Kayaks, Bikes etc....

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Ephraim

We struggled when it came time to carrying our canoe. I have an ARE topper that rises 4 1/2 inches above the cab of the truck. I've had a Thule rack on it for nearly 6 years that I've used to haul many varied things (usually just tied to the rack cross beams. Lumber is usually the culprit, but I've had Rohn tower sections and just about anything that was too long to fit in the bed of the truck. We bought our 30' Classic in april and then a 17' canoe last month. I couldn't fit the canoe on the rack per the instructions because it would set it too far back and hit the trailer.

The original rack is the Thule Pillar system with track mount feet. The tracks came on the ARE topper. To manage the canoe, I purchased the Thule Traverse for the cab of the truck. I figured I would have to remove one of the Pillar cross beams to make it work, but I couldn't have planned it better if I had tried to. I mounted the Traverse in the middle of the cab, then put the canoe on the truck and it made contact with all three crossbeams (due to the curvature of the canoe.

REI had a fit when I told them I had three contact points because they fear you will deform the canoe that way. Nope. It just worked out perfectly (by accident).

The plan is to use the Fiamma bike rack on the rear of the trailer for two bikes and then a Thule folding hitch for the back of the truck. When towing, the bikes go on the trailer and when at a camp, the Thule comes out of the bed and mounts on the truck hitch.

Curious about your "max payload" on the sticker on your TRAM door; and also your actual payload. I know the canoe, the topper, and tongue weight will be pretty high for a 1500 RAM...please share if you can. I know my canoe weighs in at 90lbs; my tongue weight is actually 1100lbs; not sure about your topper, but guess around 200lbs? Add in passengers and perhaps a generator, fuel, firewood, bbq grill, etc...and your likely above 1600lbs? Would be interesting if your RAM had a large enough payload to handle, is why I asked.

[Ephraim]

Originally Posted by gypsydad

Curious about your "max payload" on the sticker on your TRAM door; and also your actual payload. I know the canoe, the topper, and tongue weight will be pretty high for a 1500 RAM...please share if you can. I know my canoe weighs in at 90lbs; my tongue weight is actually 1100lbs; not sure about your topper, but guess around 200lbs? Add in passengers and perhaps a generator, fuel, firewood, bbq grill, etc...and your likely above 1600lbs? Would be interesting if your RAM had a large enough payload to handle, is why I asked.

So the truck is a 2500 (3/4 ton)

With the topper on (it hasn't been off in a loooong time), the truck weighs in at 6460lbs with me and a full tank of gas. I'm guessing the topper weighs in ~300lbs because it replaces the tailgate and has a walk in door. If I subtract the weight of the tailgate (no longer on the truck), then the topper weighs in somewhere in the vicinity of ~170lbs.

The door sticker says:
GVWR: 8800
GFAWR: 4750
GRAWR: 6010
Max Payload: 2988
Max Tow: 9700

I have three Cat Scale tickets for the loadout of that picture:

Unloaded Truck (me, topper, full tank of gas)
FA:3300
RA: 3160

Loaded Truck alone (family and load in back):
FA: 3580
RA: 3920

Truck & Trailer:
FA: 3480
RA: 4940
TT: 8620

So here is how I figured it:

I have a max payload of 2988 (GVWR of 8800). Using the unloaded Truck numbers above, that tells me that I have a working max payload of 2340 (8800 - 6460)

The trailer weighs in at 9540 [(3480 +4940 + 8620) - (3580 + 3920)]

The working truck payload is 1960 [(3480 + 4940) - (3300 + 3160)]

That was with a full Fresh water tank and empty grey/black tanks.

I have 160lbs breathing room on the trailer (to account for those trinkets acquired on the way) and 380lbs of breathing room on the truck.

I'm adding 150 lbs of bicycle to the trailer so I may have to drop some weight in the fresh water tank, but 100lbs anywhere on the setup isn't going to make that much difference.

The tongue weight of the trailer according to these weights is right at 900lbs

[curnes]

I toe our 23’ Flying Cloud FB with a Tundra with a canopy so it was important to get the kayaks on top of the truck. We use recreational kayaks weighing about 40 lbs each and I wanted a way to put them on top of the truck by myself. I built this “kayak lift assist” out of pvc. Using this I set the kayaks on the ledge about 1/2 way up, put my stool in place then slide the boats up onto the kayak racks. I do the opposite to get them down. So far, so good.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by Ephraim

So the truck is a 2500 (3/4 ton)

With the topper on (it hasn't been off in a loooong time), the truck weighs in at 6460lbs with me and a full tank of gas. I'm guessing the topper weighs in ~300lbs because it replaces the tailgate and has a walk in door. If I subtract the weight of the tailgate (no longer on the truck), then the topper weighs in somewhere in the vicinity of ~170lbs.

The door sticker says:
GVWR: 8800
GFAWR: 4750
GRAWR: 6010
Max Payload: 2988
Max Tow: 9700

I have three Cat Scale tickets for the loadout of that picture:

Unloaded Truck (me, topper, full tank of gas)
FA:3300
RA: 3160

Loaded Truck alone (family and load in back):
FA: 3580
RA: 3920

Truck & Trailer:
FA: 3480
RA: 4940
TT: 8620

So here is how I figured it:

I have a max payload of 2988 (GVWR of 8800). Using the unloaded Truck numbers above, that tells me that I have a working max payload of 2340 (8800 - 6460)

The trailer weighs in at 9540 [(3480 +4940 + 8620) - (3580 + 3920)]

The working truck payload is 1960 [(3480 + 4940) - (3300 + 3160)]

That was with a full Fresh water tank and empty grey/black tanks.

I have 160lbs breathing room on the trailer (to account for those trinkets acquired on the way) and 380lbs of breathing room on the truck.

I'm adding 150 lbs of bicycle to the trailer so I may have to drop some weight in the fresh water tank, but 100lbs anywhere on the setup isn't going to make that much difference.

The tongue weight of the trailer according to these weights is right at 900lbs

That's very good! That payload would work for me for sure...I stopped by a RAM dealer today in Helena to see the 2019', RAM 2500 with the Cummins w/ 8 speed, 4x4, short bed, loaded up model. They were advertising 34% discount on the highway sign, so had to see what this was about...of course, was on "select" 2018 models, but the GM came out when he heard I was interested in looking at the 2019 2500 models! Felt pretty special!

Anyway, after telling them I had a 17' KingRanch F250 and was pretty happy, but I wanted to test drive the new 2019 RAM 2500 loaded, to see the difference I was hearing about with the new 8 speed and coil rear suspension, Bilestine shocks, and the Cummins with 1000lb torque. They scrambled to find one, telling me they had a pearl white model "just like your King Ranch" to test drive on their lot, but they could not find one in diesel. The one they were talking about had a long bed, and was a gas Hemi model..too bad, I still am interested in driving the new one to see the big improvements….They said I would be looking at mid $60's after current discount... Said they will call when something comes in with these features...hope to see it this summer here. Not that I am going to trade in mine, but you never know!

[JamuJoe]

Originally Posted by curnes

I toe our 23’ Flying Cloud FB with a Tundra with a canopy so it was important to get the kayaks on top of the truck. We use recreational kayaks weighing about 40 lbs each and I wanted a way to put them on top of the truck by myself. I built this “kayak lift assist” out of pvc. Using this I set the kayaks on the ledge about 1/2 way up, put my stool in place then slide the boats up onto the kayak racks. I do the opposite to get them down. So far, so good.Attachment 344117

Very clever!