2019 Rebel Towing

[Tri-Shield]

I’ve been reading articles about towing and I believe I understand everything related to towing capacity and payload, but I’m posting because I want opinions before I regret my purchase. I have a 2012 Ram 2500 and my friend owns a used car lot. Well he called me and said he’d give me a great deal on mine for a 2019 Ram Rebel Quad Cab. This specific Rebel has a towing capacity of 11,465 and payload capacity of 1565. I will be towing my drag car on an aluminum trailer. The cars weigh 3580 and I believe the trailer weighs in at 1,719 lbs. Will I have any issues. Most of the time it will be me and another person in the vehicle towing with nothing in the bed. Maybe once in a great while I would have 3 possible 4 going with me. I don’t plan on going all over the place. Just a local track about an hour away. And I have the option to take the highway or back roads. Please give me your opinions. Thanks.

Brian

 

[AmericanRebelution]

Towing capacity doesn't mean much of anything; it's all about payload. You'll have to figure out how much tongue weight your trailer creates - usually something like 10-15% of total weight. Tongue weight counts against payload. Here are some quick calculations for you:
Drag Car (3580) + Trailer (1719) = 5299 pounds
5299 x 15% = 795 pounds of tongue weight
4 passengers in cab (assuming 200 each) = 800 pounds
795 pounds of tongue weight + 800 pounds of passengers = 1595 pounds of payload

Variables will be actual tongue weight and the weight of your passengers.

 

[LaxDfns15]

Yeah just get the actual tongue weight for the car on the trailer (with gear), and then watch your payload after that, and you'll be fine. We're always going to come in under our "max tow" rating because payload gets eaten up first. I love seeing 11-12k tow ratings on half ton trucks because typically 9k is about the max we're ever going to be able to achieve due to payload unless you get the most bare bones truck.

For what it's worth, don't know if you have had a Quad Cab before or the size of passengers you will have. The reason I'm in my Ram now is because my last truck was a QC, and it was not the most comfortable travel vehicle for passengers. Even for just 1-2 hour trips. Definitely test out passenger comfort before you buy it.

 

[Tri-Shield]

Thanks for the responses. How exactly do I figure out my tongue weight?

 

[AmericanRebelution]

Thanks for the responses. How exactly do I figure out my tongue weight?

Check out any info you have about your trailer. It should give you an idea but there are variables depending on the height of your hitch. If you really want to know what your rig weighs and "where" it weighs, hit up your closest CAT scale. This will give you a ton of information.

 

[RockYacht2020]

Check out any info you have about your trailer. It should give you an idea but there are variables depending on the height of your hitch. If you really want to know what your rig weighs and "where" it weighs, hit up your closest CAT scale. This will give you a ton of information.

It will more likely give you a half-ton of information. You get a ton of information on the 3500 forum.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

 

[Dragonmaster13]

Your tongue weight will vary greatly on how the trailer is loaded. A few inches of forward movement on the car could mean the difference between 800 and 1200lbs. Yes, the Rebel will handle the weights you listed, but realistically adding tools, fluids and other necessities for racing there is probably another 1,000lbs of "other stuff" that no one thinks about.

The Quad cab would have me concerned as the back seats are fairly small for teenagers, let alone adults. With anything over 5,000lbs of trailer weight I recommend a weight distributing hitch, and this is law in many states/provinces. It will help smooth the ride and eliminate excessive sag in the rear springs.

If your buddy owns the lot see if he will allow you to do a test pull and take your loaded trailer and the truck to the scales and see what the axles weights are on the truck and trailer. From there, it's all math.

 

[devildodge]

You can buy one of those fancy ball mount scale deals.

Or spend about 16 bucks at a CAT scale.

Your tongue weight will be different each time you load the car or a different car.

But it is pretty simple.


Drive to CAT scale with trailer and car.

Drive onto the scale. There are 3 sections.

Put your front tires on the steer axle scale. Your rear tires on the drive axle scale. And then your trailer tires on the trailer axle scale.

They are 3 different pads.

Then pull off. Unhook trailer and drive back on weighing just the steer and drive axles of the truck

Then it is just math. Take the drive axle weight with trailer and then subtract the drive axle weight without trailer.

This is your tongue weight. You can adjust it by moving the car on the trailer.

You want it to be more than 10% but less than 15% of total trailer weight.

Any questions...just ask

 

[Tri-Shield]

Thank you everyone for all the information. I don’t have a wife and kids so I’m not to worried about it being a quad cab. I prefer the longer bed. There will rarely be ppl in the back. And I don’t plan on taking tools etc. Just the trailer and the car. I just don’t want to regret getting rid of my 2500, but in all honesty. He’s let me drive the Rebel for a few days. And for the little I do tow... I prefer the ride quality on the Rebel. Just undecided at the moment.

 

[devildodge]

The Rebel will serve you well. Good luck with the deal. The Rebel is nearly as capable as a 2012 HD and a completely better daily driver.