Another Towing question new to RV

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Jorgeoliva

Jorgeoliva

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Joined
Jul 17, 2018
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Location
Miami Florida
I have a 2016 Ram 1500 its a  3.6 - 6 cylinder with a 3.21 ratio shopping for a travel trailer want to buy the right one for my truck to tow. question and sorry for the dumb question someone told me to look on the door jam of the truck for towing info the label says
front.......3700 lb.......rear............3900 lb......... GVWR....3085 KG (6800 LB)
what does this number mean and again sorry for this dumb question any help is greatly appreciated
 
The numbers for "front" and rear" are the maximum amount of weight for each axle. the GVWR is the maximum amount the whole truck and cargo can weigh. That also means driver and passenger are considered cargo. There should also be another sticker in the same general area that states the maximum payload. That number is very important to help figure out how much trailer you can tow. A tow vehicle not only has to tow the weight of the trailer, it also must carry the weight of the tongue.
 
Jorgeoliva said:
I have a 2016 Ram 1500 its a  3.6 - 6 cylinder with a 3.21 ratio shopping for a travel trailer want to buy the right one for my truck to tow. question and sorry for the dumb question someone told me to look on the door jam of the truck for towing info the label says
front.......3700 lb.......rear............3900 lb......... GVWR....3085 KG (6800 LB)
what does this number mean and again sorry for this dumb question any help is greatly appreciated
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This seems like a good place to start....

http://chryslermedia.iconicweb.com/mediasite/specs/2016_Ram_1500_Towing_Charta6uiodh2o5dhjpjg6m536e3f2j.pdf


Looks like appx 4100# to 4900# depending on your truck configuration.    a V6 with at 3.21 rear end doesn't make for a great towing combo.....

 
Ok good place to start look like my truck can tow 4990 Lb so you think its safe to tow a travel trailer that 4000 lb sorry for all the dumb question but we new soon to be rv owner and I want to buy the right one.
 

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Jorgeoliva said:
Ok good place to start look like my truck can tow 4990 Lb so you think its safe to tow a travel trailer that 4000 lb sorry for all the dumb question but we new soon to be rv owner and I want to buy the right one.
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Please do not apologize for asking a question. That is the only reason forums exist is to get questions answered. There are no dumb questions except the ones you don't ask. Thank you for asking first. Way too many people do not ask first and end up towing an RV with a truck combination that is dangerous.
 
The brochure you referenced is for a base model of that truck. Every option added takes away from that towable weight. Have found the other sticker yet?
 
SeilerBird said:
Please do not apologize for asking a question. That is the only reason forums exist is to get questions answered. There are no dumb questions except the ones you don't ask. Thank you for asking first. Way too many people do not ask first and end up towing an RV with a truck combination that is dangerous.
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AMEN!!  KEEP ASKING !!!!!

As Goat said, that 4990# is for a base model truck.  It also refers to the actual weight of the fully loaded camper, not the dry wt the sales folks love to quote.  Use the camper GVWR as a much better estimate of the fully loaded weight.  Also deduct the weight of all options, passengers and cargo in the truck from this number.

Look for a yellow border placard on the driver door latch post with the max weight of cargo and passengers number.  It is much easier to work from this number.

Your truck CAN pull a camper, but it will be a fairly small one with a GVWR under 4000#.  DO NOT LET A SALESMAN TELL YOU OTHERWISE!!
 
Thanks Guys you guys are super the Ram truck forum people are super nasty when I ask this question. the only labels on the door jam driver side is this one had to split the image to make it fit see attach.
 

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The sticker in "the last one" post is what I was asking about. Excellent! You have well over 1600# payload available to you. That's really good for a half ton. A trailer that has a GVWR of 4900# should have a tongue weight of 490 to 735# if loaded to the max. You have plenty of payload to carry the trailer, you and passengers, and some other stuff. Don't forget the WDH weighs a decent amount, so that has to be figured in. The other thing to remember is don't exceed the GVWR. That's the total weight of the truck and loaded trailer.
 
The Trailer Life Towing Guides are another resource to check out when rating your own truck's towing capability. Find your year/make/model/options and you can get an idea of what the max pulling capacity is... that's a different number than payload (how much your truck can carry, which relates to cargo and the trailer's downward-pushing tongue weight) and it's important to understand both factors.

Are you looking for the biggest trailer possible for your truck? Certain features that you definitely want, or don't care about? Tell us more about your own plans and you can probably get some more specific suggestions.
 
Jorgeoliva said:
Ok so bottom line if you had this truck what weight travel trailer would you purchase
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I would buy whatever floorplan would work best for you, and stays within the weight limits.
 
Your truck has a good payload.  Your engine, not so much.

You're going to hate life pulling anything over 3,000# with a 3.6L and 3.21 gears.
 
The other thing to remember is don't exceed the GVWR. That's the total weight of the truck and loaded trailer.
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kdbgoat:  Did you perhaps make a typo?  GVWR is the max weight of the truck alone, GCWR is the max combined weight of truck + trailer.

Sorry to nitpick, but the weight terminology is already confusing to most people, so important to get the acronyms right.
 
Jorgeoliva said:
Ok so bottom line if you had this truck what weight travel trailer would you purchase
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If asking what is the biggest trailer I would purchase, I would look at trailers in the 3000# unloaded weight range so that the loaded range be appx 4000#.

That would put you at appx 80% of your max trailer cap.  IMHO, that is a good place to be. 

 
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