Adding extra weight to the truck - need some advice

[WannFly]

So I have 19' Laramie and planning on building it to a off-road rig. In hind sight, should have gotten a Rebel. Anywho, that's 18 months too late. Considering various off-road stuff including a Roof Top Tent and a front bumper with Winch mount and other stuff. The more I research into this, I find that all these are going to add crap ton of weight to the vehicle and it is recommended to get a better lift kit / suspension etc. I am considering BDS 4" kit, but not right now. I can either get a lift kit or the RTT if I have to park in the garage.

so the question is, how do i find out what my current vehicle weight (all stock) is? how do I figure out how much extra eight the stock suspension would handle before sagging? any pointers is highly appreciated.

To give some examples of weight :
Front bumper - 175 lbs + winch
Rear bumper - 85 lbs
Bed Rack - 70 lbs
RTT - 160 lbs
Hitch mount spare carrier - 130 lbs
spare full 35" - 110 lbs
Rock sliders - 300 lbs

above adds to about 1035 lbs of extra weight that i dont have now.
+
4 35 inch tires with rims is probably another 100 lbs each (substract the stock tires and rims, not sure how much they are)
+
plus add whatever gear, people and extra fuel I will be carrying.

 

[M Rose]

A 2019 Laramie what? The Laramie is just on options package for all of the Dodge Truck/SUV line. So the rest of your questions can’t be answered without knowing what truck you have. I had both a Laramie 1500 and 2500... they had two completely different suspension and axles under neath.

Carli is the best suspension you can get for a Dodge Ram. I ran a 4” lift on my 2500 and loved it.

 

[Alanymarce]

Find a friendly local weighbridge (friendly people running it, not the weighbridge) and measure the current weight.

 

[WannFly]

A 2019 Laramie what? The Laramie is just on options package for all of the Dodge Truck/SUV line. So the rest of your questions can’t be answered without knowing what truck you have. I had both a Laramie 1500 and 2500... they had two completely different suspension and axles under neath.

Carli is the best suspension you can get for a Dodge Ram. I ran a 4” lift on my 2500 and loved it.

looking at the build sheet, other than the ones mentioned below, nothing relevant :(

8-Spd Auto 8HP75 Trans
5.7L V8 HEMI MDS VVT Engine
2019 RAM 1500 LARAMIE CREW CAB 4X4

 

[M Rose]

looking at the build sheet, other than the ones mentioned below, nothing relevant :(

8-Spd Auto 8HP75 Trans
5.7L V8 HEMI MDS VVT Engine
2019 RAM 1500 LARAMIE CREW CAB 4X4

Gross Vehicle weight is 6,900 lbs.
Load Capacity is 1,154 lbs
Towing capacity is 7,590 lbs

 

[DevilDodge]

It would be GVWR 7100lbs. If it is a 5th Gen. Your door sticker will have your payload and GVWR

Subtract payload from the GVWR and you will get your trucks base weight.

Base weight is an empty truck with full fluids.

Your front axle rating will be 3900 and your rear will be 4100. For the 5th Gen the classic would be 3900 and. 3900

Do not exceed the axle ratings. A little over payload or GVWR won't hurt much...but over axle rating is a recipe for disaster.

 

[WannFly]

ok, so @DevilDodge is spot on, looking at the door jamb.. my payload is 1493. now this sucks. i do however wonder, from some YT videos, the way they have decked up their rig, i wonder if they are within their GVWR at all. per my plans, i will have 400 lbs to play with, which is not even enough with me and the GF and any camping supplies, extra fuel, recovery gear etc.

 

[M Rose]

ok, so @DevilDodge is spot on, looking at the door jamb.. my payload is 1493. now this sucks. i do however wonder, from some YT videos, the way they have decked up their rig, i wonder if they are within their GVWR at all. per my plans, i will have 400 lbs to play with, which is not even enough with me and the GF and any camping supplies, extra fuel, recovery gear etc.

Hence I went from a 1500 to a 2500. And also why on my Bronco I’m going from 1/2 ton leafs to 3/4 ton and adding ambulance coils

 

[DevilDodge]

ok, so @DevilDodge is spot on, looking at the door jamb.. my payload is 1493. now this sucks. i do however wonder, from some YT videos, the way they have decked up their rig, i wonder if they are within their GVWR at all. per my plans, i will have 400 lbs to play with, which is not even enough with me and the GF and any camping supplies, extra fuel, recovery gear etc.

A powerwagon fully loaded will have a payload of 1100 lbs.

A diesel 2500 Limited will have a payload of less than1800lbs.

If you are building out a truck you really need to start with a tradesman trim. But I can understand the need for comfort. Although my TRADESMAN HeftyDuty is pretty comfortable with a 2998 pound payload.

 

[DevilDodge]

@WannFly your truck is actually above average for payload. Remember. 1/2 ton =1000lbs.

We have a laramie Longhorn that has 1069 for Payload. And then the MFT(multifunction tailgate) came along and there is a member with just over 900lbs.

Alot of the 4th Gen Rebels only have about 800lbs payload.

Please post your Tire and Loading sticker

Hi, Looking to order and wanted to know the REAL cargo ability. Looking for pictures of the cargo sticker, Please post Model, gearing and specific options that may alter max cargo weights. ie Limited, 5'7, 4Wd, 3.92 Thanks (see attachment)

5thgenrams.com

Please Post Payload Sticker from Driver's Door Jamb.

Okay, finally found a 2500 Limited near me that I could drive and view the payload sticker. The news is just awful; 1,990 lb payload. 2019 RAM 2500 SRW 4x4 Limited Crew Cab 6"4" Bed +Delmonico Red, $100 +Towing Tech Grp, $445 +Protection Group, $95 +5th Whl/Gooseneck Towing Prep, $445 +Body...

hdrams.com

Check these out. These trucks are heavy with all their options.

Alot of people out there driving grossly overloaded trucks...i just keep hoping their guardian angle keeps up.

And we wont even start to talk about towing...not ready for that rabbit hole today.

 

[Boostpowered]

So I have 19' Laramie and planning on building it to a off-road rig. In hind sight, should have gotten a Rebel. Anywho, that's 18 months too late. Considering various off-road stuff including a Roof Top Tent and a front bumper with Winch mount and other stuff. The more I research into this, I find that all these are going to add crap ton of weight to the vehicle and it is recommended to get a better lift kit / suspension etc. I am considering BDS 4" kit, but not right now. I can either get a lift kit or the RTT if I have to park in the garage.

so the question is, how do i find out what my current vehicle weight (all stock) is? how do I figure out how much extra eight the stock suspension would handle before sagging? any pointers is highly appreciated.

To give some examples of weight :
Front bumper - 175 lbs + winch
Rear bumper - 85 lbs
Bed Rack - 70 lbs
RTT - 160 lbs
Hitch mount spare carrier - 130 lbs
spare full 35" - 110 lbs
Rock sliders - 300 lbs

above adds to about 1035 lbs of extra weight that i dont have now.
+
4 35 inch tires with rims is probably another 100 lbs each (substract the stock tires and rims, not sure how much they are)
+
plus add whatever gear, people and extra fuel I will be carrying.

What rock sliders are you getting that weigh 300lbs? Thats half an exo cage, the front half bumper and winch mount on my Colorado is nearly 190lbs. You can do without the hitch carrier, bed rack and rtt if you really want to save weight. Prolly don't need the rear bumper either. Kind of don't seem right that your full size has about the same weight rating than my little truck. My payload is 1360lb

 

[DevilDodge]

Your Gross weight rating is 6200...the RAM 7100.

Your truck weighs much less and therefore can carry up to its gross weight about the same.

Ultimately in an overload situation...where say you both would load to 1600lbs...the RAM (or fullsize chevy) will control it better.

7100 minus 1493 = 5607

6200 minus 1360 = 4840

My truck...
10000 minus 2998 = 7002

This is why the bigger truck makes a better tow vehicle...but not necessarily better for capacity.

But they also can take an overcapacity better.

If that makes sense.

 

[WannFly]

The only rock slider i can find right now is from White Knuckle - Ram 1500 Rebel / Gas 2019-Newer Rock Sliders - White Knuckle Off Road Products
its actually 230 lbs not 300. honestly i can leave without one (i think), just starting so it will be a while before i start rock crawling OR with enough bad influence... might start sooner who knows.
and probably dont need the rear bumper as well.

RTT is the main goal.

never thought I will be using Excel to do Weight and balance for a truck !!

 

[DevilDodge]

@WannFly if you already have this info I will stop...but here are some more tidbits.

RAM trucks have almost a 60/40 weight distribution empty.

So your base weight of 5607 means

Front axle. GAWR is 3900
base is. 3364
Rear axle. GAWR is 4100
Base is. 2242

 

[DevilDodge]

If you notice your axle ratings add up to 8000lbs

There are components other than the axles that make the 7100lb GVWR.

For instance. A 4th Gen RAM has a 6900lb GVWR. For the 5th Gen they gave RAM 1500 6 lugs and bigger brakes. And a GVWR of 7100.

 

[DevilDodge]

Here is a CAT scale slip of my truck with a load of wood.

Notice how most of the weight goes to the rear.

My truck. 10000 GVWR 2998 payload. 7002 base weight

Front GAWR 5500
Base. 4201
Rear GAWR 6000
Base. 2800

Hope this helps. Or atleast shows a point of view.

 

[WannFly]

@WannFly if you already have this info I will stop...but here are some more tidbits.

RAM trucks have almost a 60/40 weight distribution empty.

So your base weight of 5607 means

Front axle. GAWR is 3900
base is. 3364
Rear axle. GAWR is 4100
Base is. 2242

I did not know the distribution and was about to ask. Thanks. Most of my weight will be at the rear end. the biggest weight is the front bumper with Winch, which is 250 lbs. that puts me 250 less than the front GAWR
add the KO2 difference in tire, that eats up another 50 lbs.

 

[Roamerram]

here is my scale report. 2016 RAM 2500 Megacab CTD. GVWR 10000Lb as all . Ready for 10 days overlanding trip. 2 occupants and their stuff, food, 35 gal aux fuel tank, 24 gal water and all the usual camping/recovery stuff. 35" tires. No bumpers, no winch, no RRT. I since removed the rear seat and replaced it with a platform as this is where we sleep foe weight saving of 240 lb.