Maxing out payload with Slide in Camper?

[William Keiter]

You'll be fine with the dually. So long as your driving/towing safely to the conditions & terrain with the extra weight in mind. @Supercharged111 will be able to shed some light on this for sure.

I run 9000-9500# on a LD2500 7200gwv. Am i over weight, yeah, am i concerned, sometimes but i know my and the trucks behavior and i drive accordingly, cruise and enjoy the ride!

Its hard on the truck for sure, parts break & bent. Im slowly upgrading my rig, done 1 ton hydroboost conversion, rebuilt and upgraded the entire brake system, HD shocks, air bags, HD radiator so far as well as making sure everything is mechanically to spec. Plan on going to 1 ton torsion bars & rebuild entire front end, 6+1 9200gvw rear leafs, hellwig rear sway bar etc.

10 footer, that'll be a blast!

Looking to upgrade shocks and brakes first, where did you find HD shocks? I was looking at bilstien 5100 but have a 2" lift and need to be sure they are the correct length.

 

[Supercharged111]

Looking to upgrade shocks and brakes first, where did you find HD shocks? I was looking at bilstien 5100 but have a 2" lift and need to be sure they are the correct length.

No, you want the 4600.

 

[stutaeng]

I've had a hard time finding accurate tow, and payload ratings. This thread made me look again, after thinking my dually's capacity was 10k towing, but ran across a site that says my truck should be 8200lbs. That won't even legally tow our current toyhauler, with a dry weight of 8700lbs. The 5.7 is probably the main factor though.



The wife and I are still fairly new to camping, but we love it. Went out this past weekend, and didn't want to go back home.

Well, payload is just: GVWR - "Curb Weight" = Payload
Depending on configuration it will be slightly different for most trucks.

Towing also depends on cab configuration (sometimes), but mainly on engine and axle ratio. Look at your manual for the "official" tow ratings.

Finally, there are tow ratings for bumper hitch vs gooseneck. IIRC, all GMT 400s are maxed out at 10,000 lbs for pumper pull. The same truck is rated higher for a gooseneck setup.

Why are you not using the '21 2500 for towing the camper? I "think" that one should have a more generous towing number than the '96! Did you figure out if you have 3.42 per your thread? My Owner's manual only lists 4.10s and 4.56s for the 3500 trucks.

 

[Supercharged111]

Well, payload is just: GVWR - "Curb Weight" = Payload
Depending on configuration it will be slightly different for most trucks.

Towing also depends on cab configuration (sometimes), but mainly on engine and axle ratio. Look at your manual for the "official" tow ratings.

Finally, there are tow ratings for bumper hitch vs gooseneck. IIRC, all GMT 400s are maxed out at 10,000 lbs for pumper pull. The same truck is rated higher for a gooseneck setup.

Why are you not using the '21 2500 for towing the camper? I "think" that one should have a more generous towing number than the '96! Did you figure out if you have 3.42 per your thread? My Owner's manual only lists 4.10s and 4.56s for the 3500 trucks.

If the '21 is a SRW it doesn't matter what the numbers say. 4 wheels are better than 2. That said, 3000# is well within the realm of what 2 wheels can haul.

 

[Stumpy]

@stutaeng Definitely using the 2500 to tow the camper. Curiousity had me checking what the dually would do, and was kind of surprised at how low it is.
My 2500 gas, is rated to bumper pull 14,500lbs, and the payload is 3200lbs+/-, if I remember correct. Tows like a champ.

The 96 has 4.10 gears. The glove box gave me wrong RPOs, since it was out of a 1500. It now has a completely different dash, and happened to be out of a 3500, so the numbers at least look like they belong.

 

[stutaeng]

@stutaeng Definitely using the 2500 to tow the camper. Curiousity had me checking what the dually would do, and was kind of surprised at how low it is.
My 2500 gas, is rated to bumper pull 14,500lbs, and the payload is 3200lbs+/-, if I remember correct. Tows like a champ.

The 96 has 4.10 gears. The glove box gave me wrong RPOs, since it was out of a 1500. It now has a completely different dash, and happened to be out of a 3500, so the numbers at least look like they belong.

The 10,000+ lb capacity is for the 7.4. My 00 CCLB K3500 with the 5.7 SRW is only rated to tow 6,500. It was a ranch truck when I bought with a gooseneck. God only knows how much it really towed, LOL.

Your '21 has the new 6.6, right? And the 10 speed? I have no idea what the gearing is on that unit, but on the 6 speed it's like 4.XX? The 4L80e is only like 2.48? Not sure on the stick? And I don't think the Owners manual makes any distinction on the tranny anyways.

There's a pretty healthy increase in towing going with the optional gearing. Throw some 4.56s on the 96 and let her rip!

 

[JSlezak83]

It seems universally accepted that these trucks are capable of far more than the conservative factory ratings.

I wonder probably more often than I should, if you were pulling say a 15k 5th wheel, but both the truck and trailer were not over weight. You are in excess of the factory tow rating, but the gross weights are ok. Would there be any legal issues with that?

My understanding is that the rating is a suggestion, but GVWR is the gospel.

 

[Supercharged111]

It seems universally accepted that these trucks are capable of far more than the conservative factory ratings.

I wonder probably more often than I should, if you were pulling say a 15k 5th wheel, but both the truck and trailer were not over weight. You are in excess of the factory tow rating, but the gross weights are ok. Would there be any legal issues with that?

Supposedly. But with no SAE standard to associate that with who's to say it's right or wrong compared to how they rate trucks now?

 

[JSlezak83]

Is an SAE standard the actual difference between the new trucks?

My buddy used to give me lip about his stupid 2018 Ram 1500 having almost the same tow rating as my 1 ton dually. (9500lbs IIRC)

 

[Stumpy]

The 10,000+ lb capacity is for the 7.4. My 00 CCLB K3500 with the 5.7 SRW is only rated to tow 6,500. It was a ranch truck when I bought with a gooseneck. God only knows how much it really towed, LOL.

Your '21 has the new 6.6, right? And the 10 speed? I have no idea what the gearing is on that unit, but on the 6 speed it's like 4.XX? The 4L80e is only like 2.48? Not sure on the stick? And I don't think the Owners manual makes any distinction on the tranny anyways.

There's a pretty healthy increase in towing going with the optional gearing. Throw some 4.56s on the 96 and let her rip!

Yeah, 6.6 gas, but they're still using the 6spd for those. Good trans, and did very well pulling our camper. They only offer 3.73 gears for the gas engine now, which is odd. Seems like 4.10 would've been better to stick with, like the last generation. Either way, it's a noticeable improvement over my old truck.