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Old 11-05-2015, 10:01 PM   #1
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2016 Salem 31 KQBTS / RAM 1500

Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here looking for some information. My wife and I ordered a new Salem 31 KQBTS for the family (5 total with 2 small children). I thought I bought the right truck and looked at all the literature for my tow rig (10,150 tow capacity, 1590 lb payload) and now I come to find out my payload is just shy of 1300 lbs. The factory shows a dry weight of 7902 with a hitch weight of just under 800 lbs. We will generally only be in lower Michigan, maybe 3 hour drive from home and am looking at getting the Blue OX 1500 LB sway pro hitch. Am I nutz trying to pull this thing with my truck. I thought I did my due dilligence to make sure I bought the right truck for the job and now I'm concerned that maybe I didn't. I will only pull a few times per year but I obviously want everyone to be safe when we travel.

Any thoughts?

Bob
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Old 11-05-2015, 10:27 PM   #2
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Payload in the brochures or online shows the base model.
Door stickers only tell you the accurate number.
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Old 11-06-2015, 12:25 AM   #3
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You will probably be fine, though most would say (and i agree) that you should have purchased a 3/4 or SRW 1 ton.

You will probably be slightly over weight and thats a really long TT.

Just keep your speed down. Remember that a 3/4 ton truck doesnt just have extra towing and payload capacities, but also larger brakes. Most of the fear and white knuckles will be front sudden stopping and the trailer bein pushed around.
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Old 11-06-2015, 07:09 AM   #4
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I had a 2013 Ram 1500 for our Solaire 269bhdsk, weight 6,500 length 33' overall length. The tow experience was not good for me personally. Here are my observations:
1. Rear coil springs are incredibly soft. I see you have air ride all around, so that may be a non-issue for you.
2. Despite all the well-deserved praises of the Hemi engine, it was overmatched for this TT for my personal preferences/driving style. Very slow acceleration, downshifting in the slightest headwind or on the slightest hill (even in tow mode), and around 6 MPG here in flat central Indiana.

If (big if) your towing preferences are like mine, you'll be in the market for a 3/4 ton diesel to have a quality towing experience. Doesn't mean you can't/shouldn't tow with what you've got - just one person's opinion.

Safe travels!!
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Old 11-06-2015, 07:34 AM   #5
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Towing short, you MAY be fine, granted you will, without a doubt, be over payload. Heck, I bet I am over payload with my Roo, Family, and Items in the bed (never got to weigh in the new truck with trailer yet). Few things you may want to do is get rid of those cheap 20" Goodyears and get LTs. There are only 2 that I know, BFG and Nitto, that make a LT tire in stock 20" size.
Personally, the type of towing I do with the CoasterCrew, I would never tow that big with a 1500.
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Old 11-06-2015, 07:42 AM   #6
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I routinely tow a 2-axle flat deck trailer (very low frontal area and 30 feet long) and about 9000lbs with my 2012 1500 Hemi. For short distances say 2-3 hours I feel OK. No problem up and down hills or braking. The rear springs are soft and I plan to add in air bags. If I were to do this for longer trips I would have a 3/4 ton.
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Old 11-06-2015, 08:34 AM   #7
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I thought I would weigh in since I have a similar combo. my trailer is a sob ( kz spree lx 322 bhs) a little lighter and a tad shorter. I ended up buying a propride 3p hitch for it since the trailer is long!!! I knew going in I would be close on my numbers. it tows pretty well. my trailer has a rear kitchen and the hot water heater is at the back too so at times I am really unloading my hitch and that isn't fun even with the propride. I am purchasing a shureline scale to check my tongue weight more often. I added airlift 1000's to my truck to help with bounce. Coil spring do bounce a lot. that made a world of difference. I also put LT tires on my truck. I tow my trailer about 1600km per year and on fairly flat terrain. stopping the trailer I have zero issues I actually almost had someone hit me if it weren't for the combo stopping so fast. they decided they wanted in my lane and didn't even look beside them before coming over I had no where to go as there was a van beside me on the other side. power wise the Hemi is great. it is a gas engine so they down shift on hills that's the reality towing with a gas motor. the torque is at higher rpms not like diesel. you have to be ok with that or not. I run 100 km/h at 2000 rpm running down the highway. I did find my new trailer with the front cap shape more rounded it pushes less air and I get a little better mileage.

having given some info. I want to tow my trailer to Florida eventually in 2017. I will not be doing that with my current vehicle! it does ok for where and how much I tow right now but would not even think about bringing my combo into the mountains. I have been looking for a 3/4 ton but with my budget right now they are all garbage that I have seen. but 2 years from now the budget will be way different and I will hopefully be buying a new or almost new 3/4 or 1 ton. so my advice would be if you can afford it buy a bigger truck. if the budget doesn't allow right now I think you will be ok but will be at the trucks max.
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Old 11-06-2015, 12:20 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rocketman1083 View Post
Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here looking for some information. My wife and I ordered a new Salem 31 KQBTS for the family (5 total with 2 small children). I thought I bought the right truck and looked at all the literature for my tow rig (10,150 tow capacity, 1590 lb payload) and now I come to find out my payload is just shy of 1300 lbs. The factory shows a dry weight of 7902 with a hitch weight of just under 800 lbs. We will generally only be in lower Michigan, maybe 3 hour drive from home and am looking at getting the Blue OX 1500 LB sway pro hitch. Am I nutz trying to pull this thing with my truck. I thought I did my due dilligence to make sure I bought the right truck for the job and now I'm concerned that maybe I didn't. I will only pull a few times per year but I obviously want everyone to be safe when we travel.

Any thoughts?

Bob

I'm pulling a 30 foot TT weighing in at 5800 dry with a 2014 RAM 1500. I use an e2 hitch. I added An Airlift kit to the back and it has made a huge difference. The truck is capable of pulling 8900 but with about 500 pounds of gear, 3 passengers and the dog in the truck, I'm hesitant to go any higher. It tows smooth, averages between 10.5 and 11.5 MPG. Just ran it down from south jersey to the Staunton Virginia area this week and it was smooth sailing all the way.
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Old 11-06-2015, 12:27 PM   #9
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Blue Ox

In order to truly know your situation, you really need to have both the truck and trailer loaded as they will be while travelling complete with family and water if you are going to travel with it, then head to truckstop with scales and get some actual weights.

I have a Blue Ox 15,000 hitch for sale if you're interested.
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Old 11-06-2015, 12:54 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rocketman1083 View Post
Hi everyone, I'm a newbie here looking for some information. My wife and I ordered a new Salem 31 KQBTS for the family (5 total with 2 small children). I thought I bought the right truck and looked at all the literature for my tow rig (10,150 tow capacity, 1590 lb payload) and now I come to find out my payload is just shy of 1300 lbs. The factory shows a dry weight of 7902 with a hitch weight of just under 800 lbs. We will generally only be in lower Michigan, maybe 3 hour drive from home and am looking at getting the Blue OX 1500 LB sway pro hitch. Am I nutz trying to pull this thing with my truck. I thought I did my due dilligence to make sure I bought the right truck for the job and now I'm concerned that maybe I didn't. I will only pull a few times per year but I obviously want everyone to be safe when we travel.

Any thoughts?

Bob

We pull our '32 ft Windjammer with no problems. I do agree that the rear springs are soft, for that I installed an Airlift 1000. We pull it with the holding tanks empty. If need be we adjust the WD hitch to compensate for the additional weight. We don't travel above 65 MPH due to the ratings on the TT tires. As far as braking and accelerating no problem. I have to admit our 1500 has the complete tow pkg. If you have any questions feel free to ask.


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