Thorvald

This is a post I originally made to the Ram Truck forums but would be of great information here as well.

To sum it up, before buying have a good look at the door jamb stickers!

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Well after buying a brand new Ram 1500 fully setup for towing and planning to upgrade to a larger travel trailer I finally had reality set in (well "legal" reality).

I had been reading threads all over the Interwebs and listened to debates from the "Weight Police" as others call them but still felt fairly comfortable after spreadsheeting my new truck with expected cargo and hitch weights.

Still something was bugging me and everyone said just go get the truck weighed then you know for sure. We only have a few CAT scales here in Southern Ontario but I found one not too far away and went and weighed the new truck this morning.

See the CAT ticket below, this is with a 100% full tank of gas (regular tank, not the extended) and zero cargo and passengers, just the truck which is a:

2017 Ram 1500 Big Horn Crewcab 6' 4" box
Hemi with 8 speed 3.92 Axle
Rambox
Bedliner (linex)
Bakflip G2 tonneau cover
No cargo at all, no driver, not even a "jacket" left in the truck when weighed. Full load of fuel.



So as you can see its:

Gross weight: 5880 lbs
Front axle: 3300 lbs
Rear axle: 2580

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Now is where things get interesting...

FCA (RAM) indicates my truck should be capable of the following (based upon features):

Crew Cab - 6' 4" box 4x4
GVWR: 6900
Payload: 1450
Base Weight: 5451.56
Front: 3223.72
Rear: 2227.84
GAWR: 3900 and 3900
Max Trailer Weight (SAE J2807): 9830

Payload is abysmal but I can work with 1450... I thought!

Data taken from Ram Towing Chart, 2017 for my config of truck:

https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ramtrucks.com%2Fassets%2Ftowing_ guide%2Fpdf%2F2017_ram_1500_towing_charts.pdf
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Now take the stickers on my truck, first the door jamb. Same basic numbers as above.



The the nasty tire sticker (because FCA put Passenger tires on a Truck and it’s suspension is basically a car):



Max load: 1116 lbs ... no where near the 1450 they claimed.

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So all that being said now comes the worst part, the TRUE math, no marketing spin or uninformed dealers/FCA (Fiat Chrysler America):

GVWR: 6900 lbs
Weight of truck empty but with full fuel: 5880 lbs
6900 - 5880 = 1020 lbs

This leaves us with 1020 lbs of "legal" payload. My god my Jeep Rubicon Unlimited almost as much payload as this (850lbs on it). However it sure as heck isn't listed as being cable to tow 9000+ pounds, it's rated for 3500 lbs since in North America it’s classified as a convertible. In Europe I can tow 4400 lbs... go figure.

So with only 1020 lbs lets add driver and family:

Driver: 150 lbs (Yes I'm Mr. Joe Average as per SAE J2807)
Wife: 130 lbs (approximation, I'm not dumb enough to post a real womens weight on the net! lol).
Child 1: 120 lbs
Child 2: 70 lbs
Kids Friend: 70 lbs (they always bring one camping)
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Total Passengers: 550 lbs

Remaining weight for anything else INCLUDING tongue weight:

1020 lbs - 550 lbs = 470 lbs!!!!!!



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You gotta be kidding me... if I weighted as much as most normal North Americans (see what I did there... lol), our available payload would be more like 300 lbs!

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I can't believe FCA thinks the Ram can tow 9830 lbs, that would be a tongue weight of 983 lbs (assuming 10% which is on the low end of the 10 to 15% rule):

1020 - 983 lbs = 37 lbs of cargo before even the driver is added!

Now lets go by the tire payload sticker of my truck:

1116 - 983 lbs = 133 lbs of cargo before driver

So I can’t even be in the truck and I’m a light weight lol.

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Just for fun, lets go by what they said was my original base (before options, Rambox, tonneau, Linex), they indicated it was 5451.56 lbs.

(as per "2017 RAM 1500 Trailer Towing Chart - SAE J2807 Compliant")

6900 GVWR - 5451.56 base = 1448.44 lbs of cargo

9830 Max Trailer with 10% tongue weight = 983 lbs

1448.44 - 983 = 465.44 lbs

Passenger Weight 300 lbs (SAE J2807)

465.44 - 300 = 165.44 lbs remaining Payload

Hitch 65 lbs (SAE J2807)

165.44 - 65 = 100.44 lbs remaining Payload

Good lord, yes they didn't lie, their chart is accurate but your truck is maxed and cannot have ANY other options and only 100 lbs of cargo... Disgusting.

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So as you can see, putting a full family in a 1500 and expecting to "legally" tow a Travel Trailer is darn close to impossible (F150 Max Towing/HD Payload aside lol). Don't forget this is with NO cargo in the front passthrough storage of the trailer such as oh I don't know, lawn chairs lol. Very disgusted by all this and I hope this post helps anyone in the future even considering a 1500 for towing a large trailer. Get a 2500 or bigger.

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To add more fuel to the fire, my previous travel trailer (which we traded in on a 2018 Imagine 2800BH), a tiny little Jayco 17z hybrid (3500 max GVWR) has a dry (read: WAY underrated in the brochure) weight of 340 lbs. Add battery and two propane tanks:

340 + 50lbs Battery + 37 lbs LP + 37lbs LP = 464 lbs calculated and that is with weight in the front storage.

So my truck with family in it (and no jackets, food, video games, iPhones lol) has just 470 lbs of payload left.

470 - 464 lbs = 6 lbs of Cargo left!!!!

So my brand new “Setup for Towing” pickup cannot legally tow my little tiny 17z trailer (with full family). And this is without a real hitch weight... I have a sherline scale so I'm going to go out and weight the 17z in a few minutes just to see what the REAL tongue weight is.

EDIT: Just weighed the Jayco 17z with unknown qty of propane but most other junk in trailer.... 550 lbs on Sherline scale. I can't legally tow this tiny trailer lol!

Insanity.

With the 2800BH we would be over the Payload with full family and friends so we have to take that into account when travelling and likely add Timbergrove air bags etc.

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Now yes, I see Ram Hemi's every day (Laramies with full air suspension) pulling 37 foot Starcraft monsters loaded to the gills... The truck "can" do it, just not legally and likely with “white knuckles” in the mountains or after a few steep grades.

Hopefully this information helps someone in the future from making a mistake. Make sure you look at the stickers first and then get the truck weighed before buying a trailer!

Cheers
Tim