TV max tow > TT GVWR - Rule or Guideline?

[Gizmo]

Pencil weighing is fine but it can really far off. A 10,000 trailer could have a 10% tongue or 1000 pounds or like my Airstream, that same 10,000 pounds RV could have a 1700 pound tongue weight. That difference of needing a 1/2 ton with 2 1/2 hitch to need at least a 3/4 ton and need a minimum of 3" hitch which by the way hard to find. I just weighted my Class A yesterday and to my surprise, my UVW is 30,279 and I weighed in at 33,240 or 2,961 pounds of stuff in RV, and if guess I would have said less than 2,000 pounds. The GVWR is 37,500 so not a problem yet but it seems to gain every year.

 

[Al_Bear]

I use a tongue weight scales from Sherline. That way you can observe the effect of your loading choices, such as whether to bring fresh water. A fresh water tank in front of the axles will increase tongue weight when loaded, but decrease it if it's behind. That's obvious, but only a tongue weight scale will show you by how much.

 

[pigpigsparadise]

One thing to keep in mind when talking to the "experts" at the RV dealership..............they want to sell you the biggest most expensive RV they can. So when the customer asks "can I tow this with the 2500 truck I have now or will I have to buy a 3500?" The answer will ALWAYS be YES! The 2500 will do just fine. They don't want you buying a less expensive RV because you have to budget for a larger truck as well. It's in their best interest to tell you your 2500 is fine. This is why we have so many people out here on the road pulling these HUGE 5th wheel campers and toy haulers with their 3/4 ton trucks rather than the 1 ton truck they really need. The average customer doesn't know diddly squat about tow weights or CVWR or GCWR or any of that "technical" stuff so they just ask the RV salesman and go with his answer.

Truth.

 

[lee64]

I had the same issue, I had a Ram 2500 diesel and purchased a 5th wheel. I did not know any better but when I purchased a 5th wheel the dealer said I would be fine and I had plenty of truck. He even pointed to a RV trailer and said you would not be able to handle that one, this trailer would be fine, I never paid much attention because I was excited to buy and did not realize I was overweight until a few years later when I started watching YouTube videos on traveling to different states.

I started calculating and found I was about 300 lbs over payload with the 5th wheel hitch installed by the dealer before passengers and camping equipment was included in the calculated weight. I talked to the RV dealer and he acted surprised and had no idea. I at least brought it to his attention in person. I knew it was on me. but wanted to see his reaction.
The dealer even mentioned he just sold a heavier camper to someone who had a truck my size. I was very disappointed in my self because I always do my homework before buying anything, I labeled it as a lessoned learned.
Instead of losing money trading in my camper my truck held a good value and I was able to purchase a 3500 srw. Long story short I do not trust dealers anymore.

I found a few good spreadsheets on the internet that helped me., some can be overwhelming. There is also some good info on Youtube, Try searching truck payload capacity.
The truck drivers side door jamb will have the payload and all other values after build. The sticker payload will usually be lower than the truck manufacture payload chart because of extras put on the truck. The 2500 was my 1st HD truck , I even found that the gas engines for the size of trucks have higher payloads because of the weight of the diesel engines.

The truck dealer should also be able to help you, I found out the commercial division of the dealership had a worksheet they can fill out to determine your payload with the camper. You will need to provide the camper values. You will also need to add the weight of the hitch to the payload to get the correct results.

 

["EZ"]

The 5th wheel dealer will almost ALWAYS tell you your current truck is fine. If he admits your truck won't do the job it cuts into how much RV he can sell you.