Hi, I'm steve.

Found your site a while ago..Just getting to intro'ing..

Sold our house 6years ago in Albany NY.. bought a rv.. did that for a while.. ran out of money, and started a ebay business, here in Vegas.

Well, We want to get back out and do the Rv thing again.. We ordered a loaded Drv Lexington MS a few weeks ago. Pick it up in knoxville in Aug.

I have a 2013 3500 ram long horn to pull it

We are liquidating our inventory now, and will auction off the rest in aug. 

Will be starting in FL for the winter, as my father is there, and he's getting pretty old.. gonna spend a little time there.

Anyways.. Hello again.. and will talk again soon.

Welcome, Steve.

It's always good to have new folks joining the active group here at RV Dreams.  We're glad you've decided to register and become an active member of the "family."

What is the weight on the 43-foot Lexington, and is the 3500 Dodge heavy enough to handle it?  I know they are okay on the 38-footer and shorter, but I'm not familiar with the weight capacities of the Dodge 3500.

Terry

Hello..

The Lexington has a GCVW of 24000. My dodge is rated at 27000 with the diesel , 4.1 , Aisen tranny and 4wd and dually. Had to call Ram to find out..Missing one of those specs.. and it will likely put you around the 22k cap range.. 

Most say it's fine.. some are pulling that kind of weight.. and some say we are crazy..lol

The Lexington will be running the unpgraded suspension , and disc brakes all around as well ( 6 wheels ). And I have wireless airbag system for the truck, I will install in a week or 2.

When I bought the dodge, I bought a dodge M20 hitch and the "picture frame" for the puck system.. ( Curt Q20 ) 20k hitch.. Got to sell that.. Brand new.We where originally looking at Voltages and cyclones.. But moved to more quality.( and less function )

Just ordered the curt 24k version hitch, today off amazon.

I regularly pull 10-12k around with dodge picking up ebay stuff that we sell. Truck doesn't even know it's there..

We had a small class a for like 8mo.. and that is the extent of our RV.. Plus, Always did weekends in tents , pop ups, small campers etc.. in NE growing up.

What are your thoughts? 

Steve,

I'm not familiar with all the Dodge numbers.  With regards to the 27,000 lbs rating, is that for GCVW or is that "towing weight?"  If it is towing weight, I'd check the numbers.  I have a Ford F450 and if I tried to tow what its "towing weight" was, I'd be over on both GCVW and GAWR.  I never go by towing weight except to get a very rough idea, and even then, I downsize my estimate of what the truck can truly tow.

Personally, I think all the truck manufacturers like to toy around with the weight numbers, and it always irritates me that they make claims but they seldom explain what they did to the trucks to increase their weight capacities.

Good move on upgrading the fifth wheel hitch.

Terry

According to this..

http://blogs.cars.com/files/2013-ram-hd-25003500-charts.pdf

My Crew cab / long box / 4x4 / longhorn / DRW .. W/ 4.10 rears and the HD tranny 

Has a max trailer weight of 28,910

And a GCWR of 37500

Truck weighs 8421

So combined.. just under the GCWR rating.

Truck has a 15750 GAWR. 9750 on the rear. .. leaving about 6400 capacity for trailer tongue weight..( I'm adding air bags too )

I think the numbers are good? No need for a bigger truck..

Trailer is 24000 fully loaded.. 

On top of that .. truck is total luxury and drive like a dream.. It will also be our driver in our adventure..

-- Edited by The Junkman on Wednesday 28th of May 2014 09:33:41 PM

On paper, it looks good for the numbers, provided your truck's weight of 8421 pounds includes full fuel, passengers, and cargo.  Your GCVW is about 5,000 lbs more than the 8421 plus the 24,000 lbs.  Now, once the trailer is purchased and you get the 24,000 lbs hooked up and the ACTUAL pin weight is figured in, I'd think that you should also be good on the GAWR.  Actual weights can surprise us.

Terry

Received my dot scale.. weighed my truck today.. Full tank of fuel, me in it, #285, fully loaded with fulltiming gear. will do the trailer and pin when i move at the end of the month..

rf = 2665
lf = 2695
rr=2300
lr = 2020

total = 9660

calculates out to 5450 avail for pin weight. I believe.. Exactly where I expected it to be.. Pretty sure pin will be well under that number.. by 1000lbs I bet.. we'll see. No more guessing.


I'm at Sandy oaks in beverly hills if someone wants to weigh their stuff.. free.. you do the work.. took me 8 mins to weigh all 4 wheels..