2019 ram 1500 towing

[riccnick]

so what weight range of the triler would you stay with.my Harley is around 900 pounds plus I don't plan on hauling with the tanks full.i only need this to work for 2 years and I can trade my lease in and get a 2500.i know how to haul steep grades and use my engine and trans to do the work instead of braking.

Answer the questions about your trailer plans and your truck and we can literally do the math together, no estimating or guessing involved...

Are you sure the Harley is 900 lbs curb weight? Year, Make, and Model will help us tell you the proper numbers.

Can you post your vehicle loading sticker? (On the inside of your drivers side door, there's a white, red and yellow sticker with the tire info on it and a line that says "the combined weight of all occupants and cargo may not exceed X,XXX Lbs)

Also, what is the year, make, and model of the trailer you're looking at. A "7,500" lb trailer can either be a super heavy trailer, or a light trailer with a GTWR of 7,500 lbs. We need to know the difference. And it's a big difference.

Need the same info for the Harley.

Also, toss your truck info in your sig, it's super helpful with things like this, because now instead of reading your sig to help you with the numbers, I have to ask you if your truck is a crew cab or quad cab, and if it's a 4x4 or 4x2. (Need those answers to run the numbers for ya). It's super handy, there's a thread around here somewhere that kind of unofficially-officially asks everyone to do it, but it's old now so I'm sure nobody sees it anymore.

 

[Rob5589]

my truck is a 2019 ram 1500 crew cab 5.7 4wd w/3.21 gears.the trailer i'm looking at is a keystone octane 324cg with a dry weight around 8k lbs. I don't understand the difference between my towing capacity and lets say the same truck with 3.92 gears that have like a 11k lb capacity.if I changed gearing to 3.92 and added air bags on the rear with a good hitch set up would that work? I don't really wanna get a bigger truck cause I love my 1500

You're going to have a gear swap done on a lease vehicle? Have you researched how much a gear swap would cost? And to be clear, you need to have both differentials done.

Even with 3.92, a 8k trailer dry, 900 lb HD, gear, fuel, water, family, etc, is pushing it to the limit.

You have to come to terms with the fact that your truck isn't the correct vehicle for what you want to do.

 

[ultrascott]

You're going to have a gear swap done on a lease vehicle? Have you researched how much a gear swap would cost? And to be clear, you need to have both differentials done.

Even with 3.92, a 8k trailer dry, 900 lb HD, gear, fuel, water, family, etc, is pushing it to the limit.

You have to come to terms with the fact that your truck isn't the correct vehicle for what you want to do.

I was just curious about swapping gears and yes i know both would have to be done. I think I’m gonna find a lighter trailer maybe around 6000 lbs or see what kind of 3/4 ton truck i can trade into. Thanks for all the info guys.

 

[Willwork4truck]

This about the 1500 vs 2500 towing about your weight from the recent Airstream forum posts. Its not the power, its the payload of the 1500 that is the issue:

Quote:

Originally Posted by poodlegals gas or diesel? We have been looking at the ram 1500 quite seriously also. Have 25 ft front bed safari.

Went with gas for two reasons: $$$ and payload. The 6.4 Hemi is a truck engine, not a car engine in a truck. It’s reliable and will pull anything Airstream makes today. While tempting, the Cummins option is almost $10K more and more expensive to maintain. Not terrible but for us, this combo is fine. Plus, you’ll loose almost 900# payload with the diesel vs gas.

The Ram 1500 is a great truck, handles like a sports car compared to the 2500. We didn’t have any trouble pulling the 27’ GT with the 1500’s 3.92 axle and 32 gallon gas tank. If you go that route, watch the door stickers. Check out the 5th Gen Ram Forums Towing sub Forum where owners post their door stickers. You can find some with over 1500#. You’ll be close as the 25’ AS will be almost 1,000# tongue wt.

Good luck!
__________________
2019 27’ Globetrotter FBT Walnut/Dublin Slate
2018 FC23FB (traded)
2019 Ram 2500 Laramie Blue Ox 1500#
2019 Ram 1500 Laramie Sport,
2020 Retirement Plan

 

[DavidNJ]

Some perspective. You are towing a 37ft, 7600 lb, 985lb hitch dry weight motor home with a ramp on the side. With stuff in the inside, water, and the bike it is going to be around 10k lb with 1200lb hitch. The bike ramp is toward the front of the trailer.

I'm less concerned about the gear than the payload. The 8-speed has a 4.7 first gear, so even with 3.21 it is more than the old 6-speed with a 3.0 1st gear with a 4.1 rear axle gear. Towing 10k will be out of the range for FCA's specs with the 3.21. Ford specs a 3.55 for their max towing with the 3.5 turbo. They use a 3.73 for the 5L Coyote V8. The 5.7 Hemi falls in between. At 10mph it is the difference between 1640 rpm and 2000 rpm.

The 3.21 and 3.92 have the same frame, the same engine cooling (I think), the same brakes, the same hitch, the same GVWR, the same GAWRs. I can't see how the rear axle ratio will make much difference. Just take it easy coming off rest.

As far as stability is concerned, get a Hensley or ProPride hitch, both designed by the same guy. It is a 4-bar linkage that effectively creates a virtual 5th wheel, pivoting the trailer over the rear axle. You can blow a tire on a 10k lb trailer and not even know it. Ask me how I know.

You'd probably want to go to LT tires and add a real full-size spare. Even the OEM size is fine. The issue is the LT will take the heat from running at full payload for hours over highways. And you want a spare that keeps you going. Note that any size taller than OE will be like reducing the axle ratio further, although only around 0.1 on the ratio per inch of diameter. Note that FCA doesn't have a separate towing calc for the Rebel with 33" tires.

Now for the reason this is going to be very hard to do: The truck probably doesn't have enough payload capacity. Here the sticker is what counts. On a good day, a 4x4 5-7 box crew cab will have an 1800 lb payload. 80lb less with eTorque. The Hensley hitch will be over 100lb. LT tires another 50 lb. Add passengers and cargo. Ramboxes are another 150lb. Tonneau covers maybe 50, more if it is a revolver. Sunroof another 50.

Some trucks are down to under 1400 lb payload. If you can free 1300-1350 lb of payload after all the people and luggage are in the cab, you can probably do it.

 

[DavidNJ]

This table is an SAE document linked at the top. I think it is where rear axle ratio requirements were determined. Maybe the acceleration to 30mph or the launches on a 12% grade (steeper than any highway in the country). Once the engine is above 3000 rpm, it is the transmission keeping it there, not the final drive ratio. That is about 18mph with the 3.21.

Performance Attribute	Performance Metric	Requirement	Test Procedure
Level Road Acceleration	0 to 96.6 km/h (0 to 60 mph)	30.0 s (single rear wheel tow-vehicles); 35.0 s (dual rear wheel tow-vehicles)	SAE J1491, modified in 4.3.2 and 4.3.3
Level Road Acceleration	0 to 48.3 km/h (0 to 30 mph) Interval	12.0 s (single rear wheel tow-vehicles); 14.0 s (dual rear wheel tow-vehicles)	SAE J1491, modified in 4.3.2 and 4.3.3
Level Road Acceleration	64.4 to 96.6 km/h (40 to 60 mph) Interval	18.0 s (single rear wheel tow-vehicles); 21.0 s (dual rear wheel tow-vehicles)	SAE J1491, modified in 4.3.2 and 4.3.3
Launch on Grade	12% grade, forward direction	5 launches to 5.0 m (16 ft) in 5 min	92/21/EEC, Annex II, Section 3.3.3, modified in 4.3.2 and 4.3.4
Launch on Grade	12% grade, reverse direction	5 launches to 5.0 m (16 ft) in 5 min	92/21/EEC, Annex II, Section 3.3.3, modified in 4.3.2 and 4.3.4
Highway Gradeability	Minimum speed on grade (Davis Dam)	64.4 km/h (40 mph) (single rear wheel tow- vehicles); 56.3 km/h (35 mph) (dual rear wheel tow-vehicles)	4.3.2 and 4.3.5
Highway Gradeability	Drivetrain system performance	No component failures; no diagnostic codes that alert the operator; no customer warnings	4.3.2 and 4.3.5
Highway Gradeability	Cooling system performance	No component failures; no diagnostic codes that alert the operator to take service or driving action; no customer warnings; no fluid loss	4.3.2 and 4.3.5