Pulling Weight

Well, I finally got time to get my truck and trailer over to the scales today to see what kind of weight I was pulling after putting everything in the trailer for us to live with and the grand total weight with my truck (3/4 tank of gas) and the trailer (full tank of gas for the generator) is 20,640 lbs. My truck weighed in at 7,100 lbs without the trailer. So if my math is correct that would mean that the trailer weighs in at 13,540 lbs by its self. I think if we need to put the harley in the back we will make sure to burn off some of that fuel in the generator and especially if we want to put a little water in the tank for emergency stops or stops overnight without hook ups.

How am I looking weight wise? Sometimes I wish I would have gone with the 3500HD, but didn't think I would be getting such a big trailer at the time.

How do you get the weight on each axle once you have the total weight and how do you get the king pin weight?

You have to straddle each scale plate. Put a different axle on a different plate to weigh the axle. The the print out will say steer axle/Drive axle.

If you put both axle on one plate you won't get each individual axle weight.

To get the pin weight, drop your trailer in the lot and weigh the truck by it's self.

Then hook up the trailer and go back on the scale. Now you will see steer axle weight/ Drive axle weight/ trailer weight.

Add the steer/drive axle together, then subtract your weight from when you weighed only the truck and you have your pin weight.

New,
I do not know how much you use your rig but I can tell you in time you will wish you had a 3500HD dually. Our rig total weight with two Harley's and two kids two adults dog,cat everything for a week of camping a little water was 24,660lbs. Of course our F-350 weighs more than your 2500. But these trailers are heavy empty. Ours weigh in at 12,330 empty. Sounds like you are running light in your rig. You will find that adding a bike will take off pin weight and you truck will set better. Ours does. Good luck with yours We love ours now.

I think you will find that the trailer rides better with some weight in the garage, and it does take weight off of the pin. When our garage is light the trailer seems to buck and surge alot more.

In my opinion your truck may need some help by adding some airbags. There are a lot of people out there pulling heavy trailers with 3/4 ton trucks, but most people I know upgrade to 1 ton trucks for the towing benifits like larger brakes, and additional cooling capability when money allows.

I've been where you are at right now. I had a 08 Dodge 2500 when I bought my Cyclone. My dealer said it would be fine. That was BS. As you see, I traded in to get the 3500. I bet you will be close to maxing out on the rear axle weight on the 2500. If not now, by the time you've traveled a bit you'll be overweight before you know it. In California you can get a ticket for that. It doesn't matter if you install air bags. CHP looks only at the truck weight classification which is found on or near the driver door.

With my 2500 I was just 100 pounds from max before fully loaded. With my 3500 I have 1000 pounds to spare (last time I checked). (TV Rear axle)

DW_Gray said:

I've been where you are at right now. I had a 08 Dodge 2500 when I bought my Cyclone. My dealer said it would be fine. That was BS. As you see, I traded in to get the 3500. I bet you will be close to maxing out on the rear axle weight on the 2500. If not now, by the time you've traveled a bit you'll be overweight before you know it. In California you can get a ticket for that. It doesn't matter if you install air bags. CHP looks only at the truck weight classification which is found on or near the driver door.

With my 2500 I was just 100 pounds from max before fully loaded. With my 3500 I have 1000 pounds to spare (last time I checked). (TV Rear axle)

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How is Dodge rated? I know a Ford F350 DRW can pull a whooping 100 pounds more than a F250. I'm talking GVWR here. A 350/3500 is rated to carry more (GAWR) but not really pull more. If you had a huge truck camper I would agree a 350/3500 is the way to go but in this case to go from a 250/2500 to a 350/3500 is not a big jump

shriver63 said:

How is Dodge rated? I know a Ford F350 DRW can pull a whooping 100 pounds more than a F250. I'm talking GVWR here. A 350/3500 is rated to carry more (GAWR) but not really pull more. If you had a huge truck camper I would agree a 350/3500 is the way to go but in this case to go from a 250/2500 to a 350/3500 is not a big jump

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The GVWR for the 08 Dodge 2500 is 9,000 pounds. The GVWR for the 08 Dodge 3500 is 12,200 pounds. What I believe is important is not to overload the rear axle rating. The 2500 rear axle rating is 6,010 pounds and the 3500 is 9,350 pounds. Like I said before, the last time I weighed the rear axle with my loaded Cyclone attached it was 8,350 pounds.

When I weighed the Cyclone with only the black, gray and fresh water tanks and the fuel tank filled, the 2500 rear axle weight was 5,910 pounds. I new right away that the 2500 would not safely do the job although the engine could tow it just fine. Here is a picture of my 2500 right after I brought the empty Cyclone home for the first time.

DW_Gray said:

The GVWR for the 08 Dodge 2500 is 9,000 pounds. The GVWR for the 08 Dodge 3500 is 12,200 pounds. What I believe is important is not to overload the rear axle rating. The 2500 rear axle rating is 6,010 pounds and the 3500 is 9,350 pounds. Like I said before, the last time I weighed the rear axle with my loaded Cyclone attached it was 8,350 pounds.

When I weighed the Cyclone with only the black, gray and fresh water tanks and the fuel tank filled, the 2500 rear axle weight was 5,910 pounds. I new right away that the 2500 would not safely do the job although the engine could tow it just fine. Here is a picture of my 2500 right after I brought the empty Cyclone home for the first time.

View attachment 7227

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Opps...my bad...I meant to same the gross combined weight rating for a 350/3500 compared to a 250/2500. To give you an example a 2008 F250 with diesel is 23000. A 2008 F350 SRW with diesel is 23000. A 2008 F350 DRW with diesel is 23500. What I am trying to say is every Tom, Dick and Harry is telling me I need a F350 dually to pull my 2011 3850 that is on it's way. If a F350 dually weighs 500 lbs more than a F250 then both would be overloaded on the gross. I believe a 450 is needed

shriver63 said:

Opps...my bad...I meant to same the gross combined weight rating for a 350/3500 compared to a 250/2500. To give you an example a 2008 F250 with diesel is 23000. A 2008 F350 SRW with diesel is 23000. A 2008 F350 DRW with diesel is 23500. What I am trying to say is every Tom, Dick and Harry is telling me I need a F350 dually to pull my 2011 3850 that is on it's way. If a F350 dually weighs 500 lbs more than a F250 then both would be overloaded on the gross. I believe a 450 is needed

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Okay, now I understand what you are talking about. So to answer your question, in the 08 Dodge brochure it states that the 2500 GCWR is 20,000 pounds and the 3500 GCWR is 24,000 pounds. (That's for the long bed 4X4 with a 4.10 axle ratio.) Now keep in mind that is what Dodge recommends. That information is not written on the truck's certification label. As far as the highway patrol, they only look at GVWR and GAWR front and rear.

My last check of GCW for my rig was 26,000 pounds. That's 2,000 pounds over per the brochure, yet I'm well under the certification label limits. I just had my transmission checked last week and it's still in great condition and the engine power is awesome for its size.

shriver63 said:

Opps...my bad...I meant to same the gross combined weight rating for a 350/3500 compared to a 250/2500. To give you an example a 2008 F250 with diesel is 23000. A 2008 F350 SRW with diesel is 23000. A 2008 F350 DRW with diesel is 23500. What I am trying to say is every Tom, Dick and Harry is telling me I need a F350 dually to pull my 2011 3850 that is on it's way. If a F350 dually weighs 500 lbs more than a F250 then both would be overloaded on the gross. I believe a 450 is needed

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If you look at the Ford specs for 5th wheel towing, only the F350 DRW 4x2 and the F450 have a tow rating above the GVW of the cyclone's 18000 for 2007-2010 model years.

Bighurt said:

If you look at the Ford specs for 5th wheel towing, only the F350 DRW 4x2 and the F450 have a tow rating above the GVW of the cyclone's 18000 for 2007-2010 model years.

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Yup - that's why we got the F450 for our 3950 and don't regret it for a moment.