Want to know what vehicle can pull your rv? A discussion.

[kakampers]

Tankie...very simply, if you're towing a trailer with a GVWR of 19,000, you really need to have AT LEAST a medium duty truck...4500/450 or bigger. If it was me...I'd have a Heavy Duty truck, which translates to a Volvo, Freightliner, etc....We tow our 16,000 GVWR trailer with a Chevy 4500. Even though we are way under on all axle weights we are actually a little over on our GCWR of 26,000 lbs. And yes, our 4500 does have much larger brakes giving the capability to stop much better, in fact, we are able to stop our rig without trailer brakes...wouldn't have even tried it with our 1 ton DRW Dodge.

The disparity in those numbers is exactly Tab's point. His truck actually weighs 9,000...so he can't tow the 16,450lbs Dodge says he can, and stay under the GCWR...that's why he is towing a trailer with a GVWR of only 14,000lbs...and he's still at his GCWR limit, or just under it.

The curb weights that all manufacturers supply are ALWAYS way below what these vehicles ACTUALLY weigh. The only way to know for sure is to scale your rig, preferrably weighing all wheels separately.

 

[HappyKayakers]

The biggest reason I had an exhaust brake installed on my truck was steep downgrades. With a diesel engine (without exhaust brake), downshifting is not going to help you much going downhill. The only other option is riding your brakes down and overheating them. Going through Monteagle TN, our exhaust brake performed great and gave us a confident feeling as we passed the runaway truck lanes at a safe and sensible speed, without touching the brakes.
Yes, I also use mine when not towing just to save on brake wear.

 

[Pulltab]

Pulltab and others,

Similar statements have been made by several people:

Regarding dual rear tires vs single rear tires..............
True, but it is also 50% more braking capability and the stability of dual wheels towing a 5th when is enormous in my opinion.

I have researched braking and stability. I cannot find anywhere to verify dual tires provide more braking ability and road stability. As I have read, stopping ability is dependent on several factors of which "just more tires on the road" isn't included. Stability is a factor of suspension, frame design, wheel base, tire design, etc, "not just more tires on the road". Most dually owners promote these theories, is this just opinions or based on factual information. If there is factual information, I would sure like to know...........so I and others know for sure. Braking and stability is a serious consideration.............I would hate to see someone get hurt based on incorrect information.

Forrest

Forrest, your pulling my leg right? Common sense tells you that anytime you can put more rubber to the road you increase contact. Therefore more braking can be applied to the road, (increasing braking 50% was taken out of context and I should have said tire contact in general increases 50% therefore allowing more tire contact to use the applied braking) the same reason top fuel dragsters use 16" wide tires, more rubber to the road the more contact the better the grip for acceleration. Take a pencil and put the eraser down on the paper and push fairly hard, now try to slide the eraser on the paper, ok now take one of those rectangular erasers that are like 2" long and do the same experiment, it is going to be much harder to slide the eraser using the same amount of pressure. In theory tire contact is the same principal.

Now as for dual rear wheels, anytime you can widen the stance you increase stability. Imagine trying to pull a 5ht wheel using a motorcycle and a 50 mph cross wind. Once again using a race car as an example Formula one cars are made as wide as possible for stability otherwise they would build them to look like dragsters and very narrow.

Here is some info from wikipedia on truck campers being used in pickup trucks:
Suitable truck types

Larger North American pickup trucks are generally the best for carrying a truck camper, although many manufacturers produce units for lighter duty European and Japanese models. The gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of a truck is the figure used to determine what size camper may be carried. The GVWR, minus the weight of the truck with passengers and fuel is the payload that the truck may legally carry. Stability can be improved by the addition of a sway bar, overload springs and inflatable airbags on the rear suspension. Most campers are rated at their "dry weight" which is the weight of the camper less any fluids like fresh water or sewage, and any possessions or add-ons that may add to the total weight. These need to be taken into account when determining the maximum size camper a truck may carry. Tires & Braking capacity are also two important factors when determining maximum payload. It should be noted that the total axle capacity is always higher than the GVWR. Tires & braking are frequently the rate determining factor, from a safety point of view.
Pickups come in many different varieties; Single Rear Wheels (SRWs), Dual Rear Wheels (DRWs), short bed, long bed, gas, diesel, 1/2 tons, 3/4 tons & 1 tons and up. There are also other factors in the equation such as tire rating. A large enough truck should be used to handle the payload of the camper. A DRW will provide more stability and payload than an SRW, however a DRW is more likely to get stuck in snow or sand, and is not as easy to drive around when the camper is off. A one ton truck will carry more than a 3/4 ton truck, which in turn will carry more than a 1/2 ton truck. There is a significant frame difference between a 1/2 ton truck and a 3/4 truck. The frames on a 3/4 ton and 1 ton truck are essentially identical.



Here is a paragraph about the Dodge mega cab:


Featuring dual rear wheels that expand the rear-wheel track to six feet, four inches, the 2006 Dodge Ram Mega Cab Dually provides more payload capacity and enhanced trailer-towing stability. To supply class-leading muscle, the Dodge Ram Mega Cab Dually model comes standard with 610 lb.-ft. of torque, courtesy of its 5.9-liter

Cummins Turbo Diesel engine.
And here is the website it came from http://www.worldcarfans.com/2050930.004/all-new-2006-dodge-ram-mega-cab-dually

Hope that helps some to understand.

Now, 2 things:
I will go back and correct the statement that you have highlighted to prevent further confusion. Thanks for pointing it out,

And as for the statement about dual rear wheels increasing stability, to my credit I had put In MY opinion!

 

[Pulltab]

The biggest reason I had an exhaust brake installed on my truck was steep downgrades. With a diesel engine (without exhaust brake), downshifting is not going to help you much going downhill. The only other option is riding your brakes down and overheating them. Going through Monteagle TN, our exhaust brake performed great and gave us a confident feeling as we passed the runaway truck lanes at a safe and sensible speed, without touching the brakes.
Yes, I also use mine when not towing just to save on brake wear.

Joe, you are exactly right, an exhaust brake is a huge improvement and addition to making trailering safe. My dodge has the turbo/exhaust brake installed and it works so well with the transmission that on 7-8% grades I have to keep throttle on occasionally to stay at speed due to it slowing the vehicle so well. One of the best investements you can add to a diesel truck if you ask me!

 

[Tankie]

Weight my truck today at a CAT scale w/ me ,wife, grandkid,full tank of liquid gold, tool box full. Front 4660 Rear 3200 total 7860. Can tow trailer of 12140 lbs, so u need a 1 ton to tow just about anything big enough to live in. Still the numbers these companys are putting out make no sense! if 3500 DWR have no bigger brakes, then they are not using stoppability to base it on. On Dodge change axle ratio and trans from manual to auto will change tow rating.

 

[Pulltab]

Weight my truck today at a CAT scale w/ me ,wife, grandkid,full tank of liquid gold, tool box full. Front 4660 Rear 3200 total 7860. Can tow trailer of 12140 lbs, so u need a 1 ton to tow just about anything big enough to live in. Still the numbers these companys are putting out make no sense! if 3500 DWR have no bigger brakes, then they are not using stoppability to base it on. On Dodge change axle ratio and trans from manual to auto will change tow rating.

Tankie, good info you got, how does it compare to the base weight of the truck do you know? I believe the the manufacturer will base a part of the GCWR on saving components during the warranty period. For example we bought a new dodge in 2005 that had a 3:73 rear ratio and its GCWR was 21,000, yet if you got the exact same truck but with a 4:10 your GCWR went to 23,000lbs. I find it interesting that both the numbers on the gear and the weight rating were 10%

 

[Forrest Fetherolf]

Pulltab,

Thanks for taking the time and effort to explain your reasoning.

No.........I am not pulling your leg .........my arm and/or your leg is to short to reach from Ohio to Nevada.

My horoscope for today was:
Quickie: You'll benefit from the ambition of others. Let them do the work while you relax.

Forrest

 

[Pulltab]

Pulltab,

Thanks for taking the time and effort to explain your reasoning.

No.........I am not pulling your leg .........my arm and/or your leg is to short to reach from Ohio to Nevada.

My horoscope for today was:
Quickie: You'll benefit from the ambition of others. Let them do the work while you relax.

Forrest

nice one Forrest!

 

[Tankie]

Pulltab, the base weight is 4397 front and 2682 rear total 7079. So I am carrying 781 lbs, wow not as much as I thought! plus granddaughter is not with us all the time. I think you are right about them going conservative, the info I got off dodges web site states that all payload and max trailer wts are estimated values. They also recommend exhaust brake w/diesel application w/trailer over 10000 lbs. Next I have to weight whole unit, just because trailer has a gvwr of 16000 lbs don't mean you have to carry that much. We try to carry as little as possible.

 

[Pulltab]

That is true Tankie, people who just camp on weekends don't carry near as much as those of us who fulltime. At least you are aware and can make changes in your driving style if needed.