North trail 28BRS Weight Ratings Question

[Aero_Dave]

Hello everyone, my Wife & I are interested in getting a 2016 North Trail 28BRS, Caliber Edition. But I'm confused by its weight ratings.
It's listed as Dry - 5885lbs & GVWR 6900lbs. The Cargo is listed @ 980lbs. Although I'm sure we probably will not exceed the 980lbs cargo
rating, my question is this. If you are carrying say 800lbs of cargo, and then your camping & your Black & Grey tanks get full, you've just
added almost 600lbs onto into it's GVWR. So now your over the Manufacture's limits! Seem rather strange, as these weight ratings are some
of the lowest between Dry & GVWR I've seen.
Plus I want to be sure my TV will handle this TT ok. I have a 2012 Ram 1500, 4x4, 5.7L Hemi, 3.55 gears, Quad Cab, Bighorn (so 20" tires) and a tow rating of 8550.
Of course, that's with Empty TV (dry truck is 5294lbs) and the GCVR is 14,000 total. I do have a WD hitch and I'm installing an Airlift 1000
next week.

Thanks,
Dave...

 

[jimtoo]

Hi Dave,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I'm sure you will get more opinions from our other members soon.

Enjoy the forum.

Jim M

 

[jam20ster]

According to the numbers you posted this setup should work. I agree with you that the differential of Dry & GVWR are on the low side. As far as the tank issue you are talking about, just make sure you are always empty when traveling. As long as you are setup and camping I would not be concerned about the tank weight when full, only when traveling.

Also keep in mind that the Dry truck weight includes a 150# driver and a tank of gas and thats it. The Dry weight on the camper, is that online info or actual number located on yellow sticker on the inside of the door of camper? These 2 numbers can be far off. Mine weighs almost 1000#s more on the sticker than it does according to Heartlands website.

 

[avvidclif]

The OP got lost?????

 

[danemayer]

The OP got lost?????

To prevent spam, the first few posts from new members have to be approved. When he edited the 1st post, it temporarily disappeared because it required another approval.

 

[Aero_Dave]

Thanks jam20ster. I know I won't be towing the TT with the Grey & Black tanks full, just that the numbers seems strange to me.
All numbers I've listed of the camper are from Hreatland's web site. Also I've never read that a truck's Dry weight already includes
a 150lbs driver and a tank full of gas. I thought Dry meant Dry, no driver or gas. If that's true then I get about another 350lbs off
of my calculations. Here was my 'thinking' of the weight:
Truck - 5294lbs Dry
Gas - 198lbs
Passengers (3) - 465lbs
Truck cargo - 150lbs
Hitch 580lbs
Total = 6687lbs
GCVW Rating of 14,000 leaves 7313lbs for TT & its cargo.

Once you really start adding All of the numbers up, the actual Tow limits drop quickly.
One option I'm considering (besides upgrading my TV) is to swap gears to the 3.92
Then I'll get Another 1500lbs of towing capacity. But finding someone local that can
do the gear swap is becoming hard to do. I even called my local Chrysler / Ram dealer.
The service guy acted as if I had three-heads and said 'We've never done anything like
that here, I wouldn't even know how to price out the job. If you can get the Parts manager
to list all of the parts needed for the job, I'm sure I can then give you a labor price quote'.
So I said, 'No thanks, I don't need to be use my truck as a guinea pig for a gear swap lesson'.

Dave...


Dave...

 

[Bob&Patty]

Dave, there is nothing you can do to your TV that will increase the "legal" weight ratings. Gears, air bags, extra spring leaves, etc, etc. The rating sticker on the driver door frame "is what it is". My suggestion to you is, upgrade your TV now so you dont have to upgrade again in few years when you want a bigger trailer. The weights listed on the HL web site are a cheapy-strippy base model. Anything added to any coach adds weight. Your issue is the GVW of the trailer and what your TV is legal to pull. Then added to that is the GCVW ratings. Lots of things to ponder, but I will say, you are doing all this the right way...most people don't. BTW, RV salesmen lie.

 

[justafordguy]

In my state the only ratings you have to stay under to be "legal" is the tire ratings. All other ratings on your truck are set by the manufacturer and are not law. You also have to be sure to register your truck for it's actual max weight (GVW), not what's on any manufacturer sticker. The manufacturers stickers aren't even required after the sale. Check the laws for the state you are registered in because thats the only laws you have to meet.

 

[jnbhobe]

In my state the only ratings you have to stay under to be "legal" is the tire ratings. All other ratings on your truck are set by the manufacturer and are not law. You also have to be sure to register your truck for it's actual max weight (GVW), not what's on any manufacturer sticker. The manufacturers stickers aren't even required after the sale. Check the laws for the state you are registered in because thats the only laws you have to meet.

So your saying I can go to Flordia and register my truck for 18K and load it to that weight even though the sticker on the door only says 14K

 

[JohnD]

I found out the hard way about overloading a truck compared to it's weight limit.

It is not about what you can pull . . . but what can you stop!

 

[avvidclif]

Thanks jam20ster. I know I won't be towing the TT with the Grey & Black tanks full, just that the numbers seems strange to me.
All numbers I've listed of the camper are from Hreatland's web site. Also I've never read that a truck's Dry weight already includes
a 150lbs driver and a tank full of gas. I thought Dry meant Dry, no driver or gas. If that's true then I get about another 350lbs off
of my calculations. Here was my 'thinking' of the weight:
Truck - 5294lbs Dry
Gas - 198lbs
Passengers (3) - 465lbs
Truck cargo - 150lbs
Hitch 580lbs
Total = 6687lbs
GCVW Rating of 14,000 leaves 7313lbs for TT & its cargo.

Once you really start adding All of the numbers up, the actual Tow limits drop quickly.
One option I'm considering (besides upgrading my TV) is to swap gears to the 3.92
Then I'll get Another 1500lbs of towing capacity. But finding someone local that can
do the gear swap is becoming hard to do. I even called my local Chrysler / Ram dealer.
The service guy acted as if I had three-heads and said 'We've never done anything like
that here, I wouldn't even know how to price out the job. If you can get the Parts manager
to list all of the parts needed for the job, I'm sure I can then give you a labor price quote'.
So I said, 'No thanks, I don't need to be use my truck as a guinea pig for a gear swap lesson'.

Dave...


Dave...

You're fine. My 2 cents. go to http://fifthwheelst.com/ and start plugging in the numbers for your setup. They have a version for bumper pull also.

That will keep you busy for a little bit and provide peace of mind.