Towing Doubles with a 05 2955RL

[Blueblir]

I bought an 05 2955. I will pull this with my 06 ram 2500. I have a sxs that weighs about 2200 lbs and a blatbed trailer that is 20' oal combined weight of sxs and trailer is about 4100 lbs. Any thoughts or concerns?


Mod Update: New Thread created as the previous discussion was over 15 years old.

[twindman]

As for I beams, I think about 2012 +/- 3 years Montana went to 12 inch frame. The Mountaineers (at least after around 2010) and new High Countries are only 10 inch. Which is part of the reduced cost.

[rohrmann]

Are you or do you need a special license to tow doubles and what restrictions on length do you have in Colorado and places you will travel to. If all those things check out, you will need a suitable hitch installed to the frame and the added wiring for the second trailer.

[rohrmann]

A new thread should have been started as this is a 15 year old discussion.

[Carl n Susan]

A 2005 2955 has a 10" frame. You will need an engineered hitch made to tow 4100 lbs. of trailer. An 2006 2500 is likely on the edge of towing capacity for that configuration. But if you look back at Posts from that era, there were several who towed good sized boats or Jeeps behind their early Montanas.

[Blueblir]

I did some research before I bought the camper as far as pulling doubles in Colorado and Utah. I found info stating that 70' is max and some stating that 80 is max. I will be 72 Feet long, so I guess I'll try it .

[Blueblir]

I have a trailer shop in town that is willing to look at it and maybe box in the I beam frame from the rear axle back it has a factory hitch rated to 3000lbs or so I was told. I just want to make sure it will handle the extra weight and risk having an issue on the road

[scuba dude]

Have your friend check the welds on the hitch to make sure they are not cracking. I had two different friends hitch break loose towing boats. One was lucky his hitch broke while pulling over speed bumps in campground the other lost a bassboat traveling down highway. Hitch broke loose lucky boat went off road instead of into traffic traveling 60 mph. totaled boat and boat trailer. But did not hit another vehicle just ditch and colvert. I bolted a 8 inch long piece of 1/4 inch angle iron to my hitch and camper frame on both sides to reinforce the welds and my piece of mind. You will find several horror stories about welded on hitches breaking Both of there campers were about 10 years old or older.

[R Bran]

I had a 13 mountaineer that I towed a 20’ Cobalt boat behind. It had 10” beams and my hitch was welded directly to the frame. The boat and trailer weighs about 4500 pounds. Never had a problem. Still tow that boat behind my ‘22 high country and pull both with my ‘05 F-250. With the ‘13 mountaineer I would go anywhere with that setup. With this ‘22 I’m maxed and over weight so I stay relatively local when I take the boat along.

[Blueblir]

Thanks for the advice, I will make sure that the trailer shop has a certified welder that knows what they are doing. I'm pretty confident in this shop as they have been open for over 30 years, they won't commit to performing the install until they look at the trailer

[Foldbak]

Don't you need a class A license to tow doubles? You do in CA.

[R Bran]

No, I haven’t been to a state that allows doubles who requires a class A. Minnesota is out, they don’t allow doubles and I don’t go as far as California. I try to avoid that state.

[AnArky]

I’ve seen lots of tandems this summer in Colorado. Made my curious if my 2016 3950BR could be set up for that. Has bumper but no hitch. Looks kinda lite duty actually.

[R Bran]

When I purchased our ‘13 I took it to a hitch shop and told them what I would be pulling. They welded iron from the frame to the bumper and then welded a square bar all the way across to that. The bar hung just below the bumper and the receiver was welded to that. It was pretty impressive. They said I’d be able to pull anything I wanted and that hitch would hold. They also ran the wiring for me. The whole thing cost less than $500 but that was in 2013.

[Foldbak]

They come equipped with a 2" 3000lb receiver. I'd still have a shop inspect it before using it.

[DutchmenSport]

Come on over to Indiana. Double tow is perfectly OK here and no special license, just a normal operator license for ANY RV or RV set up. In fact, Indiana is one of the few that allows doubles, bumper to bumper pull, as well as Fifth Wheel to pumper pull. Indiana also allows passengers to ride in the towable trailer (trailer or fifth wheel), AND passengers can ride in an open pick-up truck bed. OK, us Hoosiers have some pretty loosie goosie laws here, but at least most folks still use common sense when it comes to passengers.

Double tows is very common, seen especially around many of the state recreation areas (reservoirs and lakes), namely trailers/fifth wheels with a boat behind.

[Cat320]

Originally Posted by Blueblir

I bought an 05 2955. I will pull this with my 06 ram 2500. I have a sxs that weighs about 2200 lbs and a blatbed trailer that is 20' oal combined weight of sxs and trailer is about 4100 lbs. Any thoughts or concerns?


Mod Update: New Thread created as the previous discussion was over 15 years old.

I would double check with Keystone. Somebody could weld a wonderful hitch but would not know the other factors regarding the frame and the ability to tow that much weight. The word I got, several years ago, was my 07 was not rated to tow anything.

[Foldbak]

Originally Posted by DutchmenSport

Come on over to Indiana. Double tow is perfectly OK here and no special license, just a normal operator license for ANY RV or RV set up. In fact, Indiana is one of the few that allows doubles, bumper to bumper pull, as well as Fifth Wheel to pumper pull. Indiana also allows passengers to ride in the towable trailer (trailer or fifth wheel), AND passengers can ride in an open pick-up truck bed. OK, us Hoosiers have some pretty loosie goosie laws here, but at least most folks still use common sense when it comes to passengers.

Double tows is very common, seen especially around many of the state recreation areas (reservoirs and lakes), namely trailers/fifth wheels with a boat behind.

Ahh the good ol days!

[Keith Schweizer]

I have flat towed my 2 door Jeep behind my 2955 for several years. Montana, Idaho ,Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California. I had a company that specialized installing hitches, tow bars, etc. in Utah. My Jeep was just under 4k lbs. The hitch I had installed was rated for double that. Never any issues towing at all, Equipment wise. Saw many LEO,s on my trips. Never stopped by any. Your issue might be the length of your equipment when all hooked up. Your 5er and 20' trailer puts you at 54'.

Best of luck and safe towing

[Bad Moon]

My main concerns would be tongue weight and brakes. Will standard brake controllers work with tandems?