Towing suggestions

[Mike Summers]

K, group be kind. I have been towing with a new trailer this season and have just ASSUMED all is well. Could really use some expert advice to make my rig safer. I have a 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 diesel truck. I just started using a 2006 Weekend Warrior 30' bumper pull, three axle Toy Hauler. Inside is my vintage sports racer, weighs about a 1000 pounds. The "tow weight" listed on the bumper of my truck says 2600 pounds. I load tools and scooter in the bed of the truck. I have installed air assist bags on the truck. I have made several trips and keeping it at 60 mph, all seems pretty stable. BUT just thinking about how safe is this combination is regarding tow weights. Suggestions please!!!

Mike Summers
Sacramento

[Bob Wright]

Two critical pieces of information:

What is the rated towing capacity of the truck? It should be in your manual.

What is the gross rated weight of the trailer? (think what capacity axles you have on it).

You would be surprised how much the whole thing probably weighs, once you load it. Just going by the trailer size you listed, you should have a class III receiver and leveling bars. What size ball do you have? I bet its a 2 5/16...

[Purple Frog]

Many questions arise.

You say, "Tow weight on bumper". Are you towing with a bumper or an actual hitch bolted to the frame?
If you are towing with a bumper hitch... stop now! Danger! (2600 lbs. sounds like a bumper hitch.)

I'm assuming you are using trailer brakes...

Somewhere in owners manual or on web you should be able to find the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight for the truck. That would be the combined weight of the truck, trailer and contents. You should also be able to find out the tongue weight you are allowed for that truck.

It would be a good idea to go to a truck stop of metal recycling yard and weigh the truck and trailer, and truck alone. With some simple math you can calculate the weight of the trailer.

Not sure they sell a 10,000 lb rated hitch for a 2500, but they do sell a 7,000 lb rated hitch.

[Daryl DeArman]

All solid advice above.


An '07 Ram w/Cummins is going to have a tow rating between 12,600 and 13,600 depending on configuration. Lowest being a 4WD Quad Cab long bed, Highest being a 2WD, regular cab, short bed.

It's quite possible that your HITCH is a Class V with a maximum tongue weight of 2600# and a tow rating of 17,000#. There are plenty of Class V hitches available for 3/4T pickups.

[Mike Summers]

It is a frame mounted, slide in receiver hitch......large ball, 2 5/16 think.....yes it has trailer brakes

ms

[Bob Wright]

If you have sway bars on a Reese or drawtite type hitch, you are probably good to go. 30 feet is about the upper limit of a tag trailer I’d ever pull and it’s probably a handful with that truck.

[billtebbutt]

Here's the way I have always thought about this.....

There is a difference. On a 30' trailer (so pretty heavy and long from hitch to trailer axle) a sway bar (mounted on one side of the tongue, to one side of the receiver) won't hurt but won't be super effective

Weight distribution bars are used to reduce rear truck axle load by putting more weight on the front truck axle. You use them to get better ride, less "porpoising", better braking, better compliance between tires and road.

Your truck should be fine for the job. Start stacking a couple NASCAR vehicles in there, well........

cheers,
BT

[GregSmith]

Mike,
I agree with all of the above but what would concern me is the “tow weight on bumper” statement. If this is the tongue weight then 2600 lbs. sounds a little much. Typically the tongue weight on the ball at loaded height (hopefully the trailer frame and truck are level) should be about 10%, no more than 15% of the total trailer weight. There are scales available from Sherline that make this easy measure but other methods can be used. A good trailer dealer can also help with this.

I tow a 28’ dual axle Haulmark, about 10,000 lbs. loaded with 1400 lbs. tongue weight and think that’s heavy, so I try to counter this a bit by putting heavier stuff at the tail, jacks, generator, fuel, etc. My Chevy 2500HD 6.0 gas pulls this just fine but you can’t beat the torque of a diesel. I also bought the best hitch I could find with sway control built in to the design.

Greg

[Mike Summers]

I have the load leveling bars to distribute the weight...…….usually use the electric tongue jack to get the whole unit level, then install the bars. I run about 80 psi in the air bags, just to take a bit of droop out. I make sure the car is sitting directly over the three axles so I don't have to much front or rear bias...…..The hitch is the factory installed "tow package" unit from Dodge. I have a manual sway dampener that goes from the hitch to the trailer but have not felt the need to use it.

ms

[Rick Kirchner]

you have to really pay attention to how you are loading. A toyhauler typically has a LOT more tongue wt than a typical tag. That's because the tanks and house systems are all up in the nose - so if you have a lot of fresh, black, and grey water (typically more than a thousand pounds of it) there's a LOT of hitch weight, even with the race car loaded with the motor in the back.

Get a reese cam system - that incorporates the anti-sway without a friction type sway device. Properly set up you will not need the air bags.

Move the race car forward and put some of the bed load of the truck into the back of the trailer. Also, pay a lot of attention to keeping the load level or the trailer tires will really suffer.

[RussMcB]

... so I try to counter this a bit by putting heavier stuff at the tail, jacks, generator, fuel, etc.

Greg, this statement makes me a little nervous. I'd consider this a "last resort" solution.

But, I don't doubt you know what you're doing. This just stood out to me a bit, thinking about "high polar moment of inertia' (see? I learned something from reading Carroll Smith. or one of those books, 30 years ago).

[GregSmith]

Greg, this statement makes me a little nervous. I'd consider this a "last resort" solution.

But, I don't doubt you know what you're doing. This just stood out to me a bit, thinking about "high polar moment of inertia' (see? I learned something from reading Carroll Smith. or one of those books, 30 years ago).

Yeah, Russ, I see your point. Actually, I misstated how much I really put back there. A better way of putting it would be to balance the load in the trailer as well as possible and then make sure all your weights are within the limits of the equipment.

Cheers,

Greg