tow and payload ratings

[jmtandem]

Any advise would be appreciated. I know this is a constant issue with heavy pickup campers and it has probably been answered many times but are the payload or tow ratings (GVWR or the combined truck and fifth wheel or trailer rating) that are provided by the manufacturer based on testing by Dodge, Ford or Chevy/GMC, or are they computer generated numbers that are a best fit all around good rule of thumb value for the strength of the trucks major components? Also, is an overloaded truck illegal or just not recommended based on manufacturers values? I have a 2001 Dodge 2500 quad cab, diesel, 5-speed, 4x4 that weighs about 7000 pounds and has a GVWR of 8800 pounds, not much payload for a camper even without people in the back seats or water in the tanks, yet the camper sales staff insists that with air bags and Rancho shocks going almost 2700 pounds of camper empty weight is not an issue. I have also been looking at toy hauler fifth wheels (30 feet and up like the Patio Hauler) that weigh empty more than the truck is designed to tow. In the case of toy haulers the weight difference is not a few pounds over the tow rating, loaded some weigh as much as 18,000 pounds or about 8000 pounds more than the truck ratings. Heavy fifth wheels are on the highway all the time behind pickups; are there ways to mitigate the weight?

Thanks,

 

[BV]

I would not want to be involved in an accident and have some punk cop write me up and a greedy lawyer sue my ass based on the peacup being over loaded. In fact I sold our slide in and went to a bumper pull with 600# tongue weight so I was closer to meeting the OEM specs.

 

[RBachant]

Just remember the have the approiate licence endorsements when towing over 10000lbs. You are subject to officer discression and "HIS" interpretaion of the laws.

 

[sheldon]

One of the hard things to deal with is that the GVW is 8800 lbs across the whole 2500 line. Having a quad cab and 4wd adds over a 1000 lbs to the base weight and knocks down the amount of payload available for hauling. I ordered my truck so I can haul a good sized camper(Summerwind 811 with slideout) but will still be on the ragged edge when loaded with gear and the Woodie on the car trailer. My empty weight was just under 6000 lbs. I have added airbags to add a little more safety factor. The real big item to look at is to make sure your tires cover the weight that is being applied. Many times I found the suspension willing but the tires coming up short. In my experience the GVW is very conservative and running 500 to 1000 lbs over is not a big deal. My prior truck (1982 Chevy 1500 diesel) was always 1000 to 1500 lbs beyond the GVW with the Lance 2000 camper on. I had 2500 lb overload springs and upgraded tires and never had a problem, even at some of the scales I was flagged into. Those toy hauler fifth wheels are interesting but I never found one to fill my needs hauling my 51 Ford Woodie. Not a one of them was set up for hauling cars.

 

[JGarcia]

You'll read this on other threads, but the big issue is stopping. If you have an exhaust brake to help, and good trailer brakes,it's probably not going to be difficult to haul at a few hundred lbs over GVWR. I do, but it is illegal, and I may be wrong, but I think the 8800 lb limit is more a factory legal issue, which is why it is the same on all 3/4 ton trucks (except the Chevy HD, at 9200).



JRG