With those trailer specs you list ( GVWR 8900 min UVW 6899. )
I'd say you are at the upper most, max your truck is able to tow in a 'perfect world' situation...
Now, you say next... ".. i only camp in full hook up area and with-in 20 to 50 miles of my house.."
You also say that you've already towed it home and it felt 'fine' and it's a done deal, so why the questions now??
If it felt 'okay' to you on that drive home, your intended trips sound like that's all you need to deal with.. So, tow it and enjoy and have fun..
How much 'over weight' your are at this point is moot because you have it now, so there you go! Are you overweight with this rig?? Yes, IMO.. Is it a "bad" thing? No... It just depends on how YOU feel towing it..
If you are satisfied with your trucks performance towing the rig, that's all that really matters.. If' it's a 'white knuckle' event, even on the 20 mile runs, than you have problem on your hands...
I say tow it if it feels right.. You are the only one that will know if it does not feel right..
Take it on a 200 mile trip with full load and over mountain passes and deal with 20- 30 mph winds and it might be another thing??
I just came home from a 150 mile (one way) trip where I encountered 35+ mph side winds and felt my little #5000 GVWR TT with my F150 more than I'm normally used to feeling it.... We also saw 2 ripped off awnings on the side of the road within 10 miles of each other, so there was some good wind going on!
Good luck and enjoy the beast!
Mitch
*Anything I post is for entertainment purposes only and what usually works for me.. Your Mileage May Vary..
You guys are all correct i just paid off the truck so i will start thinking about a bigger TV just me and the DW in truck and one tote box NO KIDS DOG OR BIKES i would truly say about 200lb of cargo i can only take weekend trips so i don't really have that much to carry my eyes were bigger then my brain when i bought this trailer, i should be in like a 25 or 26 foot but they were selling like hot cakes and for top dollars. now i know why i got such a good deal. I am in Southern CA Outside Riverside any one know where i might find a scale in this area i am mad at the sales man but in the end i guess its up to me to do my homework he was just trying to make a living.
enjoy life while you can
05 Dodge HEMI Quad Cab
03 Fleetwood Prowler 31G LS North West Edition
Draw Tite Weight Distribution ans Sway Unit
90885 Prodigy Break Controller
If you just paid off the truck, why would you want to take on a new loan??
If the only trips you take are what you say and it's NOT a 'white knuckle' situation, why worry about it??
Unless you DO plan on taking those longer trips and such in the future, you can probably get by for now..
Or, maybe think about getting a nice, USED heavy duty tow rig... You can get them for pretty cheap compared to NEW and you'd be able to keep the 1500 as your daily driver and the older HEAVY DUTY truck for towing the rig..
Just a thought... Some folks have recently done that on here and are very happy with that choice..
Be REAL sure to weight truck rear axle when loaded fully for travel. You will need lots of tinkering to be sure tongue weight is at least 13% of TT loaded weight, but to not exceed TV GAWR on rear. Took me 3 tries on our Expedition, but Equalizer was up to the task. Tinker until it is all in spec.
P.S. "Everyone says" you can't just dump waste tanks before leaving CG's. We've done it for many years and over 100,000 miles with no troubles. We do add a gallon of water in each waste tank after dumping. Nope, we never bother to waste water filling waste tanks before dumping either.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Australian Shepherd
2010 Ford Expedition TV
2010 Outback 230RS Toybox, 5390# UVW, 6800# Loaded Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
Towing over weight is no fun period. The Hemi will work just fine but the truck is too light. I pull our 31' Tahoe with a Dodge 2500 QC 4x4 V-10 5sp. The truck handles the weight good. But I have a Dana 80 rear end & Dana 60 in front. It is Heavy Duty all the way.
I own an '06 Dodge 1500, 5.7L Hemi (which is virtually the same truck) and tow an '07 26' RVision MaxLite 26RK with a UVW of 5280lbs. I'm comfortable with it, but wouldn't even think of pulling anything heavier.
Mallard 24 wrote: Towing over weight is no fun period. The Hemi will work just fine but the truck is too light. I pull our 31' Tahoe with a Dodge 2500 QC 4x4 V-10 5sp. The truck handles the weight good. But I have a Dana 80 rear end & Dana 60 in front. It is Heavy Duty all the way.
If you knew what I know. You wouldn't be bragging so much about that Dana gearset.
As for the OP's TT. The weight is the concern. The 31', IF that is bumper to ball, ain't that big a deal.
You are going to be over on payload which some say is no big deal. The bigger concern will be the rear axle weight. If you can come in under the axle ratings and do short trips you can do it without seriously killing the truck. You will know that it is there all the time. I personally do not like to exceed any manufacturers ratings, period.
What limits you with your truck is both your payload and your adjusted tow capacity (GCWR - scaled actual weight of loaded TV). What is your payload on your truck? Subtract from that the weight of all occupants and cargo in the TV (less 150 lbs allowed by manufacturers) or take the loaded weight of the TV and subtract it from the TV's GVWR. What is left is your available payload for the TT's tongue weight. The tongue weight should be 13-15% of the loaded TT weight (about 20% of this should be transferred back to your TT w/ a properly adjusted WDH).
I think you are way to conservative thinking you are only loading 200 lbs into the TT. The average camper actually tends to load 1000-1500 lbs once you add up pots, pans, all kitchenware (plates, silverware, cups etc), all toiletries, clothes, tools, chocks, sewer hose, white hose, chairs, etc. It adds up on weight really quickly, you would be surprised. You can try weighing each item in the TT individually and adding that to your base weight but in reality it is much easier to find a scale. You can look for a local feed store w/ a scale or a local truck stop should have a cat scale. At the cat scales you can weigh for the initial fee (this varies but is usually $9-12 or so) and then reweigh within 24 hrs for about $1. This is handy so that you can weigh your TV w/ a full tank of fuel and all occupants and cargo with and without your TT hooked up (put front axle on 1 scale and rear axle on 2nd scale). You can then weigh w/ the TT hooked up (TV front axle on scale 1, TV rear axle on scale 2, and TT on scale 3). If you really want to know the full weight of the TT off the TV unhook and have the entire TT on the 3rd scale but I don't advise doing this during busy time at the scales.
To give you an idea, your TT has a UVW of 6899 x13% would be an unloaded tongue weight of 897 lbs. If you are correct and only add 200 lbs of gear, then you are looking at a loaded TT weight of 7099 x13%= 923 lbs TW. More likely you will be closer to at least a loaded weight of 7899 x13%= 1026 lbs tongue weight. Now remember to take 20% off these tongue weights for your WDH.... so dry TW w/ WDH: lbs, 200lbs gear TW w/ WDH: 717 lbs added to your payload. 1000 lbs gear TW w/ WDH: 821 lbs. This is using the 13% instead of 15%. Remember if you put too much weight in the rear of the TT to try and lighten the TW it will cause sway. Also remember that anything loaded in front of the axles can add to your TW.
You said your TV did fine handling your TT and it might for what you are towing. I towed overloaded for 1 season and then upgraded to the F250 in my sig. That was w/ a lighter TT than yours and a TV rated to tow close to the same but w/ a shorter wheelbase than yours. It was a miserable experience and after being pushed all over the road by the tail wagging the dog, praying the semi's would leave me alone and being pushed down a 7% grade, I upgraded. I love towing my 30' TT now. If you are comfortable in your combo, you can keep trying it but remember there may be liabilities involved if you are over weight and in an accident, especially if police or insurance companies discover you are over your TV's capabilities. You can also get ticketed if you are one of the rare people to be inspected and weighed by DOT. As others have said, ultimately what you do is up to you and how much you are willing to risk your safety and the safety of your wife. The salesman would probably have sold you an 11000 lb 5er and told you that everything would be ok. I know this because they tried to sell me a TT that had a dry weight over my old TV's capabilities and often I was told not to worry about anything other than dry weight by a salesman. They are trying to make a sale and often, they don't have the proper knowledge of TV specs to truly tell you what you can tow. I learned this the hard way also. Best of luck to you.
I have a 04 dodge ram 1500 4x4 Laramie quad cab with the Hemi and tow package and it is rated to pull 8600 lbs...no offense but i am not sure where you got your specs from, but that trailer is definitely too much for a 1500. your tow capability drops with passengers and cargo.
Offline
Are you overweight with this rig?? Yes, IMO.. Is it a "bad" thing? No... It just depends on how YOU feel towing it.. 
