Tow Capacity Confusion

[allenmj]

Howdy Y'all

So, I've read through the main posts here on the forum about what the "real" math behind towing is, and I'm even more confused now than I was before.

My truck specs are below, and according to the Dealer, The website, and every thing else I can research my Bighorn's towing capacity should be sitting at just north of 11,000lbs. However, the door sticker says 7100lbs.

The Trailer I'm looking at is the No Boundries 19.8 - a spicy little 22' https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/no-boundaries/NB19.8/4680 that should come in at around 5k when loaded up with water, batteries, propane and misc gear. (It's 3700ish dry)

Did I just waste a bunch of money by not getting a 2500, since my goal is in the next couple years is to retire and travel around the country in that little trailer. Is everything I thought I knew about towing wrong, and my "supposedly" beefy Hemi E-Torque with 3.92 gears and max towing package just a smoke screen?

Help!?

 

[Finn5033]

You are just fine. The tow rating of your truck isn’t listed on the door jamb sticker. 7,100lbs is the GVWR of your truck. That is the max weight the truck itself is rated to handle including the curb weight and any weight you add to it.

that trailer will be no problem at all for your truck. Enjoy

 

[bigdodge]

Howdy Y'all

So, I've read through the main posts here on the forum about what the "real" math behind towing is, and I'm even more confused now than I was before.

My truck specs are below, and according to the Dealer, The website, and every thing else I can research my Bighorn's towing capacity should be sitting at just north of 11,000lbs. However, the door sticker says 7100lbs.

The Trailer I'm looking at is the No Boundries 19.8 - a spicy little 22' https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/no-boundaries/NB19.8/4680 that should come in at around 5k when loaded up with water, batteries, propane and misc gear. (It's 3700ish dry)

Did I just waste a bunch of money by not getting a 2500, since my goal is in the next couple years is to retire and travel around the country in that little trailer. Is everything I thought I knew about towing wrong, and my "supposedly" beefy Hemi E-Torque with 3.92 gears and max towing package just a smoke screen?

Help!?

this is your tow rating per the ram web site

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

 

[Seadoorxpguy]

Dont cheap out on a good weight distribution/ anti sway hitch. Ask me how I know haha

 

[Sascwatch]

I’ll have to double check what GCWR is again but if you take your 7100 GVWR and subtract your payload capacity you’ll get your trucks weight.

You can then take the weight of the truck and any cargo (don’t forget a good hitch is heavy) and subtract that from your GCWR and you’ll get the max towing capacity of your truck. I forget the GCWR, so I’ll have to look it up. Typically a half ton will run out of payload way before towing capacity, unless your running no cargo or passengers.

Alright so take 7100 and minus your payload, you’ll get your trucks weight. Subtract that and any cargo you plan to carry from 17000 and you’ll get your max trailer capacity. Figure 125lbs for the hitch to be safe.

 

[Mudstone]

Hi, my 4 cents (inflation you know), we have a Kodiac Cub at 3300 lbs dry. Loaded, 2 propane tanks, Husky WDH, bikes in trailer, bed loaded with wood chairs extra gear, cab with adults, gear etc...
Never felt I was even close to capacity, as stated above, need a good WDH. I have mine riding pretty level. Image is initial hitch install, I had to crank it one more level due to bed weight! Good Luck, nice trailer your looking at!

 

[LaxDfns15]

You are just fine. The tow rating of your truck isn’t listed on the door jamb sticker. 7,100lbs is the GVWR of your truck. That is the max weight the truck itself is rated to handle including the curb weight and any weight you add to it.

that trailer will be no problem at all for your truck. Enjoy

This is the answer.

I never hesitate to tow anything less than 6k pounds even without a WDH. If it's just you traveling you shouldn't even come close to your payload limit if you're loading the trailer properly.

 

[badpewterz]

as stated above the 7100 is curb weight plus your PAYLOAD ( people, gear, gas, tounge weight)
you can punch your vin into the ram website for tow capacity and stay at or under about 80% of that and your golden

with any camper i always suggest a good WDH as they are giant sails lol

we pull a 4500lb wildwood with ease. honestly feels like not even there 98% of the time

 

[devildodge]

GVWR. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.

That is the 7100 lbs on your door tag. Maximum weight your truck should weigh.

GCWR. Gross Combined Weight Rating

Maximum combination of trailer truck and cargo.

3.21 is 13900
3.92 is 17000.

Pay no attention to towing ratings. They are useless once you own the truck.

Simple math.

Your truck will have GVWR and payload on the door jamb. I gave you GCWR, it is found in a chart.

GVWR minus Payload is base weight.

GCWR minus base weight is max towing.

You then subtract hitch and driver. Then need to be sure you have room for passengers with the leftover being your available tongue weight.

There is no need for a buffer to these numbers.

Not sure why people still think you need to stay 80% or less of the number and others say it is ok to go past them.

Do the math. Facts. Not opinions.

If you need help understanding the math...share a pic of your door jamb stickers and I will assist.

Base weight is the truck as delivered from the factory. No passenger cargo...full tank of fuel.

As soon as you add an option or even a soda or coffee...this number goes up and payload goes down.

 

[allenmj]

Great responses and I appreciate all the info. Thank you everyone.

 

[Vinnie.]

Great responses and I appreciate all the info. Thank you everyone.

now go enjoy that retirement!

 

[HEMIJAKE]

Consider a set of airlift 1000 bags, too. Not at all necessary for your current goals, but really nice to have for $130 or so.

 

[Nsleone]

Consider a set of airlift 1000 bags, too. Not at all necessary for your current goals, but really nice to have for $130 or so.

I second this!

 

[DocSpaz38]

GVWR. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.

That is the 7100 lbs on your door tag. Maximum weight your truck should weigh.

GCWR. Gross Combined Weight Rating

Maximum combination of trailer truck and cargo.

3.21 is 13900
3.92 is 17000.

Pay no attention to towing ratings. They are useless once you own the truck.

Simple math.

Your truck will have GVWR and payload on the door jamb. I gave you GCWR, it is found in a chart.

GVWR minus Payload is base weight.

GCWR minus base weight is max towing.

You then subtract hitch and driver. Then need to be sure you have room for passengers with the leftover being your available tongue weight.

There is no need for a buffer to these numbers.

Not sure why people still think you need to stay 80% or less of the number and others say it is ok to go past them.

Do the math. Facts. Not opinions.

If you need help understanding the math...share a pic of your door jamb stickers and I will assist.

Base weight is the truck as delivered from the factory. No passenger cargo...full tank of fuel.

As soon as you add an option or even a soda or coffee...this number goes up and payload goes down.

Hey DevilDodge what does the 3.21 -13,900 mean? I am trying to figure out if I have my toy hauler that empty is 6268 but full with cargo and water maxes at 11,275 plus adding my SxS at roughly 2,000 pounds will be ok so total I’m probably 13,275 and I have a ‘19 1500 bighorn

 

[devildodge]

Hey DevilDodge what does the 3.21 -13,900 mean? I am trying to figure out if I have my toy hauler that empty is 6268 but full with cargo and water maxes at 11,275 plus adding my SxS at roughly 2,000 pounds will be ok so total I’m probably 13,275 and I have a ‘19 1500 bighorn

It means with 3.21 has a Gross Combined Weight Rating of 13,900 lbs. This is truck, hitch, trailer and all cargo and passengers. The most the whole setup can weigh.

So, if you truly weigh 13,275 with all occupants, hitch and gear, you are good!

 

[steveo18]

I have a 2020 Laramie Crew cab with the 3.92 gearing and the Hemi e-Torque. The combined GVWR is 7,100, Payload is listed as 1,545 But shipping weight is 5,232. Based on GVWR Minus payload this would mean my truck weighs 5,555. If I subtract Shipping weight from GVWR Payload should be 1,868. I had no dealer addons and cant find any Laramie weighing more than 5,232.

 

[W Six]

Yeah, Ram has really clouded the waters with towing in the 2020, 1500's, IMO.
I ran into someone who worked at a dealer that said to "just remove the stickers in the door jams!"

 

[PurpleRT]

I would get a Cat Scale reading then compare. Do it with a full tank and just you in the vehicle, and an otherwise empty truck.


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[Casull]

I would get a Cat Scale reading then compare. Do it with a full tank and just you in the vehicle, and an otherwise empty truck.


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Full tank, but no driver.

 

[Ramboy13]

One thing mentioned many times in the forums is that your trailer size will likely be limited by your GVWR way before the GCWR.
Example:
My 2025 Tungsten has GVWR of 7,100 lbs, and a max cargo of 1,030 lbs. (Note that full tank of gas and other required fluids are figured into this already.)
Let's figure myself and one passenger at 400 lbs between us. That drops the remaining cargo to 1,030 - 400 = 630 lbs.
We don't go anywhere without a ton (bad word here....) of **** in the truck. I always have tools and stuff in the RamBoxes. Let's just say we put 400 lbs of stuff between tools and the food, clothes, and whatever else (like 2 big Labs).
That leaves 630 - 400 = 230 lbs.
Tongue weight is roughly 10% of trailer weight. So at this point I can only handle 230 lbs of tongue weight, which means the trailer is limited to 2,300 lbs. That's not much of a trailer......
So don't simply take the GCWR - GVWR, or 17,000 - 7,100 = 9,900 lbs.
If I try to pull a 9,900 lb trailer, based on 10% tongue weight of 990 lbs, I would only have 40 lbs to cover myself and everything else. I'm trying to lose weight, but that's a bridge too far!