Towing 10k lbs with a 2019 RAM 1500

[boogiejack75]

Originally Posted by primo20

I wasn’t comfortable in my 17 ram Cummins CC (silly coil springs) with a 10k bumper pulltrailer. And was well within my limits. And the numbers show you are overweight.

Interesting about the crank seal. Mine went at 80,000 km. That was the end of that truck. Traded for a 1 ton chev.

I had a 17 1500 Hemi. Dang scary towing a 33 ft Wildwood at about 8000 lbs. I loved the truck, but those coil spring rear ends are not good for towing heavy, long TTs IMHO. Got an F250 Powerstroke. That was the ticket. I personally wouldn't tow anything over 6000 lbs. in a Ram 1500. Just my opinion.

[bikendan]

OP, no matter what you do, your truck is no going to be adequate.
Just the fact Ram 1500s have the soft suspension and you want to tow a nearly 37' TT? And you'd need a big WDH, not just a sway bar, which will take away at least 100lbs of the truck's payload.
Hate to say it but you should have asked your questions on any RV forum, BEFORE buying the TT.

[Trawlerphil]

I can't tell you how many people say I can't pull my Flagstaff Classic 8528RKWS which is around 9,000 lbs fully loaded, but we've put on 36,981 miles, gone coast to coast and north to south and through every mountain range in the country with no problems at all. My Tundra has 381 HP, a 4:30 rear end, 6 speed trans, Bilsteins, and load range E Michelins. My belief is every manufacturer has product liability lawyers who generally take the numbers the engineers give them and take of at least 10% because they think they are smarter than engineers. You will find folks who don't think an F-350 can tow a grocery cart. The difference between an F-250 and my Tundra are statistically insignificant from brakes through the drive train. I don't know much about RAM, but I can pretty much be sure they have lawyers too. Look at the individual components of your truck compared to the 3/4 ton RAM, then decide.

[babock]

Originally Posted by Trawlerphil

The difference between an F-250 and my Tundra are statistically insignificant...

BTW, the 4.30 is required in the Tundra since the low gear in the Toyota is higher than other trucks. The actual overall low gear in the Tundra is not as low as other trucks. The F-150 with a 10 speed and a 3.55 has an overall lower gear than Tundra.

Care to post your payload sticker?

[goduc]

Like Mick Jagger sang,
"You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well, you might find
You get what you need"
Time to start looking for a much smaller TT.

[CaptnJohn]

Originally Posted by babock

Best laugh I had all day!

BTW, the 4.30 is required in the Tundra since the low gear in the Toyota is higher than other trucks. The actual overall low gear in the Tundra is not as low as other trucks. The F-150 with a 10 speed and a 3.55 has an overall lower gear than Tundra.

Care to post your payload sticker?

Thank you! When I read that I got a huge chuckle too. I'd not tow 1 iota with any Toy

[primo20]

Originally Posted by boogiejack75

I had a 17 1500 Hemi. Dang scary towing a 33 ft Wildwood at about 8000 lbs. I loved the truck, but those coil spring rear ends are not good for towing heavy, long TTs IMHO. Got an F250 Powerstroke. That was the ticket. I personally wouldn't tow anything over 6000 lbs. in a Ram 1500. Just my opinion.

the cummins is the 2500 still didn't cut the mustard.

[primo20]

Originally Posted by Trawlerphil

I can't tell you how many people say I can't pull my Flagstaff Classic 8528RKWS which is around 9,000 lbs fully loaded, but we've put on 36,981 miles, gone coast to coast and north to south and through every mountain range in the country with no problems at all. My Tundra has 381 HP, a 4:30 rear end, 6 speed trans, Bilsteins, and load range E Michelins. My belief is every manufacturer has product liability lawyers who generally take the numbers the engineers give them and take of at least 10% because they think they are smarter than engineers. You will find folks who don't think an F-350 can tow a grocery cart. The difference between an F-250 and my Tundra are statistically insignificant from brakes through the drive train. I don't know much about RAM, but I can pretty much be sure they have lawyers too. Look at the individual components of your truck compared to the 3/4 ton RAM, then decide.

i will give you that 1500 to 1500 the tundra will outwin the ram in a few categories - the ram's serious weakness is the coil springs...so you lose some payload.. but to say it is not any different that an F250 - sorry...

[Gottaluvlife]

You might be able to “tow“ your new tt, but real question is “Can you tow it SAFELY?” ask yourself ”Will I be able to control/stop if an emergency or unexpected event happens?” It has nothing to do with how many miles you plan to travel, or how cautious you plan to be. Accidents happen In people’s driveways and own neighborhoods.
If we start off trying to convince ourselves all will be fine and look here for confirmation...think you already know what the true answer is, you just don’t want to accept it. Think about the consequences. How will you feel if it cost someone’s life or limb? What if it’s your family?
Just my 2cents...

[boogiejack75]

Originally Posted by primo20

the cummins is the 2500 still didn't cut the mustard.

Missed that Sorry.

[sasch]

2018 1500 with air bags in the rear, eco diesel towing a Rockwood 28’ 5er Cat scaled @ 7000 lbs - does well but don’t think I’d want to be anymore than another 1000 lbs heavier if that - sure sounds your over your trucks limit

[stormer]

yeah, it stinks man. The most simple math is this...

At a minimum... Find out what the GCWR is of the truck. That is the number your truck and trailer "combined" are allowed to weigh. (my 2012 ram 2500 is 20k)

That can probably be found on some website someone here knows about...

Then 'safely' tow your trailer down to a CAT scale and weigh your truck and trailer combined. If your weight is above that GCWR your going to get "busted" by the weight police. (they will eyeball a 1/2 ton)

But even more important for "safety" concern and the "warranty" of your truck, have you exceeded the GAWR? (rear and front axle weight rating).

If you exceed any of those numbers you are in *serious* danger zone. Those three numbers are the numbers that will get you pulled over, ticketed and then you will have to hire someone to tow your trailer back to your house because the police won't let you tow it away!

Getting your truck and trailer weighed at a CAT scale will tell you all this information.

You can find the Rear/Front GAWR on the sticker of the door of your truck.

And yes, it absolutely sucks to learn stuff like this after the fact. But you don't know what to "ask" before you get things sometimes. Happens to everyone.

Payload is almost everything with towing. Generally the higher the payload capacity the higher the GAWR.

Now, you are probably in a position of not being able to take the truck back or the trailer back and that REALLY stinks.

I'm towing a 9000# trailer with a 2012 ram 2500 and I am at "limits". I'm under GCWR and under all GAWR and my trailer is under it's GVWR and my truck is like 200# shy of hitting it's GWR. We need a 1 ton if we ever want to put anything in the bed of the truck!!

Here's what my sticker looks like...


When looking at trucks, start with that sticker. Forget everything else. The sticker is the golden ticket.

James

[goduc]

The Tundra comes in last in ever tow review I've ever read. It may have the underpinnings but it's archaic compared to the Ford, GM and Ram.

[My17Ram]

Originally Posted by primo20

i will give you that 1500 to 1500 the tundra will outwin the ram in a few categories - the ram's serious weakness is the coil springs...so you lose some payload.. but to say it is not any different that an F250 - sorry...

Replace the stock rear coils with TuffTruck 1223V variable rate coils. They ride close to stock but carry weight much better. And no I am not saying they increase the payload, but they dramatically improve the towing experience in the Ram 1500.

[primo20]

Originally Posted by My17Ram

Replace the stock rear coils with TuffTruck 1223V variable rate coils. They ride close to stock but carry weight much better. And no I am not saying they increase the payload, but they dramatically improve the towing experience in the Ram 1500.

good to know - but i don't think i would go to that trouble. I've had 5 Rams - 3 with coils - including 1 3/4 ton with coils. i much prefer the 1 ton chevy now.

[kandl]

Originally Posted by Kimo7

Anyone out there have any experience in a similar situation. Looking for someone to say they tow similar and I should probably be ok. I will definitely upgrade to a HD truck when I break even or get close on trade value.

Somewhat similar: 09 Dodge 1500 tugging our 8500 lb (loaded) Rockwood. We used that config for seven yrs and 40K kms and a lot of it was back and forth through the Rockies. That little half ton did a marvellous job, or so I kept telling myself. Truth is (was), we were always overloaded and literally living life on the edge. The fact that the ring gear remained in the rear axle... legendary fluff in there somewhere.

Based on our 'similar' experience, we can suggest two options. Bigger TV or a smaller TT. As has been opined in your thread, there is nothing you can do to that Ram to make it suitable for towing five plus tons of TT. You're gonna to be overloaded and by a not insignificant margin. Thereafter it don't matter if you're going around the block or 350 miles down the road. Overloaded is overloaded and you may well be compromising more that just your equipment.

[cavie]

Why do so many people put so much faith into TV commercial Towing capacities and want to Max them out???? A 1/2 ton is a fancy grocery cart! Yea, you can tow must anything around town at 45 mph.

[Larry0071]

Poor Kimo7.... I don't think he likes the responses that he got, and I doubt that he will return to this thread.... and maybe the entire forum. He posted at 7AM yesterday, got 2 pages of responses and did not respond back to anyone in kind. Thread over.

[frank4711]

Originally Posted by Larry0071

Poor Kimo7.... I don't think he likes the responses that he got, and I doubt that he will return to this thread.... and maybe the entire forum. He posted at 7AM yesterday, got 2 pages of responses and did not respond back to anyone in kind. Thread over.

He is still around I have exchanged several PM's with him....

[Kimo7]

Larry0071 you’re a very perceptive guy, I didn’t reply to the thread BUT did to those who privately messaged me and were constructive. I asked a specific question and then listened to what was being said. There was a lot of good feedback and then I got what I thought I would, a lot of mixed responses that were off topic. The question I asked was seeking input from those with experiences in a similar situation like mine, I didn’t get a lot of on topic replies, many thanks to those who did.

The thing I did get out of this is some really good people made private contact and shared their opinions. I’m not new to towing or pulling a travel trailer just the particular situation that I find myself in with a beefy half ton that I love that I can’t trade without losing significantly financially - which I’m good at doing. I’ve owned a bunch of trucks over my life mostly half ton but 3/4 ton too so I know the strengths and limitations. Again I was just looking for feedback on towing a big TT with a half ton truck. Thank you to those who shared their experiences with me.

Now to really stir the pot...the below link will take you to an article in RV Lifestyle magazine that says the numbers don’t matter in a situation like mine. I’m guessing that will get some folks riled up.

https://rvlifemag.com/towing-half-to...e-quarter-ton/