2013 304bhs

[mesuezee]

so we are very close to getting this camper. Any opinions? my concerns are that the bunkhouse doesnt have a slide out and the bathroom doesnt have a door. I have a 10yr old and 7 yr old. we are trying to stay lightweight. we have a 2003 dodge ram 1500 and we are not sure how much we can actually tow...any feedback is appreciated!

Thank you!
Suzanne

[gtsum2]

Similar situation here...2 kids and a ram 1500 (2013). I weighed the truck at a cat scale with the family I board and to say I was shocked is an understatement....ram has terrible payload...we were going to buy the white hawk 28dsbh (smaller than what ur looking at) and I would have been way over on payload. I was not happy at all. Gonna trade the 1500 and get a 3500 diesel and fifth wheel now. Good luck and see what ur truck weighs so u know what u got for payload capacity

[Threebutchers]

First glance doesn't look good - but it would help to get a lot more information on your TV...cab style, 2WD or 4WD, bed length, option package or tow package, engine.....

Just from the general specs I can find on the 304BHS, the dry weight is almost 7,000# and the max GVW is 9,000#....actual tongue weight well over 1,000# for sure.

[Rustic Eagle]

Originally Posted by gtsum2

snip.......see what ur truck weighs so u know what u got for payload capacity

Good advice......., just subtract the TV's CAT scale weight (under loaded conditions) from the TV's specified GVWR noted on driver's door.

IMO you will find the lack of the 2003 Ram 1500's payload capacity will rule out the 304BHS because of the heavy loaded tongue weight (TT tongue weight is subtracted from a TV's "actual" payload capacity).

The recommended loaded tongue weight of the 304BHS should be in the 13% to 15% range of the TT's actual loaded weight.

Bob

[mesuezee]

We have a 5.7 hemi engine. We bought this used a couple of months ago. It did come with a towing hitch and plug light. We will be putting in the trailer brakes in this truck. We put them in our Town and Country to tow our pop up. would go without them. does anyone have any opinions about the camper itself? I have been trying to find reviews and such but no luck...

[gtsum2]

Originally Posted by mesuezee

We have a 5.7 hemi engine. We bought this used a couple of months ago. It did come with a towing hitch and plug light. We will be putting in the trailer brakes in this truck. We put them in our Town and Country to tow our pop up. would go without them. does anyone have any opinions about the camper itself? I have been trying to find reviews and such but no luck...

Good looking layout but doesn't have a slide in the bunkhouse area...that may or may not be an issue for u. It will get kind of tight back there with older kids I would think?

Regarding the hemi, that really doesn't matter much in the grand scheme of things with regards to pulling the camper. It has plenty of power to pull the trailer although a hemi pulling 9000lbs is going to be very thirsty...unless u r on flat roads without wind. The payload capacity of ur truck is what is going to get you. Ram has the lowest payload capacity of all the big trucks. The tongue weight if that trailer will likely be over 1000 lbs...that 1000lbs goes directly against ur payload capacity as well as the rear axle rating. I have a 2013 ram Laramie crew cab with hemi and I can say with direct experience (just last week actually) your payload capacity will most likely be way short. This doesn't necessarily mean the truck will collapse, but it would likely not be very safe. IMO that trailer is in 3/4 Ton territory, especially if u will be traveling in any hills and mountains (not just going up them, but coming down would be the place to have a heavier truck)

I am not trying to rain on your parade, but this same thing happened to me last week...the family and I went to the rv dealer to order a 28dsbh...this trailer has a gross weight rating of 1500lbs LESS than the one u r looking at....I stopped at a scale to get an idea of where I was at...truck loaded with fuel, me, wife, and 2 and 6 year old sons and we weighed 6380lbs.....the gross weight rating of our truck is 6800lbs....we have 420lbs left over for payload. 1000 lbs of tongue weight puts us way over..a d that doesn't include putting firewood, bikes etc in the bed if the truck. I was so shocked and disgusted with my 4 month old truck that I am going to trade it on a 3500 Laramie and since doing that, will look at a fifth wheel.

if I would have went with the ford 150 I likely would have enough payload and would have got the 28dsbh.....this is going to be an expensive lesson (not looking at all the numbers before buying), but it is the safer and more prudent thing to do (for me). Good luck

[clubhouse]

The 304BHS is a nice trailer, same floor plan as the JayFlight 29QBH if I am not mistaken. Personally I prefer the 314BHS in the for the bunk house slide.

I know you don't want to hear it, but you need to...this trailer isn't a good match with you TV.

You will do what you want, and I am sure you can find dozens of folks to tell you it will be fine and justify it by going slow, not driving on the freeways, only taking trips close to home, etc. You really need to read up on weight ratings, get the actual weight of your truck loaded a ready to go camping, then do the analysis for yourself. Take to heart what gtsum2 is saying above...he litteraly just went though this a week ago.

Think about, nobody on the forum has anything to gain or lose by you buying the TT or another. Nor do we have anything to gain if you decided to trade TV. This is truely unbiased advise.

It might be disappointing now, but matching the TV/TT properly will lead to a much better and safer experience.

[mesuezee]

Thank you all for great advice! I think we are not as educated as we think we are on this. We really want to upgrade from our pop up. I was "told" by a lot of people that a 1500 would be plenty to tow a bigger camper....probably is going to be a very expensive and sad experience it seems....

[clubhouse]

Don't get discouraged, I am sure you will find options to upgrade from your PUP to TT or HTT. You just need to start with weighing your Ram with a full tank of gas and the whole family loaded up. This simple ~$10 step will tell you a lot. It will immediately let you know how much payload is left for TT tounge weight and other cargo in the Ram. Based on that number you can see what TT options/floor plans are available for the Ram or if you need to consider a different TV.

Best of luck and don't be afraid to bring any questions you have our way...although it might not feel like it but we are all trying to stop you from making the same mistakes many of us already made. I bought thinking our Tahoe would be a suitable TV, but it wasn't. Then I used a 1/2 PU I already had but it too lacked significantly on mountain towing, being a four speed transmission. I bit the bullet and bought a new to me TV that hopefully will accommodate us for years to come.