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Old 10-10-2019, 12:52 PM   #1
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Half ton to dually

I have a 31' Rockwood trailer i purchased off my father two years ago (Rockwood 8318ss). I had pulled it with his 2006 chevy 2500 6.0 and aside from drinking like a pig it seemed to not have any problems. I have a 2014 silverado 1500 double cab 5.3 with tow package. Rated for 9600lbs with 1780lb payload. I towed this trailer up into the mountains for 5 hours to relocate for work. Despite being within all my weights, i stopped at a scale and checked early on, the drive was bad enough that i will not pull it with that truck again. Plenty of power but the trailer kept trying to sway anytime i went above 90km/h, the limit was between 100-110. I need to move the trailer again about 4 hours higher into the mountains but now i also have a 2003 dodge ram dually with the cummins. This is a dedicated work truck that constantly carries approx. 3000lbs in the box. My wife will be following me in the chevy to transport tools that i dont have room for in the dodge.

TL;DR
Towed travel trailer into mountains with half ton. Scared the hell out of me. Doing it again with a dually. Should i be worried?
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Old 10-10-2019, 01:01 PM   #2
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About what? With a decent weight distribution hitch you may never know the trailer is back there.
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Old 10-10-2019, 02:45 PM   #3
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Well i dont have any way of removing the weight in the back
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Old 10-10-2019, 03:12 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cheeto2 View Post
TL;DR
Towed travel trailer into mountains with half ton. Scared the hell out of me. Doing it again with a dually. Should i be worried?
Nope. Drop the trailer on the ball and roll out. If you can actually tow it with a half ton, the dually won't have any problems. Enjoy the better towing experience.
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Old 10-10-2019, 03:47 PM   #5
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A dually has built in sway control in the wide hips. It will be night and day towing differece than towing with a little 1500 series truck.

You should not be worried.
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Old 10-13-2019, 04:06 PM   #6
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My concern is more towards payload. With my tools in the back, by the time i add everything in the truck and the hitch weight i'll be alot closer, if not over the payload rating than my half ton without the tools and extra weight. Unfortunately i dont have a scale within reasonable distance to me to get exact weights.
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Old 10-13-2019, 05:00 PM   #7
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I can see your point if you have a lot of heavy tools. The cargo capacity of the ole dually should be around 4,000lbs I would think. I had maybe 3,500 lbs of heavy tools and stuff in the bed of my ole dually and I could tell as the truck was different in the way it drove.

Can you make two trips?
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Old 10-13-2019, 05:47 PM   #8
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I dont have any way of removing the tools. The engine driven welder being half of the weight i would need heavy equipment to remove it from the bed. Tool chests are bolted in to the point it would be too time consuming to feasibly remove them.
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Old 10-13-2019, 06:57 PM   #9
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That 2003 Ram 3500 DRW has a weight rating of 12,200#, if it had a payload sticker it would be in the 4,000# range. The rear axle is rated at 9,000#+ rating. Hook up and go.
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Old 10-13-2019, 07:12 PM   #10
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Honestly, don't worry about it. That trailer is so light that even if you do go a little over your ratings, you'll still be fine and it will tow way better than the smaller truck. You're honestly not going to stress out that truck.
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Old 10-14-2019, 09:56 AM   #11
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i'm thinking your hook up to the 1500 and or your weight distribution was wrong. you really shouldn't of had any problems. what does the T/T weigh ready to camp?
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Old 10-14-2019, 12:36 PM   #12
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Sway is almost always caused by improper loading resulting in too little tongue weight, or less frequently the axles are placed so there is too little tongue weight. If you are getting a lot of sway you most likely need more weight in the front of the trailer. The trailer also needs to be level when towing. Too high in the front and more weight is placed on the rear axle, too low in the front and too much weight is on the front axle.
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Old 10-14-2019, 01:32 PM   #13
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Well I'm halfway through my trip at this point and still havent passed a scale, but the truck has handled the trailer great. Fuel mileage, braking, power and especailly handling are all much better. Feel a bit silly for ever worrying about it.
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Old 10-14-2019, 01:34 PM   #14
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As to the sway in the 1500, i was/am using a cheap hitch that came with the trailer but dont tow it enough to warrant spending $$ on a more expensive one. I'm sure a better hitch could have helped.
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