Truck Question

[PBRdude]

Looking for advice. I have a 33’ TT, GVWR 9,400lbs. I’m searching for a truck capable of safely towing this TT. I’m considering a 2017 Ram 2500 Tradesman Crew Cab 4x4, 6.4L V8 Hemi, 6 speed Auto 66RFE Trans, 4.1 axle ratio. The Dodge charts give Max payload 3037lbs. Max Tow 15,837lbs. I know I need to look at door sticker for actual numbers. The truck has 14,500 miles. Dealer is asking $37,500. Any opinions?

 

[PBRdude]

Oops. 37’ TT

 

[Lunge motorsport]

My thoughts...You appear well within the specs of the tow vehicle you are considering. While the weight appears easily managed the length is considerable for a TT. My experience is that most trucks have very narrow rims as OE. I know that my older 2013 2500 had 7.5'' wide wheels and upgraded/wider tires stock. The TV was pushed around by the smallish 30 TT that I towed. My solution was to increase the rim width to 9''for the same tire. This made a dramatic increase in the truck's stability. Many will increase the tire width believing that they have improved their safety when the effect was actually de stabilizing due to the sidewall flex causing more "wander". Bilstein shocks were a considerable improvement as well. They have 2 versions for trucks 4700 and 5100 series. If your TV is not lifted, I recommend the 4700 series. BTW, I would never lift a TV. Anyway, the lower number Bilstein is specific to non-lifted trucks. Again, many will say that they have had good luck with the 5100 series on non-lifted trucks. My discussions with Bilstein Technical in that regard was not ambiguous. The product specialist remarked that Bilstein would not invest the R&D into 2 different dampers with no apparent advantage.
Good luck in your shopping!

 

[TJ&LadyDi]

Wow! A “37’ TT” is well into 5th wheel territory. Are we really talking about a 37’ straight-pull TT?

If so, I wouldn’t consider anything less than a 1-ton chassis for towing something that long; if I would consider towing it at all. I’d be afraid of the tail wagging the dog with anything less than a 1-ton with stiffer suspension, heavier brakes, etc.. YMMV.

TJ

 

[Gizmo]

The sticker below was on my 2017 F350 1 ton diesel pickup on the hitch itself. Your TT easily could easily exceed that 1,210 Mas Tongue Wt. I would look for a Class V hitch that comes with a max tow package on heavy-duty trucks.

 

[PBRdude]

My thoughts...You appear well within the specs of the tow vehicle you are considering. While the weight appears easily managed the length is considerable for a TT. My experience is that most trucks have very narrow rims as OE. I know that my older 2013 2500 had 7.5'' wide wheels and upgraded/wider tires stock. The TV was pushed around by the smallish 30 TT that I towed. My solution was to increase the rim width to 9''for the same tire. This made a dramatic increase in the truck's stability. Many will increase the tire width believing that they have improved their safety when the effect was actually de stabilizing due to the sidewall flex causing more "wander". Bilstein shocks were a considerable improvement as well. They have 2 versions for trucks 4700 and 5100 series. If your TV is not lifted, I recommend the 4700 series. BTW, I would never lift a TV. Anyway, the lower number Bilstein is specific to non-lifted trucks. Again, many will say that they have had good luck with the 5100 series on non-lifted trucks. My discussions with Bilstein Technical in that regard was not ambiguous. The product specialist remarked that Bilstein would not invest the R&D into 2 different dampers with no apparent advantage.
Good luck in your shopping.

The sticker below was on my 2017 F350 1 ton diesel pickup on the hitch itself. Your TT easily could easily exceed that 1,210 Mas Tongue Wt. I would look for a Class V hitch that comes with a max tow package on heavy-duty trucks.


View attachment 5312

The sticker below was on my 2017 F350 1 ton diesel pickup on the hitch itself. Your TT easily could easily exceed that 1,210 Mas Tongue Wt. I would look for a Class V hitch that comes with a max tow package on heavy-duty trucks.


View attachment 5312

Thanks. According to Heartland my Northtrail TT has a hitch weight of 695lbs at a GVWR of 9600#( not 9400 I posted earlier). Ive read tongue weights are normally between 8-15% of trailer weight so this seems light. It has a double axel. I’ll need to weigh it. The hitch I will use is an E2 Fastway rated at 12,000lbs max tow and 1,200# max hitch. I’ll mostly use this setup for weekend warrior camping, fair weather and flat terrain. Still think I’ll need a one ton? I’d be a bit disappointed if I cant make this safely work with a 3/4 ton truck that will be my ’at home’ vehicle. I appreciate your thoughts!

 

[PBRdude]

My thoughts...You appear well within the specs of the tow vehicle you are considering. While the weight appears easily managed the length is considerable for a TT. My experience is that most trucks have very narrow rims as OE. I know that my older 2013 2500 had 7.5'' wide wheels and upgraded/wider tires stock. The TV was pushed around by the smallish 30 TT that I towed. My solution was to increase the rim width to 9''for the same tire. This made a dramatic increase in the truck's stability. Many will increase the tire width believing that they have improved their safety when the effect was actually de stabilizing due to the sidewall flex causing more "wander". Bilstein shocks were a considerable improvement as well. They have 2 versions for trucks 4700 and 5100 series. If your TV is not lifted, I recommend the 4700 series. BTW, I would never lift a TV. Anyway, the lower number Bilstein is specific to non-lifted trucks. Again, many will say that they have had good luck with the 5100 series on non-lifted trucks. My discussions with Bilstein Technical in that regard was not ambiguous. The product specialist remarked that Bilstein would not invest the R&D into 2 different dampers with no apparent advantage.
Good luck in your shopping!

Thanks. So are you recommending wider tires and better shocks?

 

[Lunge motorsport]

I am not recommending wider tires, I am recommending wider wheels (with the same tires) that must be load rated to at least match your LRE tires.
There are many wheels sold in the 8 bolt config that do not meet the OEM spec.
For example, I was researching Fuel Wheels spec’d for a dually. They are a big name manufacturer, their dually wheels that I found do not meet OEM spec for weight carrying capacity.
This is critical for a working truck.
Without seeing the door sticker for the truck you’re considering, it is impossible to give blessing to the purchase.
My old GMC used stock tires and wider load rated wheels and had an actual 2981# payload. It towed remarkably well at the payload limit but used air bags for ride height adjustment. I also added a Bilstein steering stabilizer.

 

[PBRdude]

I am not recommending wider tires, I am recommending wider wheels (with the same tires) that must be load rated to at least match your LRE tires.
There are many wheels sold in the 8 bolt config that do not meet the OEM spec.
For example, I was researching Fuel Wheels spec’d for a dually. They are a big name manufacturer, their dually wheels that I found do not meet OEM spec for weight carrying capacity.
This is critical for a working truck.
Without seeing the door sticker for the truck you’re considering, it is impossible to give blessing to the purchase.
My old GMC used stock tires and wider load rated wheels and had an actual 2981# payload. It towed remarkably well at the payload limit but used air bags for ride height adjustment. I also added a Bilstein steering stabilizer.

Thanks. I need to do more research. I will def examine the sticker.

 

[Horseshoer]

Wow! A “37’ TT” is well into 5th wheel territory. Are we really talking about a 37’ straight-pull TT?

If so, I wouldn’t consider anything less than a 1-ton chassis for towing something that long; if I would consider towing it at all. I’d be afraid of the tail wagging the dog with anything less than a 1-ton with stiffer suspension, heavier brakes, etc.. YMMV.

TJ

I just bought a 36ft tt. 7200lbs dry, around 2000lbs cargo capacity. I will be pulling with a one ton diesel drw with air ride and I'm a bit leary... no way I would do it with a 3/4 srw even if the numbers made sense. I prefer to have more truck than needed.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Looking for advice. I have a 33’ TT, GVWR 9,400lbs. I’m searching for a truck capable of safely towing this TT. I’m considering a 2017 Ram 2500 Tradesman Crew Cab 4x4, 6.4L V8 Hemi, 6 speed Auto 66RFE Trans, 4.1 axle ratio. The Dodge charts give Max payload 3037lbs. Max Tow 15,837lbs. I know I need to look at door sticker for actual numbers. The truck has 14,500 miles. Dealer is asking $37,500. Any opinions?

Question: Does this rig have coil springs? If it does I would not worry about sway. RAMs box frame and multi point suspension handles very well. Rims wider than factory actually cause suspension problems in the future, and can lead to unsafe conditions. Why because the vehicle geometry is changed for the worse. Stick with factory engineering for best results.

More:

You are well within capacity of the truck. Somehow long seems to scare people. Maneuvering is the big issue for me. If the trailer has been built properly and you are properly loaded then have fun. you should be fine.

Equalizer hitch for that weight is best it keeps proper weight on steering wheels.

Problem I have with what you have said so far is, the weekend warrior statement. Safety comes when you can change your travel plans to accommodate weather. For instance: The popular weather forecast leads you to believe they can forecast 7 days out. Accurately they can forecast 3 days at best. that makes the 3 day weekend in question. As long as your plans are during a fairly docile month or season then no problems with a weekend joy ride.

The point is, For your use weather is key to a safe journey. The truck is capable, the trailer can be effected by wind.

 

[Lunge motorsport]

Question: Does this rig have coil springs? If it does I would not worry about sway. RAMs box frame and multi point suspension handles very well. Rims wider than factory actually cause suspension problems in the future, and can lead to unsafe conditions. Why because the vehicle geometry is changed for the worse. Stick with factory engineering for best results.

More:

You are well within capacity of the truck. Somehow long seems to scare people. Maneuvering is the big issue for me. If the trailer has been built properly and you are properly loaded then have fun. you should be fine.

Equalizer hitch for that weight is best it keeps proper weight on steering wheels.

Problem I have with what you have said so far is, the weekend warrior statement. Safety comes when you can change your travel plans to accommodate weather. For instance: The popular weather forecast leads you to believe they can forecast 7 days out. Accurately they can forecast 3 days at best. that makes the 3 day weekend in question. As long as your plans are during a fairly docile month or season then no problems with a weekend joy ride.

The point is, For your use weather is key to a safe journey. The truck is capable, the trailer can be effected by wind.

Kevin...
Changing rim width does not change the geometry of the suspension. The suspension geometry is tied to ball joint location inside and out and the plane at they articulate. Also geometry changes when the control arm pick up points are changed but wider wheels do not have an effect. Wider wheels with no regard to offset may however change the scrub radius of the tires and can also cause heavier load forces to be applied to the bearings. Wheels spec'd that have the rims additional dimension split to each half of the rim (outer and inner) measured from the hub face will load bearings equally. Best results are achieved with wider wheels within reason and with consideration.
I had an old 90's 3/4 ton Suburban than was supplied with 16x6.5 steel wheels from the factory. The corporate rear axle had a 4' narrower track than the front track was. This truck never felt planted with the factory wheels. New (at the time) Alcoa front 16x8'' wheels were spec'd and 16x10'' rears with +2'' negative offset cured the track issue and provided outstanding tracking. I put about 150k miles on that vehicle and most of the miles were towing. I sold that truck to a acquaintance of mine and it is still performing well. Ball joints at 125K were the only maintenance issue performed by me.
Wider, load rated wheels on heavy tow vehicles are decidedly better and should not be recommended against...
Cheers

 

[Msdpok]

We owned a 2016 32’ Prowler Lynx, fully stocked around 9000lbs. Pulled it with a pretty much stock Dodge Ram 2500, diesel, with a 2 1/2 inch leveling kit, rear adjustable air bags with bilstien shocks and Cooper all terrain tires.
We towed that trailer all over the place and the only issue we ever had was keeping the wife from driving once she got used to it!
Go enjoy your camping trips, drive within your limits and have a good time!

 

[Retired]

The factory rims are just fine. Dodge and others match them to the load capacity. Dont exceed the load capacity and you will be fine.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Kevin...
Changing rim width does not change the geometry of the suspension. The suspension geometry is tied to ball joint location inside and out and the plane at they articulate. Also geometry changes when the control arm pick up points are changed but wider wheels do not have an effect. Wider wheels with no regard to offset may however change the scrub radius of the tires and can also cause heavier load forces to be applied to the bearings. Wheels spec'd that have the rims additional dimension split to each half of the rim (outer and inner) measured from the hub face will load bearings equally. Best results are achieved with wider wheels within reason and with consideration.
I had an old 90's 3/4 ton Suburban than was supplied with 16x6.5 steel wheels from the factory. The corporate rear axle had a 4' narrower track than the front track was. This truck never felt planted with the factory wheels. New (at the time) Alcoa front 16x8'' wheels were spec'd and 16x10'' rears with +2'' negative offset cured the track issue and provided outstanding tracking. I put about 150k miles on that vehicle and most of the miles were towing. I sold that truck to a acquaintance of mine and it is still performing well. Ball joints at 125K were the only maintenance issue performed by me.
Wider, load rated wheels on heavy tow vehicles are decidedly better and should not be recommended against...
Cheers

People will do what they do. However if you must do what you do do it safely. I present a link to rim/tire size. Follow the links on the page to determine other important mechanical factors. https://www.tyresizecalculator.com/tyre-wheel-calculators/wheel-rim-size-calculator