2018 Ram bighorn 2500 gas 3100 payload, 12500 tow

[MikeRP]

Originally Posted by findthehumorinthings

Listen to this person. I goofed and towed close to limits. Almost hurt us and several cars ahead of us trying to emergency stop the load in one incident. Burnt the clutch packs towing it. White-knuckle trips. Stress. It’s not worth it. Stick to the 66% rule and actually enjoy the trip.

In my humble opinion the 66% rule or the 80% rule is not needed for that truck.

Nor any late model HD truck 2013 or newer from Ram or Ford. I haven’t driven a GM so I won’t speculate.

What the manufacture says they will tow - they will tow. It’s not considered to be fun, because we all don’t like hearing a gas motor work at high rpm.

Hook er and go.

[findthehumorinthings]

Originally Posted by jbrobson

Yeah, Ford, GM, and Fiat must love all the diesel duallies they sell with the new 66% rule.

Went from Silverado 1500 to Silverado 3500 SRW with a Duramax. Best move I ever made. No stress, knuckles are relaxed, and no sweat on my brow when I tow. I can only speak from experience.

[67L48]

Originally Posted by MikeRP

In my humble opinion the 66% rule or the 80% rule is not needed for that truck. [...] What the manufacture says they will tow - they will tow. [...]

Agreed. I subscribe to the "follow the manufacturers' recommendations" rule, AKA the 100% rule.

[walaby]

Originally Posted by 67L48

Agreed. I subscribe to the "follow the manufacturers' recommendations" rule, AKA the 100% rule.

Ditto


Mike

[Barley]

I have a 2015 Ram 2500 with the 6.4 motor 373 gears. I just bought a 2019 forest river 337BAR fifth wheel, 10,100 dry weight, my guess about 10,600 lbs loaded. I have the Anderson hitch installed on a B and W gooseneck ball. I have only towed a couple times but was pleasantly surprised with the way the truck performed. There was a few decent long uphill runs on I70 between Kc and St.Louis. Ran 65 to 70 mph and got about 9 1/2 mpg
We will be going to Estes Park CO in July. I hope I feel the same after that trip.

Love that Anderson hitch.

[Barley]

Yes Hook Er and go !!!

[bshort]

Originally Posted by findthehumorinthings

Went from Silverado 1500 to Silverado 3500 SRW with a Duramax. Best move I ever made. No stress, knuckles are relaxed, and no sweat on my brow when I tow. I can only speak from experience.

Went from a 2500 diesel to a 1500 gas. Tows every bit as good as the diesel did. 6.2 10 speed as opposed to the 6.6 6 speed.

[findthehumorinthings]

Originally Posted by bshort

Went from a 2500 diesel to a 1500 gas. Tows every bit as good as the diesel did. 6.2 10 speed as opposed to the 6.6 6 speed.

I assume it’s a GM. Ford also has a 6.2l that people are saying can walk toe to toe with the v10.

While I’ve got to believe that new 10 speed is a big improvement on transmissions and drive train, I wonder about GM using an aluminum block on an engine with 11/1 compression and 450ft/lbs of torque. I hope it turns out as great as the 5.3l.

Btw, we needed the bigger rig to pull +10k lbs.

[walaby]

Originally Posted by bshort

Went from a 2500 diesel to a 1500 gas. Tows every bit as good as the diesel did. 6.2 10 speed as opposed to the 6.6 6 speed.

Sorry, but Im not buying that for a minute.



Did it tow fine for your setup, probably. But every bit as good as the diesel?



I guess you never got any improvement to the towing experience by using the exhaust brake? Never saw/never experienced any benefit from the increased horsepower?


My first TT, I towed with my Sierra 1500, and also my Ram 2500. Sierra towed fine, no issues. Ram 2500 diesel was far and away a more enjoyable experience.


Mike

[bshort]

Originally Posted by walaby

Sorry, but Im not buying that for a minute.



Did it tow fine for your setup, probably. But every bit as good as the diesel?



I guess you never got any improvement to the towing experience by using the exhaust brake? Never saw/never experienced any benefit from the increased horsepower?


My first TT, I towed with my Sierra 1500, and also my Ram 2500. Sierra towed fine, no issues. Ram 2500 diesel was far and away a more enjoyable experience.


Mike

Tows just as good. Actually, the ride is much better both loaded and empty. I did lose 1 mpg though.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by walaby

Sorry, but Im not buying that for a minute.



Did it tow fine for your setup, probably. But every bit as good as the diesel?



I guess you never got any improvement to the towing experience by using the exhaust brake? Never saw/never experienced any benefit from the increased horsepower?


My first TT, I towed with my Sierra 1500, and also my Ram 2500. Sierra towed fine, no issues. Ram 2500 diesel was far and away a more enjoyable experience..


Mike

Why not? if the trailer isn't heavy enough to really tax the motor, or the terrain severe enough, then the diesel option wouldn't be as night and day difference.

Was huge for me when I went from my 2500 gasser to my 3500 CTD. I still giggle pulling hills in 6th at 1700 RPMS!

[daniel13]

Originally Posted by ronheater70

Now your just being dramatic, A 450 series is Fine to pull a 9K bumper pull if properly equipped.. No need to get overly dramatic now!

Thanks for all your feedback...to clarify the payload sticker is 3100, 10000 rating, 12500 tow, 6.4 3.73 if you have a similar Ram please let me know what you are pulling with it and your satisfaction or not

[sellis1053]

Originally Posted by daniel13

Thanks for all your feedback...to clarify the payload sticker is 3100, 10000 rating, 12500 tow, 6.4 3.73 if you have a similar Ram please let me know what you are pulling with it and your satisfaction or not

I have the same truck, although a 2014. I tow a Grand Design Reflection 303RLS 5th wheel. I towed from NC to Banff & Jasper National Parks last year. While a diesel would tow more effortlessly in the mountains, I can't justify the extra cost to upgrade at the moment.

[david_reaves]

Daniel,

I have a very similar setup, but on the RAM 3500 single rear wheel chassis. The engine, transmission, and tow specs are the same, but my truck payload is close to 4000. I've pulled a Windjammer (under 9000 fully loaded) for 50,000+ miles over the past 4 1/2 years.

I can't say what it would be like pulling the higher weight you are considering. I can say that pulling the <9000 that I have is effortless. I use the tow-haul mode and the shifting pattern seems to be good. I've pulled across the mountains in Colorado, New Mexico, and in Appalachia many times. There is always enough torque and plenty of power.

The key issue is deciding how much gas I want to burn to go faster up the hill. There is a long, steep incline on I-70 west of Denver. The truck has the power to accelerate all the way up the hill if I chose to do so. The problem is that it pushes the fuel consumption into the 2-3 mpg range. I normally move over to the truck lane and make a more gentle climb in the 40-50 mph range.

Overall, my fuel mileage when towing is about 9 mpg. Good enough, but I do keep track of gas stations. One thing to consider when towing is the accessibility of gas versus diesel-- it's the only thing that makes gas more difficult. Pulling a full-size truck and 35 feet of trailer into an automobile gas plaza is harder than pulling a truck and trailer through an 18-wheeler diesel pump station.

My best guess is that the truck you are considering would be fine. Would a diesel dually, with higher tow capacity tow more easily? Probably. However, I'm still able to drive my SRW around town easily, and can park everywhere except lots built for compact cars only. I have another 40,000 miles on the truck, not towing, and those have been much better than they would have with a larger, dually, truck.

PS-- Neglected to add that the new gas 3500 was $10K less expensive than several used 3/4 ton diesels (25-50K miles range) that I looked at buying.

[rat4spd]

Originally Posted by goduc

After towing a 9300 lb 5er there's absolutely no way I want to tow 12,320 lbs.
JMO but I draw the line at 10,000 lbs for gasser. Just because it can doesn't mean it's enjoyable.

I towed my 30' fiver for three years with a 2015, 5.7 and never felt uncomfortable with it. It's almost 9000#. Sure, the shifting was wonky, the power band was peaky, and you had to pay attention to keep the motor in the sweet spot, but I never ever felt unsafe or incapable. I'm not sure why the 6.4 with it's lower rpm power band would feel less capable.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by rat4spd

I towed my 30' fiver for three years with a 2015, 5.7 and never felt uncomfortable with it. It's almost 9000#. Sure, the shifting was wonky, the power band was peaky, and you had to pay attention to keep the motor in the sweet spot, but I never ever felt unsafe or incapable. I'm not sure why the 6.4 with it's lower rpm power band would feel less capable.

If you read through, those of us who question towing that weight in the regular aren’t really complaining about the motor or power it’s more of a transmission issue it suffers from tall gearing and large gap between 1 and 2.

[findthehumorinthings]

Originally Posted by acadianbob

Ford F250 6.2 gas with 4.30's and 3,100 payload; towing a 11K loaded Wildcat 5er. No problems whatsoever. You'll be fine. The GD 303 is nearly identical to our Wildcat.

Often tow in 6th. 5th if headwind or gradual climb. Hit 4th on some of the steeper grades. 8 MPG.

That ford 6.2 with 4.30 gears is the secret sauce if you want to pull with a gas tow vehicle. My fav is the 6.8 v10 but the 6.2 is a darn close second.

[sugarray40]

I have a 2015 Ram 2500 Laramie Megacab with 6.4 Hemi and 4.10 gearing. I moved to this from a 2011 F150 crew with 6.5' bed and the Ecoboost because I was not happy with the towing experience. The difference was night and day. I can't find my weights when I went to the scale, but the Ram is night and day different. Only thing I would say to think about is having an exhaust brake with a diesel. Really would have liked to have had it here in the mountains of WV and purposely didn't make trips due to not having it. I have since sold the trailer and have a motor home. I still have my truck and love it, except it's a gas hog. Towing that much weight you'll need to stop quite often for gas.

[rat4spd]

Originally Posted by ronheater70

If you read through, those of us who question towing that weight in the regular aren’t really complaining about the motor or power it’s more of a transmission issue it suffers from tall gearing and large gap between 1 and 2.

I understand that, but this particular comment made it seem like a safety issue. If as consumers, we think that a 40-60K+ truck can only tow 2/3 of what it says it can, maybe it shouldn't be bought.

[BillnLa]

Originally Posted by daniel13

Thanks for all your feedback...to clarify the payload sticker is 3100, 10000 rating, 12500 tow, 6.4 3.73 if you have a similar Ram please let me know what you are pulling with it and your satisfaction or not

Recently upgraded to a 2019 Ram 2500 Big Horn 4x4 with the 6.4L and the 3.73 gearing. Payload is 3069. Have only pulled for 105 miles and doing the towing break in according to the owners manual. Maintaining max speed of 50 mph for first 500 towing miles. TT is a 2019 Rockwood Ultra Lite 2706WS. GVWR of trailer is 8995 and dry tongue weight is listed at 854 lbs. Figure as loaded just north of 8000 lbs and near or above the 1K mark on tongue weight. Truck pulls fine in D without tow/haul engaged, 7th gear at 50 mph. Drops down to 6th and 5th when pulling hills. With tow/haul on stays in 6th gear and drops to 5th on hills. Trans temps only about 5 degrees above non-towing. Pretty satisfied at this point. Don't anticipate much change but it is early.