Excellent guide for rig and truck weighing!!

[DW_Gray]

IMHO, if a trailer is correctly engineered, it should have enough braking power to stop itself. That is why brakes are put on any trailer over 1500 lbs. Trace

Yep, I agree with that. None of the pickup trucks with stock brakes are built to stop the load of the these big RV trailers. If you want a truck that will stop these trailers without brakes, get a MDT or HDT.

 

[roaddog28]

Hi gang,
Based on the last eight to ten years, most high in toy haulers especially Heartland Cyclones require a truck that has a tow rating of 18000 lbs. When we bought our 2008 Cyclone 3210 new we were told by the Heartland dealer that our 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 short bed 4X4 would be safe towing the Cyclone. The tow rating on our Dodge then was 13,100. The dry weight of the 3210 is 11,700. After loading the trailer out total combined weight exceeded out trucks rating. As a result we only carry a minimum load in the trailer so we are not overloaded. Plus the dealer never indicated that a tow hauler weighing over 15000 GVWR requires a class A non commercial license in Calif. Basically the dealer lied about our vehicle being able to tow the 3210 with a load plus either the salesman was inexperienced or just wanted to sell a RV which would explain why a different driver license was required to legally tow the trailer in California. After our experience with RV dealers, I have learned not to trust any of them. Most of the members here are experience enough to avoid this situation. I was not back in 2008 and as result got burned. I am posting this so new RV members can beware of the pitfalls especially with dealers.
Thanks
Howard
PS: We have gone to a one ton dually which handles the cyclone much better. The 2007 Dodge 2500 was a handful as far as stability and handling.

 

[jmgratz]

Hi gang,
Based on the last eight to ten years, most high in toy haulers especially Heartland Cyclones require a truck that has a tow rating of 18000 lbs. When we bought our 2008 Cyclone 3210 new we were told by the Heartland dealer that our 2007 Dodge Ram 2500 short bed 4X4 would be safe towing the Cyclone. The tow rating on our Dodge then was 13,100. The dry weight of the 3210 is 11,700. After loading the trailer out total combined weight exceeded out trucks rating. As a result we only carry a minimum load in the trailer so we are not overloaded. Plus the dealer never indicated that a tow hauler weighing over 15000 GVWR requires a class A non commercial license in Calif. Basically the dealer lied about our vehicle being able to tow the 3210 with a load plus either the salesman was inexperienced or just wanted to sell a RV which would explain why a different driver license was required to legally tow the trailer in California. After our experience with RV dealers, I have learned not to trust any of them. Most of the members here are experience enough to avoid this situation. I was not back in 2008 and as result got burned. I am posting this so new RV members can beware of the pitfalls especially with dealers.
Thanks
Howard
PS: We have gone to a one ton dually which handles the cyclone much better. The 2007 Dodge 2500 was a handful as far as stability and handling.

Many of the salesman at dealers either don't care or will say anything to sell a unit.

 

[JohnD]

I watched several episodes of 'Going RV' last night on (these will be on again this Wednesday from 3:30 through 6 p.m. mountain time) on GAC (Great American Country Channel) Direct TV Channel 326.

What was cool is they showed several Heartland products (Elkridge, Sundance, Cyclone, Road Warrior and North Trail - and a couple of Big Horn's in the background) and sold 2 Gateway 5th-wheelers . . .

But the interesting part was that more than once the salespersons' showed them bigger and higher than budget trailers than what they were looking for, and even knowing the tow vehicles that the customers were driving, never bothered to tell them (at least on camera) that they would need to upgrade their tow vehicles if they went that way.

 

[DW_Gray]

But the interesting part was that more than once the salespersons' showed them bigger and higher than budget trailers than what they were looking for, and even knowing the tow vehicles that the customers were driving, never bothered to tell them (at least on camera) that they would need to upgrade their tow vehicles if they went that way.

Agreeing with what jmgratz said above, the majority of salespeople or dealers either don't care or have never been properly educated. A few times I have tested and instructed some salespeople with the facts and proved to them with RVtowCheck.com how their methods or dealer app fails. They still showed little interest in the true facts. I doubt the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association cares either.

 

[roaddog28]

Agreeing with what jmgratz said above, the majority of salespeople or dealers either don't care or have never been properly educated. A few times I have tested and instructed some salespeople with the facts and proved to them with RVtowCheck.com how their methods or dealer app fails. They still showed little interest in the true facts. I doubt the Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association cares either.

Amen Dave,
In the end its all about making money. A lot of RV salesman do care about their customers.
Thanks,
Howard

 

[avvidclif]

Amen Dave,
In the end its all about making money. A lot of RV salesman do care about their customers.
Thanks,
Howard

I feel like Diogenes when looking for a salesman.