[Cody1313]

My wife and I plan on purchasing a tt next month our top of the list is one of the 2015 Rockwood Roo 21ss we have found. I drive and will be towing with a 2015 Ram 1500 ecodiesel Laramie with air suspension cooper discover rugged trek tires 3.92 gear ratio. Truck with half tank of fuel wife, daughter, dogs, crates, hitch and myself weighs 6500. GVWR is 6950 and based off of dry weight and dry hitch weight of 615 equals to 13 % so loaded if I'm doing the math right is 800 hitch weight will I run into problems with being 500 or so over on ccc? I'm well under total weight of combined truck and trailer and should be under gawr as well. Is there anything I need to upgrade on this truck to handle the weight? I will be using my wdh to get the numbers evened out on front and rear axles. Could I load some stuff in the back of the tt to get the % closer to 10 or 11%. Just want to have everything figured out before spending 15k on a tt and be able to enjoy it thanks for

 

[Bounty Hunter]

You'll be fine. Stick with 12-13% tongue weight if you can.

You can move items from the truck to the trailer to reduce payload, but keep that tongue weight in spec. Can move truck spare tire to trailer as well.

You won't hardly notice that trailer back there but for side wind and passing semis.

 

[Patroller8D]

You'll do fine with a 21 foot, I pulled a 22 with WDH and didn't affect my underwear any.

 

[Gearjammer]

Pulled from Florida to Maine. 30 ft travel trailer and truck bed full of parts.
Pull with me 2016 ED with 3.92 rear. Towed fine even being over rear axle weight rating

 

[Gearjammer]

I pull my Jayco 264BH with hitch of 530 pounds. I also load a 500 pound ATV in the truck bed. I have a WDH. I have no idea on weight on rear axle with that. I would think probably at max capacity. I added air springs and bigger tires. If you don't have the towing mirrors add them. Truck handles the weight fine

 

[Hammer]

off topic but that is true blue metallic, not a common color, same color as mine and
anyway, in my opinion if you're less than the axle ratings you're fine. i also have factory air and have spent DAYS trying figure it out, and I have. when you setup the weight distribution hitch, make sure you maintain the front and rear wheel to wheel well gaps which maintains the trucks rake (stance) with the nose pitched slightly down. there is about 1/2" of leeway on that but try to stay with the rear only drooping 3/8" compared to the front. also you're weights will be spot on with the scales if you do that. just be careful to keep the rear slightly heavier.

if after you take the air out of jack mode, and the back of the truck "airs up" unhook the whole damn thing, drive around over 20mph, come back and try again. when the air "airs up the rear" it LITERALLY UNLOADS THE BARS AND YOU'RE MAKING A DEATH TRAP. It's a big pain in the ass but if you get it right, it's a dream ride. there can be a weird pitchfore-aft rolling sensation with concrete expansion joint harmonics but just adjust your speed on the speedo until it goes away. i had different speeds that fixed it on the same road depending on the exact lenght of the trailer, not so much the weight. it's because of the air suspensions delayed/slow response and the fulcrum on the ball isn't always the same trailer to trailer (we rent).

 

[VernDiesel]

Welcome to the forum.

Gearjammers slip shows why his 30 foot trailer from Florida to Maine was a stable tow setup. Steer axle weight replaced. He would need to post his unloaded slip to calculate his tongue weight percentage. The 4th gen 1500 had a max combined weight rating (truck & trailer) of 15,950 which he was well below. I have slips where I did a CVW of 15,800 which was set up to be stable with no issues. Seen Bounty Hunter post them over 16k.

Cody doing math on guestimates is still a guestimate. Payload stickers despite leading by the blind are not very useful for determining what you can or cannot tow legally and more importantly with or without safety & stability for your family. I will link another thread where I tried to lay it out as simply and concisely as possible for setting up a safe stable tow setup.

 

[sourdo]

I towed a 1994 21 foot Coachman TT all over the countryside for many years. Alaska to Mexico twice, many other trips from Alaska to the lower 48. That Rv went through 4 trucks.

For a little trailer, it sure did gain weight. Solar panels, two batteries, huge Curt WDH, and then all the stuff in the truck box. Two coolers full of ice and drinks. Firewood, axes, chairs, 2nd spare rv tire, extra water, the box is stuffed full. Then add me, the wife, two dogs, fuel, DEF, and all of a sudden this "little" trailer and stuff in the box, is right up to near max. While the half ton trucks all towed this fine, including the Ecodiesel and it's great mileage, the WBD bars were tight enough that the REAR TIRES WEAR OUT FAST. It don't matter what truck either, until I moved into the 2500 Cummins, which is a whole other story.

You'll be fine with that size of trailer, and should get good mileage too. I was getting up to 16.4 mpg when running pure #2 diesel towing. Just watch your weight and you'll be fine. BTW, I used 1000 lb bars, not just for the RV, but to lift all the crap in the box. It rode fine and was level, but was hard on the rear drivers. Tire rotation is a must. Also AT tires don't last as long, I ended up using Cooper HT3 highway tread, LT E tires with good effect. I had no airbags nor needed them. Heat is another thing to watch on long grades and hot days. I would try to avoid carrying full waste tanks if possible.

It was on a trip in 2019, Alaska to Florida and back. In Arizona, I had some trash to get rid of, so we went to the local land fill. It was a weigh in/out and pay. I can't quite remember exactly, but we were within 300-400 lbs or so of the 15,750 lbs of total max weight while towing. And the truck handled this all just fine. I got my best mileage on that trip too.

Any gravel pit should let you crawl on and off their scales, or the local landfill works too, and is what I did. With some algebra, you can figure out everything. I would load that thing up, full water, fuel, bodies, hell do it right before camping, and then you'll know exactly what's going on.

Welcome, and good luck with your new RV!

 

[Gearjammer]

I had 4 adults and 2 kids 8n the cab. Truck bed had a 1968 20hp Johnson outboard. 2 inner and outer fenders for a 1998 Ram. Firewood 4 bicycles 2 electric scooters. Plus more camping gear. I loaded more items in rear storage of camper behind wheels to counter act tough weight. Will never duplicate thar load again. I do occasionally load a 500 pound in truck bed with camper too . I know it's probably over axle weight. But no Scales in the area.

 

[Gearjammer]

I meant to add that I can level the load by my air springs but that does not mean the front axle still has weight. You can air up bags all day long but your steering axle weight won't change much. My TT weight 4600 empty. My cat scale trailer axle weight was 5500. Before counting tough weight trailer was probably slightly over max weight but was a brand new trailer

 

[Gearjammer]

I pull trailer almost every weekend or carry Atv in truck bed and a trailer too. I just hit 46k miles on my BFG All terrain. They will make it to 50k. Stupid Tire kingdom that sold me the tires wouldn't air them to 50 psi because door shows stock tires at 40 psi. They would only put 40 psi in. Even though I had bigger BFG that needed 50 PSI.
It's important to watch pressure for tire wear

 

[biodiesel]

Our 2015 has 3.55 gears, but it does a pretty good job of towing our trailer which is a good 7,200 lbs. when loaded. The water and oil temperatures get really hot on the long steep grades, otherwise, I don't have any complaints. It tows the travel trailer nicely with a properly adjusted Weight Distribution Hitch.

Gross Vehicle Weight (GVWR) – Lbs.: 7500
Exterior Length (approx. w / hitch): 23’10”
Exterior Height (approx.): 11’4″
Exterior Width (approx.): 8’6″
Tire Size: ST205/75R15
Load Range: D
Fresh Water Capacity (w/water heater, approx. gal.): 50
Gray Water Tank (approx. gallons): 42
Black Water Tank (approx. gallons): 35
LPG Capacity (approx. lbs): 60

 

[phprof]

I pull a Freedom Express 21 TQX hybrid trailer with very similar specs as your Rockwood Roo 21ss. Truck handles it like a fine wine. Once I replaced the grille inserts with honeycomb style my temps dropped significantly.

 

[SniperVision]

I added air bags ro my 20 eco with 3.21 n pull our 7k camper just fine. Average 13-14mpg at 68-72mph. No issues. I am usually in 7th gear. Weekly I drive 300-450 miles with no load and avg anywhere from 24-34mpg depending on traffic.