Can my truck pull this?

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CampFool

CampFool

Active member
Joined
Nov 21, 2008
Posts
40
Location
Nothern Utah
I'm a little too close to the max for total comfort. And I don't know what the GAWR is, but the truck can handle 5200 front and 6010 rear. Oh, Gross Axle Weight Rating.

Truck is 05 dodge ram 2500 hemi, auto, 4:10. It has 110,000 miles on it, if that matters. No oil use, runs well.

Trailer I'm looking at is a Timber Ridge 250 RDS. I think it weighs in at 7000, or just under, dry. Now I'm lost. Is dry everything that comes with the trailer, excluding propane and water, and things I throw in? Are Batteries extra? The RV has an 80 gal fresh water tank, but the trailer can only carry about 1750 pound of payload.

Truck GVWR = 8800.
Payload = 2730
curb = 6070
combined = 17,000.
Can tow 10800.

I live at 4500 ft. Max towing elevation probably about 8000 ft, and 7% grade.

Am I going to be able to go up hill? Stop? It doesn't look like I'll be able to carry much stuff without hitting the max combined. I'm guessing towing will be slow and painful at times. Does anyone have experience with this much of  a load on a Dodge Hemi with the 5 speed auto transmission? I can't afford to buy a diesel, but I've not bought the trailer yet. There is time to correct my ways. Any suggestions?
 
Forget dry weight.  What is the GROSS weight of your trailer?  Best way to answer the question is to have the trailer weighed when it's loaded ready to camp.  Barring that, use gross weight.

Since you're towing in the mountains, you need to discount 10-20% off the tow rating for the loss of power caused by thinner air at high elevations.  If your trailer has a "dry" weight of 7000, it's probably close to 9000 gross.  You can likely tow it, but you're getting close.  With the Hemi and 4.10 gears, I think you'll be OK power wise. 
 
And to answer your question, "dry" weight may not even include the awning and A/C unit.  It's likely several hundred lbs over that before you put so much as a pillow in it.  Use gross weight.
 
Dry weight is listed as 6700 lbs and gross is 8500 so figure you will be north of 8000 when loaded. Then you have the payload in the truck, (people, coolers, dogs, kids bikes etc. All of that plus the 900 pounds of tounge weight counts as payload of the truck.

Looks to me like you will be just fine. Not going to win any races but you are well under the towing weight as well as the payload weight. That is close to what I would feel comfortable with for that truck but I would feel comfortable.
 
Thanks for the feedback. When I posted, I was really worried that I'd be bumping right up to maximum, and that the truck would really struggle. That's not something I want to do at elevation. My wife set me straight tonight. It's important to know what my wife, the English Major, says about numbers. "English Major, you do the math". She pointed out that our current toy hauler is 5700 dry. We've pulled it with 1200 pounds of ATV's, plus water, dogs, food, gas, generator, fuel station, etc. That's getting close to the new trailer weight, maybe even more. The truck handled that weight just fine. I think we'll be fine. Certainly winning no races.

As a side note. When we decided to replace the current trailer, we wanted something about 23 feet. Feature creep seems to have captured us.
 
You'll have the normal power penalty due to high elevation, but I don't think you'll have any serious problems pulling the trailer.  The 2500 has the right suspension, steering and brakes for the job.  The 4.10 gears will be a BIG plus. 
 
Frizie is right just use the GVWR against the tow rating of the truck. The only way to get around the elevation issue is to go turbo charged. Like Frizie and myself are both turbo charged diesels and have absolutely no problem hauling weight at elevations.
 
Turbo? I've wondered how hard that would be, and what it would cost. Then I start to wonder if the transmission will hold up. I don't think the truck needs gobs more power, but a flat torque curve would be really nice. Then I'd need to figure out how to make the transmission shift like I want it to, not how it does. Now I'm just wondering off subject.

Mopar man, I see you're in Idaho. Southern, northern? I'm about 30 minutes south of Idaho.
 
CampFool said:
As a side note. When we decided to replace the current trailer, we wanted something about 23 feet. Feature creep seems to have captured us.
Click to expand...

In the boating world that's known as "two feet disease," as in, "this boat would be perfect if it were two feet longer." After Paul Allen cruised in his 414-foot yacht the Octopus for several years, he sold it. He wanted one two feet longer.
 
CampFool said:
The best two days of a boat owners life, the day they buy it and the day they sell it.
Click to expand...

Corvette owner too.  Trust me.  BTDT.....and every time I think I'm finished with them, another one shows up in the driveway.....
 
Don't bother trying a turbo or for that matter most any aftermarket go fast goodies unless you just like constant tinkering. All that new power will start to strain the torque converter, then the new converter will strain the tranny. New tranny will twist the u-joints and on and on.

If you like working on stuff and the rest of your truck is worth throwing the cash at it can be a fun project but probably much cheaper to just buy a bigger truck.

 
Since we are well off topic anyway:

"two feet disease," AKA "twofootitis" All boaters suffer from that disease at one point or another!! In my case it was exactly 2 feet, 24-26 ft, but what a difference!!! That "hole in the water into which you pour money" sure means a lot to us boaters though. And CampFool you are so right, but after having it for 30 years, I still miss mine even 4 years later, it is the Spring work prior to launch I don't miss at all!!
 
CampFool said:
Turbo? I've wondered how hard that would be, and what it would cost. Then I start to wonder if the transmission will hold up. I don't think the truck needs gobs more power, but a flat torque curve would be really nice. Then I'd need to figure out how to make the transmission shift like I want it to, not how it does. Now I'm just wondering off subject.

Mopar man, I see you're in Idaho. Southern, northern? I'm about 30 minutes south of Idaho.
Click to expand...

I was only suggesting looking at a trucks that might have turbo for mountain hauling that's all.

As for my location I'm in New Meadows, Idaho (Central Idaho) I'm 3 hours from Boise, ID.
 
CampFool said:
The best two days of a boat owners life, the day they buy it and the day they sell it.
Click to expand...

Still off the subject!  I had a 50' houseboat and my wife groaned loudly every time I pulled out the tools to fix something.  Sold it and bought a 5er-after all there is nothing to fix on a RV ;D .  Now she is the one that misses the houseboat, not me.
 
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