Can I Safely pull a ?

[Rapid1]

I think the title of these threads should be "Will a ________ exceed the payload rating of my truck"? Asking if it's safe or if a person should tow with a certain truck opens the discussion up to all kinds of opinions.

Doing the math to see if a particular RV will exceed the tow ratings of a particular truck is easy. What is difficult for most people is deciding whether or not they're comfortable exceeding those ratings.

Agree on the thread title Brian...the only rating I see in question here is the payload rating. I haven't seen where anyone is advocating exceeding the actual axle/tire or combined ratings. Understanding which ratings mean what is the difference here and what I'm referring to. The math doesn't even add up if all you consider is the payload sticker. To each his own but the references in all these threads about people exceeding just the yellow sticker being unsafe is pure bs. All of the condescending comments...insurance denial, lawsuits, grossly overloaded, endangering everyone on the highway just because you exceed the payload sticker...especially by some that have only just begun towing anything, just clutter this topic up badly. It really is just simple math, using the ratings that actually count for towing.

I can understand folks asking about actual pin weights and loadout information but if one really understands all of the dynamics of towing 20k or more down the highway, matching a tow vehicle to the tow isn't that difficult. But, if one has to ask..."Can I safely pull____? Most of these discussions are the cart before the horse...

[JCRICHRI]

Most likely I’ll be over the truck’s GVWR by 300-400 lbs, but under the rear axle rating by 200lbs . I’m not asking if this is good. I understand the simple answer is no...but I don’t want to buy and drive a dully. So what I was asking is does anyone have a real world pin weight for the solitude 3740 and more important is anyone out there pulling it with a single axle 1 ton diesel with a GVWR of 11500.
Thanks all and I think the answer is no one has this information on this forum. Appreciate all the responses and this will be my last attempt to get the information. I don’t want to bother folks

[JCRICHRI]

Most likely I’ll be over the truck’s GVWR by 300-400 lbs, but under the rear axle rating by 200lbs . I’m not asking if this is good. I understand the simple answer is no...but I don’t want to buy and drive a dully. So what I was asking is does anyone have a real world pin weight for the solitude 3740 and more important is anyone out there pulling it with a single axle 1 ton diesel with a GVWR of 11500.
Thanks all and I think the answer is no one has this information on this forum. Appreciate all the responses and this will be my last attempt to get the information. I don’t want to bother folks

[JCRICHRI]

Weights of my truck with all gear and family packed into it. Including hitch installed. Looks like I will have 3360 rear axle capacity available for the rv pin. Assuming that 100% will go to the rear axle.

[howson]

I don’t want to bother folks

Don't worry about asking questions. Shoot, if the site sponsors here didn't like getting bombarded with questions they'd have tossed me off the board months ago!

[Rapid1]

Most likely I’ll be over the truck’s GVWR by 300-400 lbs, but under the rear axle rating by 200lbs . I’m not asking if this is good. I understand the simple answer is no...but I don’t want to buy and drive a dully. So what I was asking is does anyone have a real world pin weight for the solitude 3740 and more important is anyone out there pulling it with a single axle 1 ton diesel with a GVWR of 11500.
Thanks all and I think the answer is no one has this information on this forum. Appreciate all the responses and this will be my last attempt to get the information. I don’t want to bother folks

I certainly wasn't pointing at you, or the OP with my post. Both of you asked about actual pin and trailer weights in your posts, information one should ask, to make the decision whether your truck is capable. The advice given initially was also good, but the discussion invariably turned into a yellow sticker conversation. While there are many advantages to towing with a DRW truck, besides weight ratings, many would rather not drive one. Personally, if I went much bigger than what I have, I would get a DRW, so I am not disagreeing with the logic at all.

The spreadsheets linked here are great tools, but just because you have one box, the payload box, that is red with minus a couple hundred pounds doesn't mean you need to go out and buy a new tow rig. Look at the GCWR and GAWR boxes and calculate how much cushion you have and make your decision based on that. Obviously, you need actual trailer and pin weights to do that correctly and those are the questions that hopefully you can get the answers to.

I apologize if I gave the impression that any question is a bother, none are. It's some of the answers that I think are unproductive and miss the point...especially the ones that only address the truck payload sticker and nothing else. I hope most folks can filter through it all and get the answers they really need.

Sorry for beating a dead horse but this one never really dies.

[bcdiesel]

Most likely I’ll be over the truck’s GVWR by 300-400 lbs, but under the rear axle rating by 200lbs . I’m not asking if this is good. I understand the simple answer is no...but I don’t want to buy and drive a dully. So what I was asking is does anyone have a real world pin weight for the solitude 3740 and more important is anyone out there pulling it with a single axle 1 ton diesel with a GVWR of 11500.
Thanks all and I think the answer is no one has this information on this forum. Appreciate all the responses and this will be my last attempt to get the information. I don’t want to bother folks

This really comes down to what kind of camper you are... a full timer or a weekend warrior or somewhere in between. Only you know how much stuff and weight you'll really pack in that trailer. I just unloaded my old trailer of everything last month to sell it. I got a very good idea of exactly what we had in that old trailer and where it was located. The vast majority of all my weight was in the kitchen area. All of my pots, pans, plate, cups, utensils etc. Look at the floor plan of the 3740BH... the kitchen area is mostly over the trailer axles... so the trailer is mostly taking that weight, not the pin or payload of the truck. Most of my weight over the pin will be bedroom stuff and that is mostly clothes and bedding (and some soap and shampoo in the bathroom!). This I know is at best 100lbs. The wildcard is the weight I'll put in the front storage area and the bsmt storage area. The front is taken up mostly by the geny… so that is not going to change and the factory dry pin weight is already known with that 289lb geny in place. This leaves the bsmt area and what I'll put into it. Note that the bsmt area is somewhat in between the truck and the trailer axles. This means that weight is shared between the two. If I put 200lbs of weight in the bsmt that is not 200lbs on the pin... the trailer axles will take some of that weight too. I know for a fact that I don't have 200lbs worth of stuff to put in the bsmt (because I just pulled it out of my old trailer!). We do take our bicycles with us but they will be on a hitch carrier on the back of the trailer thus taking some weight off the pin. The fridge is slightly in front of the axles so most of that weight in on the trailer with a low percentage on the truck.

One impact I'm waiting to find out is the placement of the fresh water tank. This would have the most impact on pin weight and payload. I've been led to believe this is somewhere over the trailer axles and if so should not really have a huge impact on pin weight. The 3740BH does have 2 grey and 2 black tanks, so one grey and black are definitely in front of the trailer axles. If you're the type who dumps the tanks before travelling this will have little impact for you.

Everybody has their own opinion... everyone thinks their opinion is the most important one. The truth is... only you know what kind of camper you are and how much stuff you pack. Be realistic and then decide for yourself. I have an SRW and am satisfied with how I travel I'll be within all my trucks ratings with the 3740BH.

[Canyonlight]

Most likely I’ll be over the truck’s GVWR by 300-400 lbs, but under the rear axle rating by 200lbs . I’m not asking if this is good. I understand the simple answer is no...but I don’t want to buy and drive a dully. So what I was asking is does anyone have a real world pin weight for the solitude 3740 and more important is anyone out there pulling it with a single axle 1 ton diesel with a GVWR of 11500.
Thanks all and I think the answer is no one has this information on this forum. Appreciate all the responses and this will be my last attempt to get the information. I don’t want to bother folks

Attached two links where a couple folks from the forum mentioned putting a deposit down on a 3740 and the other bought one. I could not locate any others after extensive searching. Possibly other folks on the forum know of other 3740 owners and can share this.

I would suggest doing a PM to each asking about your truck/payload.GVWR/GCWR questions. Hopefully one of both will respond.

See post #37 where they bought one: https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...t=class+3740BH

See post #17 where they put down a deposit. They may or may not be an owner but worth a try: https://www.mygrandrv.com/fo...ally-I-Suspect

Dan

[CWSWine]

It sad we base our information off a post on the internet that is NOT based in fact but an opinion of the poster and just plain BS. There aren’t any hard facts that support exceeding the GVWR or GAWR on noncommercial trucks but there are a lot of FACTS that state that you shouldn’t and even list some of the dangers of exceeding the limits on the Federal Safety Compliance Stick that on your trucks door jam.

If you look in the towing guides you will find a statement to the effect of “must not cause vehicle weights to exceed the rear GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) or GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). These ratings can be found on the vehicle’s Safety Compliance Certification Label” listed on page 30 on the link below.
https://www.ford.com/services/assets...Duty&year=2018


Read down a little further you find a warning on page 45 I quote “Remember, the braking system of the tow vehicle is rated for operation at the GVWR, not GCWR” So being 800 to 1200 pounds over the GVWR is going to effect braking.

https://www.fleet.ford.com/resources...e_r11_Jan4.pdf

The little more reading you find that SAE J2807 towing standard States that exceeding the GVWR is a reason to fail and I Quote:
“5.4 GVWR/Rear GAWR and Tongue Weight/Kingpin Weight Considerations
The tow vehicle shall be able to accommodate appropriate trailer tongue and/or kingpin weight to attain a particular TWR without exceeding Rear GAWR and/or GVWR. Required minimum conventional trailer tongue weight shall be 10% of TWR and required minimum fifth wheel or gooseneck trailer kingpin weight shall be 15% of TWR.”
TWR = Trailer Weight Rating
http://fifthwheelst.com/documents/to...ds-2016-02.pdf

On GMC webpage they warn that exceeding the GVWR can cause and quote
"Brakes unable to stop the truck or SUV in a timely manner
Unusual suspension behavior, making the vehicle hard to control"
http://www.gmc.com/gmc-life/how-to/u...-weight-rating

Even the director Bob Raybuck Director of Technical Services NTEA deals with truck capacities for living Which has been posted in Ram, Ford and GM newsletter explains why you can NOT use axle ratings,
https://www.ntea.com/NTEA/Member_ben...rk_trucks.aspx

Some poster state that the axle ratings are more than the payload rating well read the link and Bob Raybuck explains why.

I think you get the idea that you link to FACTS all day stating that exceed the GVWR shouldn’t be done but I have yet to see someone provide a link that not just opinion of someone on the internet. Some say it’s common sense but common sense to me would be that the engineers that designed and built the truck would know more about the capabilities that some poster on the internet.

[Canyonlight]

Dennis - no one can deny your tenacity on sharing your input on this subject. You have been and continue to be steadfast on your position sharing considerable thought provoking information. I have learned much from your posts. The education and learning is important to help us all continue to do our own due diligence and make better informed decisions.......a hallmark of this wonderful forum.

Most are not in the same church pew to I dare say your zero tolerance in exceeding payload ratings. It is pretty evident that exceeding payload to some minimal degree but still safely being w/i other ratings for tires/axles/springs/etc. is not reason for great consternation. This said, however, those that operate exceeding safe ranges for tires/axles/springs/etc. are reason for real concern and correction. For commercial and special license situations it can be a different critter, of course.

Even though you sold your 310 leaving the fiver/trailer towing fraternity, I and many others appreciate your continued involvement in sharing your thoughts and sources of information on this and other subjects. Good stuff !

Dan