The numbers do not lie.

[MABurns]

Let me begin by first saying I am not a member of the "you will never be able to safely tow that" mob.....



I just wanted to post some of the numbers for my truck and trailer in the hopes that it will help make a potential buyer (truck or trailer) a more informed buyer.



My truck empty (as it sits in the driveway) weights 7300 lbs (4300 front and 3000 rear axle).



My trailer weights in at 9300 lbs. Hooked together the combined weight it is 16600.



What I found interesting was that the weight is now 4380 front and 4820 rear axle and 7400 on the trailer axles.



Close to 2000 pounds of hitch weight and almost all of it is on the rear axle. I thought more of the weight would be transfered to the front that that.



So I am also only 700 pounds under the GVWR of my SRW 3500. My wife and I and 3 kids will probably put me over that so when I see the questions about a member who wants to buy the 36 foot toy hauler and pull it with the 2d gen 2500... ..... well... ... . I said I wouldn't be critical.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Welcome to the "Club of the Enlightened"! :-laf :-laf

 

[EricBu12]

forgot toread your info but it seems you are stock on suspension and tires right? well in your case you are good for the equipment and load you have.



On the secobd gen, the only difference between the 2500 And the 3500 was, at the time, the width and size of the brake shoes, the axle ratio, and the # of tires... . all else is the same... .



For me to tow my 36' toyhauler, I employed the roadmaster spring add on, Ricksons forged 19. 5" rims on michelin 12 ply "F" rated tires... One of my tires can hold up your entire rear axle at 4800#... . a little over but you get it... . (rated 4080)... I also have upgraded brakes, slotted front rotors with carbon kevlar pads, rear disk conversion, and for slowing down on hills, a genuine Jacobs E-Brake..... Engine mods are up to 450 hp with a box, hybrid turbo, and a better air filter.



the Dana 80 axle is rated for about 10,000 #

the tires are good for 8160# per pair.



my weights are... .

steer..... 4800

drive..... 6200

trailer (3 axle) 12500

total... ... 23,500



truck sits level, no squish of tires when towing, stops well and goes up 6% grades at 55 mph...



Now go do these mods and you can have a nicer trailer too and really give that cummins a workout...

 

[Cattletrkr]

MN DOT has been cracking down on 3/4 tons A LOT lately. You can do almost whatever you want with a 1 ton, but the 3/4's are being restricted to factory ratings.

 

[MABurns]

Once again the intent was not to be critical of others.



After mods any truck can be made to pull better, safer and with more confidence. But out of the box a 2500 and even a 3500 (dual or single RW) is not rated to pull some of what the RV industry is building (consumer is demanding).



Dodge needs to either relook their ratings or design and build a "true" 4500.

 

[klenger]

The issue I see with your setup is that the pin weight for the trailer is pretty high considering the weight of the trailer. The pin weight for my 10K 5th wheel is only about 1800#, including the hitch.

 

[Foil Freak 1211]

That does seem like an awful lot of pin weight for that size of trailer. I've had my 32' on a scale - 11,200 total weight, 1875 pin. To me, the moral of the story is to always verify the weight via a scale before making a purchasing decision.

 

[bpenrod]

On the secobd gen, the only difference between the 2500 And the 3500 was, at the time, the width and size of the brake shoes, the axle ratio, and the # of tires... . all else is the same.....

I think there are a few more variables than that. My 99 2500 had 3" wide leaf springs because it was a stick. The auto's had 2. 5" unless you added the towing package, then they were both 3" (iirc) with helpers similar to the 3500.

 

[GWBourne]

i have no problem towing my 22k lbs 32 foot goose... . Exhaust brake and larger brakes on the trailer are nice...



slowing down and paying attention is great also...



am i legal? no. have i taken special meassures to help me slow down, HELLO YEAH! hav i had to make a few emergency stops, YUP! ended up with 3 car lengths "extra" room twice and 2 car lengths the first time.



lets jsut say i love my Brake smart, Jake and the 3rd axle having brakes as well... .

 

[jrobinson2]

I think there are a few more variables than that. My 99 2500 had 3" wide leaf springs because it was a stick. The auto's had 2. 5" unless you added the towing package, then they were both 3" (iirc) with helpers similar to the 3500.

The auto trans 2500s have a Dana 70, the manual trans 2500s have the same dana 80 as the 3500s, the springs are the same on both auto and manual trans 2500 trucks, the camper package added the 3500 rear suspension with the helper springs and rear sway bar.



Jared

 

[EricBu12]

my 2500 is stick, tow pack, added camper pack, HD group...



so I have the dana 80, wide leafs with the overloads but I did something different there, and the sway bar... . so I am pretty beefed up when I had this stock... .

 

[EricBu12]

my 2500 is stick, tow pack, added camper pack, HD group...



so I have the dana 80, wide leafs with the overloads but I did something different there, and the sway bar... . so I am pretty beefed up when I had this stock... .