First of all, we are out of town lookin at rv's or i would totally [sm=icon_rtfm.gif], but i dont have my truck with me.

Looking at rv's and found some well under the weight rating we could deal with, but...

the one we really love is of course..a little over. I cant recall my actual tow rating. but the GVWR of the trailer is 8k pds, it weighs 5800#'s empty. I am switching over to 17's, and putting airbags on. Am i okay, i was thinking the tow rating was 8500#'s for trucks with 17's?

the one thing is, it will always be used at full service, so i will never pull it with any liquids in it..

Just thought i would check so i could avoid making an impluse buy way over what my truck can handle. cause i also seem to remember there being mention of a 7700pd tow rating.

 

I would think you should be fine , but with that being said make sure you have an equilizer hitch on there and a electric brake controler. You will know it is back there i tow a 28 ft weighing in at 4800 dry (within a hundred pounds or so just cant remember off hand) and i sometimes wish i would have bought the diesel just for the peace of mind more than anything. keep us updated and if you get it lets see some pics

 

I actually have towed trailers up to 1000 pounds over what they say I actually can....i dont know how..but its happened and all i have is an upgraded intake system. but ya you're still definently in the range. id say go for it... P.S.. If it doesnt then its a good excuse to get a diesel.

 

Why would switching to 17s improve your tow capacity? My guess is that the 20s they spec simply use less-capable tires from the factory. My Coopers are rated at far more than the truck can tow so 20s doesn't automatically mean a problem.

I belive 17s have the same overall diameter too so it's not a gearing advantage.

 

Just my $0.02, but I wouldn't try that at all. An 8,000# trailer on a truck rated at 8,500# is too close to the limit. The electric trailer brake and load-equalizing hitch are good ideas. A larger capacity tranny pan and diff cover are gonna be a must. Additional tranny cooling is not a bad idea either. You probably have 3.92 gears. A change to 4.10s or 4.56s will help. It's your truck, so again, that's just my $0.015.

 

The GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating) is the maximum allowable weight of the fully loaded trailer. So at most your trailer shouldn't execeed this value. In reality, you'll probably only put 1500# to 1800# in your trailer for a total weight of under 7600#. This should be comfortably within the towing capacity of your truck with 20s and 392 gears.

As John says, when switching from 20s to 17s, only the overall tire size will make a difference. If the 17s with rubber are shorter\smaller circumference than your current 20s, it will improve your towing limits, otherwise it will make no difference.

This should help you determine your factory recommended towing capacity:
http://www-5.dodge.com/towing5/D/vehicle_to_weight.jsp

Mike