I have an aluminum I-beam trailer with hydraulic surge brakes. no place to hook chains or torsion bars it doesn't spread out into a " V " until 5-6 feet back. I don't think your ever going to eliminate the bobbling with this truck, I think it has everything to do with the coil rear end and everything else is just a band aid. I never thought I would have to spend another 4-500 on a WD hitch after buying this truck that was rated to tow 2k more than my ford.

 

For every bad experience or impression I'm sure there are multiple good ones. I towed an enclosed trailer weighing north of 8500# across the country last summer through 2500+ interstate and mountain miles with a full load of people and gear in the truck and it pulled exceptionally well. Use appropriate equipment and set things up correctly and you can overcome most challenges.

Chris288: Would you also complain about having to buy a 5th wheel hitch to pull a 18K pound trailer if you bought a RAM 3500? It's required equipment for the trailer you would be pulling. Just like a WD setup is required when pulling over xxxx pounds (forget the specific value) on the 1500.

The things some people expect or get frustrated about never fail to surprise me.

Rob

 

For example a holiday trailer...when you buy anything but a tent trailer (SMALL ONE) you have to buy a WDH...in fact here in Canada they dont let you pull the trailer off the lot without one.

To quote you BigBlue I think it has to do a little bit on the the length too because I think tongue weight changes??? But yes most of it is done by weight. You can't exceed the payload capacity of your truck (this includes all cargo and passengers) on these trucks is around 1800lbs I believe. I think it would be safe to say tho that if the trailer weights more that 50% of the weight of the truck a WDH is in order.

So we can take this boat in for example, 6500 lbs? Tongue weights are AT MINIMUM 10% of that so we can say 650lbs, say you have 4 people (150lbs average) thats another 600lbs. Now SAY another 100lbs in tubes, wake boards, fishing equipment. Your up to 1350lbs your max is 1800. In other words your nearing your capacity.
This is where you are having your problems chris. All that weight is on your hitch, which might I add could be a minimum there is no way of determining 100% unless you weigh it. With a WDH that 1350lb load could now be re-distributed approx. 20% hitch, 40% rear truck axles, 40% front trailer axle. With out that your looking at 100% on the hitch. BIG difference.

I hauled our 30ft approx 8000lb holiday trailer with my 07 1500, it sat perfect drove beautifully, I have put the same trailer on the hitch of my 2011 to see the sag, without that hitch it would have almost been riding on the stops, with the bars hooked on and set right it sat a little low but I don't have any bags. I did not end up pulling it with that truck. Thats just the difference that a WDH has.

Now I realize that it could get hard to find a hitch for your trailer as it is a single beam trailer, but they are most definitely out there. I hope that by providing some numbers you can see the difference what a WDH will do for you. Frankly in my opinion paying 4-500 bucks for a WDH that you should be able to use with any other WD system (just need the bars) Is FAR more worth it then to pay more for a ford (with equal specs) or to get into a 2500 with leafsprings. It really makes all the difference, why do think they put them on ALL heavy trailers. I don't understand why they are not putting them on these boat trailers but it must have something do with the surge brakes.

 

Not to mention the fact that thats what these trucks are being made for. Passenger and ride quality, not towing FIRST in mind. Unfortunately thats whats happening in todays age and there is nothing that us as consumers can do. Unless we ALL gear together and tell the companies that we want TOWING, which we know the majority of us don't.

How to solve, by beefing up the truck or trailer with these addons. OR getting a truck made for towing. Its just the way it is...But its still cheeper to beef then to upgrade...

 

The amount of misinformation in this thread is crazy.

99% of the WDH on the market are NOT designed for use on trailers with surge brakes. And the few that are have a history of causing issues with surge brakes.

There are very FEW boat trailers with electric brakes so whomever is spreading that BS needs to get their head examined. Drive over to any boat dealer and count how many boat trailers have electric brakes. I'd bet you'd have a hard time even finding one.

As for what these trucks are "designed" to do, they are more than capable of towing up to 10,000 lbs without issue.

I tow a 6500lb boat and trailer all over the place and my 1500 Ram has no issues. You are going to sacrifice either non-loaded ride quality (HD truck) or sacrifice loaded / hauling ride quality (1/2 ton pickup) but that doesn't mean the truck can't handle it.

Get some load range D tires and call it a day. You'd be surprised what a thicker sidewall tire can do to stiffen up the ride.

 

boy i hate to kick your soap box out from under you and i don't mean any disrespect but i worked at a dealership for nine years and my father in law owns a boat dealership in mobile, al. and ive worked there. they outfit more trucks owned by people that buy large boats there with wd hitches than not. they strongly recommend any boat and trailer combo over 2/3 the rated capacity of the truck gets a wd hitch.the following are facts, go check them.
issue number one is all wd hitches with sliding friction bars instead of chains are specifically made to handle surge brake equipped trailers which would be about 80% of the top tier wd hitches on the market today.
id say about 75% of all trailers made to handle salt water boats over 25' have electric brakes as opposed to surge brakes.

i agree that the engine and transmission have the power to move a 10,000 lb. just dont get caught doing it in alabama because you'll be fined about a grand by the hiway patrol. a four coil suspension however is not designed to pull that kind of weight and its not going to happen comfortably.
i also agree that tires can make all the difference in the world and a good d or e range tire is a must for pulling the kinda weight this guy is talking here.

 

We will have to agree to disagree. Come down to Florida and walk around any of the big trailer companies like Magic Tilt and you won't find electric brakes on any of their trailers.

Maybe it's a salt water thing but you just don't see them down here AT ALL.

As for the WD hitches, I guess I'd have to see one to know what you are talking about because all of the ones I have seen don't have the ability to allow the actuator to engage because of the friction they put on the trailer itself.

 

Just to get my bona fides out there: I drive tractor trailers for a living, also worked for several years as a hitch installer for uHaul.

Why would the great state of Alabama issue you a ticket for hauling 10,000 lbs? If properly equipped the Ram 1500 is good to 10,450, with the four coil suspension, which means that the suspension was indeed designed to tow it.

Besides I do not know why people hate on coil springs. Trains use coils and they haul way more than a ram 1500 can.

 

I have the opposite problem. Empty, my truck rides harsh and tries to shake your fillings out going over bumpy roads. Toss a thousand pounds of tongue weight on it though, and the ride smooths right out! I guess this is the downside/benefit of having a 2500. I guess I could knock my tires down to 45psi while empty, but it is such a PITA having to fill them up every time I want to tow.

 

All i know is that i have Bridgstone Dueler RVT LT tires and my truck rides like a dream weather i am towing a 20 fiberglass bass boat, a 16' trailer loaded to the gills with wood, or an 8 foot trailer with a lawn mower. I don't have bags nor do i have a weight distributing hitch. A few other guys in my bass club switched to Ram because of the ride while towing a boat. My uncle pulls his horses hundreds of miles at a time with his stock 1500 4th gen all the time. Also, everyone i know that has a fiberglass bass boat 20 feet or longer has brakes on their trailers.