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Old 04-30-2017, 05:08 PM   #1
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What can I pull?

Hi all and thanks in advance. I have a 2011 RAM 2500, 4dr. 4X4, shortbed. Been pulling a 30ft 5ver with no problem. Wife wants a bigger home. What can I SAFELEY pull and stop with my truck. What length and what weight.
Paul
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Old 04-30-2017, 05:14 PM   #2
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Need door sticker info before anyone can make an accurate recommendation. Payload, GVWR, etc.
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Old 04-30-2017, 05:34 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sokcap48 View Post
Hi all and thanks in advance. I have a 2011 RAM 2500, 4dr. 4X4, shortbed. Been pulling a 30ft 5ver with no problem. Wife wants a bigger home. What can I SAFELEY pull and stop with my truck. What length and what weight.
Paul
RV length will not be an easy number to pick. Different makers build techniques will dictate the weight in a given length.

To know your exact towable weight capacity, you need to know the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) listed by the truck builder (should be on a lable/placard on the truck)...then you need the weight of your LOADED truck...subtract loaded weight from GCWR, leaving the tow capacity.

And, don't overload your hitch receiver.

Best luck
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Old 04-30-2017, 07:41 PM   #4
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Been pulling a 30ft 5ver with no problem.
Do you have a CAT scale ticket to show that you were not overloaded with that trailer when wet and loaded on the road? A 30-foot 5er is close to the max you can tow with a Ram 2500 without being overloaded over the payload capacity of the tow vehicle.

Quote:
What can I SAFELEY pull and stop with my truck. What length and what weight.
Depends on your definition of "safely". Mine is that you don't exceed any of the Ram's weight limits. And a ball-park estimate of the maximum length of the 5er should be less than twice the length of the tow vehicle. So if your Ram is 19' long, then don't consider any 5er longer than 38'.

The service brakes on the Ram are designed to stop the wet and loaded truck without a trailer. So if you don't exceed the GVWR of your Ram, then you should have enough service brake capacity to stop the wet and loaded truck. The trailer should have brakes that will stop the trailer.

The weight limit you'll likely first exceed is the GVWR of the Ram.

Any number you calculate will be a ball-park estimate until you have the wet and loaded truck and trailer tied together, and weighed on a CAT scale. But if you want a ballpark estimate, here's how to go about it:

1] Load the Ram with everyone and everything that will be in it when towing. No trailer, but include the 5er hitch. Since you already tow a 5er, you know what you will haul in the truck. People, pets, 5er hitch, toolbox full of tools, campfire wood, jack and jack stands, generator, extra gas for the generator, toys or bikes? Everything you might haul in or on the truck that weighs more than a handkerchief.

2] Drive to a truck stop that has a CAT scale and fill up with fuel, then weigh the wet and loaded Ram. Be sure everyone is in the cab when you weigh it.

3] Add the weights on the steer (front) and drive (rear) axles of the Ram to get GVW. Then subtract the GVW from the GVWR of the Ram to get payload capacity available for kingpin weight.

Divide the payload capacity available for kingpin weight by 0.20 (20%) and the answer is the ballpark estimate of the heaviest 5er you can tow without being overloaded.

Example: Your wet and loaded truck weighs 8,000 pounds and has GVWR of 10,000. That leaves 2,000 pounds available for pin weight. 2,000 divided by 20% = 10,000 pounds max 5er weight. So in that example, you would look for a 5er with GVWR of 10,000 pounds or less. Hmmmmm. That sounds like the 5er you already own.
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Old 04-30-2017, 07:54 PM   #5
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Trucks don't pull/carry or stop weight determined by a trailers length


Looking a Rams '11 body builder guide show a 2500 4x4 Cummins has a 9600 gvwr and a 6010 rawr.
With 3.42 gears it has around a 10k lb tow rating
with a 3.73 around 12k lb tow rating
with a 4.10 in the 14k-15k lb range....... all depending on your trucks selections..

Ram gives these trucks a 6010 rawr that will carry all the weight in the bed. These trucks rear axle may weigh in the 2800-2900 lb range leaving around 3100-3200 lb payload in the bed.
You have the truck so weigh its front and rear axles separately for exact weights.

Most trailer the size your truck can handle well, may have 6k axles = 12k lb of braking performance.
A 2500 4x4 crew cab shows a 6010 rawr and a 5500 fawr = 11500 lb of braking performance.
Together around 23500 lb of combined braking performance.
Braking performance on LDT's the last 20 years or so is vastly improved over our older gen LDT size vehicles. And vastly improved trailer brake controllers and brake pad/shoe materials.

Now if you have a 2500 5.7 hemi/4.10 gears I would stick with a 5er around 10k lb or less.
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Old 04-30-2017, 07:58 PM   #6
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Ram towing capacity is a bit complicated. You need to enter cab size, bed size, model designation, 2WD/4WD, engine, transmission type and axle ratio into this chart:

2011 RAM Full Line Tow Chart
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Old 04-30-2017, 08:18 PM   #7
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With a Toyota Tundra you could tow the Space Shuttle!

(Said the guy with the F150...)

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Old 05-01-2017, 06:36 AM   #8
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Ram towing capacity is a bit complicated. You need to enter cab size, bed size, model designation, 2WD/4WD, engine, transmission type and axle ratio into this chart:



2011 RAM Full Line Tow Chart


Someone on this forum provided a link to Ram website. There's a drop down where you can enter your VIN number and it will give you your towing and carrying capacity for your unit. I will try to find the post.
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Old 05-01-2017, 06:46 AM   #9
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Couldn't find it but if you go to ramtrucks.com and scroll to bottom of the page under capabilities there's a link for towing and payload. Open the link and there's a red indicator box on the right side of the page. Just follow the instructions from there.
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Old 05-01-2017, 07:47 AM   #10
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Go here and put VIN in.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/vindecoder.php
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Old 05-01-2017, 02:32 PM   #11
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Trucks don't pull/carry or stop weight determined by a trailers length...
True, but the trailer's length does indicate how much cross winds and passing 18-wheelers at highway speeds can affect the stability of the trailer. The longer the wheelbase of the tow vehicle, the longer the trailer you can tow without much worry about wind resistance, cross winds and high speed freight trucks blowing you around. My F-250 had about a 14' wheelbase. so the "rule of thumb" was a 28' max trailer length. My 5er ws 25' long, so I was under the max, but still got blowed around by high-speed 18-wheelers.

My F-150 has wheelbase of about 13 feet, so I could go up to a 26' TT with no big problem. But my 20' TT is about all the trailer I want to tow with that F-150.
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Old 05-01-2017, 08:44 PM   #12
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True, but the trailer's length does indicate how much cross winds and passing 18-wheelers at highway speeds can affect the stability of the trailer. The longer the wheelbase of the tow vehicle, the longer the trailer you can tow without much worry about wind resistance, cross winds and high speed freight trucks blowing you around. My F-250 had about a 14' wheelbase. so the "rule of thumb" was a 28' max trailer length. My 5er ws 25' long, so I was under the max, but still got blowed around by high-speed 18-wheelers.

My F-150 has wheelbase of about 13 feet, so I could go up to a 26' TT with no big problem. But my 20' TT is about all the trailer I want to tow with that F-150.
Now your just nit picking what I said and missed my point about length doesn't determine weight.
The OP said quote;
*** Been pulling a 30ft 5ver with no problem. Wife wants a bigger home. What can I SAFELEY pull and stop with my truck. What length and what weight.
Paul ****

I pull a 32' 11k+ lbs 12' 10" tall 5th wheel trailer with a 2500 quad cab short bed (142" wheelbase) Dodge/Cummins and big rigs on the interstates don't blow me around. My rig is rock solid as most folks truck/5er combo's are.
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Old 05-01-2017, 09:10 PM   #13
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Want to eliminate all speculations? Use this 5th wheel weight calculator, your actual truck weights, and advertised GVW of a 5er you are considering. A rough estimate of max GVW pin weight may be calculated by finding the percentage of advertised pin weight and empty weight in the add; use that percent and GVW to find max pin weight. That of course assumes the 5er is load is distrubuted evenly to GVW.
You'll note the calculator offers the option to use the 80% truck capacity most full-timers stay below for best reliability and longevity projections.

Do not think in terms of what can my truck pull; instead think_ what can my truck safely handle in crosswinds, stopping, or mountain downgrades.
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Old 05-02-2017, 12:53 PM   #14
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I can almost guarantee that payload will be your limiting factor with that truck. I have a 2wd 2012 Mega cab diesel and the payload on my configuration is way lower than I was expecting.
Thankfully I don't have a 5er to tow, because a 2,000lbs pin weight would be too much with the weight of the hitch itself considered.
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