Eagle HT 284BHOK Tow Vehicle

[Bassmastergeneral]

I went with a 2019 ram 2500 gas. I went over the 3500 mainly because it fit the bill and was a very good deal. I also ordered a 264bhok which is 3 feet shorter than the 284. My payload is 3100 pounds on the ram. I am sure the 2500 will handle it fine. A 3500 would be great as well. Sometimes you go with what works and what is the best for budget. I wouldn’t use a 1/2 ton in any scenario though. They are not made for towing weights like that. Jayco needs to remove the HT from the name. It’s more than misleading. It’s simply not true that these trailers can be towed safely and comfortably by a 1/2 ton.

[Bourbonman]

We tow ours with our 3500 in our sig below and a ProPride hitch. I would never pull this trailer with 1/2 ton or without a Hensley or ProPride hitch. These hitch setups are not inexpensive but are worth every penny. In addition, these are tall and heavy travel trailers.

[benny hill]

How is your towing experience with the Hemi Ram 2500? Looking at upgrading to a 284BHOK from my 25BH, more concerned about the additional 3200lbs than the 3ft additional lenght.

[Bassmastergeneral]

I tow a 10,000lb 5th wheel with it. It has been great.

[ShiverMeTimbers]

I had a F150 and towed a 9500lb boat/trailer. Then we sold it and got a F250. The F250 is 5x the truck of the 150. I was blown away how much better it tows.



Not sure about Ram trucks, but look at some of the truck forums "towing" sections. The half ton trucks *technically* can tow that much, but for safety & comfort, 3/4 ton trucks are waaay more preferable.

[bkw1962]

I just bought the 2021 Ram 1500 MVV 5.7L V8 w/3.92 expressly for towing the 2020 280RSOK we are looking at picking up. The vehicle's towing cap is rated at 11,702 lb. The trailer's stats are Dry = 8465 lb, Payload = 1530 lb, GVWR = 9995 lb, Hitch (Class IV) = 1130 lb. Apologies for being new to RVing and these ratings, but is this a mismatch or am I well within the safe limit (of course that's what the truck dealer told me). I have not signed the papers for the trailer yet so any and all feedback is helpful! Thanks in advance!

[Loomis077]

Originally Posted by bkw1962

I just bought the 2021 Ram 1500 MVV 5.7L V8 w/3.92 expressly for towing the 2020 280RSOK we are looking at picking up. The vehicle's towing cap is rated at 11,702 lb. The trailer's stats are Dry = 8465 lb, Payload = 1530 lb, GVWR = 9995 lb, Hitch (Class IV) = 1130 lb. Apologies for being new to RVing and these ratings, but is this a mismatch or am I well within the safe limit (of course that's what the truck dealer told me). I have not signed the papers for the trailer yet so any and all feedback is helpful! Thanks in advance!

What is the payload capacity on your truck? More often than not you will run out of payload capacity on a half ton towing a RV quicker than the truck’s tow capacity. Expect that trailers tongue weight to be 10-15% of trailer’s total weight. So it could be anywhere from 1000-1500# on a fully loaded trailer.

[bkw1962]

Apologies....truck payload is 1802 lb.

[67L48]

Originally Posted by bkw1962

I just bought the 2021 Ram 1500 MVV 5.7L V8 w/3.92 expressly for towing the 2020 280RSOK we are looking at picking up. The vehicle's towing cap is rated at 11,702 lb. The trailer's stats are Dry = 8465 lb, Payload = 1530 lb, GVWR = 9995 lb, Hitch (Class IV) = 1130 lb. [...]

Originally Posted by bkw1962

Apologies....truck payload is 1802 lb.

OK, as was stated, for RVs, the "how much can I tow" type questions are always about payload ... which is just a proxy for a vehicle's GVWR. Certain other trailers (utility trailers, boat trailers, etc.) will pull flatter. But RVs will tax the tow vehicle's capacity more.

So, rule #1 is that dry weights of trailers is a pretty worthless number. As I like to say, it's about the same as asking a 45 year old what they weigh and having that person respond, "Well, I weighed 155 lbs back in high school." The rule of thumb I tend to use is 1,500 lbs. After factory options (A/C, Televisions, gas fireplace, etc.), dealer options (batteries, etc.), and your stuff (bedding, cookware, food, tools, leveling equip, etc.), it's pretty tough to be much under that figure, though it can be done.

Note how when you add 1,500 lbs to the dry weight, you're right at the trailer's GVWR? This is pretty common among non-5th wheels and non-toy haulers. Generally, a person should shop against the GVWR for conventional tow non-toy haulers and completely ignore the fictional dry weight.

So, rolling down the road, your trailer will weigh about 9,995 lbs. A trailer like that should be dropping around 12-15% onto the vehicle hitch. With the Eagle's massive front storage, you'll be on the heavier side (which is a good thing for handling and towing sway). So, you will have at least 1,250 lbs onto the vehicle's hitch. A WDH should weigh at least 50 lbs. So, trailer and hitch will drop 1,300 lbs onto your truck.

From there, you need to estimate who and what else is in and on the truck:

• Driver's fully clothed weight
• Passenger(s) fully clothed weight
• Any additions and aftermarket stuff you added to the truck: bigger tires, stereo equipment, aux lights, grille guard, Line-X bed liner, etc.
• Anything in the truck -- duffel bags, gear, tools, electronics, games, food
• Anything in the bed: firewood, bikes, tools, leveling blocks, generator

A smallish-sized couple (180 lb man, 120 lb wife) is 300 lbs. Tough not to have another 200 lbs floating around in those other categories. Add kids if you have them. Pets, too. Depending on your load-out, you will be usually in the 400 - 1,000 lb range.

Then, add it up. Assume that you have no kids and your load-out is 500 lbs.

1,300 + 500 = 1,800 lbs. You would want a TV with at least 1,800 lbs of available payload to tow this safely ... and that is based on a no-kid, fairly light "occupants & cargo" estimate. I'd recommend that a truck really ought to have 2,000 lbs of available payload for these Eagle HT monsters. They are marketed as half-ton towable, but that's a borderline fraudulent statement.

You are razor thin on being able to do this with your 1,802 lb payload 1/2 ton.

You also need to consider the towing characteristics. A nearly 36', 10,000 lb trailer behind an F-150 may not be the most fun experience. You'll get a bit of the tail wagging the dog experience, simply due to the relative weights and geometries.

Good luck.

[bkw1962]

Thanks for this great work! Really helps put it in real-world context.

[DB1]

We have a 2020Bhok eagle ht. I pull it with a f-250 6.2l and it’s good, but not the best for sure. I would not pull this 10,000lb++ tt with my sons f-150, no way. You got to think safety and as others stated, all items including humans with weight.
I have a blue ok sway pro and use the 2000lb bars now, took a few times getting it dialed in, but works good now. I would say in future, I’ll get a dully to travel cross country and that would help with the crosswind sway that I still get, and can deal with much better than when I left the stealership/dealership. Safe travels.

[Joeyd3713]

I know this is an old post, but I came across it and wanted to chime in. I have a 2020 eagle HT 284BHOK. I hate towing it. I have a 2500 diesel and I tow campers for a living out of Elkhart Indiana. I don’t understand why the front of this trailer is so damn heavy. I run 5000 pound airbags and a weight distribution hitch even with my bags at 100 psi it’s still squats the truck.

[Bourbonman]

Originally Posted by Joeyd3713

I know this is an old post, but I came across it and wanted to chime in. I have a 2020 eagle HT 284BHOK. I hate towing it. I have a 2500 diesel and I tow campers for a living out of Elkhart Indiana. I don’t understand why the front of this trailer is so damn heavy. I run 5000 pound airbags and a weight distribution hitch even with my bags at 100 psi it’s still squats the truck.

I agree. I have a 3500 truck and got tired of towing it so I recently traded for an Eagle HT fifth wheel.

[alan8n]

I have a 2020 Ram 1500 and a 2020 Eagle 284BHOK HT TT. I bought the truck first as the TT I had, the 1500 would pull it no problem. I got a good deal on the 284BHOK and did all the calculations for the Ram 1500 and my individual conditions, and it looked like it should work, granted there was not a lot of wiggle room with weights, so I grabbed the HT TT. It is my wife and I and we travel light. Kids show up when we are at the site.
I had a WD hitch setup with 1000 lb bars and used those at first. I was not happy with the ride results with the Ram 1500. While it had more than enough power to pull the TT, The front end was light and I did get pushed around a bit when an 18 wheeler went by.
I did some research to see if I can improve on the ride before deciding I need a new TV. I did speak with other campers that had 2500's and asked if they get pushed around a bit when an 18 wheeler goes by and the general opinion I got was yes, they do. SO before going down the 2500 route I invested in the ProPride WD hitch and 1400 lb bars. I figured even if that dont work I can still use them on a new TV.
While that made a huge difference in the ride quality and control, I still was not happy with the aount of squat in the 1500's rear end when I attched the HT TT. After a bit more of research I decided on the SUMO springs bump stop replacements. The stock bump stops have about a 4 inch gap before the have any effect. I do realize what a bump stop is suposed to be for but from what I read the SUMO springs progressive resistance replacements do the same job with the added benefit of reducing the well known RAM sag when attaching something to hitch, as well as improving ride quality. They were pretty inexpensive and took me about 2 hours to install. They reduce the 1500's rear end sag when the HT TT was attached from about 4 inches to only 1.5 inches.
SO with the PrPride hitch and SUMO springs I can get both my HT TT and 1500 level when towing.
I was not happy with my first experience with the HT TT and the 1500 but with the additon of these 2 accessories I went from considering a 2500 upgrade to being comfortable with pulling the HT TT with my Ram 1500.
Now as a discalimer, this was for MY situation with MY trailer and MY truck specs and how I am loaded. I am aware of the limits and keep that in mind. Your mileage may vary. HTH