2018 Ram Power Wagon

Hey guys! need some help if anyone has any experience.... so i have a 2015 5.7 Sport 3.92 gears 10,220 tow capacity 1600 payload, i purchased a 2004 travel trailer that has a tongue weight of 890 pounds, 6300 dry weight 3300 cargoish it is 10,000 pounds max weight loaded.

the Dilemma... i was in looking at HD trucks today, my 5.7 pulls the trailer ok but payload concerns me (4 corner air suspension) it has already acted up only jacking up some of the corners at times.... i also haul a 12 ft aluminum boat with boat rack than put wood in the back as well.

i went and test drove and at the end of the day took home a 2018 Ram Power Wagon 2500, i did this based off the all the stats at the dealership with expected trailer weight of around 16000 and payload at 3300ish.... there was no specific information about the power wagon ratings, i specifically asked my salesman and he confirmed that the 16000 and 3300 were for the Power Wagon.... so the paperwork is done, by the time we got it ready it was end of day and banks closed, so they gave me the truck to take home and finalize paperwork Monday.

after researching.... it appears the power wagon is 9990 Trailer towing, and 1400 pounds payload..... these are rated lower than my 1500! i have no plans of ever going bigger on the travel trailer so that is still within range... though lower than i expected, and the payload is even less than my half ton... i have plans to use a sled deck on the box during the winter... and during the summer use a boat rack with a light 12 ft aluminum on it... now i know this will be over 1400 pounds.... i know the 6.4 will not be the limiting factor in this situation but it will be the suspension... the truck is so fun to drive and looks so good.... and i do spend a good amount of time in the bushes so the offroad features are nice.... but am i shooting myself in the foot on this..... i would need to look at either an add a leaf or air bags etc for the rear i'm assuming..... anyone with similar setup have any experience ? should i just drop the Power Wagon back at the lot.... or stiffen up the rear a bit for a sled deck / boat and carry on my way.....

It will easily handle those things you listed. And the good news is you have choices. Ur only dehlima is your rear Springs are soft for better off road use. Hook your trailer up before u go back and see how much the truck squats. It is rear coil so no leafs.
You can add rear air bags-
Or go to a Carli or thuren diesel rear spring and that will definitly stiffen up the ride and make it not squat so much but it won’t off road as well as it does now.
The only reeason ur pay load is less than the same truck as u in a non power wagon model is the softer rear Springs.
Due to the shear mass of the truck and it being a 2500 platform it will handle your trailer way better than the 1500 you had, you could also run a wdh if it sags more than your liking.

i forgot to mention.... i lined up 35 inch Toyo MT's and a level kit... so a squat will be even more pronounced, i will hook up the travel trailer and see how it sits tomorrow though.... never ran air bags before.... i'm assuming they would be pretty much aired down to nothing and not really affect ride quality unless i am actually towing? it's my understanding of how payload works at 1440... that i need to include driver / passenger... say 200 pounds each so 400 total, than a sled deck i'm assuming another 200 pounds..... plus 1200 for 2 snowmobiles.... i'm assuming after it's levelled out it's pretty much a sure thing it's going to squat like a maniac with the soft rear shocks.... is air bag what is considered the best option? as i already have expressed to my salesman i'm not super pumped about the towing #'s i may be able to swing airbags as part of the deal....

Air bags work great and would work well for you. Or find normal HD rear springs in the lenght you need for your PW, I would think Carli or Thuren could hook you up on that but you will give up some flex and ride.

Your payload numbers are what they are and you cant change the sticker on the truck if that matter to you.

alright, i will look into these options, i did go over the weights with the dealership (who none apparently know that it's reduced quite a bit on this...) i traded in my 15 Sport with full warranty so they are transferring that to the Power Wagon if i sign the papers Monday, but if i go and put a sled deck on it and exceed the rating even with airbags and they are going to give me warrranty Grief because of it than i wont be signing any papers! i dont plan on getting nuts.. but a sled deck with 2 sleds and a flat deck trailer with 2 sleds is in it's future if it stays in the driveway so definately do not want to hear the *you overloaded it warranty void* crap in the future if anything breaks...

Power wagons are purpose built, as you may learn the primary purpose isn't hauling heavy loads as a HD.

If the PW doesn't fit your needs then get a regular HD as butchering it will not do anything but make it out to a halfass truck.

I would not call adding air bags "butchering" the truck, even more since they just bolt on and off.
But yes he might think harder about looking at a none PW HD truck if he is going to use it for hauling and towing duties.

There is no way to add airbags to Power Wagon because of the way rear suspension on is build


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^ I find that very hard to believe.

See your self



Picture of regular 2500

And Power Wagon 2017/18






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Firestone does recommend the riderite system for a 2500 unless it has the fifth wheel bed hitch.

Op grab a 2500, add some toys to it and drive it like you stole it.


Father Of Four

well i have spent a large amount of time searching the internet.... i am as far from a mechanic as can be, but it does appear the Power Wagon can take airbags. Today i hooked up my 890 pound tongue weight Travel Trailer to the PW, had my wife's summer tires/rims off her Jeep in the back, and put an extra couple hundred pounds of wood in it... top of tire to fender on rear went from 12 inchs to 9 1/4... so it's not to far off..

after i level the front which i'm assuming is about 1.5 inchs to fit the 35's i just need a little bit of extra help on the rear to handle 1500ish pounds of sled deck / sleds (than passengers / gear) so maybe around the 2000 mark which is only going to happen every couple of weeks during the winter for a day, and every cple weeks during summer camping / fishing.

this is what i have found regarding airbags on the PW.

https://www.etrailer.com/question-220061.html

Airlifter 5000 Ultimate airbags w/ Daystar cradles '14+ - Page 3 - Power Wagon Registry

i know this does not change the legal weights, but being it's the 3/4 ton platform and i just need a bit more than what a 1/2 ton can do this seems like a plausible option.....

I am supposed to go to the dealer on Monday to sign papers etc, i will be talking with them about it.... they were the ones who swore (and still swear...) that it can do same weights as the 2500 HD which is obviously not true, if they will add the air bags and not affect warranty i will more than likely give it a try, if they have issues with it, than back to the drawing board!

i am taking it on a 4-500km round trip tomorrow with the snowmobile trailer... obviously not that heavy but will atleast get a feel for it once i get it onto the forestry roads and some highway time, i told my salesman i would just put the truck back on their lot yesterday as it's actual ratings are suspect, but he told me to hang onto it still till Monday and take it on the road trip.... no papers are signed with banks etc so can still walk away at this point if it just seems like a bad idea....

I just want to know i can safely haul a sled deck with 2 sleds winter, and my 10,000 gross weight (actual loaded value realistically is 8kish.... it's got 3300 pounds of cargo capacity but it will be nowhere near that) my only real concern is it sagging out if i peak it out at about 2,000pounds payload.

Buy those air bags and get it done, I have a set and they work great.

The air lift kit is a very good kit. we havent heard any complaints yet. Let me know if we can help you with your purchase. We offer Air Lift products

Hey guys, thanks for all the feedback, it's so hard to find specs on the new power wagons.... there is apparently a difference on the suspensions between 17 and 18 Power Wagons.... nowhere can i confirm if airbags will fit and work without issue.... i am going to take it back to the dealer right now actually.... my truck is sitting on their lot so i am going to pickup my truck for my sledding trip tomorrow, i am so unsure about what options there are to stiffen up the rear a bit and i do like my dealership.... i don't feel right about putting on almost 500km tomorrow when it's a 50/50 chance i wont purchase it at this point, i will talk with the dealer on Monday and see what we can do.

I own 17 Power Wagon, and was gonna have bags installed, truck was on the lift already when mechanic called mi in to show me that is mechanically impossible to get those bags in (airlifter 5000 ultimate). There is one place I can imagine that some one determined enough can install them after a lot of modification, but that would affect range of articulation on the rear suspension from a lot to nothing. So you are beating purpose for what this truck was build for.


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HandyAndy09 said:

I own 17 Power Wagon, and was gonna have bags installed, truck was on the lift already when mechanic called mi in to show me that is mechanically impossible to get those bags in (airlifter 5000 ultimate). There is one place I can imagine that some one determined enough can install them after a lot of modification, but that would affect range of articulation on the rear suspension from a lot to nothing. So you are beating purpose for what this truck was build for.


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Click to expand...

ahhh.... good to know.... i saw they had a 3500 6.4 Hemi on the lot.... mid tier specs on it but i am gonna pop in on Monday and see about taking a look at it, the Power Wagon is returned and got my 1500 back, just so glad i didn't have the paperwork finalized before i found out the towing..... realistically i do not spend a ton of time 4x4ing at this point in my life, nothing a regular 4x4 can't handle that is, i can look at the regular 3500 and still do the small lift / level kit and still do the toyo 35's on new 18 mags and will look good and pull anything i could ever want, a fat camper included so will see!
we get raked over the coals in Canada on pricing..... the MSRP of the 3500 with power options 8.4 but cloth / no alpine etc is 64,000 here..... (the Power Wagon was 70k) i have a full custom stereo in my 1500 and they don't mind if i take it out and return it to stock.... has me thinking that 3500 may be a good fit.... move my speakers over and do the lift / tires and call it a day. that Power Wagon was sweet as hell though! lol

Tell you the truth I was in exact same position like you when I found out about payload and tow capacity of Power Wagon. But then I loaded 40 sheets of 5/8 X rated drywall and didn’t even know that there is something in the bed, when towing my 32ft camper same thing, there where parts of the trip with it I completely forgot that I’m towing something and that I can’t say about 1500 I use to own before.


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OP, why not a weight distributing hitch? Problem solved