Dry weights (Manufacturer weight ratings)

[Yillbs]

Hello!

I'm a bit stumped.

Let me start with what my truck is, and what limits it has. Also note the weights were done with two humans, no gear, and a full tank of gas.

- 2022 Ram 2500 (Laramie)
- Payload is 2080
- It's a Cummins (Diesel)
- Front Axle weight rating is 6040
- Rear Axle weight rating is 6040
- GVWR is 10,000

Before anyone ignores my question and instead tries to educate me on how weights work, please don't. I -am- over my payload, and I am over my gvwr. I am under both axle ratings, and that's that. I understand not everyone agrees doing it this way, but it is what it is. If you have any insight to my questions that are not related to how I'm single-handedly the most dangerous driver on the road, then please try to assist!

I own a 2022 Artic World 3660 Suite. Here is a link to the forest river brochure and such :
https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/fifth...3660SUITE/6509

It says the hitch weight is 1,665 pounds and the unloaded weight of the trailer is 10,828 pounds.

I agree, and fully understand this is without battery, spare tire, no gear, just built trailer with nothing in it. I, unfortunately, did not get a chance to weigh the trailer before I put stuff in it, but here are the weights with just my truck and the hitch in the bed :

Steer Axle - 5220
Drive Axle - 3580
Trailer - 0
Total Gross - 8800

Here is the weights of the trailer attached.

Steer Axle - 5120
Drive Axle - 5980
Trailer - 9360
Total Gross - 20460

The difference in what the trailer weighs, and what it should weigh is 1468 pounds. Generally we'd all say it's because of it being a posted weight, and that's without all the gear, blah blah, but in this case, the weight of the trailer went down, but the tongue weight wen't way, way up. In fact it went up over 1000 pounds. I have about 500 pounds of stuff in the under storage, and a new bed (mattress). So i'm a bit confused on how the total weight of the trailer has gone down from what the manufacturer says because normally, they're way off, but in the other direction. Is there a possibility i'm just doing something wrong here?

[Skip426]

The weight of the pin on the truck has to be added to the weight on the trailer axles to get trailer weight .

The factory trailer weight , is the trailer on a scale with the landing legs down ( on the scale ) no weight supported by a tow vehicle .

So , if a truck was supporting 1,665 # then the weight on the axles would be 9163#

[Yillbs]

Originally Posted by Skip426

The weight of the pin on the truck has to be added to the weight on the trailer axles to get trailer weight .

The factory trailer weight , is the trailer on a scale with the landing legs down ( on the scale ) no weight supported by a tow vehicle .

So , if a truck was supporting 1,665 # then the weight on the axles would be 9163#

That makes sense, and I thought that might be the case, but if so, does this indicate the only weight I've added is exclusively on the pin itself?

[Skip426]

Well your axle weight is up marginally ( by the way I calculated ) .
For best handling , a fiver's pin weight should be between 18 & 22 % of the total .
I towed one of my 4 fifth wheels at 15 % on the pin and IT WAS NOT PRETTY .

The RV had a rear kitchen and my DW has a tendency to over pack , ended up with all her canned goods under the bed to get the pin weight up.

[Yillbs]

Originally Posted by Skip426

Well your axle weight is up marginally ( by the way I calculated ) .
For best handling , a fiver's pin weight should be between 18 & 22 % of the total .
I towed one of my 4 fifth wheels at 15 % on the pin and IT WAS NOT PRETTY .

The RV had a rear kitchen and my DW has a tendency to over pack , ended up with all her canned goods under the bed to get the pin weight up.

Sounds like I was just confused about how the weights are actually calculated. 20% of my total weight right now is 2352, so i'm slightly over the 20% which is nice, the truck honestly drives really, really nice with it on the back.

Thanks for the assist! Now I just need to lose a couple hundred pounds so i'm not so close to my RAWR

[Skip426]

Originally Posted by Yillbs

Thanks for the assist! Now I just need to lose a couple hundred pounds so i'm not so close to my RAWR

Check you tires closely for their weight rating , they may be the weak point .
With weight close to the rating , proper inflation is a MUST.

[Dave Pelletier]

Yep, your pin weight is 2300 lbs, trailer axle weight of 9360 for a total trailer weight of 11,660. You have approx. 20% pin weight.

Dave

[Yillbs]

Originally Posted by Skip426

Check you tires closely for their weight rating , they may be the weak point .
With weight close to the rating , proper inflation is a MUST.

yeah, now that I understand the weight thing, perhaps you guys can assist with your point on the tires.

I've got nitto ridge grapplers ( 35's ), they have a load rating of 3525 per tire.
I guess that's at the max tire pressure of 80PSI. I run 72PSI in the rear, and 60PSI in the front. I assumed 70PSI would be enough since I don't need the full 3525 load on the tires. My trucks overall weight is 11,100 pounds with my current setup. So my questions would be :

1. Do i need to put all 4 tires to 80 PSI if that's the max load?
2. I have air bags in the rear. Unfortunatley, with the 35" tires, it looks like the RV has a slight rise at the bed of the truck, it looks like it's on a slight angel. I have air bags, and I aired them up to 50PSI, but I noticed I was getting a lot of chucking in the rear, I think that's what it's called? It felt likeit was pulling and pushing me, not just bouncing me. So, I aired the bags down to 31PSI, and it rides butter smooth, but it's still a little too tall I think, will that cause an issue?

Thanks for all the help!

[Dave Pelletier]

on the tires; you'd need to see if there is a manufacturer's load chart for your tires. You are at 73% on the front tires and 85% on the rears so you shouldn't need the max 80psi in them though it's better to error a bit on the high side if you're going to guess. I'd probably run 70-75 rear and 65-70 front without any additional info.

Dave

[CamperLifer]

GVWR is important to know. 'dry weight', whatever that pretend number is, means nothing !

[Timing]

Originally Posted by Yillbs

If you have any insight to my questions that are not related to how I'm single-handedly the most dangerous driver on the road, then please try to assist!

My FIL tows his 8,000lb (dry weight) 32ft 5th wheel with a dry pin weight of 1,750lbs with an F150 (3.55 rear axle) that has a door sticker payload of 1,500lbs at 80MPH on the highway. I think he has you beat as most dangerous driver. So at least you have that going for you

[TXiceman]

The first thing to learn is to forget the dry or brochure weights. Use the trailer GVWR unless you never all anything to the trailer.

The dry weight does not include any items listed as optional. This includes such items as awnings, TV, microwave, sometimes A/C, battery or full propane tanks.

5er pin weights will typically hit 18% to 22% when loaded.

Ken

[xc-mark]

you want the truck and trailer level to the road . if the truck rear spring are down alittle (1"~1.5") from stock ride height that is your target for air bag pressure. As for Nitto tires , I am not a fan. They have very soft sidewalls, and this may be noticeable when your heavy more. If you find that you constantly are correcting the steering on the highway to stay straight or country roads that are twisty are a just OK at the speed limit , these are all signs of soft sidewall tires. 35" tires and 5th wheels are a great idea but it can be done assuming your trailer can be raised some and the overall height stays under 13'-6" to your AC unit.

Also your loaded pin weight will typicly be 22% of the trailer GVW . No one should use dry pin weight for anything other then shipping.

so that math is 15000 GVW trailer weight x 22% = 3300 lbs plus your hitch and cargo in the truck added to your rear axel. These are just ballpark numbers and should be confirmed by a truck scale.

[kdauto]

Originally Posted by xc-mark

you want the truck and trailer level to the road . if the truck rear spring are down alittle (1"~1.5") from stock ride height that is your target for air bag pressure. As for Nitto tires , I am not a fan. They have very soft sidewalls, and this may be noticeable when your heavy more. If you find that you constantly are correcting the steering on the highway to stay straight or country roads that are twisty are a just OK at the speed limit , these are all signs of soft sidewall tires. 35" tires and 5th wheels are a great idea but it can be done assuming your trailer can be raised some and the overall height stays under 13'-6" to your AC unit.

Also your loaded pin weight will typicly be 22% of the trailer GVW . No one should use dry pin weight for anything other then shipping.

so that math is 15000 GVW trailer weight x 22% = 3300 lbs plus your hitch and cargo in the truck added to your rear axel. These are just ballpark numbers and should be confirmed by a truck scale.

I'm assuming you meant to type 35" tires and 5th wheels are NOT a great idea but it can be done"? That's what I think anyway. Aggressive tread, big soft offroad tires are not conducive to a great trailering experience, and this is exacerbated the heavier the towing gets.

Also, airbags are not always the best when used improperly. Many people use them as a bandaid for a weak suspension, but many use them because they'd like to see the arse end of their truck at the same height as when unladen, even if they have 3000-3500lbs of pin weight and gear in the bed. I just put this as an extra FYI for some.