We had a great opportunity yesterday, while passing through Nephi, Utah to weigh our 2013 Ram 3500 and 2011 Wolf Creek 850. With a GVWR of 11,700 pounds, I was curious to see how much this combo would weigh. Compared to my recently traded-in Ford F-250, this truck’s GVWR is 1,700 pounds more and has 500 pounds more payload, but part of the GVWR increase is taken up with a diesel engine and 4×4 transmission.
Well, after getting on the scales here are the results: Front Axle: 5,020 pounds; Rear Axle: 6,900 pounds; Gross Weight: 11,920 pounds. So based on these figures, I’m 220 pounds overweight with a fully loaded one-ton truck. Oh, and for the record. The diesel tank was pretty close to full, while the camper was loaded to the hilt with food, clothing, and a full tank of fresh water.
I have to say I’m a little surprised at how much this combo weighs. I took my previous combo to the scales and it weighed 10,200 pounds. This time around I expected to see around 11,300 lbs. I might have to take my rig to another scale to verify the 11,920 pounds figure though the CAT scales are known to be pretty accurate.
In spite of being slightly overloaded, my axles are still under weight. The Front GAWR for my truck is 6,000 pounds, but I was well under that with a weight of 5,020 pounds. The rear, on the other hand, is close to maxed out with a weight of 6,900 pounds with a Rear GAWR of 7,000 pounds.
[Note: This scale was very inaccurate by about 600 pounds. Click here for the details of my reweigh at a CAT Scale in Chandler, Arizona.]
60 psi front, 80 psi back.
If you really are that close to maxing out the rear axle, I'd be concerned about traction while under side loads, even more so on declines. You'll want the best tread you can get with hefty sidewalls.
Good thing you have that sway bar back there.
Not sure if your rig has much ability to shift weight forward. Even if you can, it probably won't be much. What tire pressures are you running?