online will probably be wrong unless you search it using the vin number or have the door jamb sticker.

 

[devildodge]

Ok. So we have 3 trucks in this conversation.


The configuration truck that is a tradesman.

7100 minus 1720 is 5380

Your truck

7100 minus 1191 is 5909

The sample truck

7100 minus 1292 is 5808

The difference between sample truck and yours is the panaramic sunroof in the sample truck and your RamBox. According to @Zeronet with those options is 93 lbs...so that is almost all of the 101 pounds your truck is different than the sample truck. Case closed.


The configuration truck is missing 529 lbs from your truck...case closed.

RamBox 163 off road group 119 eLocker 16
33 gallon tank. 73 Etorque 80

Those alone take us to 451...the rest is...well you get The point.

 

[devildodge]

If you read any of the towing threads you will see this is a real problem.

It is very hard to get the configuration thing across.

Salesman use it to lie without ling

Once you confirm you see the difference...we can begin the debacle that is max towing

I try to educate people the best I can...because I camp Every weekend and my family is on these roads that people are towing 10k campers with overloaded 1500 trucks.

 

[revvr]

I think I'm following what you are saying. The source of the problem is that RAM is listing incorrect payload numbers when using the search inventory tool. The posted numbers in the search inventory tool are "standard" or generic and not actual numbers for that specific VIN.

Referring to the Example Truck:

Search Inventory Payload: 1,720
Lookup by VIN: 1,292

The difference is due to the options on this specific VIN, as you stated.

What I'm really struggling to understand is how this can be legal as the inventory tool is something that buyers use to determine which truck they want to buy and they're getting presented with generic numbers that don't match that specific unit, even though most other things describing the truck in that same page do. Presenting actual information with generic information in the same page creates this "mixed reality".

This is the reason why I was failing to understand what was going on; I didn't even consider that the numbers on the search inventory tool would be incorrect/generic.

 

[devildodge]

This is in the fine print. Unfortunately the fine print is hard to read.

We spend countless posts trying to explain this.

At first the number was 1840

Every new truck owner wanting to buy a camper thought their truck had 1840 lbs of payload.

Then a member here won a lawsuit with RAM about their truck...and the new number was 1720.

They have gotten better....but they can not possibly get much closer.

Which is why they went to the VIN lookup.

You can find a similarly equiped truck...easily see the VIN and input it for the correct numbers.

 

[revvr]

I'm glad to hear they were sued,but disappointed that they continue to mislead people about it. Vin lookup tool is great, but they should just post the actual numbers on the cars page when you look at the inventory.

I think it is laughable that these trucks are "ram tough", but their payload capacity is the same as a cx9 with a turbo inline 4.

Good thing I leased mine. I will be especially vigilant about this when I decide to purchase a truck, although these gimmicks from manufacturers don't help in me wanting to buy one.

Sent from my SM-G988U using Tapatalk

 

[devildodge]

@revvr

Look at the GVWR on your car. You will then see the difference.

The same thing happens in the HeavyDuty world.

There are 2500 diesels with 1900lb payloads.

Heck a Powerwagon fully loaded has 1100lbs.

But when it comes to towing you see why they work better.

For instance. My 6.4l crew 8 foot bed has 2998 lbs of payload.

That means my truck empty weighs as much as your truck almost fully loaded to gross.

That is the only way to make the numbers seem legit.

Good times.

 

[revvr]

It seems to me that the most important number when choosing a truck to tow stuff is payload. Everything else stems from that. Without payload, you have nothing.

If I'd have to do this all over again, which I will when my lease is up, payload should be the one thing I focus on and only then look at things like trailer weight capacity and such. Would this be a correct approach?

By the way, not all heroes wear capes. Thank you for taking the time with this thread, I really do appreciate it. And now that it is nice and full of keywords, I hope it will help others learn when searching using Google.

 

[Sascwatch]

If your planning on towing while loaded heavy a 2500 or 3500 truck would better suit your needs. The power wagon is off the table aswell as it is downrated severally due to its off-road suspension and extra options.

A half ton truck is more of a passenger vehicle than a tow/work vehicle and will wear out quick if pushed to their limits regularly. Payload is the main thing holding them back, but some 3/4 and 1 ton trucks aren’t far behind due to off-road packages and other options that add a ton of weight.

I knew this but still chose the rebel as I rarely have more than 1 passenger and with the enclosed trailer I own being the biggest thing I tow regularly I won’t run into payload issues.

I don’t like the way these trucks are advertised across all brands as all they show you is the MAX numbers, and not what the trucks everyone buys have to offer. You can’t add 500-600lbs of luxury options and keep the payload they advertise.

Most hotshot guys you see will have very basic trucks so they can keep their payload and towing capacity high.

 

[devildodge]

A 5th Gen RAM 1500 can tow a significant amount. Unfortunately, it can only tow while doimg this...you can not have any payload above the driver and hitch.

A properly equipped RAM 1500 can have more payload than a loaded 2500. So you can haul a decent amount also...but then no towing.

A 3500 allows you to haul and tow.

Another fun fact...a 8 foot bed crew cab 2500 will have less payload than a 6 foot Crew Cab 2500. So you get more room...but lose weight capacity.(4th Gen HD)

Lol...got to love trucks

 

[LakesAZ]

And don't forget all those extras, side rails, bed cover, heavy after market rims and tires, all are deducted from your payload.

 

[revvr]

The only question left to ask here is how dangerous is it to go over payload by a couple hundred pounds? I've never towed anything, but want to get into it and eventually work my way up to an Airstream Flying Cloud or similar 5-6k lbs travel trailer, while taking my wife, kid, dogs in the truck.

I don't want to break any records and I don't want to do more than 6k lbs trailer max with this truck, but any configuration of a 5-6K lbs trailer has me over payload by 100-200 lbs.

 

[devildodge]

3900 front and 4100 rear axle ratings. So 8000lb capacity.

900 more than thr 7100 GVWR.

Understand that there will be a weight shift when pulling out and stopping.

So, yes you can go over a bit. CAT scale trip is the only way to know what you have.

Load the family and head to one. See how that affects your numbers.

The story is you can go over payload a couple hundred pounds...as long as you are under GAWR.

The thing is you need to make sure you transfer weight back to the front with a weight distribution hitch. Remember those front tires need weight to turn and stop.

 

[WhattheTruck!]

I was on the hunt for a Tradesman for the reasons highlighted in this thread. We landed on the Bighorn we have now due to some incentives that were very hard to pass up and knowing that we'll be growing into our adventures over time. Finding the right combination that fits your needs takes quite a bit of work, but it pays off tremendously and you'll be much happier in the long run. Just stick to the numbers and you'll get it worked out.

 

[Lordy123]

I was on the hunt for a Tradesman for the reasons highlighted in this thread. We landed on the Bighorn we have now due to some incentives

The same thing happened to me, I ended up with a bighorn ecodiesel with a payload rating sticker of 1724. Could have been a little higher but this one came with 20in wheels too, which I think are a little heavier.

 

[WhattheTruck!]

The same thing happened to me, I ended up with a bighorn ecodiesel with a payload rating sticker of 1724. Could have been a little higher but this one came with 20in wheels too, which I think are a little heavier.

Awesome! I'm about a Rambox less than that.

 

[Rau]

I think I read lots of useful information in one thread. I guess it means I have to be careful when choose the options of my next truck. I was thinking about fully loaded Laramie, but I may have to give up on MFT and a couple of other things.