2980RL Weights

[Bill Hill]

We hooked up the rig and took it to the truck scale this afternoon to get some weights. I had previously taken the truck by and weighed it separately. The truck weighed 7140# (4080# front/3060# rear) by itself. This was with nobody inside (I had to get out of the truck to press the call button) and with about 1/3 full fuel tank. Later, Shari & I went back and weighed the combined rig, 18720# combined, 4160# on front truck axle, 5720# on rear truck axle, 8840# combined trailer axles (even though I had each trailer axle on a different segment, it gave only one weight for the trailer), and also included Shari in the truck (OK, she weighs 130#). The 18720# is well below the 22,000# GCWVR for my 2500HD D/A, and the 11,580# trailer weight is well within my 80% rule for towing (tow no more than 80% of towing capacity, 15,000#), even with weight added for more fresh water and clothes & supplies.

My concern is with the calculated pin weight, which is either 2660# (rear wheel weight loaded 5720# minus rear wheel weight unloaded 3060#) or 2740# (total truck weight loaded 9880# minus 7140#). It also means I'm 680# over my GVWR of 9200# for the truck. The pin weight stated by Keystone/Montana is 2340# or close to it. I have added the Timbren rubber springs to the rear axle, but there's stil the issue of the rear axle capacity as well. Any thoughts?

[Countryfolks]

Check your maximum payload capacity. The '05's are rated pretty high, 3k to 4k. If you're within your payload max, the rear axle is probably ok. Keep in mind payload is everything the truck carries, including fuel, passengers and "stuff" and is the difference between GVWR and curb weight [the '05 GVRW is about the 9200, curb weight is 5100-5700]. I think the 2660 is the pin weight + [hitch and other shared weight], and the 2740 is the actual payload, you still need to add your weight and a the rest of the fuel to get the final actual payload [and any thing else you load onto the truck].

Skip

[H. John Kohl]

Bill,
I agree with your calculations. And, you did not include yourself or the weight of a full tank of fuel. Two people and full tank.
Here are the specs on my unit.
____________________Both__________Truck__________d ifference
____________________________________empty
Steering____________5160____________5100__________ __60
drive_______________6740____________3780__________ __2960
trailer_____________10900___________0_____________ __10900
total_______________22800___________8880__________ __13920

8880____________Truck weight
13920___________Trailer weight
20%____________2784_Tong weight
25%____________3480_Tong weight
21.6954023%____3020_Acutal Tong weight
22800____________Gross weight

Now with my 3.73 rear end my gross weight by Dodge specs is 21000 vice the 23000 if I had the 4.10 rear end. I bought the truck off the lot and did not check rear end until much later.
The extra weight specs on rear axles is my reason for going to the one ton and also the dual rear tires.
Good luck and safe towing.

[sreigle]

If the only thing added to the truck is the pinweight, then the difference in total truck weight hitched and unhitched would be the pinweight. Measuring only weight on the rear axle is fine for checking against GAWR but does not give you pinweight because some of the weight will be on the front axle or possibly some of the front weight will shift to the rear when loaded, especially since it will drop the rear a little. So I'd vote for the difference in total truck weight being the actual pinweight, again assuming no change in fuel, passengers, or other items in the truck. That additional weight has to come from somewhere and if all you added is pinweight, then...

[Bill Hill]

I finally remembered that the axle ratings for my truck are posted on a sticker on the driver's door. The gross rating is 9200#. The GAWR for the front is 4670# and the GAWR for the rear is 6084#. With the weights of the combined rig that I got yesterday, I'm 610# under max for the front axle and 364# under max for the rear axle, but there's still the problem of being 680# over the GVWR. I am worried because eventually we want to put a 5500KW generator in the front compartment and that will add some weight.

[Bill Hill]

One more thing to add to this: I seem to remember that pinweight for a 5er should be between 20-25% of the trailer weight. Based on that, the approx. 2700# of pinweight is about 23-24% of the 11550# gross trailer weight, so that's no unusual.

[sreigle]

Bill, that's my understanding, too. 20 to 25 percent. Ours is at 22.98%.

[Bill Hill]

Thanks Steve,
I've been stressing a little bit about this, thinking maybe I screwed up in not getting a 1-ton to handle the pinweight. It seems strange that one of the smaller Montana floorplans would be too heavy for a 3/4-ton. I also re-checked the weight ratings for the tires in the rear, which are Load E rated at 3042# each, exactly 1/2 the GAWR for the rear axle at 6084#. My guess is that the axle is probably rated higher if using higher rated tires. I think I'll go to Load Range G or H when it comes time to replace them.

We leave Friday morning for a long July 4th weekend in Prescott AZ. We're going to see friends, go to the "World's Oldest Rodeo", and visit the piece of property we want to buy for retirement.