can I tow on the ball

[Road_Phantom]

My truck is a Ram 2500 diesel with a GVWR of 10,000lbs. My trailer weighs 5300 unloaded. I travel with a full tank of water and not much else, so my total cargo weight is maybe in the four hundred lb range.
The truck has a cap and aluminum slide tray that I use for a bag of tools, bins with hoses for the sewer and another for water. The rest is two chairs, a stool and miscellaneous items that don't weigh much. I'll estimate my truck cargo weight, including wife and fuel plus the above at under five hundred lbs. So loaded is: 5700 TT weight VS 6700 truck.

Do I need a weight distribution hitch with this combo or can I safely tow it on the ball. Thanks.

[Grit_dog]

But this thread is dead anyways, no real question about whether a HD truck can tow a little trailer safely and competently without a wdh.

[Grit_dog]

ssthrd wrote:
It's amazing how easy it can be to get totally sidetracked on these forums. No offence, but what do wiggle wagons, pups, or semi trailers have to do with an RV? How does the fact that a wiggle wagon behind a tandem/tridem/whatever truck has no tongue weight relate to TT tongue weight distribution on a ¾ ton pickup truck?

Personally, I have worked around enough trucks of all kinds over 40 years to last me a lifetime. I come here to learn about RV's and to contribute to a discussion if I can.

There.....rant is over. On with the show.

Wuz my point perzactly!
There is an overabundance of reminiscence and speculation on this forum. The likes of which are closer to BookFace than what should be expected of (mostly) men who should be mature enough to know what they don't know by this stage of their lives...
Prime example, most anytime someone uses the absolutes like "all, exactly, never" etc, someone has to come up with a response that would be akin to a 7 year old, who has just learned that there are exceptions to most things and cannot help themselves from pointing it out. Even if not relevant. What's more, is I'm generally very careful to qualify most of my responses with terms like "mostly", "rarely" or "generally", yet it "often" (see there I go again) elicits the same inane immature responses from some folks.

[GrandpaKip]

I’ve got my popcorn…

[ssthrd]

It's amazing how easy it can be to get totally sidetracked on these forums. No offence, but what do wiggle wagons, pups, or semi trailers have to do with an RV? How does the fact that a wiggle wagon behind a tandem/tridem/whatever truck has no tongue weight relate to TT tongue weight distribution on a ¾ ton pickup truck?

Personally, I have worked around enough trucks of all kinds over 40 years to last me a lifetime. I come here to learn about RV's and to contribute to a discussion if I can.

There.....rant is over. On with the show.

[JRscooby]

Grit dog wrote:

JRscooby wrote:


I'm sure glad you never got a chance to talk to the full trailer I pulled the most. MT TW was less than 0.05%. Loaded, less than 0.005%. Replace bushings in tongue about every 50,000 miles, and it tracked like it was on rails.
Now when talking RVs, or most other trailers, the TW is important. You should set things up to where sway is unlikely, then add sway control for when something goes wrong.

So What you're saying is the dump pup or transfer you pulled didn't have any tongue weight, per se. This is not news, nor in any way pertinent to the discussion.

All it has to do with this discussion is to point out anybody claiming "all trailers must have TW" might not have all the info. Sometimes something like just changing tire size, air pressure, or height of hitch can make a well behaved trailer sway. And a change in overhang/wheelbase ratio can change mean that sway that is unnoticeable behind 1 TV can't be towed by another.

nickthehunter wrote:

There is a reason they call those "Wiggle Wagons".

Sorry, never heard a rigid framed pup trailer called Wiggle Wagon. With about 10 foot wheelbase, tires had to slip sideways to turn much. Kinda like a toad behind a MH, except the steering is locked straight ahead. (How much do they sway?)
Wiggle Wagon is normally a semi-trailer with converter in place of tractor, (Some trailers are built so the front axle can spin under like a converter) This gives a extra pivot point behind the truck, (more often another semi-trailer) Now they can, and often do wander around behind. But unlike true trailer sway, all forces on the TV are straight back, not pushing side to side. Really not a control issue unless driver tries to correct for it, oversteers.

[nickthehunter]

Grit dog wrote:

JRscooby wrote:


I'm sure glad you never got a chance to talk to the full trailer I pulled the most. MT TW was less than 0.05%. Loaded, less than 0.005%. Replace bushings in tongue about every 50,000 miles, and it tracked like it was on rails.
Now when talking RVs, or most other trailers, the TW is important. You should set things up to where sway is unlikely, then add sway control for when something goes wrong.

So What you're saying is the dump pup or transfer you pulled didn't have any tongue weight, per se. This is not news, nor in any way pertinent to the discussion.

There is a reason they call those "Wiggle Wagons".

[valhalla360]

He doesn't use a WDH or sway control either.

He does seem to have it front loaded though.

[Grit_dog]

JRscooby wrote:


I'm sure glad you never got a chance to talk to the full trailer I pulled the most. MT TW was less than 0.05%. Loaded, less than 0.005%. Replace bushings in tongue about every 50,000 miles, and it tracked like it was on rails.
Now when talking RVs, or most other trailers, the TW is important. You should set things up to where sway is unlikely, then add sway control for when something goes wrong.

So What you're saying is the dump pup or transfer you pulled didn't have any tongue weight, per se. This is not news, nor in any way pertinent to the discussion.

[lane_hog]

Where WDH really comes into need vs. like is when the trailer weights almost the same as the truck or is longer than the truck.

At 5000#, the OP doesn't sound anywhere near that.

[CavemanCharlie]

wanderingbob wrote:
Try pulling it , I have the same truck and trailer weight and have been pulling this trailer since 2014 . I do not use or need a WDH . That is the reason you buy a 3/4 ton truck . I have driven over 100K pulling this TT . TRY it , you might like it !

Yes

[JRscooby]

nickthehunter wrote:

JRscooby wrote:
I'm sure glad you never got a chance to talk to the full trailer I pulled the most. MT TW was less than 0.05%. Loaded, less than 0.005%. Replace bushings in tongue about every 50,000 miles, and it tracked like it was on rails.
Now when talking RVs, or most other trailers, the TW is important. You should set things up to where sway is unlikely, then add sway control for when something goes wrong.

I'm pretty sure your tongue weight was way more than 0.05%. At 0.05% a 10,000 lbs trailer would have a tongue weight of about 5 lbs.

Truth is, I never weighed the tongue. I know I had no issue picking up either end to move it. I know I put a modified bumper jack on it because I could not hold it up and back the truck in place. I know the trailer had a MT weight of 8600 lbs. And I know that with the tongue hinged at back, all the weight loaded in the box (normally about 17 tons. Minimum 12) was carried on the axles.

[BurbMan]

JIMNLIN wrote:

wildtoad wrote:
Why guess about your weights? Go weigh your truck and trailer as setup for camping and base your decision on facts.

Best advise at this time as you/were just guessing. Scaled front and rear axle weights will tell the tale.
However you have the truck and trailer so hook it up and go for a short drive and see how the rig handles. You may or may not need a WD hitch. No cents/sense in buying one if its not needed.
\ You can also use those weights for setting up a WD hitch.

X3 on the good advise here. The "average" camper loads 1200 lbs over dry weight in their camper before they add water, reason being is that mfrs don't account for propane, batteries, etc. in their dray weight #'s. Plus the stuff you don't count like pots/pans, clothes, etc., really adds up.

You are probably 1000 lbs over dry weight with full water, but that doesn't automatically mean you need a WD hitch. See how it tows, get your weights, and go from there.

[nickthehunter]

JRscooby wrote:
I'm sure glad you never got a chance to talk to the full trailer I pulled the most. MT TW was less than 0.05%. Loaded, less than 0.005%. Replace bushings in tongue about every 50,000 miles, and it tracked like it was on rails.
Now when talking RVs, or most other trailers, the TW is important. You should set things up to where sway is unlikely, then add sway control for when something goes wrong.

I'm pretty sure your tongue weight was way more than 0.05%. At 0.05% a 10,000 lbs trailer would have a tongue weight of about 5 lbs.

[wanderingbob]

Try pulling it , I have the same truck and trailer weight and have been pulling this trailer since 2014 . I do not use or need a WDH . That is the reason you buy a 3/4 ton truck . I have driven over 100K pulling this TT . TRY it , you might like it !