Quick note on this video. I made a mistake when listing the GVW of the loaded trailer. The GVW of the loaded trailer will be the weight on the axles of the trailer, as read by the CAT scale, and the hitch weight added together. The only way to get this hitch weight is to weigh the truck itself with no trailer attached, then weigh it again with the trailer attached, and subtract subtract the weight of the un-hitched truck from the hitched truck. This sill give you the hitch weight which is then added to the measured weight of the trailer. Sorry for the confusion.
One more thing to remember..... The truck and trailer is like a sail on a sailboat. They catch a lot of wind. The shorter the truck and a longer trailer is a bad combination. The trailer wins in the sail pulling department. It can and will flip first taking the tow vehicle with it. Don't tow on windy days. ( even tractor trailers flip on windy days) it's just common sense.
Totally agree with this. We actually had a day this year where we extended a stay to avoid high winds in Wyoming. It's not worth the risk to tow in the wind!
Most 1500 trucks have passenger car tires that are underinflated. When towing with a 1500 if you step up to a light truck tire and max out pressure according to the sidewall of the tire and set your equalizer bars correctly you would not be able to tell the difference between a 1500 and a 2500 for the weigth that you are towing. Most of the handling woes are caused by the sidewalls of the tires being too soft.
LT tires make a huge difference, and a properly set up wdh makes an equal amount of difference. So I do agree with Scott as your trailer isn't that big and heavy. I'd take it a step further and upgrade to a hellwig sway bar. If you're pulling a 32footer that weighs 8000lbs then yes, 3/4 is needed.
I have towed with both a 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton. I put LT tires on my 1/2 ton and they did help, but to say you won't be able to tell the difference is just an absolute lie. I ran reese dual cams with both. 1/2 ton suspension is soft, period. The brakes are smaller, the frame is weaker. All of this translates into a far different towing experience between the two.
It is always interesting reading the replies to information regarding towing capacity. There are basically two schools of thought. First is it is OK to tow right up to my trucks limit, and maybe even exceed it as long as I add heavier load rated tires, bigger brakes, better shocks, re-gear, air bags, heavier leaf springs, and the list goes on. Or, rhe orher option is purchase the truck that already comes equipped with all of those things, plus a heavier frame, axles with bigger brakes, bearings, gears, heavier steering components, as is designed for heavier towing right from the manufacturer. I have towed many trailers of different types, with everything from a Toyota Tacoma to a 3/4 ton diesel. I will always choose going with more capacity than the numbers say I need rather than push my truck to or beyond its limits. It is always a good idea to have something left in reaerve. Thanks for the video. Your graphics made things easier to understand.
Great explanation, and I 100% agree that the tow vehicle's GVWR is the first thing you need to look at. Also, for your scenario, you're absolutely right, a ¾ Ton truck is necessary. However, you overlooked one rating that most people miss: the rating for the hitch itself. There are actually 3 ratings there, the tongue weight (which is also easy to go over ), one for undistributed weight and another for distributed weight. Exceeding the undistributed weight rating without a weight distribution hitch can cause a loss of control of the tow vehicle because you're taking too much weight off of the front tires.
The best advice is to always have more truck than what you think you need. I pull a small 17ft 3,000 pound trailer with a Ram 1500 Big Horn with the 5.7 Hemi. It’s plenty of truck. If I get a bigger trailer, I’ll get a bigger truck.
We had a half ton when we purchased our first trailer. I did two trips in it and was almost blown off the road on our second trip. Our trailer was just too long and the truck was too light. Before we went to Texas I traded the F150 in for the F250 and it has been night and day. Ignore the salesmen when they say. “You’ll be fine, this 1/2 ton has a tow package.” Lesson learned for us. Great video as always!
I haul a 37ft travel rig , with my 2017 F-150,( 3.5 Ecobeast) with absolutely no problem, we travel cross country, have been traveling for the last 6yrs now, Truck runs strong, our trailer performes flawlessly!
Thank for sharing your experience. While this may work for you, we encourage our viewers to always crunch the numbers, based on their tow vehicle, and make sure they are towing within the limits of that vehicle. In the end each of us are responsible for maintaining the safety of ourselves, and the rest of the motoring public, by staying within the manufacturers limits on all weights.
@@KeithWilliams-uw9ym I have 110,000, orig turbo's only replaced the coils and plugs, and upgraded the suspension, rough country, with control arms, big Yokohama's, aftermarket calipers and pads.
You are capping! I have a 32 foot rv and there's no way a 1500 or a 150 can tow that big of a trailer let alone 37 feet 😮 37 foot rv is way too long and heavy for a half ton it must be the scariest ride ever. There's no way you can keep that rv stable on the road with a half ton we ain't stupid bro!
Went to a an Rv Show where a guy was saying he wouldnt even pull a pop up with a half ton. I told him not everyone has over a 100k to buy a mew 3/4 ton. He told me that if you dont have the 100k then you have no business camping or even going on vacation. That told me all I needed to know. Probably the same person who wont allow RVs over 5 years old in a rv park. I went to a buddy who has worked on and towed trailers for over 30.years. He told me that half tons can pull most trailers 28 ft and under. I pull my 24 ft Wildwood just fine with my Ram 1500 with upgraded shocks and 10 ply tires.
You will get a lot of howling about this; my half ton bla, bla, bla but you are right. More tow vehicle is always better and I have personal experience.
Great video…. You do an excellent job explaining the issue. You’ll probably get A Lot of views on this video. Our half ton towing video went semi-viral. 😃
Thank you!! We had one on backing up a trailer that went crazy. That one alone will probably get us over the 4k watch hours by the end of the week. I created this one simply because I wish I had this information before. I, like many folks, just assumed that towing capacity is the magic number. We soon found out that was not the case with a 1/2 ton truck.
@@TwoTravelingTeachers Dude, the one I did was a short simple 2 minute video that I never expected to go anywhere. It now has 68K of views. It probably took me a couple hours to make which is nothing compared to all our other videos. Gotta love the TH-cams.
I'm sure I can speak to the tune of many newbies to RVing. When I bought my truck way back, had no intentions on RVing. Somethings happened and we decided to jump in buy a travel trailer. I too have a 2019 Ram 1500 Bighorn with the 5.7 Hemi with 3.21 Gears. We started out with a 2021 Forest River Wildwood X-Lite 24RLXL, then upgraded to our 2022 Grand Design 260RL. We are very close to your specs. Honestly can't say that I have had that terrible of an experience hauling mine around. I've done multiple Severe Thunderstorms and even had a trip out to Texas where I had 20 to 30 mph headwinds that killed the gas mileage from my average 9 to 6 mpg. Then again I use Haul Mode with traction control off and limit my transmission to 6th gear. The 260RB hasn't given us any sway issues and use an external brake controller that I feel is dialed in. I also run my tires at 40 PSI on the truck and trailer at 65PSI. However great video and explanation on the numbers. If it was a perfect world and money wasn't an issue, id agree to go with as much truck as you can get. Then again this fits my weekend warrior efforts. 73's (Best Wishes).
Thanks for the comment John. I think for us the fact that we were running right at the maximum load capacity for our RAM 1500 was definitely adding to the sway issue. Glad to hear that you're not experiencing those same issues. It's no fun dealing with instability on a long drive.
I know there are going to be several other options on this topic like you said.... But here is mine thru years of experience. 1, One of many thing to take into consideration is the length of the tow vehicle. The shorter the Tow vehicle wheel base the less control it will have to off set any adverse movement from the trailer. 2, weight of the tow vehicle, if the vehicle is light it will not have as firm foot print to the road surface. 3, how heavy duty is the entire suspension, (front and back) springs, shocks,bushing and even after market upgrades, (air bags to help load control.) 4, engine, transmission, differential gearing, (horse power, torque to move everything down the road at a safe speed.)
Nicely done! We started with a half ton towing our 30 ft travel trailer, but were on the lookout for an upgrade. Our initial problem was the engine getting hot in the South Dakota mountains. We found a prestine used F350 in Montana later and quickly snatched it up. Its the gas engine but what a difference it made. We love it!
I tow a 2500rl with a F150 half ton. Upgraded the shocks all around with Billstein 5100s and added air bags that I’m really not using with just 10psi towing. Tows great
@@ourrvsunsets I’m 151 and wife is (oh I know better). Was going to ask what hitch you are using as when I first got mine it was all over the road, moved to an E4, shocks and bags and it’s like night and day.
Great video! Totally agree. It's always better to have more truck than not enough. Just for the simple reason of if you ever want to upgrade to a bigger trailer. We haven't even lived in ours and we look at bigger ones. Lol. Safe travels. God bless
New trailer owner, 2 years, 1500 miles with trailer, towing with a 2022 Ford F150 Tremor 3.0 eco boost turbo, newest sway control and weight distribution system, no issues so far except the wind like you discussed while going through Mojave. The trailer is a 24 ft transcend so nothing big. Thank you for the info.
Thank you for your video. Well done. Our saga is similar to yours. Started with a Tacoma and high wall tent trailer (3K GVWR). Kept Tacoma, traded that for 21' Rockwood Roo hybrid travel trailer (4900 GVWR). This was at the limit for the Tacoma's capability, but worked well for us. Traded in the trusty Tacoma for a Ram 1500 ecodiesel with the thought of upgrading the trailer in the future. The Ram towed the Roo great! Traded up for a 28' Lance travel trailer (6400 GVWR), which worked by the numbers with the Ram. Pulling and stopping was not the issue. The towing experience itself belied the numbers as did yours. Traded the 2021 1500 for a 2020 2500. It made all the difference in the world. Now, keeping the Lance under that 6400 GVWR, that's another video altogether. Cheers!
We just did the upgrade as well. We were planning to go with a RAM 2500 but stumbled across a creaming deal on a Chevy Silverado 2500HD. It had more bells and whistles than the RAM Tradesman we were looking at and close to the same price, so we snatched it up. So far we love driving it, but have yet to pull our trailer with it. The numbers now are great for pulling our trailer. We've also decided to change out our hitch to an Anderson WDH. The hitch is lighter and will be easier for Toni to hook and unhook if she needs to. We'll be doing an install and review video of that hitch once we have a few miles on the hitch.
@@ourrvsunsets - What a coincidence, we just last week swapped our Eaz Lift Trekker hitch for an Andersen WDH! The less weight and easier handling are also what led me to the Andersen. I have only just set it up and not really travelled with it, but did drive several miles to the CAT scale to get some weight data. I will follow along with you as you set up and adjust yours. We don't have another trip until we head to the Russian River/Jenner area (Salt Point State Park) later in June. It's an area we've enjoyed before. I'll check back in to share any findings I may have about the Andersen. Edit to add: After the 1500, I think you'll really appreciate towing with your new 3/4 ton Silverado.
Great information! We completely agree. Just curious, were there items in your truck that you could have stored in the trailer during towing? We do not keep anything in our truck during towing and move all of our truck stuff into the trailer for this very reason. It's a pain to move it all back and forth, but important for us to be within the legal limits. Love your infographics! Really made it make sense. Well done!
For that trip to Deadwood we had gear in both the truck and trailer. We started with just gear in the truck and were way over on the truck GVWR. We moved some gear to the trailer, and then had to move it around in the trailer to find the magic spot where we were basically at max weight on the GVWR of the truck. That was also before we were full-timing. Now that we're full-time we have even more stuff in the trailer so adding in more video gear for a job is not an option. For us the 3/4 ton is the only way we're going to stay legal on the weights.
Curb weight of the truck includes all fluids, including full fuel tank. Also, your trailer weight numbers in your example didn’t include the hitch weight. You would need to go back over the scales without the trailer and calculate the difference on the truck axles. So you don’t have as much cushion on tow capacity as you think you do. BUT, I totally agree that payload is usually the limiting factor for half tons and towing.
We went directly from a 1500 (with a 6,000 lb. TT) to a RAM 3500 (now towing a 9,000 lb. TT) and so glad we did. Recently went from Minnesota to Texas (for the eclipse) an d experienced almost constant crosswinds with gusts to 45 MPH. Then coming back, dealt again with 25-30 MPH winds gusting to 45. With the 3500, it required a bit more care and a little less speed, but it was a world different from the 1500 that would have been a MUCH slower drive mixed with bursts of terror.
Yep, a bigger truck makes all the difference. Having gone from a 1500 to a 2500 to a 3500, I can honestly say each step made things easier and more comfortable to tow. How was the eclipse? We stumbled into one last year in Gallup, New Mexico and it was quite astonishing!
I don't have a truck. I don't have a trailer. I have no need to learn any of this. Watched the whole thing anyway, absolutely rapt. So much straightforward information in such clear and concise presentation!
I pulled a 22MLE (smaller trailer) across Wyoming with a 1/2 ton that was well within specs. With a 20-30mph side wind, it was miserable. That much wind will push anything around.
Great info. I actually have a 1/2 ton Chevy Silverado with the 3.0 Duramax Diesel and I love it. We just drove through 20-30 mph winds up and down some steep grades in the desert and Tehachapi and it was totally fine. It also comes down to lifestyle. Since we camp once every couple months or so and my truck is my daily driver for work, it just makes more sense to have a 1/2 ton as a 3/4 ton would not be practical for my daily commute. I love the versatility of it. I get 25-30 mpg in my 30 minute daily commute and then I can hook it up to my trailer (2023 2500RL) when we go camping and I’m getting 12-13 mpg pulling and it pulls it like a champ. We’ve been over 3,000 miles in our trailer since September of 2022 and I’ve never had a white knuckle experience.
Sounds like you found a way to make it work! I think if we were just camping, and not carrying all the video gear we would have been in a better place. Honestly power wise the RAM is a beast and we had zero problems going up and down mountain passes, and we have the 5.7L HEMI gas engine. For us it was the instability at max weight that was no fun. Thanks as always for watching and commenting Grant!
Oh yea, that 3.0 is the best engine out there. We tow a 32 foot grand design, 6600lb trailer without any issues. I'm limited to a half ton truck because of my driveway size (we live in the city) and I don't regret it at all. Tows flawlessly and 28 mpg unloaded? Yes please.
Just what I needed. I have a 2023 tundra trd pro, just bought a 25 ft airstream. I think I may need a bigger truck……payload is only 1400 pds since it is so heavy/hybrid. Well done!
I tow a slightly lighter travel trailer with a 2017 ram 1500. I sure wish I could go back in time and buy a heavy duty truck. Every time my family and I go camping, I am easily 300 pounds over payload capacity, even utilizing a weight distribution hitch, and if I bring my generator and some water, that can go up by several hundred pounds. It’s not that the truck can’t do it, it can and it does. It would do it much more comfortably and within specifications had I just bought a larger truck in the first place. Hopefully next year, I will have an F350, but I’m gonna keep working this one for the time being.
I know exactly what you mean by wishing you had bought a bigger truck! We went from 1500 to a 2500 to a 3500 all in the span of a year. It was an expensive mistake. You're on the right path looking at the 3500. Just go big so you have ample room to upgrade in the future.
This was amazing!! We use to use our Tundra for our 25 foot trailer but we loved our tundra and kept it when we got the class A. Man your filming is amazing love the graphics so much we seriously need to hang we have so much to learn from u. You did all your research and you are really a natural talking unto the camera. We are so excited to watch how fast your channel grows. Please don't forget about us!!! Can't wait to see what is next!!
We would never forget you two, we love your channel!!! As for our channel growing it's growing slowly, unfortunately right now we are so busy with work that we haven't had the time to produce new content. Currently we have 13 videos, including a 30 minute TV special, to produce by the end of May. But, after that we get on the road and will be producing travel content again. Thank you so much for the kind words on our content, and yes, we still plan to figure out where we can meet up this summer. We need to have beers, good food and lost of time around a fire getting to know each other better!
@@ourrvsunsets Well we are all about the work hard play hard philosophy and the work helps pay for our habits!! Too much work can be a good problem. Your not growing that slow I swear we need to find the secret to this but honestly we are having more fun then we thought plus meeting cool new friends. Yes whenever you have some dates let us know we cant wait to meet up. I think the closest we will get to you is in June we are going to Reno then Tahoe and on the way back hanging in Bend for a while. Until then we will have to worship you from afar!
Yay!!!! I'm glad I was able to help you understand it. It can be daunting at first since there are so many different weights, and they all interact with each other in some way. Thanks for watching Danielle.
Well, you put everything into perspective. I used to haul a Mobile Suites 43' weighing 20k plus or minus. It was very heavy but I had a GMC dually turbo diesel so I never thought about all the weight ratings. So, now I'm looking to purchase a 2021 Tundra 4x4 and a Grand Design 2500RL. I may want to rethink either the Toyota or the TT... I've been on several Tundra forums and was told to stay under 7000 towing and I will be fine. I'm rethinking the Tundra and getting a GMC 2500 Diesel... But I love the Tundra... I think the Tundra would be fine traveling from East Tennessee to Florida and back but I was hoping to get in a camping trip to Colorado and possibly Utah... Not sure the Tundra will handle it. I have lots to thing about. Thanks for the video.. RT
Yeah, I don't think I would go with a Tundra for pulling the 2500 RL, especially if you're going to be pulling the rockies. As for the GMC it's a great choice, we have a Silverado 2500HD, but be aware there is currently an issue with the trailer brake connecting and disconnecting on the 2024 model Chevy and GMC 2055's and 3500's. We did a video on the issue, you can find it here... th-cam.com/video/RxBZN3Uac04/w-d-xo.html
We tow a 2500RL with a F-150 powerboost. We're right at the limit but we make it work. One thing was that you need to add back the tongue weight of the trailer to your trailers GVW. If you had 5900 on the trailer axles and 900lbs of pre-WDH tongue weight, you were probably closer to 6800 lbs trailer weight. Also, you prob didn't have your WDH dialed in enough; 4k on the rear axle and only 3k on the front means you probably could have shifted another 450 off the rear, with 300 going to the front and another 150 to the trailer axles. That would have put you closer to the 6900 GVWR of the truck. The powerboost is even more payload limited than your Ram so we're used to measuring out and distributing every lb. But we also only use the trailer a couple times a year and use it as a daily driver 90% of the time otherwise; if we were semi-full timers, we would definitely have gotten a 3/4 ton or heavier.
We're full timers so that's definitely one of the reasons we'll be upgrading. As for the WDH not being adjusted perfectly you're probably spot on with that as the dealer installed it and we haven't made any adjustments to it since. Quick question on your response though as you lost me a bit and I genuinely want to understand what you were saying.... You mentioned that I was probably 6800lbs on the trailer, but I'm not sure how that is. If the scale is measuring 5900lbs why would it really be 6800lbs. Unless you are saying that the WDH is shifting the weight forward, but isn't that what it's supposed to do? Sorry if I don't understand it, in my mind if the scale says it's 5900lbs it's 5900lbs. Thanks for the comment, you have the gears in my brain spinning around for sure!!
I do not own/pull a travel trailer with my RAM 2500 4x4 Hemi 6.4 but we do use it on road trips occasionally. It is also my daily driver. The payload is 3130 pounds which has worked well with 5 adults+luggage. When we recently hauled a small load of stone blocks, the acceleration was a bit slower but increased stopping distance must be anticipated. When we travel, we stay in full accommodations rather than in a travel trailer.
I use a Pro Pride hitch system. I have driven to and from Texas to North Carolina a number of times with a 30' and my 2017 RAM 1500 Eco diesel. No issues with the Texas wind. The hitch is amazing.
I agree that a good weight-distribution hitch is essential for pulling rigs. This is also an area where you shouldn't skimp. The WD hitch has to be rated for the tongue weight of the rig and needs good sway control. A good one will increase the safety of towing and good sway control will make it MUCH less tiring to pull the rig down the road. Don't skimp on the weight-distribution hitch!
Good presentation, but I think you misunderstand the numbers assigned to you 1/2 ton truck. The Dept of Transportation has a formula used to assign weight ratings to a truck. The DOT cares about two things. 1) How weight effects the roads. Heavy 18 wheel trucks can load up and carry enough weight that the roads will be damaged, so they would like to put limits on weight. 2) For RVers etc they tweak the formula's to improve STOPPING DISTANCE. You can see this when you compare the specs on a 1 ton dually vs 3/4 ton truck with idential motor, transmission, rear end rear ratio. The difference in weight ratings has to do with stopping distance not carry weight.
@@ourrvsunsets My point is that the door sticker weights don't mean what people think they mean. The real weights that do count are the tire load weights. Axel weights next. But, I've never seen an axel fail when over loaded. A truck will pull whatever it will pull.
You need to keep in mind that if your truck is overloaded and you have an accident, your insurance may decline your claim if it comes out that you’re overloaded.
Good video. I like how you broke down the numbers. When I first got into serious towing a few years ago, it took me quit a while to figure out what the numbers really meant and how they played together. First time viewer. Honestly, I decided to watch this video because I thought that you were going to say, "1/2 ton trucks are fine for pulling 30' trailers." I agree with all of the points that you made. I had a Chevy 1500HD. We upgraded our ultra-lite bumper-pull rig to a little longer toy hauler bumper pull (so that we could bring our 950# Harley Touring bike on our trips). The numbers with the new trailer, with bike aboard, were okay, but barely (as measured by CAT Scales). The chassis was fine, but the motor wasn't. On almost any hill, the 1/2 ton Chevy just couldn't hold any amount of speed. Plus, I 'felt' the toy hauler behind up, much more than I did with the previous rig. My wife and I had been planning to upgrade trucks at the end of this year, but after towing the rig to an Alabama mountain campground, I made the command decision that we needed a 3/4 ton before our planned trip to the Colorado Rockies (which at that time was a couple months away). We chose a Chevy 2500 High Country. Love it. I pulled the rig (with bike) easily through the Rockies. I didn't like the price that we had to pay for the new truck, but ultimately, it was a good investment for our RV situation. Personally, I think that it is a bad idea, to pull 900+# rigs with 1/2 ton trucks. Even if the truck feels like it pulls the rig just fine, if any of the numbers is exceeded and an accident occurs, it could be bad news for the truck owner, in addition to it being a safety concern. Final thought on this topic. Take the truck-and-rig, both empty and fully loaded, to a Cat Scale. Check these numbers against the truck, trailer, combined ratings. I've actually created a spreadsheet that I keep on Google Docs, and I record my Cat Scale numbers in this spreadsheet. That way, I can sit down with the numbers and make sure that everything is good. Plus, if I ever get checked by the police (which isn't a very likely situation, unless maybe involved in an accident), I can show the actual numbers on the spot. I take safety seriously and don't want to cut corners when pulling our rig.
Thanks for the comment!! I completely agree that you need to have the right size truck to pull your rig. Some of the stuff we see pulling into campgrounds just amazes me. 40' toy haulers being pulled by a half ton with all of the weekend party gear in the bed of the truck. It's just crazy!
@@ourrvsunsets, I hear you. Rear fender pushed almost to the ground and front bumper way too high. My wife and I will sit back and muse, "What are they thinking?"
We tow a 26' Grand Design travel trailer with an F250 7.3L gasser, after having towed with a "half-ton" SUV. Night and day difference. No wrestling with the alligator, the truck tells the TT where to go, not vice versa. Travel days are enjoyable now.
Great video ! This happened ti me. Purchased a Ram 1500 first than purchased a GD Imagine 2400bh. After the first trip pulling the trailer I realized I had the wrong truck . We ended up trading the 1500 in for a Ram 3500 a month later . Just beware most 2500 have small payload capacity . Some even less than the 1500’s . In my case it just made sense to get the 3500.
Payload is a major issue on diesel 3/4 tons, due to the weight of the engine, but a lot of the gas 3/4 tons are ok on payload. You may still run short with some of the higher trim levels, which tend to have lower payloads.
Agree about 30ft+ trailers, for myself. I think the biggest issue is the size of the sidewalls, vs the weight. For something a little smaller, a half ton might be the best option, but you do need to look at the specific payload and gvwr for the truck you're buying, vs believing manufacturer estimates. In my case, for my 24' 5500 gvwr TT, it's a choice between keeping my newish car and getting an older 3/4 ton, or trading in the car and getting a new half ton, since I'll need decent fuel mileage for long road trips when not towing. Haven't made a decision yet. The other issue you need to be aware of towing with a newer half ton is many have a small fuel tank that's fine when not towing, but becomes a real problem when you're only getting 8-10 mpg. The 2025 Ram 1500 doesn't even offer an optional larger tank on any trim below Laramie.
When you were showing your cat scale weights I think you miscalculated on your trailer weight. You showed 5900 for your trailer weight. Actual trailer weight needs to have Your tongue weight added to the 5900. Scale thr truck by itself to get heavy and light drive axle numbers. Add tongue and 5900. That’s your total weight of your trailer. FYI. 27 years otr truck driver here. I enjoy your videos
That's not correct in this case. The CAT scale measures ground pressure under the tires, which is where all of these numbers come from. Yes his trailer weighs more than 5900, but his trailer weight rating is based on the weight under those axles. CDL flatbed trucker.
I started with a Toyota Tundra 1/2 ton.... I was wondering why I didn't see many Toyota trucks at RV parks when I started out. They all have limited tow capability and capacity. I now have a 1 ton Ford F350 and I can say is to everyone get a bigger truck....It makes MUCH better difference.
We just upgraded to a 2024 Chevy Silverado 2500HD. We haven't pulled the trailer with it yet, but I got a feeling the difference will be night and say!
Good video of what all those numbers mean, thanks. I recall in your video that you stated that Curb weight does not include any fuel. I thought that seemed odd so I went to my vehicle operations manual of a 2023 1500 Ram Classic Epress, and on page 112 of this manual is states this: CURB WEIGHT The curb weight of a vehicle is defined as the total weight of the vehicle with all fluids, including vehicle fuel, at full capacity conditions, and with no occupants or cargo loaded into the vehicle. The front and rear curb weight values are determined by weighing your vehicle on a commercial scale before any occupants or cargo are added. If I am miss reading this please let me know as I don't want to spread misinformation. Thanks again for this video.
Great comment!! I'll have to now check the manual on our new RAM 3500 and see if that is the case. I kind of hope it is since we have a 50 gallon fuel tank on it. Thanks for the comment!!
Don’t get a 30 foot trailer stick to a 20 to 24 Half ton will just pull it fine and you won’t have to buy a 3/4 ton pick up at a big extra charge to you remembering if you buy a new RV, there should be no cost with your present truck.
Same thing happened to us. We had a 1500 and bought a 5th wheel that was advertised as half ton towable. Are numbers were right but it definitely wasn’t safe. I like to say it’s half ton towable - not half ton stoppable. So we upgraded the truck to a 3500 and now Shelley thinks she needs a bigger 5th wheel 😂.
2014 F150, 5.0 7700lb towing cap. I tow a loaded 24 foot 5500lb TT across country 7000km round trip each winter and have a great WDH with anti sway. Stay at around 60mph. Only issue is wind!!! So i watch the wind and never drive into a big nose or side wind iys just not worth the risk and crappy fuel economy
We towed through Kansas last year with a strong headwind and it was crazy what it did you our fuel millage. I was waiting for the average millage per gallon reading on the dash to go from Miles per Gallon to Gallons per Mile.
Good video. Really well done. I have a 3500 lb Jayco trailer that I pull with my 5.7 L tundra and I still worry about this stuff. I bent my rear drive shaft towing it even. Go figure. Thinking about airbags now.
Generally I agree with this. If one cannot be sure of their numbers then a 3/4 ton is probably the way to go. I tow a 28’ Imagine XLS with a half ton. I have a spreadsheet I use to keep track of all my number calculations and validate it with occasional trips to a CAT scale. My payload capacity is the closest number I get to exceeding. Because of that I don’t haul with any cargo in the truck bed. Also on a half ton a weight distribution anti sway hitch is a must. I’ve had no real issues with wind or control issues where I feel I’m white knuckling it so long as I’m not driving like a mad man. I keep it to 65 MPH. That said, I think a 3/4 would probably be a ride improvement as I do get some bounce on poor roads. I have overrated tires and have considered adding airbags for damping.
You sir are doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. You know your numbers and you've done the proper calculations to stay within the numbers. You're correct about needing a weight retribution hitch for a half ton. I would argue that you need one no matter what the size of the truck because most will offer some anti sway protection as well. We moved to an Andersen weight distribution hitch after moving to the 3/4 ton and love it!! Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@ourrvsunsets the other piece of the puzzle for us is we are not full timers…only weekend warriors. So the truck is also a daily driver. So that plays into fuel consumption. The fuel consumption on a V8 gaser is horrible when towing. I get somewhere in the 7.25 to 8.75 MPG range. I’ve heard a diesel 3/4 ton typically gets better mileage so I’d assume with the higher price of diesel the price per mile would be comparable or better. Plus for us the truck is nearly paid off. Definitely don’t want to be upside down in a payment. Plus vehicle are outrageous at the moment. It’s not a great time as a buyer. But hopefully that bubble will burst soon.
@@misteraon Wow! You just went through all the stuff that went through our heads when purchasing our new truck. The main reason for us to upgrade was that we were going full-time. Additionally we have gear to cary in the truck so that puts us over the GVW of our RAM 1500. We wound up going with a gasser and not a diesel because we needed the payload more than the pulling power. Our trailer is not all that heavy for a 3/4 ton truck. Had we not been going full-time we probably would have stayed with our RAM.
@@ourrvsunsets yep definitely a lot more pieces to the 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton puzzle than most people realize and it really comes down to each use case. But generally I would say 3/4 ton is a better option…especially if one is uncertain of the numbers or doesn’t care to be on the verge of out trailering their truck. A 3/4 ton also offers more stopping power. That’s an important point most don’t consider especially if the trailer brakes malfunction.
With a trailer that light and you're fighting to keep it under control and white knuckle driving, that tells me that your setup is not correct. You need to be sure that your truck is equipped with - air bags, 10 ply tires, upgraded shocks and the correct axle ratio, - then you need a really good sway elimination hitch (Hensley or Propride), lastly beside that you're running 10 ply trailer tires, upgraded suspension (ie moryde 3000) and possibly shocks. You'll find that then your 1/2 ton will tow that trailer like a dream.
That's crazy you would do this! Our 2012 Dodge Ram has a tow capacity of 10250. We use it to tow our 37 foot trailer only 15 miles to the nearest state park. Would never consider any highway or mountain driving with it.
You would be surprised what we see pulling into RV parks! Our RAM 1500 had a payload of 1780lbs. which was fairly decent for a half ton. However we did have to pay attention how we loaded things to make sure we were within the manufacturers specs. We've since moved on from that rig and that truck. We had some great times in it though. Thanks for the watch and the comment!!
I agree about GVW, but you might also equate that to payload capacity on the truck. Question: with a scale weight slip you compared the trailer axle weight to the trailer GVW. What about hitch weight? Does a trailer GVW include the weight that carries on the hitch or does the trailer GVW only relate to the axles?
This is a really good point, and that was a mistake on my part. The tongue weight from the truck needs to be applied to the GVW of the trailer when calculating the trailer GVW.
First of coils spring rears are not ment for a ton of weight..... Second there's a lot of weight in the rear of the camper which is hard to avoid with any camper...... Try a Hensley hitch or pro glide before you buy a different truck..... I promise you the sway will be gone
Helpful video but you didn't talk about payload capacity on your truck and that is important,,,the tonque weight of your trailer subtracts off the payload of your truck and some people over look that number
Agreed, but I would also argue that the payload capacity is also part of the GVWR of the truck as well. For the most part if you're over the payload capacity, you're gonna be over the GVWR of the truck.
Actually we decided we needed a bigger rig to full-time in so we bought a 1 ton and a 35 foot 5th wheel. But I do appreciate your assessment of our full-time RV living needs that you came to while knowing absolutely nothing about us. It shows confidence in your decision making abilities!!
As long as you're within limits, and the towing experience isn't a white knuckle situation, you'll be fine. I think one of the other issues we had was that our 1500 was a RAM which uses coil springs and not leaf springs. There are plusses and minuses to this. The plus is that the truck rides like a luxury car even when empty. The minus is that the coils don't have as much lateral stability as traditional leaf springs. When we were pulling close to max weight it was not an enjoyable experience! Thanks for the watch and the comment. Safe travels!!
Technically this is correct, but when in the towing configuration that hitch weight is being supported by the truck. The actual weight on the axles is represented on the scales.
@@ourrvsunsets You suggested that you had 2500# of available capacity on the trailer and that is not correct. The GVWR for the trailer is not based just on what the axles are carrying, but the weight the frame is carrying. From a liability standpoint. Having the trailer loaded over the GVWR is just as bad as having the truck above the GVWR.
It would have been helpful to know if is just using a bill hitch or an equalizer hitch with or without a sway controller.. I'm 79 and remember seeing in the 1960s and 1970 people towed fairly large trailers with large passenger cars. That would have been impossible without an equalizer hitch. The equalizer, especially with a sway control and a properly loaded trailer handled the weight and took out most of the sway from cross winds, etc. remarkably well considering the tow vehicle had no suspension upgrades, except sometimes overload springs and probably an auxiliary transmission cooler. I'm not saying it was a good idea for such rigs, but pickups in those days did not have diesel engines or as much HP and torque as some cars did then. Today with large trailers, a 250/2500, the right axle rations and equalizer hitches it is much safer. Just an old geezers 2 cents worth.
Hey old geezer, your 2 cents are spot on!! For our RAM 1500 we did have a weight distribution hitch with sway control. We were using a Husky TS Centerline hitch. When we upgraded to our 3/4 ton Silverado we also switched over to an Andersen Weight Distribution Hitch with sway control and we LOVED that hitch. It was so much easier to hook and unhook with it. We now have a RAM 1 ton that we pull a 5th wheel with. We went with a GEN-Y Gooseneck hitch for that. As for the old days of people hauling rigs with passenger cars. Back then cars were a different breed than they are now, and had more in common with the trucks of today. They had big beefy steel frames, not the uni-body light weight cars of today. They were also powered by beefy V-8 engines that had plenty of power. I know all of this because one of those lead sleds was the first car I ever owned. A 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88. I miss that car! But yes, suffice to say, the cars of today are certainly not the same. Thanks for the comment amigo! As someone that isn't far behind ya when it comes old geezer status, I welcome input from those with move life experience. Experience is one of the advantages of aging!
I made a mistake. Bought a 1500 to haul about 7k lbs worth of a 20' trailer. I haven't driven anything less than a 3/4 (for work) in like 10 years and forgot just how much less stable 1/2 tons are. We had a Silverado 1500 that we overloaded with excavators and such, bought new, sold with 83k hard miles. We've had 2 F350s and a 2500 Ram since then and its a night and day difference. I bought an F150 for personal use and was less than impressed while towing with it for the first time. Had it for about 6 months and looking to trade it in on a gasser F250 or 2500 Ram asap. I paid outright for the F150 so I'll probably lose about 4-6k on trade in which sucks, but lessons learned. A 3/4ton should be more than enough truck for any future plans I'd may concoct, and I'll drive the thing till the wheels fall off.
You didn’t mention a WDH. I assume that means that you don’t use one? It would make a huge difference of you did. I wouldn’t choose to tow that trailer with that truck without a properly sized and installed WDH and sway control.
Ok. But what do people consider a large trailer? > 29 ft? I think that may be the main argument. It seems like there are 1/2 tons that could tow a 25 ft trailer if equipped. Is that considered a large trailer?
Honestly I think a "Large trailer" is what you consider is large trailer. Some people don't feel comfortable hauling a 24' trailer, I am fine towing 40' and over as I used to river tractor trailers for a living. As for how large of a trailer a half ton can tow, that really does come down to the weight numbers, not the length. If the trailer falls within the payload rating of the truck, then you're good to go no mater what the length. Thanks for watching and commenting!
When we were towing with the RAM we had a Husky TS Centerline hitch with 1200lbs bars on it. Since then we have upgraded our truck to a Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD and we now tow with an Andersen WDH. I love the Andersen. It is so much easier to hook up and unhook with it. We also get no sway, but that probably has a lot to do with moving to a 3/4 ton truck as well as changing the hitch. Thanks for watching and commenting!!
I agree 100%.However, for me...I would be in favor of upgrading what I have...ie 1500. The primary obvious issue is suspension. A quick easy fix is Firestone air suspension from and rear. The next upgrade would be a beefier trans cooler, and last....E load range tires. Forget the stickers on the truck...this is all you need. If you really want to go 'robust' add add-a-leaf + Firestone air bags in the rear. For the steep grades go slow and watch your oil and water temps.
Bigger truck ain't gonna help with slot of wind regardless you gonna rock in the wind I don't know what kind of ram you got I have a 35 foot east to west bunk house sleeps 10 and my 5.7 hemi will pull the hell out of it with no problem
Pretty good video nicely done. But 1st coil spring trucks are not mated for towing does not matter what mfg says there selling a truck. They do ride nice but there are way to many moving pats and attaching parts and coil springs are designed to travel in any direction thus making it difficult to stabilize. For all the Ram lovers you might ask why they don’t use coils on there 3500. Stability is the key - wheels/tires/suspension/ brakes/trans and engine. If your willing to fix all of these issues on a 1/2T then the 30’ TT tows great. But if you aren’t then go buy a bigger truck! I am not just speaking through the hole in my mouth I spent over 45 years in suspension and suspension mfg business.
Hey I like your video My question to you is I have a 2017 Ram 1500 Crew Cab V8 Hemi Big Horn I want to buy a 5x10 enclosed cargo trailer double axle to work with I'm I good or is that too much weight for my truck to pull
Unfortunately there's not a simple yes or no answer to this. If it's a simple cargo trailer then I am sure you will be able to pull it when it's empty. The issue is how much can you put into the trailer as cargo and still have it not exceed the payload of your truck. A simple calculation for this is that the trailer will apply 15% of its gross weight to the tow vehicle through a conventional bumper pull hitch. So if there is a published GVW for the trailer you can start there. Multiply the GVW by .15 and that will give you the tongue weight applied to the truck. For example if the GVW of the trailer is 5000lbs then the tongue weigh would add 750lbs to the truck if the trailer was at full GVW. You would then subtract that from the payload rating of the truck. At that point you would know what payload you have left for anything in the truck including passengers. Here's a simple calculation based on a truck with 1500lbs of payload capacity... Payload 1500 Trailer lounge weight 750 Remaining payload 750 Now let's say you weigh 200lbs. We subtract that from the remaining 750lbs and were down to 550lbs of remaining payload the is available to add to the truck. This could be additional passengers, gear in the back of the truck etc... Does that all make sense?
You also need to remember this as the owner and driver you are responsible for what you tow...ergo if you get into an accident and they can prove you are over the limit you are toast. Don't just shrug your shoulders.."were only a little over". It's a HIGE deal towing over the limit of what your truck can handle
Yep, this is the absolute truth!! You get run a wreck with an overloaded rig and your insurance can easily say "Sorry amigo, that one's on you!" Heck, today we saw a guy pulling a giant 5th wheel with a Ford F-150. It was obviously way over weight!! I couldn't imagine having my family riding in something that unsafe!
If you can afford, buy a 1 ton truck, because you will upgrade your trailer one day, with a 1 ton truck you're in good shape you will not have to buy another truck. Make sure you get a diesel. Towing with a 1 ton truck is like day and night compared to a half ton our three-quarter ton. A lot of people are overweight with their trucks and they don't want to admit it but it's better to have more truck than trailer. Better to be safe than sorry.
How true these words are Alvin. We upgraded to a 3/4 ton, and then a year later upgraded to a 5th wheel and now have a 1 ton RAM diesel. I could have saved quite a bit of money had I just gone to the 1 ton in the first place. I now give people the same advice. Thanks for watching and commenting amigo!
7:30 wrong. Your trailer weight is 5,900# ..... PLUS your tongue weight .... which can't be determined from your CAT scale ticket. I'm sure you didn't exceed your trailer GVWR or your tow vehicle towing capacity, but you don't have accurate numbers here.
Agreed, I think I had a post on this mentioning that, I need to pin that post. But yes, the GVW of the trailer is actually the scale weight of the loaded trailer and the pin/hitch weight on the truck. You would need a weight on the truck without the trailer attached to calculate this pin/hitch weight. Thank you for pointing this out.
I hope my new ram 1500 hemi that has a tow rating of over 12,000 lbs will tow my new 30ft RV that weighs only 4995 lbs... Why cant I ever see these videos BEFORE I buy.....😂... I told the truck salesman what I needed the truck for, but I don't think they care... They just see money...
At that weight I'm betting you're going to be okay. Normally a travel trailer is going to transfer about 15% of its weight to the truck. At 5,000lbs that puts you at 750lbs of tongue weight. That should give you the overhead you need for passengers and additional gear.
Tried that and we could get close, but still the truck was too unstable for a comfortable towing experience. The solution for us was to go to a 3/4 ton.
You was way under on your trailer weight but over on your truck gross weight,so why don’t we just take 280 lbs of the extra camera equipment out of the truck and put it in the camper ,bingo the truck just got back in specs,the trailer is in spec the rear axle weight is in better shape than before,according to where you put the camera equipment, and everything is good in the neighborhood once again . Hells bells let’s even put a few extra lbs in the trailer so we can stop at Buckys and grab a few snacks ,you have plenty of room in your specks to do this . Can a 3/4 ton haul this yes ,yes it can ,can your 1/2 ton haul this and be in specs yes it can , if you know how and where to move your weight to make it happen. Please people ,a 3/4 ton truck can be over loaded just like a 1/2 ton or even a semi can be over loaded ,look at the numbers on your rig, truck and trailer , and if your numbers are good,you are good, if not look at what numbers are off and see where you can make adjustments to get your rig in specs,it might can be done with a simple movement of cargo ,it might mean that a day with 65 mph cross wind might not be the best day for a travel day ,even with a 3/4 ton truck . And yes I pull a 30 ft 2021 Rockwood with a 2021 Ram 1500 and it is within specs and yes I drive at 65 and I think that is about as fast as I need to go even on the interstate,this is the speed I am comfortable,according to road conditions,in bad weather I don’t mind slowing down a bit . You do you but please do it safely and within specs of your equipment
We actually did move some of the camera gear into the trailer. We also moved that gear around in the trailer twice to get the number in spec. However, we still had to deal with the sway when trucks passed and with wind gusts in the 20 to 30mph range, If the wind was 65mph I wouldn't be on the road at all. Also with the extra gear in the trailer it just becomes a pain in the ass to mover gear around to gain access to things in the trailer. Because of all of this, and the fact that we have moved to full-time living in out RV, we've upgraded the truck to a Silverado 2500HD 3/4 ton truck. For us that was the right move since towing, which we now do about once a week now, is much more enjoyable with the 3/4 ton, and we have payload to spare. If you're just a weekend warrior and are carrying camping gear to and from your destination once a month, then a 1/2 ton may work well for you. If you're in our situations, full-timing and with lots of cargo, I suggest a 3/4 ton.
Great explanation and visuals in this video! I hope it reaches lots of people as it will be extremely useful to most rv'ers or those looking to get into the rv'ing world! Alecia from @pavingnewpaths
Quick note on this video. I made a mistake when listing the GVW of the loaded trailer. The GVW of the loaded trailer will be the weight on the axles of the trailer, as read by the CAT scale, and the hitch weight added together. The only way to get this hitch weight is to weigh the truck itself with no trailer attached, then weigh it again with the trailer attached, and subtract subtract the weight of the un-hitched truck from the hitched truck. This sill give you the hitch weight which is then added to the measured weight of the trailer. Sorry for the confusion.
One more thing to remember..... The truck and trailer is like a sail on a sailboat. They catch a lot
of wind. The shorter the truck and a longer trailer is a bad combination. The trailer wins in the
sail pulling department. It can and will flip first taking the tow vehicle with it. Don't tow on
windy days. ( even tractor trailers flip on windy days) it's just common sense.
Totally agree with this. We actually had a day this year where we extended a stay to avoid high winds in Wyoming. It's not worth the risk to tow in the wind!
Most 1500 trucks have passenger car tires that are underinflated. When towing with a 1500 if you step up to a light truck tire and max out pressure according to the sidewall of the tire and set your equalizer bars correctly you would not be able to tell the difference between a 1500 and a 2500 for the weigth that you are towing. Most of the handling woes are caused by the sidewalls of the tires being too soft.
you are out of your mind
LT tires make a huge difference, and a properly set up wdh makes an equal amount of difference. So I do agree with Scott as your trailer isn't that big and heavy. I'd take it a step further and upgrade to a hellwig sway bar. If you're pulling a 32footer that weighs 8000lbs then yes, 3/4 is needed.
I have towed with both a 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton. I put LT tires on my 1/2 ton and they did help, but to say you won't be able to tell the difference is just an absolute lie. I ran reese dual cams with both. 1/2 ton suspension is soft, period. The brakes are smaller, the frame is weaker. All of this translates into a far different towing experience between the two.
It is always interesting reading the replies to information regarding towing capacity. There are basically two schools of thought.
First is it is OK to tow right up to my trucks limit, and maybe even exceed it as long as I add heavier load rated tires, bigger brakes, better shocks, re-gear, air bags, heavier leaf springs, and the list goes on. Or, rhe orher option is purchase the truck that already comes equipped with all of those things, plus a heavier frame, axles with bigger brakes, bearings, gears, heavier steering components, as is designed for heavier towing right from the manufacturer.
I have towed many trailers of different types, with everything from a Toyota Tacoma to a 3/4 ton diesel. I will always choose going with more capacity than the numbers say I need rather than push my truck to or beyond its limits. It is always a good idea to have something left in reaerve.
Thanks for the video. Your graphics made things easier to understand.
I'm with you, get the truck that is rated to pull the trailer you have and be done with it! Thanks for the comment.
Great explanation, and I 100% agree that the tow vehicle's GVWR is the first thing you need to look at. Also, for your scenario, you're absolutely right, a ¾ Ton truck is necessary.
However, you overlooked one rating that most people miss: the rating for the hitch itself. There are actually 3 ratings there, the tongue weight (which is also easy to go over ), one for undistributed weight and another for distributed weight. Exceeding the undistributed weight rating without a weight distribution hitch can cause a loss of control of the tow vehicle because you're taking too much weight off of the front tires.
The best advice is to always have more truck than what you think you need. I pull a small 17ft 3,000 pound trailer with a Ram 1500 Big Horn with the 5.7 Hemi. It’s plenty of truck. If I get a bigger trailer, I’ll get a bigger truck.
Agreed on this comment!!
I do the same. Tundra with a 3500 lb trailer.
What a knucklehead
We had a half ton when we purchased our first trailer. I did two trips in it and was almost blown off the road on our second trip. Our trailer was just too long and the truck was too light. Before we went to Texas I traded the F150 in for the F250 and it has been night and day. Ignore the salesmen when they say. “You’ll be fine, this 1/2 ton has a tow package.” Lesson learned for us. Great video as always!
Thanks for the kind words!! Yeah I am done buying 1/2 ton trucks. I did it to myself twice so I have no excuse!
I haul a 37ft travel rig , with my 2017 F-150,( 3.5 Ecobeast) with absolutely no problem, we travel cross country, have been traveling for the last 6yrs now, Truck runs strong, our trailer performes flawlessly!
Thank for sharing your experience. While this may work for you, we encourage our viewers to always crunch the numbers, based on their tow vehicle, and make sure they are towing within the limits of that vehicle. In the end each of us are responsible for maintaining the safety of ourselves, and the rest of the motoring public, by staying within the manufacturers limits on all weights.
How many miles you have on your truck
@@KeithWilliams-uw9ym I have 110,000, orig turbo's only replaced the coils and plugs, and upgraded the suspension, rough country, with control arms, big Yokohama's, aftermarket calipers and pads.
What did you do to your suspension to haul your camper? I also have a 3.5 Ecoboost. Thanks!
You are capping! I have a 32 foot rv and there's no way a 1500 or a 150 can tow that big of a trailer let alone 37 feet 😮 37 foot rv is way too long and heavy for a half ton it must be the scariest ride ever. There's no way you can keep that rv stable on the road with a half ton we ain't stupid bro!
Went to a an Rv Show where a guy was saying he wouldnt even pull a pop up with a half ton. I told him not everyone has over a 100k to buy a mew 3/4 ton. He told me that if you dont have the 100k then you have no business camping or even going on vacation. That told me all I needed to know. Probably the same person who wont allow RVs over 5 years old in a rv park. I went to a buddy who has worked on and towed trailers for over 30.years. He told me that half tons can pull most trailers 28 ft and under. I pull my 24 ft Wildwood just fine with my Ram 1500 with upgraded shocks and 10 ply tires.
You will get a lot of howling about this; my half ton bla, bla, bla but you are right. More tow vehicle is always better and I have personal experience.
Well done video and explanation of weights. Thank you for sharing. Peace and Safe Travels.
Thanks Graig!!
Great video…. You do an excellent job explaining the issue. You’ll probably get A Lot of views on this video. Our half ton towing video went semi-viral. 😃
Thank you!! We had one on backing up a trailer that went crazy. That one alone will probably get us over the 4k watch hours by the end of the week.
I created this one simply because I wish I had this information before. I, like many folks, just assumed that towing capacity is the magic number. We soon found out that was not the case with a 1/2 ton truck.
@@ourrvsunsets I’ve been thinking about doing a “backing the trailer” video after we pull it out of storage next month. I guess I should do it. 😋
@@TwoTravelingTeachers Dude, the one I did was a short simple 2 minute video that I never expected to go anywhere. It now has 68K of views. It probably took me a couple hours to make which is nothing compared to all our other videos. Gotta love the TH-cams.
@@ourrvsunsets 👍🏻
That will help your other videos get discovered and certainly give your channel a boost.
I'm sure I can speak to the tune of many newbies to RVing. When I bought my truck way back, had no intentions on RVing. Somethings happened and we decided to jump in buy a travel trailer. I too have a 2019 Ram 1500 Bighorn with the 5.7 Hemi with 3.21 Gears. We started out with a 2021 Forest River Wildwood X-Lite 24RLXL, then upgraded to our 2022 Grand Design 260RL. We are very close to your specs. Honestly can't say that I have had that terrible of an experience hauling mine around. I've done multiple Severe Thunderstorms and even had a trip out to Texas where I had 20 to 30 mph headwinds that killed the gas mileage from my average 9 to 6 mpg. Then again I use Haul Mode with traction control off and limit my transmission to 6th gear. The 260RB hasn't given us any sway issues and use an external brake controller that I feel is dialed in. I also run my tires at 40 PSI on the truck and trailer at 65PSI. However great video and explanation on the numbers. If it was a perfect world and money wasn't an issue, id agree to go with as much truck as you can get. Then again this fits my weekend warrior efforts. 73's (Best Wishes).
Thanks for the comment John. I think for us the fact that we were running right at the maximum load capacity for our RAM 1500 was definitely adding to the sway issue. Glad to hear that you're not experiencing those same issues. It's no fun dealing with instability on a long drive.
I know there are going to be several other options on this topic like you said....
But here is mine thru years of experience.
1, One of many thing to take into consideration is the length of the tow vehicle. The shorter the
Tow vehicle wheel base the less control it will have to off set any adverse movement from the trailer.
2, weight of the tow vehicle, if the vehicle is light it will not have as firm foot print to the road surface.
3, how heavy duty is the entire suspension, (front and back) springs, shocks,bushing and even after market upgrades, (air bags to help load control.)
4, engine, transmission, differential gearing, (horse power, torque to move everything down the road at a safe speed.)
Nicely done! We started with a half ton towing our 30 ft travel trailer, but were on the lookout for an upgrade. Our initial problem was the engine getting hot in the South Dakota mountains. We found a prestine used F350 in Montana later and quickly snatched it up. Its the gas engine but what a difference it made. We love it!
We're currently looking for our upgrade. Thanks for the comment!!
I tow a 2500rl with a F150 half ton. Upgraded the shocks all around with Billstein 5100s and added air bags that I’m really not using with just 10psi towing. Tows great
For us even if we beef up the suspension we still just need more payload when we have to carry gear for work. Thanks for watching and commenting!!!
@@ourrvsunsets get it as mine is only 1700 lbs payload which goes fast. Luckily I stay under it but would like more for sure.
@@bobcade yeah, mine is 1788 but but I lose a good chunk of that with my 6’4” 330lb fat a$$ 😄
@@ourrvsunsets I’m 151 and wife is (oh I know better). Was going to ask what hitch you are using as when I first got mine it was all over the road, moved to an E4, shocks and bags and it’s like night and day.
@@bobcade We have a Husky hitch that's rated at 1200lbs. I thought about a Hensley but that would just add more weight onto the truck.
Great video! Totally agree. It's always better to have more truck than not enough. Just for the simple reason of if you ever want to upgrade to a bigger trailer. We haven't even lived in ours and we look at bigger ones. Lol. Safe travels. God bless
We do the same thing. We've been looking at motorhomes lately because that's always fun! Thanks for watching and commenting!
New trailer owner, 2 years, 1500 miles with trailer, towing with a 2022 Ford F150 Tremor 3.0 eco boost turbo, newest sway control and weight distribution system, no issues so far except the wind like you discussed while going through Mojave. The trailer is a 24 ft transcend so nothing big. Thank you for the info.
Thank you for your video. Well done. Our saga is similar to yours. Started with a Tacoma and high wall tent trailer (3K GVWR). Kept Tacoma, traded that for 21' Rockwood Roo hybrid travel trailer (4900 GVWR). This was at the limit for the Tacoma's capability, but worked well for us. Traded in the trusty Tacoma for a Ram 1500 ecodiesel with the thought of upgrading the trailer in the future. The Ram towed the Roo great! Traded up for a 28' Lance travel trailer (6400 GVWR), which worked by the numbers with the Ram. Pulling and stopping was not the issue. The towing experience itself belied the numbers as did yours. Traded the 2021 1500 for a 2020 2500. It made all the difference in the world. Now, keeping the Lance under that 6400 GVWR, that's another video altogether. Cheers!
We just did the upgrade as well. We were planning to go with a RAM 2500 but stumbled across a creaming deal on a Chevy Silverado 2500HD. It had more bells and whistles than the RAM Tradesman we were looking at and close to the same price, so we snatched it up. So far we love driving it, but have yet to pull our trailer with it. The numbers now are great for pulling our trailer.
We've also decided to change out our hitch to an Anderson WDH. The hitch is lighter and will be easier for Toni to hook and unhook if she needs to. We'll be doing an install and review video of that hitch once we have a few miles on the hitch.
@@ourrvsunsets - What a coincidence, we just last week swapped our Eaz Lift Trekker hitch for an Andersen WDH! The less weight and easier handling are also what led me to the Andersen. I have only just set it up and not really travelled with it, but did drive several miles to the CAT scale to get some weight data. I will follow along with you as you set up and adjust yours. We don't have another trip until we head to the Russian River/Jenner area (Salt Point State Park) later in June. It's an area we've enjoyed before. I'll check back in to share any findings I may have about the Andersen.
Edit to add: After the 1500, I think you'll really appreciate towing with your new 3/4 ton Silverado.
Great information! We completely agree. Just curious, were there items in your truck that you could have stored in the trailer during towing? We do not keep anything in our truck during towing and move all of our truck stuff into the trailer for this very reason. It's a pain to move it all back and forth, but important for us to be within the legal limits. Love your infographics! Really made it make sense. Well done!
For that trip to Deadwood we had gear in both the truck and trailer. We started with just gear in the truck and were way over on the truck GVWR. We moved some gear to the trailer, and then had to move it around in the trailer to find the magic spot where we were basically at max weight on the GVWR of the truck.
That was also before we were full-timing. Now that we're full-time we have even more stuff in the trailer so adding in more video gear for a job is not an option. For us the 3/4 ton is the only way we're going to stay legal on the weights.
Curb weight of the truck includes all fluids, including full fuel tank. Also, your trailer weight numbers in your example didn’t include the hitch weight. You would need to go back over the scales without the trailer and calculate the difference on the truck axles. So you don’t have as much cushion on tow capacity as you think you do. BUT, I totally agree that payload is usually the limiting factor for half tons and towing.
We went directly from a 1500 (with a 6,000 lb. TT) to a RAM 3500 (now towing a 9,000 lb. TT) and so glad we did. Recently went from Minnesota to Texas (for the eclipse) an d experienced almost constant crosswinds with gusts to 45 MPH. Then coming back, dealt again with 25-30 MPH winds gusting to 45. With the 3500, it required a bit more care and a little less speed, but it was a world different from the 1500 that would have been a MUCH slower drive mixed with bursts of terror.
Yep, a bigger truck makes all the difference. Having gone from a 1500 to a 2500 to a 3500, I can honestly say each step made things easier and more comfortable to tow.
How was the eclipse? We stumbled into one last year in Gallup, New Mexico and it was quite astonishing!
I don't have a truck. I don't have a trailer. I have no need to learn any of this. Watched the whole thing anyway, absolutely rapt. So much straightforward information in such clear and concise presentation!
Thank you Mike, that means a lot!
I pulled a 22MLE (smaller trailer) across Wyoming with a 1/2 ton that was well within specs. With a 20-30mph side wind, it was miserable. That much wind will push anything around.
We learned going through Wyoming that the wind in that state is nothing to mess with.
Great info. I actually have a 1/2 ton Chevy Silverado with the 3.0 Duramax Diesel and I love it. We just drove through 20-30 mph winds up and down some steep grades in the desert and Tehachapi and it was totally fine. It also comes down to lifestyle. Since we camp once every couple months or so and my truck is my daily driver for work, it just makes more sense to have a 1/2 ton as a 3/4 ton would not be practical for my daily commute. I love the versatility of it. I get 25-30 mpg in my 30 minute daily commute and then I can hook it up to my trailer (2023 2500RL) when we go camping and I’m getting 12-13 mpg pulling and it pulls it like a champ. We’ve been over 3,000 miles in our trailer since September of 2022 and I’ve never had a white knuckle experience.
Sounds like you found a way to make it work! I think if we were just camping, and not carrying all the video gear we would have been in a better place. Honestly power wise the RAM is a beast and we had zero problems going up and down mountain passes, and we have the 5.7L HEMI gas engine. For us it was the instability at max weight that was no fun. Thanks as always for watching and commenting Grant!
Oh yea, that 3.0 is the best engine out there. We tow a 32 foot grand design, 6600lb trailer without any issues. I'm limited to a half ton truck because of my driveway size (we live in the city) and I don't regret it at all. Tows flawlessly and 28 mpg unloaded? Yes please.
Just what I needed. I have a 2023 tundra trd pro, just bought a 25 ft airstream. I think I may need a bigger truck……payload is only 1400 pds since it is so heavy/hybrid. Well done!
Glad I could help
I tow a slightly lighter travel trailer with a 2017 ram 1500. I sure wish I could go back in time and buy a heavy duty truck. Every time my family and I go camping, I am easily 300 pounds over payload capacity, even utilizing a weight distribution hitch, and if I bring my generator and some water, that can go up by several hundred pounds. It’s not that the truck can’t do it, it can and it does. It would do it much more comfortably and within specifications had I just bought a larger truck in the first place. Hopefully next year, I will have an F350, but I’m gonna keep working this one for the time being.
I know exactly what you mean by wishing you had bought a bigger truck! We went from 1500 to a 2500 to a 3500 all in the span of a year. It was an expensive mistake. You're on the right path looking at the 3500. Just go big so you have ample room to upgrade in the future.
This was amazing!! We use to use our Tundra for our 25 foot trailer but we loved our tundra and kept it when we got the class A. Man your filming is amazing love the graphics so much we seriously need to hang we have so much to learn from u. You did all your research and you are really a natural talking unto the camera. We are so excited to watch how fast your channel grows. Please don't forget about us!!! Can't wait to see what is next!!
We would never forget you two, we love your channel!!! As for our channel growing it's growing slowly, unfortunately right now we are so busy with work that we haven't had the time to produce new content. Currently we have 13 videos, including a 30 minute TV special, to produce by the end of May. But, after that we get on the road and will be producing travel content again.
Thank you so much for the kind words on our content, and yes, we still plan to figure out where we can meet up this summer. We need to have beers, good food and lost of time around a fire getting to know each other better!
@@ourrvsunsets Well we are all about the work hard play hard philosophy and the work helps pay for our habits!! Too much work can be a good problem. Your not growing that slow I swear we need to find the secret to this but honestly we are having more fun then we thought plus meeting cool new friends. Yes whenever you have some dates let us know we cant wait to meet up. I think the closest we will get to you is in June we are going to Reno then Tahoe and on the way back hanging in Bend for a while. Until then we will have to worship you from afar!
Thanks for the info. I have a 1500 Ram also and have been wondering about the hauling of a trailer.
@@rickrichardson5329 me too
Well done! I think it’s the first time I understand the alphabet soup!!!
Yay!!!! I'm glad I was able to help you understand it. It can be daunting at first since there are so many different weights, and they all interact with each other in some way. Thanks for watching Danielle.
Well, you put everything into perspective. I used to haul a Mobile Suites 43' weighing 20k plus or minus. It was very heavy but I had a GMC dually turbo diesel so I never thought about all the weight ratings. So, now I'm looking to purchase a 2021 Tundra 4x4 and a Grand Design 2500RL. I may want to rethink either the Toyota or the TT... I've been on several Tundra forums and was told to stay under 7000 towing and I will be fine. I'm rethinking the Tundra and getting a GMC 2500 Diesel... But I love the Tundra... I think the Tundra would be fine traveling from East Tennessee to Florida and back but I was hoping to get in a camping trip to Colorado and possibly Utah... Not sure the Tundra will handle it. I have lots to thing about. Thanks for the video.. RT
Yeah, I don't think I would go with a Tundra for pulling the 2500 RL, especially if you're going to be pulling the rockies. As for the GMC it's a great choice, we have a Silverado 2500HD, but be aware there is currently an issue with the trailer brake connecting and disconnecting on the 2024 model Chevy and GMC 2055's and 3500's. We did a video on the issue, you can find it here... th-cam.com/video/RxBZN3Uac04/w-d-xo.html
We tow a 2500RL with a F-150 powerboost. We're right at the limit but we make it work. One thing was that you need to add back the tongue weight of the trailer to your trailers GVW. If you had 5900 on the trailer axles and 900lbs of pre-WDH tongue weight, you were probably closer to 6800 lbs trailer weight. Also, you prob didn't have your WDH dialed in enough; 4k on the rear axle and only 3k on the front means you probably could have shifted another 450 off the rear, with 300 going to the front and another 150 to the trailer axles. That would have put you closer to the 6900 GVWR of the truck. The powerboost is even more payload limited than your Ram so we're used to measuring out and distributing every lb. But we also only use the trailer a couple times a year and use it as a daily driver 90% of the time otherwise; if we were semi-full timers, we would definitely have gotten a 3/4 ton or heavier.
We're full timers so that's definitely one of the reasons we'll be upgrading. As for the WDH not being adjusted perfectly you're probably spot on with that as the dealer installed it and we haven't made any adjustments to it since. Quick question on your response though as you lost me a bit and I genuinely want to understand what you were saying....
You mentioned that I was probably 6800lbs on the trailer, but I'm not sure how that is. If the scale is measuring 5900lbs why would it really be 6800lbs. Unless you are saying that the WDH is shifting the weight forward, but isn't that what it's supposed to do? Sorry if I don't understand it, in my mind if the scale says it's 5900lbs it's 5900lbs.
Thanks for the comment, you have the gears in my brain spinning around for sure!!
I do not own/pull a travel trailer with my RAM 2500 4x4 Hemi 6.4 but we do use it on road trips occasionally. It is also my daily driver. The payload is 3130 pounds which has worked well with 5 adults+luggage. When we recently hauled a small load of stone blocks, the acceleration was a bit slower but increased stopping distance must be anticipated. When we travel, we stay in full accommodations rather than in a travel trailer.
I use a Pro Pride hitch system. I have driven to and from Texas to North Carolina a number of times with a 30' and my 2017 RAM 1500 Eco diesel. No issues with the Texas wind. The hitch is amazing.
I agree that a good weight-distribution hitch is essential for pulling rigs. This is also an area where you shouldn't skimp. The WD hitch has to be rated for the tongue weight of the rig and needs good sway control. A good one will increase the safety of towing and good sway control will make it MUCH less tiring to pull the rig down the road. Don't skimp on the weight-distribution hitch!
I've heard a lot of good things about Pro Pride although I have never used one.
Good presentation, but I think you misunderstand the numbers assigned to you 1/2 ton truck. The Dept of Transportation has a formula used to assign weight ratings to a truck. The DOT cares about two things. 1) How weight effects the roads. Heavy 18 wheel trucks can load up and carry enough weight that the roads will be damaged, so they would like to put limits on weight. 2) For RVers etc they tweak the formula's to improve STOPPING DISTANCE. You can see this when you compare the specs on a 1 ton dually vs 3/4 ton truck with idential motor, transmission, rear end rear ratio. The difference in weight ratings has to do with stopping distance not carry weight.
Stopping distance is obviously important. But exceeding the specified weight on the door sticker is never a good idea.
@@ourrvsunsets My point is that the door sticker weights don't mean what people think they mean. The real weights that do count are the tire load weights. Axel weights next. But, I've never seen an axel fail when over loaded. A truck will pull whatever it will pull.
You need to keep in mind that if your truck is overloaded and you have an accident, your insurance may decline your claim if it comes out that you’re overloaded.
@@britup1 Thank you for adding this. This is a very valuable point!
Good video. I like how you broke down the numbers. When I first got into serious towing a few years ago, it took me quit a while to figure out what the numbers really meant and how they played together. First time viewer. Honestly, I decided to watch this video because I thought that you were going to say, "1/2 ton trucks are fine for pulling 30' trailers." I agree with all of the points that you made. I had a Chevy 1500HD. We upgraded our ultra-lite bumper-pull rig to a little longer toy hauler bumper pull (so that we could bring our 950# Harley Touring bike on our trips). The numbers with the new trailer, with bike aboard, were okay, but barely (as measured by CAT Scales). The chassis was fine, but the motor wasn't. On almost any hill, the 1/2 ton Chevy just couldn't hold any amount of speed. Plus, I 'felt' the toy hauler behind up, much more than I did with the previous rig. My wife and I had been planning to upgrade trucks at the end of this year, but after towing the rig to an Alabama mountain campground, I made the command decision that we needed a 3/4 ton before our planned trip to the Colorado Rockies (which at that time was a couple months away). We chose a Chevy 2500 High Country. Love it. I pulled the rig (with bike) easily through the Rockies. I didn't like the price that we had to pay for the new truck, but ultimately, it was a good investment for our RV situation. Personally, I think that it is a bad idea, to pull 900+# rigs with 1/2 ton trucks. Even if the truck feels like it pulls the rig just fine, if any of the numbers is exceeded and an accident occurs, it could be bad news for the truck owner, in addition to it being a safety concern.
Final thought on this topic. Take the truck-and-rig, both empty and fully loaded, to a Cat Scale. Check these numbers against the truck, trailer, combined ratings. I've actually created a spreadsheet that I keep on Google Docs, and I record my Cat Scale numbers in this spreadsheet. That way, I can sit down with the numbers and make sure that everything is good. Plus, if I ever get checked by the police (which isn't a very likely situation, unless maybe involved in an accident), I can show the actual numbers on the spot. I take safety seriously and don't want to cut corners when pulling our rig.
Thanks for the comment!! I completely agree that you need to have the right size truck to pull your rig. Some of the stuff we see pulling into campgrounds just amazes me. 40' toy haulers being pulled by a half ton with all of the weekend party gear in the bed of the truck. It's just crazy!
@@ourrvsunsets, I hear you. Rear fender pushed almost to the ground and front bumper way too high. My wife and I will sit back and muse, "What are they thinking?"
It would be good if you had the KG weights as well. If I went to a 3/4 ton truck I would have to upgrade my licence.
We tow a 26' Grand Design travel trailer with an F250 7.3L gasser, after having towed with a "half-ton" SUV. Night and day difference. No wrestling with the alligator, the truck tells the TT where to go, not vice versa. Travel days are enjoyable now.
Yep, it makes a huge difference when you have the right truck to tow with!
I think with a longer bed the 6 hour drive would have went better. A longer wheelbase helps with a longer trailer.
Great video !
This happened ti me. Purchased a Ram 1500 first than purchased a GD Imagine 2400bh. After the first trip pulling the trailer I realized I had the wrong truck . We ended up trading the 1500 in for a Ram 3500 a month later .
Just beware most 2500 have small payload capacity . Some even less than the 1500’s . In my case it just made sense to get the 3500.
Good choice on the RAM 3500. We went with a Silverado for our upgrade, but I'm not all that happy with it.
Payload is a major issue on diesel 3/4 tons, due to the weight of the engine, but a lot of the gas 3/4 tons are ok on payload. You may still run short with some of the higher trim levels, which tend to have lower payloads.
Agree about 30ft+ trailers, for myself. I think the biggest issue is the size of the sidewalls, vs the weight. For something a little smaller, a half ton might be the best option, but you do need to look at the specific payload and gvwr for the truck you're buying, vs believing manufacturer estimates. In my case, for my 24' 5500 gvwr TT, it's a choice between keeping my newish car and getting an older 3/4 ton, or trading in the car and getting a new half ton, since I'll need decent fuel mileage for long road trips when not towing. Haven't made a decision yet. The other issue you need to be aware of towing with a newer half ton is many have a small fuel tank that's fine when not towing, but becomes a real problem when you're only getting 8-10 mpg. The 2025 Ram 1500 doesn't even offer an optional larger tank on any trim below Laramie.
When you were showing your cat scale weights I think you miscalculated on your trailer weight. You showed 5900 for your trailer weight. Actual trailer weight needs to have Your tongue weight added to the 5900. Scale thr truck by itself to get heavy and light drive axle numbers. Add tongue and 5900. That’s your total weight of your trailer. FYI. 27 years otr truck driver here. I enjoy your videos
That's not correct in this case. The CAT scale measures ground pressure under the tires, which is where all of these numbers come from. Yes his trailer weighs more than 5900, but his trailer weight rating is based on the weight under those axles. CDL flatbed trucker.
I started with a Toyota Tundra 1/2 ton.... I was wondering why I didn't see many Toyota trucks at RV parks when I started out. They all have limited tow capability and capacity. I now have a 1 ton Ford F350 and I can say is to everyone get a bigger truck....It makes MUCH better difference.
We just upgraded to a 2024 Chevy Silverado 2500HD. We haven't pulled the trailer with it yet, but I got a feeling the difference will be night and say!
Very clear presentation …. The graphics are sharp and well presented.
Thanks!!!
Good video of what all those numbers mean, thanks. I recall in your video that you stated that Curb weight does not include any fuel. I thought that seemed odd so I went to my vehicle operations manual of a 2023 1500 Ram Classic Epress, and on page 112 of this manual is states this: CURB WEIGHT
The curb weight of a vehicle is defined as the total weight of the vehicle with all fluids, including vehicle fuel, at full capacity conditions, and with no occupants or cargo loaded into the vehicle. The front and rear curb weight values are determined by weighing your vehicle on a commercial scale before any occupants or cargo are added. If I am miss reading this please let me know as I don't want to spread misinformation. Thanks again for this video.
Great comment!! I'll have to now check the manual on our new RAM 3500 and see if that is the case. I kind of hope it is since we have a 50 gallon fuel tank on it. Thanks for the comment!!
Don’t get a 30 foot trailer stick to a 20 to 24 Half ton will just pull it fine and you won’t have to buy a 3/4 ton pick up at a big extra charge to you remembering if you buy a new RV, there should be no cost with your present truck.
Enjoyed the informative video on the Towing explanations.! Thank you!
You're welcome Philip, thanks for watching and commenting!
Same thing happened to us. We had a 1500 and bought a 5th wheel that was advertised as half ton towable. Are numbers were right but it definitely wasn’t safe. I like to say it’s half ton towable - not half ton stoppable. So we upgraded the truck to a 3500 and now Shelley thinks she needs a bigger 5th wheel 😂.
2014 F150, 5.0 7700lb towing cap. I tow a loaded 24 foot 5500lb TT across country 7000km round trip each winter and have a great WDH with anti sway. Stay at around 60mph. Only issue is wind!!! So i watch the wind and never drive into a big nose or side wind iys just not worth the risk and crappy fuel economy
We towed through Kansas last year with a strong headwind and it was crazy what it did you our fuel millage. I was waiting for the average millage per gallon reading on the dash to go from Miles per Gallon to Gallons per Mile.
Good video. Really well done. I have a 3500 lb Jayco trailer that I pull with my 5.7 L tundra and I still worry about this stuff. I bent my rear drive shaft towing it even. Go figure. Thinking about airbags now.
It's one of those things that we are always keeping an eye on. With our SRW RAM we have to make sure we don't overload.
Generally I agree with this. If one cannot be sure of their numbers then a 3/4 ton is probably the way to go.
I tow a 28’ Imagine XLS with a half ton. I have a spreadsheet I use to keep track of all my number calculations and validate it with occasional trips to a CAT scale.
My payload capacity is the closest number I get to exceeding. Because of that I don’t haul with any cargo in the truck bed. Also on a half ton a weight distribution anti sway hitch is a must. I’ve had no real issues with wind or control issues where I feel I’m white knuckling it so long as I’m not driving like a mad man. I keep it to 65 MPH.
That said, I think a 3/4 would probably be a ride improvement as I do get some bounce on poor roads. I have overrated tires and have considered adding airbags for damping.
You sir are doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. You know your numbers and you've done the proper calculations to stay within the numbers. You're correct about needing a weight retribution hitch for a half ton. I would argue that you need one no matter what the size of the truck because most will offer some anti sway protection as well. We moved to an Andersen weight distribution hitch after moving to the 3/4 ton and love it!!
Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@ourrvsunsets the other piece of the puzzle for us is we are not full timers…only weekend warriors. So the truck is also a daily driver. So that plays into fuel consumption. The fuel consumption on a V8 gaser is horrible when towing. I get somewhere in the 7.25 to 8.75 MPG range. I’ve heard a diesel 3/4 ton typically gets better mileage so I’d assume with the higher price of diesel the price per mile would be comparable or better.
Plus for us the truck is nearly paid off. Definitely don’t want to be upside down in a payment. Plus vehicle are outrageous at the moment. It’s not a great time as a buyer. But hopefully that bubble will burst soon.
@@misteraon Wow! You just went through all the stuff that went through our heads when purchasing our new truck. The main reason for us to upgrade was that we were going full-time. Additionally we have gear to cary in the truck so that puts us over the GVW of our RAM 1500.
We wound up going with a gasser and not a diesel because we needed the payload more than the pulling power. Our trailer is not all that heavy for a 3/4 ton truck. Had we not been going full-time we probably would have stayed with our RAM.
@@ourrvsunsets yep definitely a lot more pieces to the 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton puzzle than most people realize and it really comes down to each use case. But generally I would say 3/4 ton is a better option…especially if one is uncertain of the numbers or doesn’t care to be on the verge of out trailering their truck. A 3/4 ton also offers more stopping power. That’s an important point most don’t consider especially if the trailer brakes malfunction.
With a trailer that light and you're fighting to keep it under control and white knuckle driving, that tells me that your setup is not correct. You need to be sure that your truck is equipped with - air bags, 10 ply tires, upgraded shocks and the correct axle ratio, - then you need a really good sway elimination hitch (Hensley or Propride), lastly beside that you're running 10 ply trailer tires, upgraded suspension (ie moryde 3000) and possibly shocks. You'll find that then your 1/2 ton will tow that trailer like a dream.
That's crazy you would do this! Our 2012 Dodge Ram has a tow capacity of 10250. We use it to tow our 37 foot trailer only 15 miles to the nearest state park. Would never consider any highway or mountain driving with it.
You would be surprised what we see pulling into RV parks! Our RAM 1500 had a payload of 1780lbs. which was fairly decent for a half ton. However we did have to pay attention how we loaded things to make sure we were within the manufacturers specs. We've since moved on from that rig and that truck. We had some great times in it though. Thanks for the watch and the comment!!
I agree about GVW, but you might also equate that to payload capacity on the truck.
Question: with a scale weight slip you compared the trailer axle weight to the trailer GVW. What about hitch weight? Does a trailer GVW include the weight that carries on the hitch or does the trailer GVW only relate to the axles?
This is a really good point, and that was a mistake on my part. The tongue weight from the truck needs to be applied to the GVW of the trailer when calculating the trailer GVW.
First of coils spring rears are not ment for a ton of weight..... Second there's a lot of weight in the rear of the camper which is hard to avoid with any camper...... Try a Hensley hitch or pro glide before you buy a different truck..... I promise you the sway will be gone
Great info thanks
Thanks Mike, glad you found it helpful!
2020 Tundra towing a Casita
You might want to look into a 3.92 gear instead of running a 3.21 gear ratio
The diff ratio has nothing to do with the AWR or GVWR
Cool! I have only been to BS to play golf and stay at Casa Del Zoro. Thanks!
Helpful video but you didn't talk about payload capacity on your truck and that is important,,,the tonque weight of your trailer subtracts off the payload of your truck and some people over look that number
Agreed, but I would also argue that the payload capacity is also part of the GVWR of the truck as well. For the most part if you're over the payload capacity, you're gonna be over the GVWR of the truck.
Rather than pay 100k for 3/4 truck buy a smaller trailer... yall don't "need" a 30ft trailer
Actually we decided we needed a bigger rig to full-time in so we bought a 1 ton and a 35 foot 5th wheel. But I do appreciate your assessment of our full-time RV living needs that you came to while knowing absolutely nothing about us. It shows confidence in your decision making abilities!!
Great video and explanation!
Thanks Brian!!
We tow a 22 foot Keystone Bullet with a F150, which has a towing capacity of 9100. Yet we are very close to the payload limit. So yes.
As long as you're within limits, and the towing experience isn't a white knuckle situation, you'll be fine.
I think one of the other issues we had was that our 1500 was a RAM which uses coil springs and not leaf springs. There are plusses and minuses to this. The plus is that the truck rides like a luxury car even when empty. The minus is that the coils don't have as much lateral stability as traditional leaf springs. When we were pulling close to max weight it was not an enjoyable experience!
Thanks for the watch and the comment. Safe travels!!
When calculating the gvwr for the trailer you need to include the pin weight. You where just looking at the weight on the axles.
Technically this is correct, but when in the towing configuration that hitch weight is being supported by the truck. The actual weight on the axles is represented on the scales.
@@ourrvsunsets You suggested that you had 2500# of available capacity on the trailer and that is not correct. The GVWR for the trailer is not based just on what the axles are carrying, but the weight the frame is carrying. From a liability standpoint. Having the trailer loaded over the GVWR is just as bad as having the truck above the GVWR.
It would have been helpful to know if is just using a bill hitch or an equalizer hitch with or without a sway controller.. I'm 79 and remember seeing in the 1960s and 1970 people towed fairly large trailers with large passenger cars. That would have been impossible without an equalizer hitch. The equalizer, especially with a sway control and a properly loaded trailer handled the weight and took out most of the sway from cross winds, etc. remarkably well considering the tow vehicle had no suspension upgrades, except sometimes overload springs and probably an auxiliary transmission cooler. I'm not saying it was a good idea for such rigs, but pickups in those days did not have diesel engines or as much HP and torque as some cars did then. Today with large trailers, a 250/2500, the right axle rations and equalizer hitches it is much safer. Just an old geezers 2 cents worth.
Hey old geezer, your 2 cents are spot on!! For our RAM 1500 we did have a weight distribution hitch with sway control. We were using a Husky TS Centerline hitch. When we upgraded to our 3/4 ton Silverado we also switched over to an Andersen Weight Distribution Hitch with sway control and we LOVED that hitch. It was so much easier to hook and unhook with it. We now have a RAM 1 ton that we pull a 5th wheel with. We went with a GEN-Y Gooseneck hitch for that.
As for the old days of people hauling rigs with passenger cars. Back then cars were a different breed than they are now, and had more in common with the trucks of today. They had big beefy steel frames, not the uni-body light weight cars of today. They were also powered by beefy V-8 engines that had plenty of power. I know all of this because one of those lead sleds was the first car I ever owned. A 1973 Oldsmobile Delta 88. I miss that car! But yes, suffice to say, the cars of today are certainly not the same.
Thanks for the comment amigo! As someone that isn't far behind ya when it comes old geezer status, I welcome input from those with move life experience. Experience is one of the advantages of aging!
I made a mistake. Bought a 1500 to haul about 7k lbs worth of a 20' trailer. I haven't driven anything less than a 3/4 (for work) in like 10 years and forgot just how much less stable 1/2 tons are. We had a Silverado 1500 that we overloaded with excavators and such, bought new, sold with 83k hard miles. We've had 2 F350s and a 2500 Ram since then and its a night and day difference. I bought an F150 for personal use and was less than impressed while towing with it for the first time. Had it for about 6 months and looking to trade it in on a gasser F250 or 2500 Ram asap. I paid outright for the F150 so I'll probably lose about 4-6k on trade in which sucks, but lessons learned. A 3/4ton should be more than enough truck for any future plans I'd may concoct, and I'll drive the thing till the wheels fall off.
We went the full gamut of trucks in a year. From a 1500, to a 2500, to a 3500. I don't recommend doing that for purely financial reasons!
You didn’t mention a WDH. I assume that means that you don’t use one? It would make a huge difference of you did. I wouldn’t choose to tow that trailer with that truck without a properly sized and installed WDH and sway control.
We actually did use a WDH with that truck and trailer combination. We had a Husky TS Centerline WDH.
Ok. But what do people consider a large trailer? > 29 ft? I think that may be the main argument. It seems like there are 1/2 tons that could tow a 25 ft trailer if equipped. Is that considered a large trailer?
Honestly I think a "Large trailer" is what you consider is large trailer. Some people don't feel comfortable hauling a 24' trailer, I am fine towing 40' and over as I used to river tractor trailers for a living.
As for how large of a trailer a half ton can tow, that really does come down to the weight numbers, not the length. If the trailer falls within the payload rating of the truck, then you're good to go no mater what the length.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
Hello my friend watching from korea enjoy and keep safe my friend full watch and support all the time done to your channel 😊
Went from a Ram 1500 to an F350 7.3 gas. Night and day.
You convinced me!
Great Video with lots of great info. One question I have is, What make of weight distribution hitch do you use?
When we were towing with the RAM we had a Husky TS Centerline hitch with 1200lbs bars on it. Since then we have upgraded our truck to a Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD and we now tow with an Andersen WDH. I love the Andersen. It is so much easier to hook up and unhook with it. We also get no sway, but that probably has a lot to do with moving to a 3/4 ton truck as well as changing the hitch. Thanks for watching and commenting!!
This video is awesome 👌
Spot on. Been there done that
I agree 100%.However, for me...I would be in favor of upgrading what I have...ie 1500. The primary obvious issue is suspension. A quick easy fix is Firestone air suspension from and rear. The next upgrade would be a beefier trans cooler, and last....E load range tires. Forget the stickers on the truck...this is all you need. If you really want to go 'robust' add add-a-leaf + Firestone air bags in the rear. For the steep grades go slow and watch your oil and water temps.
Totally agree with you. Towed a 32 foot travel trailer with an F150. Now we pull with an F250. Much better!
Yeah, we pull with a Silverado 2500 now and it is night and day better!!!
With half ton I had to wrestle it. With a three-quarter ton I sit back and let it do the work.
We're hoping that will be the case for us too. We just upgraded to a Chevy Silverado 2500HD but haven't pulled the trailer with it yet.
@@ourrvsunsets we went from Silverado 1500 to gas Silverado 2500. Different as day and night.
I pull a 35 ft with my ram 1500 5.7 no problem at all
Glad to hear that's working for ya.
Is that Kubiak at a RV park?
Bigger truck ain't gonna help with slot of wind regardless you gonna rock in the wind I don't know what kind of ram you got I have a 35 foot east to west bunk house sleeps 10 and my 5.7 hemi will pull the hell out of it with no problem
Our 5.7 pulled our trailer great as well. We did upgrade the truck to a 3/4 ton though as we needed more payload. We cary a lot of stuff in the truck.
Good life !
Pretty good video nicely done. But 1st coil spring trucks are not mated for towing does not matter what mfg says there selling a truck. They do ride nice but there are way to many moving pats and attaching parts and coil springs are designed to travel in any direction thus making it difficult to stabilize. For all the Ram lovers you might ask why they don’t use coils on there 3500. Stability is the key - wheels/tires/suspension/ brakes/trans and engine. If your willing to fix all of these issues on a 1/2T then the 30’ TT tows great. But if you aren’t then go buy a bigger truck! I am not just speaking through the hole in my mouth I spent over 45 years in suspension and suspension mfg business.
Hey I like your video
My question to you is I have a 2017 Ram 1500 Crew Cab V8 Hemi Big Horn I want to buy a 5x10 enclosed cargo trailer double axle to work with I'm I good or is that too much weight for my truck to pull
Unfortunately there's not a simple yes or no answer to this. If it's a simple cargo trailer then I am sure you will be able to pull it when it's empty. The issue is how much can you put into the trailer as cargo and still have it not exceed the payload of your truck.
A simple calculation for this is that the trailer will apply 15% of its gross weight to the tow vehicle through a conventional bumper pull hitch. So if there is a published GVW for the trailer you can start there. Multiply the GVW by .15 and that will give you the tongue weight applied to the truck.
For example if the GVW of the trailer is 5000lbs then the tongue weigh would add 750lbs to the truck if the trailer was at full GVW. You would then subtract that from the payload rating of the truck. At that point you would know what payload you have left for anything in the truck including passengers.
Here's a simple calculation based on a truck with 1500lbs of payload capacity...
Payload 1500
Trailer lounge weight 750
Remaining payload 750
Now let's say you weigh 200lbs. We subtract that from the remaining 750lbs and were down to 550lbs of remaining payload the is available to add to the truck. This could be additional passengers, gear in the back of the truck etc...
Does that all make sense?
@ourrvsunsets I will figure it out lol thanks so much for the advice I chose 5x10 because it's not really a big deal to pull thank you sir/maam
You also need to remember this as the owner and driver you are responsible for what you tow...ergo if you get into an accident and they can prove you are over the limit you are toast. Don't just shrug your shoulders.."were only a little over". It's a HIGE deal towing over the limit of what your truck can handle
Yep, this is the absolute truth!! You get run a wreck with an overloaded rig and your insurance can easily say "Sorry amigo, that one's on you!"
Heck, today we saw a guy pulling a giant 5th wheel with a Ford F-150. It was obviously way over weight!! I couldn't imagine having my family riding in something that unsafe!
If you can afford, buy a 1 ton truck, because you will upgrade your trailer one day, with a 1 ton truck you're in good shape you will not have to buy another truck. Make sure you get a diesel. Towing with a 1 ton truck is like day and night compared to a half ton our three-quarter ton. A lot of people are overweight with their trucks and they don't want to admit it but it's better to have more truck than trailer. Better to be safe than sorry.
How true these words are Alvin. We upgraded to a 3/4 ton, and then a year later upgraded to a 5th wheel and now have a 1 ton RAM diesel. I could have saved quite a bit of money had I just gone to the 1 ton in the first place. I now give people the same advice. Thanks for watching and commenting amigo!
Nice video
7:30 wrong. Your trailer weight is 5,900# ..... PLUS your tongue weight .... which can't be determined from your CAT scale ticket. I'm sure you didn't exceed your trailer GVWR or your tow vehicle towing capacity, but you don't have accurate numbers here.
Agreed, I think I had a post on this mentioning that, I need to pin that post. But yes, the GVW of the trailer is actually the scale weight of the loaded trailer and the pin/hitch weight on the truck. You would need a weight on the truck without the trailer attached to calculate this pin/hitch weight. Thank you for pointing this out.
Do you have a link to the towing guide?
I hope my new ram 1500 hemi that has a tow rating of over 12,000 lbs will tow my new 30ft RV that weighs only 4995 lbs... Why cant I ever see these videos BEFORE I buy.....😂... I told the truck salesman what I needed the truck for, but I don't think they care... They just see money...
At that weight I'm betting you're going to be okay. Normally a travel trailer is going to transfer about 15% of its weight to the truck. At 5,000lbs that puts you at 750lbs of tongue weight. That should give you the overhead you need for passengers and additional gear.
Nice graphics!
Thanks Dan!!
Not only is towing too much trailer is unsafe it is illegal. get into an accident and the first thing they will look at is are you over weight.
Not to mention your Insurance company is not going to cover anything if you're towing illegally.
So all you had to do was take some equipment out of the truck and put it into the travel trailer and you would have been under?
Tried that and we could get close, but still the truck was too unstable for a comfortable towing experience. The solution for us was to go to a 3/4 ton.
You don't tow with a dodge ram 1500. You tow with a Ram 1500. Ram has been its own brand since like 2010. Sorry, pet peeve, carry on! :)
Yeah, old habits die hard! But we upgraded our trailer and truck and currently pull with a "RAM 3500" 😉
You was way under on your trailer weight but over on your truck gross weight,so why don’t we just take 280 lbs of the extra camera equipment out of the truck and put it in the camper ,bingo the truck just got back in specs,the trailer is in spec the rear axle weight is in better shape than before,according to where you put the camera equipment, and everything is good in the neighborhood once again . Hells bells let’s even put a few extra lbs in the trailer so we can stop at Buckys and grab a few snacks ,you have plenty of room in your specks to do this . Can a 3/4 ton haul this yes ,yes it can ,can your 1/2 ton haul this and be in specs yes it can , if you know how and where to move your weight to make it happen. Please people ,a 3/4 ton truck can be over loaded just like a 1/2 ton or even a semi can be over loaded ,look at the numbers on your rig, truck and trailer , and if your numbers are good,you are good, if not look at what numbers are off and see where you can make adjustments to get your rig in specs,it might can be done with a simple movement of cargo ,it might mean that a day with 65 mph cross wind might not be the best day for a travel day ,even with a 3/4 ton truck . And yes I pull a 30 ft 2021 Rockwood with a 2021 Ram 1500 and it is within specs and yes I drive at 65 and I think that is about as fast as I need to go even on the interstate,this is the speed I am comfortable,according to road conditions,in bad weather I don’t mind slowing down a bit .
You do you but please do it safely and within specs of your equipment
We actually did move some of the camera gear into the trailer. We also moved that gear around in the trailer twice to get the number in spec. However, we still had to deal with the sway when trucks passed and with wind gusts in the 20 to 30mph range, If the wind was 65mph I wouldn't be on the road at all. Also with the extra gear in the trailer it just becomes a pain in the ass to mover gear around to gain access to things in the trailer.
Because of all of this, and the fact that we have moved to full-time living in out RV, we've upgraded the truck to a Silverado 2500HD 3/4 ton truck. For us that was the right move since towing, which we now do about once a week now, is much more enjoyable with the 3/4 ton, and we have payload to spare. If you're just a weekend warrior and are carrying camping gear to and from your destination once a month, then a 1/2 ton may work well for you. If you're in our situations, full-timing and with lots of cargo, I suggest a 3/4 ton.
ProPride hitch 3500$
F250 10 to 20k more than an F150 lol
Great suggestion, but in our case we didn't have the overhead in payload to make up for the extra weight of the ProPride hitch.
😂😂😂😂
Spot me dear friend
Great explanation and visuals in this video! I hope it reaches lots of people as it will be extremely useful to most rv'ers or those looking to get into the rv'ing world! Alecia from @pavingnewpaths