Community Forums

JIMNLIN · 10-07-2014, 06:38 AM

Quote:

There’s a 2014 Ram 3500 DRW long bed at the local dealership built as if I spec’d it out myself. The only limiting factor is the 3.73 axle. That makes the GCWR 32K and the max tow weight 23,250. GVWR is 14K, the published curb weight is 8568, CCC is 5430, and the rear GAWR is 9750.

The GVWR of the 5’ver is 21K (as posted on the safety certification label) and CCC is 3995. The dry kingpin weight is not published, but similar floorplans average about 20%, so I’ll assume it’s close to 4200 lbs.

The numbers says you can but regardless of size of truck chosen you will always have some folks say you need a bigger truck
The numbers are a good match and pretty well sums it up for you.

Looks like another good combo.

SmokeyWren · 10-07-2014, 06:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimcumminsw

...GCWR is 26,000 LBS and the max trailer towing is only 16,950 LBS.

Then you have to play with the specs until you can get more tow rating. Ram says "Towing Capacity - Maximum: 28650" for the 5500. So you can get a lot more than he needs by playing with the options. The first place to look is the "max towing pkg", but that includes the 4.88 axle, so I would probably first look at other options to increase the tow rating to more than 21,000. If that's too hard to do with a Ram, then I'd spec a Ford F-450 pickup that has 33,000 GCWR and more than 21,000 tow rating.

Dasmoeturhead · 10-08-2014, 08:29 AM

If that 3500 Ram CTD Dully won't pull the 5'er safely nothing will.

My 2500 CTD pulls our 15k 5'er wonderfully. The pin weight is 2500 lbs, and I think the truck and trailer combo is matched perfect. The engine is so nice I cant describe it. The exhaust brake works so well I rarely use the service brakes even on steep grades. I mean you have to tap them every now and again, but it works great. I've towed 7 western states since Aug 12 th 2014, all on secondary roafs and scenic highways and many mountain pases, and We are also full-timers, and everything works great. I didn't even need air bags.

jacknife · 10-09-2014, 09:55 AM

All Ram Tow wts areSAE certified . They are not just happy talk. If you are in the limits rhen you are ok.
Another 500 to 1000 lbs is not going to have you careening down the road out of control. The wheels will not fall off nor will the frame break. If you don't think the manufactures are conservative in their wts, well think of all their lawyers.

SmokeyWren · 10-09-2014, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jacknife

All Ram Tow wts areSAE certified . They are not just happy talk. If you are in the limits rhen you are ok.

Baloney. Only the newest Ram trucks meet the SAE certification, and that certification is only for the tow rating. SAE dies not certify the payload capacity of the RAM trucks, and that is the one that is most likely to be exceeded when towing a heavy trailer. So it's easy to be within the limits of the SAE certification and still be overloaded. Overloaded is NOT okay.

The CAT scale will tell you what's up. If the gross weight of the rig does not exceed the GCWR of the tow vehicle then you probably won't overheat anything in the drivetrain when climbing hills and mountain passes. That's the SAE certification. If the combined weight on the front and rear axles of the tow vehicle does not exceed the GVWR of the tow vehicle, then you won't overload your tires, suspension and brakes of the tow vehicle. That's the most likely weight limit you'll exceed with a tow vehicle that has single rear wheels (SRW).

jacknife · 10-09-2014, 12:17 PM

I was talking about the new trucks since that is what he is talking about buying. Don't get your undies twisted.

cwsqbm · 10-14-2014, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

Baloney. Only the newest Ram trucks meet the SAE certification, and that certification is only for the tow rating. SAE dies not certify the payload capacity of the RAM trucks, and that is the one that is most likely to be exceeded when towing a heavy trailer. So it's easy to be within the limits of the SAE certification and still be overloaded. Overloaded is NOT okay.

The reason for that 14k GVWR is legal, not necessarily a limitation of the truck. 14,000 lbs is the break point between a light and medium duty truck. Mechanically, the truck is just fine.

Franka548 · 10-14-2014, 10:12 AM

The biggest thing that everyone forgets is that this country produces more lawyers every year than they do engineers. All these lawyers need work, so mechanically the truck maybe fine, but legally it won't be.
Do you really want to be on the wrong side of one of these people looking for work?
Frank

Cumminsfan · 10-15-2014, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Franka548

The biggest thing that everyone forgets is that this country produces more lawyers every year than they do engineers. All these lawyers need work, so mechanically the truck maybe fine, but legally it won't be.
Do you really want to be on the wrong side of one of these people looking for work?
Frank

That's nonsense. Getting in a wreck with an overloaded truck is no different than texting or driving too fast. It will be viewed as 'failure to maintain control of the vehicle.' This legal thing has been beat to death on every RV forum with nothing to back it up.

Franka548 · 10-15-2014, 02:59 PM

That's fine Cumminsfan, if that is what you believe, that's ok, but its not ok to lead someone that doesn't know, down a path that goes against published ratings. Ask McDonald Corp about lawsuits, remember the lady that won a big settlement for dumping a hot cup of coffee in her lap because McDonalds didn't have a warning of the coffee being scolding hot. So that right there is enough fact to back up what I am saying.
Frank

Bigg-limo · 10-19-2014, 10:23 PM

I love these conversations. They always get off topic to a degree, and then people get butthurt because they get corrected. Me personally, I only have to worry about not overloading the trailer, because of the truck that I tow with,...and that's pretty hard for me to do.

JIMNLIN · 10-20-2014, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigg-limo

I love these conversations. They always get off topic to a degree, and then people get butthurt because they get corrected. Me personally, I only have to worry about not overloading the trailer, because of the truck that I tow with,...and that's pretty hard for me to do.

Yeah these weights threads are a hoot on a RV web with all the scare storie about lawsuits for being over GVWR numbers or payload numbers.
We've searched for years for the mythical civil lawsuit theory and no one has ever came up with a credible link or info to that effect.
Hell 99.9 percent of trucking (private and commercial) carries weight above the truck makers GVWR and we have non of those type issues. Now if were over a registered gross weight or a registered gross combined or the truck or trailers axle/tire load rating and are responsible for a accident then a civil lawsuit can happen. Only on a RV forum does this ever happen.

caissiel · 10-20-2014, 11:10 PM

So true.

jacknife · 10-21-2014, 05:25 AM

Been driving commercially for 36 yrs. The 18 wheelers are tightly regulated and you get heavy fines and have to either try to shift the load if it is an axle that is over or
Get another trk to put some of the load on if you are over gross. 99% of commercial trks are running legal. That Smokey and the Bandit stuff is history.