5th GEN Ram Towing TT & Golf cart

[intelligence209]

Bro I was thinking of the same thing, I have a similar setup and weight, unfortunately no matter what a golf cart will put you over your payload. Best bet is to have another vehicle follow with cart and trailer. Maybe a friend you camp with often or wife or whatever. You can buy a utility trailer from lowes for like 1.3k

 

[peeceejay]

I have a 2020 Ram 1500 5.7 etorque w/Crew cab 6-4 bed and 3.92 rear. I added load leveler 5,000lb air bags and have been towing my 7,600lb 32’ TT with a weight distribution hitch. Have made several long trips this season with absolutely no issue.

Mind me asking which camper you have?

I can't help with the golf cart - but I'm about to buy a 30' TT with a 660lb empty tongue weight. I have the 5' bed, air bags and about 1300lb payload capacity in my truck. I'm aware I'll be reasonably close, or on the limit when I add our gear, but we won't be traveling far, carrying a lot (family of 3+dog), and looking for real world experiences.

 

[RAM_Davis]

I'd like to revive this old thread rather than create a new one.. Mods please let me know if it's preferred that I just create a new thread.

I actually DO have a pop up camper and want to see if this is possible. 5'7" bed, Payload is 1400. Tongue is 200lbs. People and stuff inside truck = 450 lbs. I don't have a golf cart yet, but this should leave me with 750lbs for one. But I'd need ramps so lets just budget 50lbs for that, leaving me with 700lbs for a golf cart. No frills carts do exist at this weight. There are basic carts at 650-700lbs so this is all doable with existing payload.

However, tailgate would need to be down for it to fit and I'd need a longer hitch receiver. Someone said a longer receiver would effectively increase tongue weight. With such a lightweight trailer, would it really matter? Is there a way to determine the effects of this? I could certainly see that it might increase sway since the weight is now further back, but i'm not sure in what way it would affect payload. I'm also not sure how long of a receiver would be needed to provide clearance but let's just say 24" for fun. Anyone care to chime in if this would work?

 

[silver billet]

I'd like to revive this old thread rather than create a new one.. Mods please let me know if it's preferred that I just create a new thread.

I actually DO have a pop up camper and want to see if this is possible. 5'7" bed, Payload is 1400. Tongue is 200lbs. People and stuff inside truck = 450 lbs. I don't have a golf cart yet, but this should leave me with 750lbs for one. But I'd need ramps so lets just budget 50lbs for that, leaving me with 700lbs for a golf cart. No frills carts do exist at this weight. There are basic carts at 650-700lbs so this is all doable with existing payload.

However, tailgate would need to be down for it to fit and I'd need a longer hitch receiver. Someone said a longer receiver would effectively increase tongue weight. With such a lightweight trailer, would it really matter? Is there a way to determine the effects of this? I could certainly see that it might increase sway since the weight is now further back, but i'm not sure in what way it would affect payload. I'm also not sure how long of a receiver would be needed to provide clearance but let's just say 24" for fun. Anyone care to chime in if this would work?

My guess is this is a bad idea, the coil springs are "inbound" towards the center of the truck and do not provide great control for top heavy side-to-side sway. I get the center of gravity for a golf cart is quite low, but you're already at the max of your truck. Then extending the hitch also provides more leverage on the back end.

If you want to do this once or twice, ok you can probably make it work; long term I'd just get a 2500 and call it day, they build those to handle these types of tasks better.

 

[RAM_Davis]

My guess is this is a bad idea, the coil springs are "inbound" towards the center of the truck and do not provide great control for top heavy side-to-side sway. I get the center of gravity for a golf cart is quite low, but you're already at the max of your truck. Then extending the hitch also provides more leverage on the back end.

If you want to do this once or twice, ok you can probably make it work; long term I'd just get a 2500 and call it day, they build those to handle these types of tasks better.

Hi Silver, it is only a once in a while, "nice to have". I live 3 hours from the beach and something we want to do this year is take the pop up camping and a lot of places like that are nice to also have a golf cart for getting around and I just wanted to see the feasibility. It's not something I would change trucks for, however.
Edit to add, wouldn't get a GC just for this. I live in a subdivision and would use it here and am likely getting a golf cart anyways. If this is an option I'd lean toward a lighter one (gas models can be in the 700 range) but if not then no need to limit what I get.

 

[Rick3478]

I don't have a golf cart yet, but this should leave me with 750lbs for one. But I'd need ramps so lets just budget 50lbs for that, leaving me with 700lbs for a golf cart. No frills carts do exist at this weight. There are basic carts at 650-700lbs so this is all doable with existing payload.

However, tailgate would need to be down for it to fit and I'd need a longer hitch receiver. Someone said a longer receiver would effectively increase tongue weight.

Yeah, tend to "wheelie" and also gives the trailer a lot more yaw leverage against the truck, not things to be desired.

How about *remove* the tailgate and keep the standard towbar configuration?

Or switch up and get a bed tent or camper and small utility trailer for the cart.

 

[RAM_Davis]

Yeah, tend to "wheelie" and also gives the trailer a lot more yaw leverage against the truck, not things to be desired.

How about *remove* the tailgate and keep the standard towbar configuration?

Or switch up and get a bed tent or camper and small utility trailer for the cart.

Carts are almost 8 feet long, hence the need for tailgate down. The cart just is that long, so extension needed or you're running the trailer into the truck at turns.

Honestly just inquiring about capabilities. If it's something I really desire in the future, I'll switch it up and get a trailer with a toy hauler.

 

[DuaneMiller]

Just to add to the conversation, I routinely haul a lifted 4 seater Club Car Onward golf cart in the bed of my truck while its being towed behind my motorhome. I have the 6'4" bed, and the rear wheels of the golf cart straddle the gap between the bed of the truck and the tailgate, so you are 100% correct that with your shorter bed, the tailgate will need to be down. I purposely bought the lifted cart so that I can drive it up into the bed of the truck without having to back up to a berm or back down into a ditch when loading/unloading. With that being said, I didn't want to rely strictly on the tailgate cables to carry the weight of the cart, I purchased a set of DG Manufacturing Support Bars for overall support. And with the lifted cart, I can load/unload from flat ground and worry about the rear of the cart bottoming out on the ground as it climbs into the truck bed.

Be careful with the ramps you choose... I looked at all kinds of solutions prior to buying anything. If you purchase the hinged ramps, that will cut down on your weight capacity. I went with the one piece Reese Explore Ramps with the 3000lb capacity. They are made out of aluminum and are only 39lbs overall. I just slide them underneath the cart while traveling.

Not sure what pop up you have, and how long the tongue is and how tall the front of the "box" is. But depending on how long the overall cart is (if you have a rear seat and floorboard on your cart) once its in the truck, you may not have enough room to make turns without the corners of the tailgate hitting the camper. Also, if you have a tongue jack, how tall is it, and will it hit the underside of the tailgate when you go up into driveways.

I know you mentioned using a hitch extension, but I'm thinking the length you would need is going to be too long to safely do what you are trying to do.

 

[Rick3478]

Carts are almost 8 feet long, hence the need for tailgate down. The cart just is that long, so extension needed or you're running the trailer into the truck at turns.

Honestly just inquiring about capabilities. If it's something I really desire in the future, I'll switch it up and get a trailer with a toy hauler.

I see. You're actually considering using the tailgate to carry the weight of the cart wheels? I don't know if I would trust the stock cables to do that, might have to look into some alternate or additional supports.

Having said that, rather than extending the hitch on the truck, extending the trailer's tongue sounds safer. There may not be a ready-made kit, some fabrication might be required. Just a thought.

 

[DuaneMiller]

I see. You're actually considering using the tailgate to carry the weight of the cart wheels? I don't know if I would trust the stock cables to do that, might have to look into some alternate or additional supports.

I too was concerned about the stock tailgate cables carrying the weight of the cart, so I use these tailgate supports from DG Manufacturing... I put a link to these in my post above...

 

[RAM_Davis]

I too was concerned about the stock tailgate cables carrying the weight of the cart, so I use these tailgate supports from DG Manufacturing... I put a link to these in my post above...

View attachment 178607

Thanks Duane and Rick. Going to file this one away into the "not worth it" camp. I've since learned that most state parks don't allow carts anyways and that will be at least half of our camping. Overall seems the best way to do it is either a toy hauler trailer or an 8 ft bed on an HD truck. We'll stick with bicycles, scooters, and wagons

As far as the tailgate support, I read somewhere that the tailgate down could handle much more than even your payload. Those bars are probably nice for peace of mind though.