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Old 06-25-2020, 08:41 AM   #1
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Ram 1500 - Towing International Serenity

Hello everyone, I am considering buy a 25FT International Serentiy. The specs show a 7,300 GVW and a hitch weight of 837 lbs.

I wanted to proactively buy a tow vehicle as the Airstream purchase may not happen for a few years. I was looking at the 2019/20 RAM 1500 with the tow package. When I look at the specs, Max trailer WT is 8,590, tonque WT is 859.

Is anyone else utilizing this TV to pull the 25FT and what concerns would anyone have?
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Old 06-25-2020, 08:52 AM   #2
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Bet you can guess. Tongue Weight and payload.
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Old 06-25-2020, 08:52 AM   #3
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Cargo Capacity

Hello fellow ohioan! Towing capacity is a tricky thing to figure out, even for experienced towers. Every time I go back to it there is a notebook and calculator. The biggest issue you'll find with a half ton truck towing is cargo capacity. Say your average half ton has 1300lb of cargo. By the time you put your 900lb tongue weight on there, there is barely room for two adults and you're absolutely maxed. Obviously, the second consideration is towing capacity. If your trailer is right up against your max towing, it's likely best to go up to a bigger truck or something that is better suited for that weight. And then there is the consideration of length. Sometimes it's okay to tow with a large SUV, and other times the trailer is simply too long. For instance, I would not tow a 31' trailer with a Toyota Sequoia because the wheelbase of the tow vehicle is not long enough. Those are the considerations I give and I hope you find them helpful. For what you described above I'd almost certainly go up to a three quarter ton truck. Cheers!
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Old 06-25-2020, 08:59 AM   #4
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Some folks tow with a VW Tourareg ... you can make it work ... unless you just have to have a 3/4 T to lumber around in when not actively towing.
We started with 1/2 T ... went to both Ram and GM 3/4 T diesels with the added safety of brakes, tires, capacity, etc ...
and now we are back to a GM 1/2 ... and loving it. Yes, we are close to max but judicious loading and wd hitch keep us under control and safe at 60-70 cruise.
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:07 AM   #5
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You may wish to search here for front bedroom vs. rear bedroom 25's for real world loaded tongue weights. Apparently, the cargo and tank locations on the front bedroom model lead to higher real world tongue weights, which presents payload and potentially rear axle limit issues. Not wanting to go to a bigger truck, we limited our looking to rear bedroom 25's.
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:12 AM   #6
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Nstaskey, great question! Welcome to the Airstream Community and Forums.

The other posters are spot-on. You need to refer to the door sticker of any truck to see the actual payload. RAM has *finally* corrected their online VIN lookup for payload to reflect the door sticker. That wasn't true when we purchased a 2019 RAM 1500 that had 1840 lbs. payload when it actually had 1220 lbs.

We bought it to tow our soon to be ours 27' Globetrotter and told the dealer we wanted at least 1800 lbs. payload. I loved how the 1500 drove but after a trip to the CAT scales we learned it was right at the rear axle's 4100 lbs. max.

After a lengthy 6 month discussion with the dealer and RAM corporate, they took the truck back and we bought a 2019 RAM 2500 gas with over 2900 lbs. payload. No more "payload anxiety" and we're getting the same or better MPG with the 6.4 Hemi.

You can read more about the experience on this thread.

The RAM 1500 is a great truck, just be aware of the payload limitations.

Good luck and happy camping!
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:21 AM   #7
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Look at / weigh Ram loaded / combined total weigh (GCVWR). The hitch weight is to be considered as and additive to truck payload, not added to trailer (tongue weight). Someone will surely contradict this. To weigh, Use the 3 pass over a CAT multi pad scale method. Get actual tongue weight, don’t guess.
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:21 AM   #8
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Look at / weigh Ram loaded / combined total weigh (GCVWR). The hitch weight is to be considered as and additive to truck payload, not added to trailer (tongue weight). Someone will surely contradict this. To weigh, Use the 3 pass over a CAT multi pad scale method. Get actual tongue weight, don’t guess.
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:29 AM   #9
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My 2017 International Serenity 25 FBQ has a tongue of just under 1000# with full water tank, propane, batteries and supplies for a week. Airstream factory spec numbers for tongue weights are notoriously on the low side.

This will be your limiting factor with a 1/2 ton pick up. Well that and available truck payload after that, a couple of people, equipment, etc. My 2017 GMC 2500HD pulls it MUCH more nicely than my K1500 Suburban for this exact reason.
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:35 AM   #10
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Our Tongue wt is right at 1100 loaded with our BluOx (25FB), This is why we upgraded to the 3/4 ton pickup. much safer all the way around, Your truck will be over weight with passengers and a full gas tank if you load anything in your truck bed.
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:42 AM   #11
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The Ram 1500 is a great truck but too small for your proposed trailer weight...especially if you add cargo in the truck bed, kayaks or canoe, bicycles, generator(s), etc. Get a 3/4 ton and go diesel also. Torque, torque, torque. You'll also get much better mileage. We just towed our 1964 30' Sovereign (and toys) up and over the Sierras in each direction (0 feet to 8000' elevation multiple times in trip) averaging 16.9 MPG with our 3/4 ton diesel.
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:45 AM   #12
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Ram 1500

Consider moving up to a 2500. You are operating a 1500 at the maximum limits and you may well have problems. Better to be overpowered than underpowered
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:48 AM   #13
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Bigger is hetter

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nstaskey View Post
Hello everyone, I am considering buy a 25FT International Serentiy. The specs show a 7,300 GVW and a hitch weight of 837 lbs.

I wanted to proactively buy a tow vehicle as the Airstream purchase may not happen for a few years. I was looking at the 2019/20 RAM 1500 with the tow package. When I look at the specs, Max trailer WT is 8,590, tonque WT is 859.

Is anyone else utilizing this TV to pull the 25FT and what concerns would anyone have?

I would suggest a 2500. I've got a 25 ft Serenity and the 2500 with diesel gets me through storms, Rockies and pulls so easy. I don't think you want to get by with the truck especially going through mountains and rough weather. Good luck!
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Old 06-25-2020, 09:57 AM   #14
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In the immortal words of Ronald Reagan, "Trust, but verify"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nstaskey View Post
When I look at the specs, Max trailer WT is 8,590, tonque WT is 859.

According to AS, the tongue weight on my FC30 is 903 lb. (including batteries and propane). According to the scales during a recent trip, tongue weight was measured to be 1180 lb.

If you are serious about staying within the towing limits of your truck, make sure you know your real-life tongue weight and overall trailer weight. Then let the data support your informed decision.
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Old 06-25-2020, 10:04 AM   #15
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Forget the Dodge. One thing is they are poorly built, poorly designed, cheaply made on the inside. If you read Dodges specs and then call them with questions they’ll dance around the answer. One thing to keep in mind if you buy the 25 foot it makes a difference on the weight and especially the 25FB. Tongue weight is much heavier. AS gives the weigh empty. You have batteries, then you fill up you gas bottles and the big storage bin is in the front and people have a tendency to carry a bunch of heavy stuff for long journeys. Then if you fill you fresh water tank and you store a bunch of stuff under the bed storage you’re looking at about 1,200 pounds of Tongue weight. That would be 400 pounds over the Dodge . Some folks will tell you that you can shift the weight with a distribution hitch. Yes but how much? If you ask the how do you absolutely know how much weight your shifting the get the deer in the headlights look. I’d consider the Ford F-150 with the total tow package with the 3.5 Ecco Boost. Get a Reese Straight Line weight distribution hitch. But still you will be close on you tonge weight. Have you considered 250/2500 series truck. If so then this conversation is moot. You won’t have to worry about any of this stuff. Gas mileage is about the same.
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Old 06-25-2020, 10:12 AM   #16
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We had a 25’ FB flying cloud that had a hitch weight of 1300 lbs with full tanks. If you go through the threads on this topic you will find that hitch weights vary greatly from stated on brochures. Understand where your external lockers are to the hitch. When you are close or over on hitch weight even with weight distribution setup, you must consider the cargo in your tow vehicle. Yes we went with a 350 diesel. We can load our truck up with no issues. Yes we use it as our only vehicles. Life is chouces that are right for us we have out 70,000 tow miles. Mts Alaska you name it. Not a sedan ride. Please review the extensive threads on tow vehicles.
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Old 06-25-2020, 10:14 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nstaskey View Post
Hello everyone, I am considering buy a 25FT International Serentiy. The specs show a 7,300 GVW and a hitch weight of 837 lbs.

I wanted to proactively buy a tow vehicle as the Airstream purchase may not happen for a few years. I was looking at the 2019/20 RAM 1500 with the tow package. When I look at the specs, Max trailer WT is 8,590, tonque WT is 859.

Is anyone else utilizing this TV to pull the 25FT and what concerns would anyone have?
We just bought a 2020 Ram 1500 a month ago and I went through a LOT of self-educating and calculations to figure things out.

First, ignore the payload and towing figures on the main Ram website. These are "boasting" figures that all manufacturers use in the towing "peeing match" that rivals horsepower and torque figures.

To start, you're looking for two webpages. One is the "Towing" page that's linked from the main Ram site. It will let you choose the engine, 2- or 4-wheel drive, trim level, bed length, and rear dif ratio and give you good baseline figures to start with. These will vary slightly depending upon options. More stuff = less payload capacity (which tongue weight counts against) and higher truck weight counts against your GCVWR.

The other is a separate doc that Ram publishes outside of the site. I don't remember the URL, but you'll stumble upon it with a Google search. It gives a lot more details including individual axle ratings.

If you have the VIN number of the truck you're considering, you can enter it on the Ram site and get the exact numbers for your particular vehicle, which in my case exactly matched the sticker inside the driver's door.

In my case, I bought a 2020 1500 Bighorn 4x4 Crew Cab with the 5'7" (short) bed, the 5.7L HEMI (non-eTorque), and 3.92 rear. It's towing capacity is 11,290 and its payload is 1,800 pounds. They've already taken into account 300 pounds for driver and passenger. The 3.92 ratio is key here.

If you get the Big Horn 1 or Big Horn 2 package, you move up to a Class IV hitch which gets you 14,000 pounds towing capacity and 1,400 pounds of tongue weight with a weight-distribution hitch. I believe you can order the Class IV hitch as an individual option.

Using my truck as an example, it could manage an International 25FB. However, as others have pointed out already, because of the location of the fresh water tank, storage compartments, and the optional second A/C unit in the bedroom, the actual tongue weight can easily balloon up to 1,200 pounds in real-world use. With a weight-distribution hitch, I'm still under the 1,400 pound limit of the Class IV receiver and I still have plenty of room for tossing some stuff into the bed of the truck.

Hope that helps?

Jim
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Old 06-25-2020, 10:49 AM   #18
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As everyone here has already mentioned, to tow capacity is tight and payload calculations are a factor. Here is my personal experience. I had a 1500 tow vehicle and still have a 23D Airstream. The truck with the trailer while using a load distribution hitch levelled the vehicles together and the truck was capable of the tow. After a trip down to Florida with trailer in tow I decided I would upgrade to a 2500 tow vehicle with a much greater tow capacity and payload. I know this is overkill, but the difference in the tow experience is quite noticeable. I no longer feel tired after a day on the road. Ability to accelerate when needed and climb steep grades with ease makes it worth it for me.
Now for the negatives. The truck is BIG! I have to live with that every day, not just towing days.
Last thoughts.
Payload is affected by tongue weight, so that is a serious consideration.
Tow capacity is a limiting factor. I personally like a 1/3 headroom for tow rating vs trailer weight. Just for a safety factor. How you feel at the end of the day also matters, and so does how you feel when you have to live with a BIG 2500 day to day. I have had both, and I wish I would have went bigger right out of the gate. No regrets going with the 2500.
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Old 06-25-2020, 11:28 AM   #19
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2013 Ram 1500

I've been towing my 25' FBQ FC with a 2013 Ram 1500 5.7L 4x2 quad cab, (has the tow package) with absolutely no issues. Up hills, down hills, no stress. The FC empty is appx 5300lbs. 7300 is the max weight the camper can be, loaded, yes? I seriously doubt anyone puts an actual ton of crap in their trailer. We put 4 chairs, 2 loaded Yeti coolers and other misc small stuff in the bed of the truck. There are usually 2 adults and 1 child in the cab. The truck's rear doesn't squat and it doesn't work hard to pull everything. Still, if there are any concerns, for peace of mind just buy a bigger truck and don't rely on the guesstimates or opinions in the forums.
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Old 06-25-2020, 11:50 AM   #20
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Flexibility in shopping

I agree with everyone recommending the 3/4 ton pickups! I’m not sure anyone has mentioned another important factor... Since you aren’t buying the AS right now, consider the real possibility that you or your spouse or partner might fall in love with a different length/model of AS. Happens all the time. 😉 Additionally, some folks buy a ___’ trailer and find that it doesn’t meet their needs. They trade it in on a longer or different model. Weights can vary greatly. If you really want to buy the tow vehicle years before the trailer, I’d recommend hedging your bets and buy the 250/2500 truck.
We had an F-150 with the small V8 which worked OK for towing our vintage 26’ except that semi trucks pushed us every time they passed us. We were also hundreds of pounds over our cargo capacity and rear axle rating. Last year we bought a new F-250, 6.2L gas, 2WD, with 3500# cargo capacity 😃 I tows so much better!! No push from semi trucks!! Towed her up and down Monarch Pass (11,300’) easily. If you plan to use your truck as a daily driver, I’d strongly recommend the gas engine. It’s also $10k less expensive 👍🏼 and less expensive to maintain.
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