Towing with Ram 1500

[Misfit011]

Originally Posted by Bikemobile

I tow a 201bhxl 4233 lbs dry, 5187 lbs loaded with a 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 5.3 with 8peed trans. It is advertised as rated for 9100 pounds of towing. It tows very well but on really bad highways with heaves, dips, and repairs, it seems to bounce around alot and moves the truck around more than I like. I live at 7,700 feet elevation and must go over 11,300 feet to go east and over 8,800 feet to go west.

To be honest, if I bought any bigger trailer I would get a 3/4 ton. For safety, for stress relief and for longevity. The posts I see with 1/2 tons towing 8000 pounds scare me.

Ive never owned a 4th gen ram but I have two friends who do. One with a 2011 5.7 crew 5 speed that tows a 6000 pounds loaded landscaping trailer often without issue. His trailer’s weight is usually pretty well distributed.

The other has a 2017 crew 5.7 8 speed who tows a loaded car hauler all over. The car hauler is 6300 pounds loaded and he says his only issue is a tad more tongue weight than the truck can handle on the bigger bumps and undulations.

I think the issue here is that 1500’s are designed to ride nice and they do at the expense of a bit of payload capacity and weight control. I’m going to add sumosprings to my sierra to see if that helps.

Our tt loaded 8-9 lbs loaded pulling with 2017 dodge ram outdoorsman 4x4 crew cab rated 10 600 to tow .. I've been towing vehicles as long as I remember no issues pulling our 28dds catalina with current TV. Everyone feels differently behind the wheel

[67L48]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

And my experience with RVers is very different. Most Rvers I talk to are very cognizant of weights and capacities. Most have done their homework, even those new to the lifestyle.

I guess it boils down to how you view people.

If true, half of this forum's volume wouldn't even exist!

I view people however they might present themselves.

You seem like a nice guy with lots of good experience. Thanks for continuing to help people out. Cheers.

[creedster]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Well, I guess it's official. Everyone is clueless but y'all.

Well said, sir.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Well, I guess it's official. Everyone is clueless but y'all.

I'm basing my statement on people that I know or have met. NOT those on RV forums.

[tucson]

I have an 07 1500 Megacab 5.7 and 3.73 gears and 17" tires. I tow a Apex 288bhs, 31' and right at 5000# empty. The 1500 you are looking at may be just fine, perhaps look at a gear change

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by tucson

I tow a Apex 288bhs, 31' and right at 5000# empty

Do you ever tow it empty?

[tucson]

Originally Posted by JohnD10

Do you ever tow it empty?

Good point

[Librarianwhs]

Originally Posted by Blackrock

When I picked up my half ton towable 5th wheel in 2016 I stopped at the Gin scale on the way down and got front/rear and total weights on my 16' Ram 1500. Then coming back home I stopped in and weighed with the trailer hitched up, full propane and half tank of water. The trailer was advertised as 1250 pin weight, the truck has a 1780 payload. The weights came out as advertised.
So I got home and started loading up everything that had been in my 25DS plus everything we wanted to take to Alaska with us.

Went back down to the Gin and found out I needed to trim some weigh off so I unloaded a lot of tools and my wife trimmed off some clothing and bedding. Went for a re-weigh and it was a lot better but #400 over on the rear truck axle, trailer axles were good. So we went with it and made the trip to Alaska with no truck problems.

Downside was that my wife died in Fairbanks so that was 220# less on the way back.

I am so sorry for your loss. Having been down that same road and losing my wife, I completely understand.

[Librarianwhs]

I towed a 32 foot toyhauler with a an 05 RAM quadcab. It had 3.92 gears and 20's on it. I would load a 1000lb toy in the camper and fully loaded up, I suspect I was on the ragged edge. The camper weighed 6K dry. When fully loaded I was about 8K. I never hauled much in the truck except me and my wife. I ran it six years that way and never had a problem. I never went out west but I did go south into Tennessee several times and it pulled Jellico hill just fine both up and down.

[Code13]

We use to have a 2013 Ram 2wd with a Hemi towing a 34 foot bunkhouse camper. I think dry weight was around 7200 lbs. I found that once fully loaded we were literally right at the max ratings of the payload and axle ratings. It pulled pretty good and I never felt really overloaded but did feel somewhat unsafe knowing and driving at highway speeds for long trips.



I say if you are just using for local trips you would be fine just watch that payload. If you can you really want at least a 3/4 ton truck for towing anything other than a utility trailer or small boat...that is if you want to be safe. Cheaper excellent condition trucks can be found all over. Dealers like CarMax would be glad to ship one to you and I think they only charge $250 to transfer it. If you dont like it you still do not need to buy it. Find one from Texas if you can

[Kevin Fischer]

I had to respond as i had an almost identical situation 7 years ago. I bought a new Ram 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi engine to pull my new to me 28' Keystone(dry weight just under 6K lbs. My feeling was that it had plenty of power to pull the camper but it shifted way to often and i was afraid it was going to ruin the transmission. Also even with the equalizer brand sway bars i did not have the feeling of stability going down the road. Wind and larger passing vehicles threw me around a little to much to feel safe with the family.
So after owning the new truck for less than 6 months i traded it in on a new Dodge 3/4 ton. What a difference it made. More power, less shifting, no more feeling of being thrown all over the road in windy situations, better stopping ability, over all just a safer situation.
Yes-I took a hit on price but how much is your safety worth.

[Dragonmaster]

I’ve got a 2012 Ram 1500 Crew SXT. Payload 1570lbs, Dutchmen 286BHS 33’ ball to bumper. Dry 6873lbs Loaded for two weeks and a full 60 gallon tank of water, and wife and 2 kids in the truck with me we hit right at max axle weights and 200lbs over GVWR weight. Tows and stops great in the Rockies of ALBERTA and B.C.

If money were no object I’d go 3/4 ton but it doesn’t fit into my parkade at work and adding a commuter car plus the truck is not an option.

[stormer]

Originally Posted by daybreak

We are currently looking for a new tow vehicle and on a limited budget. Here in western Massachusetts it is hard to find a 3/4 ton that isn't rotting out or been abused as a plow truck.

I came across a 2011 Ram 1500 quad cab Laramie with 3.55 gears 20 inch wheels, our current trailer is 4000lbs dry and 22 feet so I feel confident this would be an improvement over the Durango we currently tow with.

My question is we are looking at a Salem cruise lite 263bhxl with the sticker weight just under 6000lbs dry. With this being a 32 foot trailer would towing with the half ton be difficult? Best information I found is max trailer weight 8350lbs but I know the length of the trailer can make a difference.

I was kind of in the same boat. I had a 2016 ram half ton. It had a max tow capacity of 8340. My rig (after putting all my stuff in it) was at 8460. So we stayed in "flat lands"... sigh. Loved that truck, but it wasn't enough.

If you have not checked it out, go download the trucar app. (see website trucar.com) (without the "e" in true)

Listen, if you are willing to "pay yourself"... If you can find the "right truck" that could be seriously thousands less than buying locally... is it worth a couple thousand dollars to go drive 500 miles if needed? I suspect most here would be willing to drive 500 miles to save a couple thousand dollars.

We ended up finding a 2012 ram 2500 Laramie 6.7 cummins with 138k miles for $26k. What a deal eh? We only had to drive 70 miles. So it was a no brainer. But my search range was 500 miles. I would have driven quite a distance to save the money considering all I was seeing was price ranges $30k+.

All this said, you wouldn't want to go half ton. Best to have a truck that does more than you need it to, just in case you NEED it to.

I didn't read the 6 pages of this thread. Just answering your initial post about looking for a truck.

cheers!

James

[TheGerman]

Originally Posted by tucson

I have an 07 1500 Megacab 5.7 and 3.73 gears and 17" tires. I tow a Apex 288bhs, 31' and right at 5000# empty. The 1500 you are looking at may be just fine, perhaps look at a gear change

LOL that doesn't count ! The 06-08 1500 Mega cabs are 2500s with slightly softer suspension and less payload. You have 8 lug wheels right ?

[flookk]

Originally Posted by Misfit011

Our tt loaded 8-9k lbs loaded pulling with 2017 dodge ram outdoorsman 4x4 crew cab rated 10 600 to tow .. I've been towing vehicles as long as I remember no issues pulling our 28dds catalina with current TV. Everyone feels differently behind the wheel

A 2500 would be comforting for those times that you are towing and if you are full-timeing might make sense but is a bit of overkill for the rest of the year picking up groceries etc.

Forget the Laramie and look for one with the factory tow package: 3.93 Rear end boosts max tow by about 2000#, built-in brake controller, tow/haul mode transmission. Then try and stay well under the max tow weight of your fully loaded truck/trailer combo.

My 2016 Ram SXT 4x4 quad cab/long box pulled my 6350 dry weight (so likely 8500 loaded) 31' (bumper to ball) TT from the Great Lakes to the Prairies and back no problem. Good WDH, air bags in the rear end. I think that the Salem would go nicely behind it.

[PrairieBoy]

I have a 2012 Ram Outdoorsman 1500 with the tow package and an advertised tow capacity of 10,300. This truck can pull this with no problems but like You my concern is the length of the trailer I am trying to pull. I can tell You that when I pull my Surveyor 305 (advertised as 1/2 ton towable) which is 38 ft long, the trailer pushes the truck around quite a bit. The trailer is about 8000 lbs dry but I feel the length is too long for my truck or any other 1/2 ton to safely handle. When I pull it with my Dad's 3/4 ton, I don't even know the trailer is back there. I only pull this trailer to my seasonal site which is about 1 hour away.
I also pull an older camper which is rated at 7500 lbs but its loaded weight is more in the 6500 lb range. It is 28 ft long and this camper pulls like a dream. I don't even know its there. This is our traveling camper that we pull around to various campgrounds around the province. We travel with this trailer loaded to the max with the truck bed full and 2 kayaks attached. I have just a basic WDH that I use with both trailers and I only put my sway bar on my bigger trailer, I do not use it on the smaller trailer. I also have the Airlift 1000 airbags installed on my truck and they work great to level the truck. To alleviate the shifting up and down, I select 5th gear and just leave it there. Stops the shift to 6th, down to 4th and then back into 5th that constantly occurs if I don't.

[67L48]

Originally Posted by Dragonmaster

I’ve got a 2012 Ram 1500 Crew SXT. Payload 1570lbs,[...] Dry 6873lbs Loaded for two weeks and a full 60 gallon tank of water, and wife and 2 kids in the truck with me we hit right at max axle weights and 200lbs over GVWR weight. [...]

A 6,900 lb trailer loaded for 2 weeks and containing 500 lbs of water is going to be at a real-world weight of 8,000 - 8,500 lbs. That puts a clean 1,000 lbs on your hitch. Family of 4, fully clothed, is around 650 lbs. Add in your WDH and anything else and your actual payload will be north of 1,800 lbs on a 1/2 ton rated to only 1,570 lbs.

Glad it's working out for you. It's not smart to exceed your ratings like this. If you can't upsize your TV, you should downsize your RV.

[toys4dad]

look for a ram 1500 outdoorsman package! i loved this truck. facyiry10ply tires, 5.7 hemi, 3:92 gears, tow package, 8 speed, rubber floor mats and more. i towed a 31' foot 5th wheel, somewhere around 7000 lbs dry. not an issue

[AlaskaErik]

Originally Posted by 67L48

A 6,900 lb trailer loaded for 2 weeks and containing 500 lbs of water is going to be at a real-world weight of 8,000 - 8,500 lbs. That puts a clean 1,000 lbs on your hitch. Family of 4, fully clothed, is around 650 lbs. Add in your WDH and anything else and your actual payload will be north of 1,800 lbs on a 1/2 ton rated to only 1,570 lbs.

Glad it's working out for you. It's not smart to exceed your ratings like this. If you can't upsize your TV, you should downsize your RV.

This goes right back to one of the most important things to consider when looking at a half ton to tow at the upper limits of tow capacity...you're almost always going to run out of truck payload capacity before you're going to run out of towing capacity. This is especially true if you have a family and fill up the water tank.

[Scrawford]

Have that very trailer in my driveway right now. I've only towed it a few times at this point, every tow being in gusty conditions.

TV is '15 F150 crew short bed.

Pulling and stopping are not a problem at all, but like others have said, it does move the truck considerably in windy conditions. It does not lend itself to easy/comfortable driving

To others I would recommend a bigger truck if taking the trailer across country, but if you're like me and will only do 4/5 trips a year no further than 50 miles from home, then my (small/no) experience says it would suffice.