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06-05-2016, 02:03 PM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 93
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Truck for pulling Champagne
I need a bigger truck for my new trailer. The 2500 Ram with Super Springs is a little lite for the pin weight. The Cummins has plenty of power pulling the hills/mountains between Chattanooga TN and Nashville on I-24. The trailer GVWR is 16,485 with an empty pin weight of 2,485. With the floor plan design most of the storage is from the axle forward adding to the pin weight.
I have always pulled with a 8 ft bed but I am considering 6-4 bed. I liked the 8’ bed but many parking spots are really to short to park in the designated spot and the turning radius would be is less with the shorty.
The Champagne’s doesn’t have a front cap designed for short beds in mind, so, I am looking to people with experience with short bed trucks for there advise including input on my concerns. I am considering a 3500 Ram 4X4 with Cummins, Aisin transmission, non-dually and thinking about air leveling.
1. Will the ride comfort be markedly reduced with the short wheel base?
2. Does any one have experience the factory air leveling option?
3. Will a sliding 5th work with the factory installed Trail Air pin box? Concerned that it could hit the tailgate and/or the side rails on the truck box in the back position?
4. What are your thoughts on a manual sliding versus an auto sliding hitch?
Any advice will be appreciated.
Have a good one
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06-05-2016, 04:42 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Warsaw,NC
Posts: 7,184
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grouchmore
I need a bigger truck for my new trailer. The 2500 Ram with Super Springs is a little lite for the pin weight. The Cummins has plenty of power pulling the hills/mountains between Chattanooga TN and Nashville on I-24. The trailer GVWR is 16,485 with an empty pin weight of 2,485. With the floor plan design most of the storage is from the axle forward adding to the pin weight.
I have always pulled with a 8 ft bed but I am considering 6-4 bed. I liked the 8’ bed but many parking spots are really to short to park in the designated spot and the turning radius would be is less with the shorty.
The Champagne’s doesn’t have a front cap designed for short beds in mind, so, I am looking to people with experience with short bed trucks for there advise including input on my concerns. I am considering a 3500 Ram 4X4 with Cummins, Aisin transmission, non-dually and thinking about air leveling.
1. Will the ride comfort be markedly reduced with the short wheel base?
2. Does any one have experience the factory air leveling option?
3. Will a sliding 5th work with the factory installed Trail Air pin box? Concerned that it could hit the tailgate and/or the side rails on the truck box in the back position?
4. What are your thoughts on a manual sliding versus an auto sliding hitch?
Any advice will be appreciated.
Have a good one
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G
Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums
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06-05-2016, 05:19 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Between Pickles Gap and Toad Suck, AR
Posts: 6,070
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Opinion :
Great big trailers need great big trucks.
Long beds help towing a lot.
I park my dually. It always parks somewhere. When I have to walk a ways, I just think about how much better it tows than a short bed. Life is a series of compromises.
__________________
"Next to prayer, fishing is the most personal relationship of man" Herbert Hoover
"American by Birth, Southern by the Grace of God"Lewis Grizzard
FROG AR-0019-242
2016 GMC Denali 3500Dually--2017 CC 36CKTS
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06-05-2016, 07:11 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2015
Posts: 409
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A new Ram 3500 with the cummins will be a walk in the park with that trailer. They are a pulling sob .
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06-06-2016, 12:51 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Venice, FL Area
Posts: 357
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1. Longer wheelbase usually provides a smoother ride.
2. No experience with air bags.
3. I have a Trail Air and a sliding hitch, no problem. Slider was left over from my F-250 short box.
4. Autoslide, no need to worry about hitting cab of the truck.
Attached are weight charts for your consideration, disregard any yellow highlights. Your new RV's pin box is in the 3,300# range when loaded. Keep that in mind when you review the GVWR of the truck. See my signature line for our rig. It works well.
__________________
18 Berkshire 34QS, 2023 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
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06-06-2016, 04:39 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Posts: 427
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In my opinion, that large of a trailer needs to be a dually. If you can pull around that large of a trailer, surely you can manage parking a dually. Its not hard.
__________________
2014 RAM 3500 4x4 CCLB Dually, Cummins / 68RFE / 3.42 / B&W Patriot 16K
2016 Coachmen Chapparral 360IBL
SOLD - 2012 Salem Cruise Lite 281BHXL
SOLD - 2005 Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 QCLB Cummins
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06-06-2016, 06:04 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Oswego il
Posts: 2,428
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I am towing a 34RL with a Ram Mega Cab 2500 with the 6.7L Cummins and the 68RFE auto, I have 3:73 gears and is a 4X4. My total truck/camper weight is 21,000 LB. I have after market tire and rims rated for 3,700LBS each at 80 psi, but I run the front at 50 psi and the back tires at 70 psi. I have also installed air bags along with an on board air compressor, the bags are at 70 psi when I tow. Now the Mega Cab has the same wheel base as a long bed truck for my model year. In fact the wheel base is longer than a Regular Cab 8ft bed truck. Depending on the model year the 2500 and 3500 SRW trucks share everything except for one additional leaf spring thus allowing a for the 3500SRW truck in a different class of vehicle for registration purpose.
So if you want a new truck than you should go with a DRW Truck but I am not familiar any more if a Mega Cab will be offered in a DRW configuration? Or you can just stitch out to heavier tires and wheels that will support the load correctly.
I towed last year out West on I70 trough the Eisenhower pass in 5th gear doing the speed limit, my EGT's where under 800F and the boost pressure was between 10psi and 15psi, transmission temperature was under 190F and braking was no issue at all for my combination.
__________________
Jim W.
2016 34RL CC; 2008 Ram Mega Cab 2500HD, 6.7L, 68RFE 6 speed, 4X4, Smarty S67, TDR 145K+miles
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06-06-2016, 08:04 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Western New York
Posts: 132
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Champagne towing
I have a Champagne and tow with a SB 2014 Ram 3500 SWD with a Super glide 18K hitch mounted on ram hitch prep mount. I installed airbags to level truck out. We came up from Fl to WNY this spring with no major trouble. Hauled my Champagne just fine and we were loaded to max weight on our trip north.
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06-06-2016, 08:06 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Seaford, De
Posts: 2,377
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shorthorn
In my opinion, that large of a trailer needs to be a dually. If you can pull around that large of a trailer, surely you can manage parking a dually. Its not hard.
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X2
__________________
David & Lynn 2014 Coachmen Chaparral Signature 327 RLKS 2016 Ford F350 Lariat CC Dually
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