I've come here to kick some .... tires!

[NorskieRider]

I'm planning to do more towing in the future and am considering a larger vehicle than my Santa Cruz.
So I'm here to do research on whether a RAM is the right truck for me.

The goal is to pull a small toy-hauler, I figure maybe 7500# tops (~5k# trailer + a motorcycle and other stuff).
Initially I'll be doing that for a few weeks each year until I retire, and then I'll do it a few months each year.
The other months the truck will be my daily driver unless weather allows me to take the sports car or a motorcycle.
I commute about 300 miles a week and live in beautiful Red Wing, MN where winter is a thing.

The turbo Santa Cruz is an excellent vehicle for light towing. It's rated for 5k lbs and I've towed up to 4k lbs with no issues.
I can fit two dirt bikes (one full size, one for the kid) in the bed (gate down).
For daily driving it rides like a premium SUV and gets ~22-24 MPG.
The short length lets it fit in my garage without having to pull out shelves or worry about height.
It has a had a hiccup or two but Hyundai has always stepped up and the warranty is excellent.

But no way is it going to be able to pull a toyhauler.
There are a couple on the market which might come in at 5k lbs, and the engine is strong enough, but the unit-body construction and brakes etc. are the limited factors, hence ... time to consider a full-size.

What drew me to the RAMs are two things:
- Coilover rear suspension, supposedly this is the best riding truck on the market. Since it will be my daily at least half the year and I hate how traditional trucks ride, this is a big plus.
- The inline-6. Based on past experiences with BMW's I've really come to like the inline-6. Perfectly balanced, smooth, torquey, and simple (less heads, less cams, less belts and chains), more main bearings per piston, etc.

However, there are some trepidations, which I'll ask in the specific forums as I do my research.

I haven't owned a Mopar product since .... 1995?
My first car was a 1982 Plymouth Gran Fury. 318 4bbl ex cop car with 175k miles. Being a stupid high school kid I put a short block in it. And then realized the suspension and frame was junk.
Next Mopar was a 1992 Dodge Shadow. It replaced a 1984 Camaro Berlinetta which was costing too much keep running. The Shadow was OK, and it got me through college without much fanfare, but you can bet I traded that on a Mustang GT as soon as I started earning some $$$.
But it didn't take long before the Mustang also started to fall apart, with only 60k miles on it. So I traded it for a 1991 Plymouth Laser RS Turbo.
Yeah OK the Laser is really more of a DSM product but it did have a Plymouth badge on it.
I was close to buying a JGC or Durango SRT but each of the four I test-drove had some sort of problem and I went back to buying fun German things.

And those are the 2.5 Mopar products I've owned.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Welcome. You will get a very mixed bag of opinions here.

If your Sanra Cruz barely fits in your garage, don't expect to get the Ram in. Need at least 19' deep.

The RAM will be more than capable for your needs. I also like the Hurricane, although I haven't owned or driven one yet.

 

[runamuck]

toy haulers tend to be heavy. you would be able to tow the one you mentioned with a 1500 hemi. for best results you may want to stay '19 and newer with the 8hp75 8 speed. you can equip with a good set of heavier duty tires and maybe add airbags and change out the sway bar to a stiffer one. if you have a choice, I would get the 33 gal. gas tank and oem brake controller. get a weight distribution hitch and use "tow haul" when towing. my 1500 ram laramie 4x4 ccsb with 3.92 gears 33 gal. and ORG towed a similar size trailer all over the place with no trouble. If you want plenty of margin, go for a newer model 2500 hemi with an 8 speed.

 

[1923bob]

I think you should look at a 2500, years ago I had a 35 ft toy house pulled with a Ford F 250 with a 460.

 

[CalvinC]

There are very small you haulers, essentially an enclosed trailer with a Murphy bed and a crapper.

Otherwise most you haulers you find are very unfriendly to half tons in general. Not due to the total weight, but rather the weight distribution.

Because they are designed to carry sometimes up to 3k lbs in the rear, the front weight typically far exceeds the normal 10%-13% tongue weight rations of a normal travel trailer, particularly when the garage is empty.

Also Toy Haulers are generally taller, making for an even bigger parachute to drag down the highway.

You can definitely make this work with careful planning of spec on both your truck and trailer purchase. But my advice would be to focus more on the anticipated hitch weight more than the overall weight (though that should definitely be checked to ensure it remains in spec, it’s the hitch weight that is likely to exceed payload limits long before total trailer weight exceeds truck tow capacity).

What will make this a challenge is how wildly that hitch weight can vary on a toy hauler, and how little accurate data you might have available to figure it out.

That’s why HDs are often recommended for Toy Haulers - because they more easily shrug off varying weights without a weight distribution hitch, which would absolutely be needed on a half tons, and require adjustments depending on whether the toy hauler was loaded or not.

 

[LaxDfns15]

Don't focus on towing capacity. 1500's are governed by payload. Whatever truck you intend to get check the yellow payload sticker on the door, subtract your weight from that number, subtract 100 pounds for a weight distribution hitch, and then see if you have weight leftover for ~1100 pounds of tongue weight from the trailer (7500 * 0.15 as an estimate). Guaranteed you're close or over the limit.

My Rebel without E-torque has a 1513 payload. Take out 200 pounds of crap I have in or on the truck (bigger, heavier tires count!), 180 pounds for me, and 100 for a WDH I'm left with around 1000 pounds for trailer and cargo/passengers. Add a wife and 3 little boys to that, and I'm around 700 pounds of payload left. You lose it extremely fast.