Community Forums

tampabiker · 08-18-2015, 05:42 PM

Hello, all. I just took my truck and trailer to the local CAT scale for it's initial weighing. I've got a 2015 Ram 3500 Laramie Longhorn 4x4 dually long bed pulling a 2014 DRV Mobile Suites 38TKSB3 5th wheel trailer. My weights were:

Truck front axle: 5300 lbs.
Truck rear axle: 7260 lbs.
Trailer twin axles: 13,960 lbs.

The Ram Bodybuilder website lists the rear GAWR at 9750 lbs., and the GVWR at 14,000 lbs. If I go by the former, I've got almost 2500 lbs. to spare on the rear axle. But if I go by the GVWR, I can only load an additional 1440 lbs. on it. Yet one other number to throw in the pile: the weight limit on the rear tires of the truck is 11,340 lbs. That would give me just over 4000 lbs. of extra weight. I know the correct number to stay under is the GVWR, so my question is: why is there so much discrepancy in the numbers from the factory? My main goal in all of this is to determine how large of a battery pack I can install in the front of my coach when I install a solar system on my trailer. What do y'all think?

Cummins12V98 · 08-18-2015, 05:59 PM

Here are my LOADED full time numbers. 6500 gen on board along with wifes jewelry components (ROCKS).

front 5,460

rear 9,580

truck total 15,040

RV 17,500

Combined total 32,540# that includes 100 gallons water.

Don't worry about the 14K on the truck. That is the limit of a 3500 dually anything over and it is in Commercial Medium Duty territory.

I am still under rear axle rating and WAY under tire rating. I have factory rear air. But that makes no difference in the ratings it just keeps the load level up to rear axle rating. Bottom line don't worry load it up!

justafordguy · 08-18-2015, 06:27 PM

I agree 100% that you will be fine as long as you stay under the rear axle and tire ratings on any truck.

JIMNLIN · 08-18-2015, 07:45 PM

Quote:

I know the correct number to stay under is the GVWR, so my question is: why is there so much discrepancy in the numbers from the factory? My main goal in all of this is to determine how large of a battery pack I can install in the front of my coach when I install a solar system on my trailer. What do y'all think?

DOT doesn't use the trucks GVWR to determine how much load any truck can carry from a legal perspective.
Just stay under that 9750 RAWR which will be the lessor of the rear spring pack rating or a wheel ratings or tire rating.
Same with the front axle.

We can guess all day long how truck manufactures come up with any of the many numbers that are used.
We do know they can set the numbers wherever they want.

justafordguy · 08-19-2015, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JIMNLIN

We can guess all day long how truck manufactures come up with any of the many numbers that are used.
We do know they can set the numbers wherever they want.

Correct, and none of the numbers actually determine if you are legal because the manufacturers don't make the laws.

tuffr2 · 08-19-2015, 08:34 AM

Doesn't Ram, Chevy and Ford hire mechanical engineers that go to school to learn kinda when things will break? I doubt there is much guessing going on.

Cummins12V98 · 08-19-2015, 08:38 AM

The reality is the new RAM 3500 Dually trucks are 4500's. Just look at the front suspension. This 15 makes my 11 RAM Dually look sick!

Thought i had a better pic of control arms, they are huge.

tampabiker · 08-19-2015, 05:38 PM

Cummins, is that the left front hub assembly? I had no idea there was so much offset on the rotors.

JIMNLIN · 08-19-2015, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by justafordguy

Correct, and none of the numbers actually determine if you are legal because the manufacturers don't make the laws.

manufactures do not make laws = correct.

The truck manufacturers door tag GAWR are used to determine weights the axle/tires may carry legally in every multi state scale house I've been through when I ran with a DOT number.

Cummins12V98 · 08-20-2015, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tampabiker

Cummins, is that the left front hub assembly? I had no idea there was so much offset on the rotors.

Yes it is. Are you referring to where the wheel mounts? If so that is because it's a Dually.

tampabiker · 08-20-2015, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cummins12V98

Yes it is. Are you referring to where the wheel mounts? If so that is because it's a Dually.

Yeah, that's what I was looking at. I guess that helps track the front wheels in the middle of the duals.

Kevinc2011 · 08-22-2015, 08:27 PM

Your DRV Mobile Suites weighs about the same as my Trilogy.. There are several different specs that are decided by gear ratio, I see you got the 14K GVWR springs like my truck. I saw a New F450 with light springs tail dragging with a Mobile Suites hooked to it last week!

My maxtow package from ram gave the 4.10 gears and finned differential covers. My Window Sticker listed 30K GCVWR for my truck with the 68RFE Transmission. My setup is running a gross weight of about 25500 lbs per the CAT scales at the truck stop!

justafordguy · 08-24-2015, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JIMNLIN

manufactures do not make laws = correct.

The truck manufacturers door tag GAWR are used to determine weights the axle/tires may carry legally in every multi state scale house I've been through when I ran with a DOT number.

DOT scales are for commercial trucks not normal pickups but I was told by a DOT officer that the manufacturers door tags are not required by law after the truck is sold. The only thing that is required by law in my state is that the pickup is registered for the max it will actually weigh. This was verified by my DMV office and by the DOT officer.

JIMNLIN · 08-24-2015, 08:31 PM

Quote:

The only thing that is required by law in my state is that the pickup is registered for the max it will actually weigh. This was verified by my DMV office and by the DOT officer.

My state as others has no registered weight requirement for a non commercial truck. Our registration for a vehicle title is based on a trucks adjusted value/year model number.
We simply carry weight up to the trucks RAWR/tire load rating in the case of a pickup pulling a trailer as the truck rear axle/tires are carrying all the trailer hitch load.
Now if the truck was say a plumbers truck with a overhead rack that sits in the bed and on the front of the trucks frame then both FAWR/RAWR/tire load ratings come to play.

Some states may have a gross weight for the truck or gross combined weight for the truck and trailer or a ladin weight = to the trucks actual payload or nothing as my state or other weight numbers ..../etc just for registration.

Your registered weight gets you nothing in another state just as another states registered GCW or other weights different than yours gets nothing in your state.

However not exceeding axle/tire load rating is common in all states. Some states don't weigh any commercial or non commercial truck with less than 10k axles. Some states like mine its 20k axles only unless the truck looks severally overloaded.