Can you ever have too much towing capacity?

[joeuncool]

Wee! Here we go again. By the end of the week, this thread will probably be up to 8-10 pages with the eventual recommendation that you buy a Peterbilt 579, because after all, you can never have too much towing capacity. Such is what happens with "What towing vehicle should I have?" threads.

I think you have the right thinking. A 1500 can tow a 233 just fine but you do have to consider a tongue weight of around 15% of the actual loaded trailer weight which takes up carrying capacity of the tow vehicle. This in mind with all the passengers in the truck, a 2500 might be the right place to look.

With all this said, we have a Ford 150, a 233, 4 kids and 3 dogs. A normal camping trip for us is 2 vehicles. We don't take cross country trips with our camper but we do take trips of several hundred miles. The comfort of all involved during the trip is worth the extra gas for us. I am just throwing this out there.

The 233 is such a great camper for a large family. Not too many campers/rv's out there that can sleep 10 easily.

[mom28]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

To answer your first question:

You can't have too much truck. Only too little.

Thank you! I didn't think so, but my brain is mush from looking at all the options, I just needed someone to say it!

[mom28]

Originally Posted by joeuncool

Wee! Here we go again. By the end of the week, this thread will probably be up to 8-10 pages with the eventual recommendation that you buy a Peterbilt 579, because after all, you can never have too much towing capacity. Such is what happens with "What towing vehicle should I have?" threads.

I think you have the right thinking. A 1500 can tow a 233 just fine but you do have to consider a tongue weight of around 15% of the actual loaded trailer weight which takes up carrying capacity of the tow vehicle. This in mind with all the passengers in the truck, a 2500 might be the right place to look.

With all this said, we have a Ford 150, a 233, 4 kids and 3 dogs. A normal camping trip for us is 2 vehicles. We don't take cross country trips with our camper but we do take trips of several hundred miles. The comfort of all involved during the trip is worth the extra gas for us. I am just throwing this out there.

The 233 is such a great camper for a large family. Not too many campers/rv's out there that can sleep 10 easily.

Thanks! Great to hear form someone who actually tows a 233. We love ours!! We actually slept 11 once a few years ago! (our oldest son's girlfriend joined us) But that was tight! One of my daughters now has a boyfriend, so that made 12 of us camping. We kicked the males outside in tents, except my husband got to stay.

Yes, we did consider having to take an extra vehicle and just go with the 1500, but as we get down to just us and our 2 youngest girls, I think we might really want to simply things and go with one vehicle.

[itat]

I went to the RAM site that dustman_stx linked to. He is correct that the gear ratio will affect the spec’d towing (pulling) number but it does not affect the payload number. So if you don’t intend to ever pull anything more than the 12,630# that a 2500 RAM with 3.73 gears is rated for, then the 3.73 is not really a deal breaker but the 4.10 will work less hard pulling away from a stop.

We don’t tow long distances in any year because we’re still working (DW can only take 1 week off at a time) so better gas mileage when using my truck as a daily driver was more important. I can’t imagine ever pulling anything bigger than about 10,000# (our current TT is only 7300# loaded), so I bought a 3.73.

[Cypressloser]

I guess your van will be overloaded by a 1000 lbs, so yes an upgrade is in order.
If your brother can get you an employee discount that's great.
Ram used to offer a "free of charge diesel" upgrade, maybe they still do???
You don't need the Aisin transmission, the 68RFE will do just fine, hey maybe a standard transmission.
Now, a Ram 1500 will gain you very little in payload, you should definitely go with a 2500 and if you do decide to go diesel then go to a 3500. If you do decide to go with a diesel get the highest gear ratio it will be just fine for your towing needs and it gives you the best fuel economy.
Even if you don't travel with all the kids you will still pack a lot of stuff in the back of the truck, maybe even install a 'camper shell' of some sort down the road and don't forget that the trailer hitch will put another 1000lbs or so on the back of the truck.
I think, no matter how you crunch the numbers a 2500 truck will still be marginal.
FWIW

[Cypressloser]

One more thing, in order to seat 6 people legally you need a crew cab and a front bench seat.
The crew cab alone takes a several hundred pounds off of the truck's payload capacity. What I'm saying is: Do not rely on numbers listed in some brochure, you need the actual numbers for the specific truck you are about to purchase before you sign any contract.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by Cypressloser

One more thing, in order to seat 6 people legally you need a crew cab and a front bench seat.
The crew cab alone takes a several hundred pounds off of the truck's payload capacity. What I'm saying is: Do not rely on numbers listed in some brochure, you need the actual numbers for the specific truck you are about to purchase before you sign any contract.

X2. Look at the payload sticker on the door frame of the truck you plan to buy.

[mom28]

https://www.ramtrucks.com/towing-guide.html

If you go to this site and click on Look up my vehicle, it gives the payload and tow capacity. I simply copy VIN from trucks I am considering. The numbers vary, so I assumed it was accurate for that particular truck.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by mom28

https://www.ramtrucks.com/towing-guide.html

If you go to this site and click on Look up my vehicle, it gives the payload and tow capacity. I simply copy VIN from trucks I am considering. The numbers vary, so I assumed it was accurate for that particular truck.

Never seen that before. It MAY be accurate, the but best is the door frame sticker.

Maybe someone else has some experience with it.

[david_reaves]

Not mentioned in any of the discussion so far is the quality of the unloaded ride. My wife practically refuses to ride in my single-rear-wheel RAM 3500 crew cab. It has a payload capacity of just over 3800 lbs and when the tires are fully inflated for load (80 PSI in the rear) the ride is more than a little stiff. I don't mind, but she insists on taking her RAV4 anywhere we aren't towing the camper. Just one point in the "never too much truck" argument.

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by david_reaves

Not mentioned in any of the discussion so far is the quality of the unloaded ride. My wife practically refuses to ride in my single-rear-wheel RAM 3500 crew cab. It has a payload capacity of just over 3800 lbs and when the tires are fully inflated for load (80 PSI in the rear) the ride is more than a little stiff. I don't mind, but she insists on taking her RAV4 anywhere we aren't towing the camper. Just one point in the "never too much truck" argument.

Doesn't she have to ride in the truck if you go camping somewhere and want to go sight-seeing?

[mom28]

Originally Posted by david_reaves

Not mentioned in any of the discussion so far is the quality of the unloaded ride. My wife practically refuses to ride in my single-rear-wheel RAM 3500 crew cab. It has a payload capacity of just over 3800 lbs and when the tires are fully inflated for load (80 PSI in the rear) the ride is more than a little stiff. I don't mind, but she insists on taking her RAV4 anywhere we aren't towing the camper. Just one point in the "never too much truck" argument.

Well, our Chevy 2500 van is certainly not a luxury ride. Although, it is very easy to drive. I drove my brother in law's truck before and it definitely will be an adjustment with such a big front end. My husband drives a BASE Fiesta (And when I say base, I mean the sales guy at the dealership was shocked at how "base" the car can be) to and from work, so that is definitely not a luxury ride either. But we will definitely do a test drive before purchasing.

Does the ride bother you?

[spock123]

Originally Posted by ependydad

Cowtown Sleeper. You CAN put them back there.



I knew a family with 4 kids who put 2 of them back in there so that they didn't have 3 people to a bench seat.

I have rode in the back of a truck a long time ago but I know better now, if in just about any kind of accident the ones in the back of truck are dead.

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by joeuncool

Not too many campers/rv's out there that can sleep 10 easily.

My 5er is 43' long with many possibilities to lie down BUT it is only permitted to sleep 2!

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by Cypressloser

One more thing, in order to seat 6 people legally you need a crew cab and a front bench seat.
The crew cab alone takes a several hundred pounds off of the truck's payload capacity. What I'm saying is: Do not rely on numbers listed in some brochure, you need the actual numbers for the specific truck you are about to purchase before you sign any contract.

For what they're towing, any gas 2500 will have way more than enough payload unless they plan to haul a load of bricks camping with them.

[Jim34RL]

Originally Posted by david_reaves

Not mentioned in any of the discussion so far is the quality of the unloaded ride. My wife practically refuses to ride in my single-rear-wheel RAM 3500 crew cab. It has a payload capacity of just over 3800 lbs and when the tires are fully inflated for load (80 PSI in the rear) the ride is more than a little stiff. I don't mind, but she insists on taking her RAV4 anywhere we aren't towing the camper. Just one point in the "never too much truck" argument.

When you are not towing or carrying anything in the bed air your tires down. You do not need to be at 80 PSI for the rear tires with an empty bed. They could be set to a minimum of 45 PSI. I know that the TPMS will ding and tell you that the tires need to be checked but this can be ignored. I do this all summer long with my summer towing tires. I do not have the monitoring devices mounted in the rims for these tires. I was too cheap to pay for the devices since I was not at the factory setting for tire air pressures.

The older third gen truck when TPMS was first mandated by the FED'S in the 3/4 ton class of trucks and under. Use to offer two settings such as a light load and a heavier setting for hauling or carrying something in the bed. This was done away with to meet the newer Fed requirements in the 4th gen trucks. In my 2008 the light load setting is set at 45 PSI and the heavy setting is set at 80 PSI with the front setting at 60 PSI for light or heavy. This will definitely improve your ride.

[david_reaves]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

Doesn't she have to ride in the truck if you go camping somewhere and want to go sight-seeing?

Originally Posted by mom28

Well, our Chevy 2500 van is certainly not a luxury ride. ... But we will definitely do a test drive before purchasing.

Does the ride bother you?

She has a cushion that helps absorb some of the bounce, but there is still plenty of muttering. We took it over the Shafer Trail at Canyonlands National Park last fall... she had to ride in my son-in-laws soft-ride Tacoma while one of my daughters rode with me in the RAM.

I don't mind the ride, it is "normal" to me so there isn't anything to complain about. I do soften the pressure in the tires when I'm not towing, which makes a little bit of difference.

[Goat Man]

My Dodge Ram has 373 gears and it pulls out 30' travel trailer like a champ, but it is a diesel.

[Dave Lyon]

I had a 2009 GMC 1/2 T with a 5.3l engine and full tow package. It towed my 23SS fine, but I knew it was back there for sure. Last year I bought a GMC 2500 HD and am much happier with overall towing performance.

The fact that you have 4-6 people travelling with you and payload will be important, I would suggest that you are better suited with a 2500.

I won't comment on gas/diesel or options, but, I think you'd be happy with a 2500.

[Springerdad]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

To answer your first question:

You can't have too much truck. Only too little.

We went from a 2500 crew cab gasser mid bed to a 2500 diesel crew cab long bed to a 3500 diesel DRW long bed. My son asked where it would end. My wife showed him an ad for a 4500 5th wheel hauler. That shut him up. Seriously, if a 2500 can be had equipped with what you want for nearly the same price as s 1500 I would say get the 2500.