Weight Distribution System for 2014 Ram 1500 Towing 35-Foot Travel Trailer

Question:

I am buying a 35 foot TT..Heartland Prowler..My question is...I have a 2014 Ram with 392 rears and 5.7 Hemi, this TT weighs 7186 lbs dry!! I have a receiver hitch on my truck, came standard on it I think it is a class 4 but not sure!! Im new to pulling TT , but used to pull doubles back in the day..I have no prob with WEIGHING a big truck, but this is CRAZY confusing!! Can I pull safely and legally this 35ft TT? I WILL be getting a weight distribution and sway control system for it........Thanks

asked by: Wesley D

Expert Reply:

According to the Ram website's towing capacity page, the 1500s with 5.7 V8 hemi and 3.92 axle ration have towing capacities that range from 10.6K to 10.8K. Your truck's owner's manual is the best place to confirm the capacities for your specific truck, with it's particular mix of equipment. You can also contact a local Ram dealership with the truck's VIN and the dealer can check it for you too.

You'll also want to check the safety/warning sticker on your trailer hitch receiver to confirm it's own capacity. That sticker will tell you the hitch's maximum capacity when used with a weight distribution (WD) system. You'll want to make sure the hitch too can handle both the trailer's fully-loaded gross weight and it's tongue weight (TW) too. We offer a handy TW scale, part # e99044, but other methods for measuring TW are outlined in the linked article.

Once you know the trailer's fully-loaded TW, with full water and propane tanks, all gear and supplies loaded, you can select a WD system tuned correctly for it. You need to include the weight of anything in the truck bed that sits behind the rear axle, such as a loaded cooler or generator. Once you know this total effective TW figure you can select a system using the linked page. You want your actual TW to fall in the middle of the system's operating range.

Based on your specs we'll presume the trailer's fully-loaded TW will be in the range of 1200-lbs. In this case I recommend the Reese Strait-Line trunnion system # RP66130 which works for TW from 800- to 1500-lbs. Trunnion bar systems provide better ground clearance and allow you to back up the trailer without disconnecting the sway prevention. The Strait-Line stops sway from even starting, rather than trying to stop it once it starts. We consider it the premier WD system.

All you need to add is a shank like # RP54970 with the appropriate height rise or drop to keep your trailer level, and a hitch ball like 2-5/16-inch # C40086. I linked our page for WD shanks so you can choose the one with the correct rise or drop.