Towing 2016 32BHDS with RAM1500

[TexasA&M]

I've got a 2011 32BHDS and my tongue weight was 1,280lbs before I put a ProPride hitch on it. I would suspect it's up over 1,400lbs now. I normally tow with an F250, but I have also towed it a few times with various half tons (GM and Nissan) and it hasn't been a problem. It's definitely there, and I wouldn't want to go 200+ miles with it, but they did the job.

[NC Hauler]

Originally Posted by Camper_bob

Why so much focus on sway? When I was towing near my maximums with my GMC, it wasn't sway I was worried about. In fact, I didn't have hardly any sway problems. What I DID have were problems being under-powered, stability problems, sag problems, porpoising problems, potential braking problems, and did I mention power problems? On top of all that, I was at my specified maximums with a child on the way. And I knew things were only going to get heavier as that little boy grows up.

Sure, we can argue till we're blue in the face about what the actual engineering capacities are (ie, failure point) vs what the printed documentation says, but none of that matters. What matters is that you're safe and comfortable out there on the road. And I for one don't want to find out that my truck will have a catastrophic failure at XX lbs.

We agree

[NC Hauler]

Originally Posted by TexasA&M

I've got a 2011 32BHDS and my tongue weight was 1,280lbs before I put a ProPride hitch on it. I would suspect it's up over 1,400lbs now. I normally tow with an F250, but I have also towed it a few times with various half tons (GM and Nissan) and it hasn't been a problem. It's definitely there, and I wouldn't want to go 200+ miles with it, but they did the job.

Don't think it would do 200 mph if you wanted it to,. I tow at speed limit, or some below.. Most times, max speed I run is 65 mph on Interstate, I've done 70 in 70 speed zone and had tires to do it with (GY G614's LT's)., BUT, I get my best towing MPG towing at 55 to 62 mph.

[Crabman]

Rustic Eagle is always the calming voice of reason in these type of threads. I agree with him and others since you already have this truck load it up with ready to camp weights and take it to a CAT scale to verify all weights. If you are over and/or your towing experience leaves something to be desired then consider the upgrade. But my feeling and experience is you would be happy if you did.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by crabman

rustic eagle is always the calming voice of reason in these type of threads. I agree with him and others since you already have this truck load it up with ready to camp weights and take it to a cat scale to verify all weights. If you are over and/or your towing experience leaves something to be desired then consider the upgrade. But my feeling and experience is you would be happy if you did.

+1 100%

[spoon059]

I can promise you that you are over your payload, even if you are under your GCVWR. That is a LOT of trailer for a half ton truck, especially a Ram which has some of the lowest payload ratings in the industry. I think you will find that you do not like the way it tows. Good luck.

[Cdash]

I would also suggest, since you said you work at a dealer, maybe you can pull the trailer with a bigger truck (from the dealer) and see how it feels. It would give you a great perspective on how different it would be. If it's night and day, you probably have your answer, if the difference is slight, you probably have your answer.

[Rooster]

Thank you all for your feedback, my current vehicle is leased until December and I'll be camping mostly local with a few beach trips. I have an equilizer hitch that was given to me. I'll try using what I have this season with the expectation of upgrading next season. I'll expand my range once I have the right truck to pull it with.

[TexasA&M]

Originally Posted by NC Hauler

Don't think it would do 200 mph if you wanted it to,.

I was saying that I wouldn't want to tow a distance of 200+ miles, not drive 200mph.

[Ottawasteve]

I also agree that going to the scales loaded will allow you to make an informed decision. Nunyadam provided some great real world weights to consider in regards to the capabilities of your truck. I would strongly recommend that you ignore the "Absolutely need a 250/2500" comments with a grain of salt as you'll see similar comments repeated by the same posters even when the weights of the projected TT's are well within the manufacturers ratings of a particular "half ton". Those comments should be given the same limited weight as I towed double that weight for years with a SUV or half ton with no problems. Those who are telling you absolutely one way or the other have no idea of the capacities or payload of your truck nor the tongue weight of the trailer how you will be loading it which makes their firm opinions worthless.

One of the most important things to remember is that there are no absolutes. Towing while you are 2% over the rated payload of your vehicle is not going to be significantly different from towing while 2% under the rated payload of your TV and your tires do no automatically fall off at highway speed as soon as you reach 101% of your vehicles posted limits. IMHO it is much safer to tow at 55 mph while 2% over ratings than be 2% under vehicle ratings while travelling at 65 mph in heavy traffic.

A TV at or near its rated capacities is not going to handle or drive the same if it is towing at 10% of its rated capacities. Adding airbags, LT tires and a very good quality hitch will not increase your rated capacities but it will make for a much better towing experience than the same truck without those added items. While they might be an unrecoverable expense it may make more economic sense than a new truck. Being aware that you don’t have the same transmission as an HD truck means that you should also pay close attention to temperatures and appropriate gauges can help you keep an eye on key temperatures which will also be affected by how far and where you tow.

As far as avoiding the Hensley or Pro-pride hitch because of payload, I would much sooner be 200 lbs over TV payload with one of those hitches than be 100 lbs over or under TV payload with any other hitch on the market.

When considering payload it is important to remember that you are considering the entire weight of your 5500 to 6000 lb truck. This means that if you are 100 lbs over your 1500lb payload, this is 100 lbs on a 6000 lb truck. At the end of the day, while towing, a gas hemi in a 2500 with 4.10 gears is not going to climb the mountain any faster than your 1500 hemi with 3.92 gears. As long as you load your truck and trailer carefully, you may be able to stay within the ratings of your truck but you will be the only one to control this.

[gtsum2]

I had a 2013 ram 1500...payload was 1061lbs. If your ram is anywhere near what mine was, that is too much trailer. Ram 1500's are terrible for payload capacity

If I had a travel trailer, the only hitches I would consider would be a pro pride or Hensley no question about it

[RodgerS]

Frankly, never owned a truck or tt or 5th. However, am about to go that route and have been reading and researching this.

Bottom line seems it is advisable to have more truck than one needs, not try to make do with close to the limits.

But, I'm just not authentic on this issue and kind of enjoy killing flies with a hammer, despite the damage. Yesterday, I started my fire pit with my hand held micro butane torch. I won't full-time but will probably buy a full-time quality rv. And my wife is from China, when I could have found a local girl.

[RodgerS]

Ask yourself, do you want to show your buds your elegant solutions or your new Kick A.. truck?

[Rooster]

Probably going to purchase a 6.4L hemi Ram 2500. I wasn't planning on it just yet, so I was hoping my truck would do the job for now. I drive one yesterday, it's night and day from the 1500.

[RodgerS]

You were not planning on it, you did your research, and now you are doing the right thing and maybe having to bite the bullet. But, the benefits of good judgments are that they provide a stream of future benefits and a feeling and the knowing that you are on top of your game. That makes you one of the 20 percenters, as some call it.

[smurfs_of_war]

You've already received great advice and looks like you're on the right track. I came from a 1500 Ram and let me tell you- that thing would PULL like a freight train. But I had to make many additions and modifications to carry the weight. We routinely clocked in at 500 to 1200 lbs over GVWR and I noticed that I never had issues with braking, handling, sway or anything BUT where I noticed a big issue was the axles were running insanely hot. Could barely touch the center of the wheel. That was telling me it was time to move up.

For reference, our TT is 4000lbs lighter and 9 feet shorter than yours

[Big1]

Originally Posted by Rooster

Probably going to purchase a 6.4L hemi Ram 2500. I wasn't planning on it just yet, so I was hoping my truck would do the job for now. I drive one yesterday, it's night and day from the 1500.

I would highly think about this if I where you, I order one myself to handle whatever TT I'm planning on getting, it just a piece of mind for me and my wife. Let us know what's you decide.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Rooster

Probably going to purchase a 6.4L hemi Ram 2500. I wasn't planning on it just yet, so I was hoping my truck would do the job for now. I drive one yesterday, it's night and day from the 1500.

Yeah, it'll hurt a little. It did when I did it. But it's worth it to KNOW without a doubt in my mind that I've done everything I can reasonably do to keep my family safe going down the road. And for me, that's well worth the price of admission. I can always make more money.

[campingn.c.]

Lot's of bad info on here in my opinion. Yes that trailer is absolutely in 3/4 ton territory and I hate people are saying to "ignore those comments". I've had mine on the scale one time and the tongue weight was sitting at 1380lbs. To all the "Hensley/PP crowd remember BOTH are rated at 1400lbs. I even spoke to Sean at PP about the rating. Hitches, air bags etc etc are all band-aids.
I had a 2500HD CCSB and still fought handling issues for a while. Lots of porpoising. Finally went from 1200lb bars to 1500lbs and solved most of the issues. Of course weights on the same camper will vary, but 1500 plus lbs on the ball isn't extreme on a 32BHDS. It is a LOT of camper.
OP, sounds like you're on the right track looking at 3/4's. I will add this. Consider a long bed truck. The extra wheel base will make a huge difference when there's 35ft of trailer behind you.

[Treatcg]

Originally Posted by campingn.c.

Lot's of bad info on here in my opinion. Yes that trailer is absolutely in 3/4 ton territory and I hate people are saying to "ignore those comments". I've had mine on the scale one time and the tongue weight was sitting at 1380lbs. To all the "Hensley/PP crowd remember BOTH are rated at 1400lbs. I even spoke to Sean at PP about the rating. Hitches, air bags etc etc are all band-aids.

I had a 2500HD CCSB and still fought handling issues for a while. Lots of porpoising. Finally went from 1200lb bars to 1500lbs and solved most of the issues. Of course weights on the same camper will vary, but 1500 plus lbs on the ball isn't extreme on a 32BHDS. It is a LOT of camper.

OP, sounds like you're on the right track looking at 3/4's. I will add this. Consider a long bed truck. The extra wheel base will make a huge difference when there's 35ft of trailer behind you.

Agreed!