Ram 1500 - 23IKSS towing capability

[Niklaz]

Hi all,

We recently purchased a shamrock 23ikss. Towing with my 2017 Ram 1500. 5.7 V8 hemi. 8HP70 transmission with 3.21 axles ratio. I believe this puts around the 8,100# capacity?

We do not have much experience hauling other than a few times on flat area around town. No real issues pulling but we haven't really tested the limits and we do plan to haul throughout the Appalachian mountain this summer. I do have some concerns with the weight of this tt handling the undulation. I am curious if anyone is towing with a similar setup if so, what have been your experiences? I have the option to purchase a F250 diesel but I am thinkin that may be overkill, but also trying to be mindful of safety and not limit where we can haul. The F250 doesn't have the bells and whistles my Ram has and I still use that vehicle day-to-day, so I am bit torn.

Thanks in advance and happy travels!

[Rhumblefish]

Congrats, Niklaz, and welcome to the site! You're going to love your Shamrock! The 23ikss was hands down our favorite floorplan, but we ended up with a 235S for a few reasons.

Flat around town, you are probably just fine, though it seems like you could be bumping up against some of your 1500's limitations. Despite the (smallish) size, the 23IKSS is no lightweight. Check the capacity sticker on your driver's side door for capacity and payload values. Depending on how your 1500 is built and optioned out, your payload could be as low as 1,191 (internet research, but it all comes down to YOUR specific truck). That might not leave a lot of room for 10-15% of tongue weight + you/family and your gear (in truck) plus trailer and cargo and fluids.

The Roo/Shamrock hybrids are blocky fellows, and don't get to benefit from aerodynamics up front or on the sides. Likewise, they are particularly susceptible to the "bow waves" coming off of overtaking trucks (especially true when you're towing at a noticeably slower limit than the semis are moving).

If you don't have a TPMS already aboard (new or previous owner installation), it's a great time to get one. My new Roo came with the TST TPMS (507, I believe) already installed, I just had to calibrate and set alarm limits.

The 23IKSS is a discontinued model, so it sounds like you MAY have purchased used. Check those tires for manufacturer as well as in-service dates. If you've got a set of seven year old china bombs, you can upgrade to some goodyears and get TMPS band monitors installed at the same time.

SAVE FOR PULLING limits, you're close enough to some of the other limits (specifically payload) that, at least on paper, that you might want to weigh everything (at a Cat Scale) and make sure you're within limits for your Appalachians trip this summer. Fill up, gear up like you're going to camp, fill your tanks (if you're going to haul fresh water with you), and hit the Cat Scales. That will give you real world numbers you can apply against your particular truck's capacities.

Likewise, you're probably going to want a weight distribution hitch with some anti-sway (unless your ABS has anti-sway baked in). Still, better to have BOTH anti-sway than NEITHER.

Again, congrats! You have a lot of happy camping ahead of you!

[rsdata]

Rhumblefish about covered all the bases... check that payload sticker on your door jamb which is the only thing that would be questionable. I have essentially the same RAM in a 2014 version with 3.21 and it pulls my 5000# Shamrock just fine with torque to spare.

I installed GYEndurance tires in load range D up from stock C range.

I have the TST also and had metal valve stems installed for the flo-thru sensors.

Look at and seal the top clearance lights as they sometimes allow water intrusion.

I went under mine when NEW and tied up all loose wiring to the wheel brakes and put wire loom to protect them some. I also painted all exposed metal underneath with rubberized undercoating.

Finally I did some roof work... https://www.forestriverforums.com/fo...nce-90060.html

Good Camping

[Niklaz]

This is fantastic information. Thank you for sharing. I never thought about heading to a CAT scale and will definitely incorporate this into our next trip.

Looks like my payload capacity is 1,690. I am guessing fully loaded w/ fam and pets, I am around 1,400# on the tongue. We use a WDS and wireless TPMS.

I will take some beginner trips in the "foothills" and work my way up to the steeper grades

Thanks again!

[Rhumblefish]

Awesome, Niklaz. Got aquestion, though… I’m not quite sure I understand your statement about payload and tongue weight?

If your payload capacity is 1690, Ram’s engineers have certified that you can safely add no more than 1690 pounds to the truck as it was delivered to you (some manufacturers include a full tank of gas, some given allotment for a driver. Not sure what applies for ram, but it’s an important consideration). From there, reduce from that capacity anything you put into the truck: that’s you, the family, dog(s), and that little bag of car goodies for the trip. Anything in the bed, too.

Your truck can handle X amount of tongue weight (weight applied by the trailer’s tongue to the hitch of your truck). Factory ram hitch should be IV, and should take up to 1100 lbs. Rule of thumb is that the weight your trailer puts on the hitch should be roughly 10 to 15% of the trailers total weight.

Factory (imaginary) specs for a generic 23IKSS (with no options added) are:
Hitch Weight 688 lbs
Dry Weight 5640 lbs
Cargo Weight 1208 lbs

(Remember, this is bare bones and dry! NOT your rig, as you’ve optioned and loaded it).

Factory balance says the hitch weight for this unloaded trailer will be 688 lbs (your trailer will likely be well north of that, by the way). Ultimately, we want this value to be in the 10-15% range for safe towing. Forest River says you can safely add 1208 lbs to your rig (including solar panels, bbq grills, bigger air conditioners, chicken noodle soup, propane, etc). Lets say that between the option sheet, and anything you want to bring with you, you add 1200 lbs to your trailer.

5640 (factory weight, dry)
+1200 (added options, gear, food, fuel, equipment etc “cargo”)
=6840 (theoretical total weight)

10-15% of 6840 = 684-1026lbs of tongue weight.

Lets average and round and call that a targeted tongue weight of 850lb.

That how much weight your trailer should hang on your hitch point (don’t forget to add the weight of the hitch, too).

1690 (truck payload) - 850 (hitch weight) = 840 lbs of stuff (and family) you have left to put in the truck… and stay within engineered limits. Seems like plenty to me.

But these are example calculations using factory specs and estimations. Using REAL world numbers is/can be critically important (and can be eye opening).

With your payload (confirmed at 1690), I /think/ you are perfectly fine to drag that 23IKSS with the 1500. You are bumping up against your limits, so confirming with some scale weights is a really good idea. Again, be very careful with using tongue weight “calculations”. You really want an actual measurement.

Llastly, Trailer loading is an art: (using the places that you can to store gear/cargo, food, equipment, etc.) you want to balance where that weight is. Ideally, any weight you add/want to carry shoud be is as close to the centerpoint of the axles as possible…. Not on the tongue, and definitely not in the tail in attempt to reduce tongue weight. (There is a danger of too much tongue weight, just as there is an even greater danger of too much tail weight… Both of which will upset the balance of the trailer and put you in danger of unintended sway).

But this is a really long post, and it’s still only shows some generalities. There’s a lot more that goes into loading, safe towing practices, how to hitch to your ram, what sort of weight distribution limits you want to use, etc. if you follow the rules of thumb mentioned above, you should be a good starting point. especially for a person new to towing. There are much more learned people here than I that can also help.

And, caveat: you know what opinions are like. We’ve all got them. Do your best, be safe, and enjoy your new RV. I’m really excited for you!

[CNYCamper]

I have the 2015 edition of that same camper and will be entering our 8th year of using it in May. About half our camping in in the Adirondacks and my truck has never strained going up any hills. My Silverado has a tow rating of 9,700 lbs and payload of 1,750 lbs. The brochure for our 23IKSS shows an empty weight of 5,045, but the sticker weight is actually 5,015. Hitch weight is under 600 lb. including full propane tanks as that's how they are shipped from FR. Batteries are a dealer/customer install so that weight has to be added and I carry 2. My front pass-thru is narrow so that carries basically fishing poles, a couple kites, ax and saw (less than 100 lbs.). We do carry 2 folding e-bikes in totes for a total of 130 lbs. ahead of the axles. Suggest you look into PUGS to cover the bunks. No. 1# add-on for hybrids and pop-ups. Often overlooked feature is location of the hot water tank immediately behind the shower. Affords almost instant hot water. Some complain that the bathroom or fridge can't be accessed with the slides closed. Open the camper door, hit the switch for the curb side slide and in 8 seconds you are in. Congratulations and enjoy (sorry for being long-winded).

[rooeringCA]

I have a 2018 RAM 1500 with the Hemi 5.7L, 2WD and 3.92 gears. I tow our 2018 Roo 23IKSS without issues on the interstate, uphills, etc. I do use an Equilizer hitch which I highly recommend. The engine oil does get pretty hot when towing uphill and it is hot out so I use Redline 5W30 synthetic oil during the summer months as it is ester based and provides great engine protection under high engine oil temperature conditions.

[njfishing]

You should have plenty of power and it appears plenty of payload. Only issues with the RAM trucks is they have coil instead of leaf springs in the rear and tend to squat more. I would recommend a good weight distribution hitch with sway control to eliminate the squat and make your trailer behave better. The Equalizer or Curt Trutrack would be my recommendation.