7K behind me, first impressions

I wanted to post up about first time towing experience with my new '12. I took a trip from Boston up to Southern NH for a weekend of camping an wheeling with my Jeep. I'm pulling with a '12 Ram 1500, Hemi, 4x4, club cab, short bed. Max tow rating is 8,550, I've also installed an external brake controller. Trailer is an 18' deck equipment hauler, 82" between the fenders, dual 3,500 lb axle, 2 5/8" hitch.





I was fairly impressed with the power the Hemi delivered, it's a fairly apples to apples comparison with the LS3 GM puts in their 2500/3500 gas trucks. The 6 speed auto is pretty nice, but it's no 6L80 (also factory GM.) With 7,000+ pounds behind me (1,900 trailer, ~5,200 Jeep) the 1/2 ton Ram was extremely sensitive to how much/little I had the tongue loaded. To much on the tongue (the trip up) I experienced a decent amount of front end lift and the typical over and understeer problems that go along with it. Too light on the tongue (the trip back) and the trailer was pretty damn shifty, to the point I scared the hell out of a few Cadillacs in the lane next to me running I-495 at 80 mph. I had a few intermediate length pulls leaving the campsite and going to various different trail rides in the area over the 3 day weekend, and a few of those times I found a nicely balanced tongue weight. When I was able to achieve that, the Ram really pulled quite nicely. Outside of the sensitivity to tongue weight, I'd say it's pretty comparable to most 3/4 gas powered trucks (and I've driven plenty.) Also, averaged about 10 mpg running 80 mph highway and tons of hills on back country roads.

A few things I'm going to look in to for the future:
Transmission temp gauge, to keep an eye on things.
Possibly adding air springs to the rear.
Also potentially adding a sway bar system to the trailer/hitch.

At 7k plus, I'm definitely at the upper end of the Ram's capabilities, gotta say overall I'm pretty pleased. I almost opted to get a 2500/diesel, but ended up staying in the half ton market as I usually only tow my Jeep about twice a month. The additional cost of a 3/4 ton diesel just didn't quite make sense. Looks like I made the right decision on the truck, count me as another happy Ram owner.

awesome to hear.

I think the main issue of tongue wait is caused by the darned rear coils.
They are great when the truck is in 'car' mode.

I think adding rear air will help this issue substantially. We've got a vendor who sells a pretty trick setup for rear air. Seems far more... permanent of a solution then the in-coil bags.

WhiteExpress said:

I think the main issue of tongue wait is caused by the darned rear coils.
They are great when the truck is in 'car' mode.

I think adding rear air will help this issue substantially. We've got a vendor who sells a pretty trick setup for rear air. Seems far more... permanent of a solution then the in-coil bags.

Click to expand...

Yeah, Total Load Control, I almost pulled the trigger on it the other day, then started shopping around a bit more. I've found what looks to be the exact system for a little more than half the price. I may just end up getting some 9" Firestone bags, fabbing my on brackets, an piecing the rest together on my own....it's a fairly simple system.

It's funny how a slight shift in the Jeep will make for a completely different ride. Between the time I was tongue heavy and tongue light was a difference of about 18" of where the Jeep was on the trailer. Just had a buddy in my Jeep club come through with a tongue scale, I'm going to get it as close as possible to 10% of total weight, then bolt some blocks to the trailer deck the front tires will run up against...set it and forget it.

if you have the evic.... it gives all the engine temp. parameters

I feel your pain. Our camper is all over the 7k mark when it is fully loaded. I am seriously considering the in-coil bags since I only pull the camper 5-6 times a year.

FL_Jester said:

if you have the evic.... it gives all the engine temp. parameters

Click to expand...

and transmission

Not bad mpg for how much of a load and how fast you were going


And he doesn't have the evic in his. To get it on the express he would've had to add the trailer brake package

Get youself a set of in-coil bags first, they will do the job your looking for and cost around $100. You can even get fancy for a little more with a compressor and switch so you can inflate *** deflate on the move. I have the red ones on my 10' and they work perfect pulling my 18' enclosed total weight around 6k. With 15 lbs in them it would return the stance back to factory and now that Im lowered 4" in the rear it takes a little more like 20-22psi to do the same. Have the squat problem I believe is your trailer, an equipment tralier is made with a lot heavier beams than a standard car hauler, theres not doubt its gonna squat you down. Your sayin 1900lbs on the trailer seems light, my enclosed is heavier than that by around 600-700lbs. Shoot ill go so far as to say that my ram pulls just as good as the GMC 3/4ton 4x4 with the 6.0 gas motor did that I traded on it. Only difference Ive noticed is in the real hilly areas it can seem to lug a little, but thats alright because I can get 10 towing and 18 highway not towing where as my 3/4ton got 10 highway and 7-8 towing.

That's a lot of weight to pull without a weight distribution hitch; would that also help the ride?
Great to hear the truck pulled the load so well.

Good to hear. I tow from time to time, but nothing even close to that weight. Im pleased as well.

Heres a link to the Airlift 1000; Coil Springs (Part No: 60818). If you buy them fro Advance Auto Parts using the Promo Code P20. You can get them for $74.39 with free in store pick up, or free shipping.



http://youtu.be/MESoo4sofRc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmcKIJo1D8g&feature=related

I plan on getting a set before the new year.

unclemark said:

Get youself a set of in-coil bags first, they will do the job your looking for and cost around $100. You can even get fancy for a little more with a compressor and switch so you can inflate *** deflate on the move. I have the red ones on my 10' and they work perfect pulling my 18' enclosed total weight around 6k. With 15 lbs in them it would return the stance back to factory and now that Im lowered 4" in the rear it takes a little more like 20-22psi to do the same. Have the squat problem I believe is your trailer, an equipment tralier is made with a lot heavier beams than a standard car hauler, theres not doubt its gonna squat you down. Your sayin 1900lbs on the trailer seems light, my enclosed is heavier than that by around 600-700lbs. Shoot ill go so far as to say that my ram pulls just as good as the GMC 3/4ton 4x4 with the 6.0 gas motor did that I traded on it. Only difference Ive noticed is in the real hilly areas it can seem to lug a little, but thats alright because I can get 10 towing and 18 highway not towing where as my 3/4ton got 10 highway and 7-8 towing.

Click to expand...

I agree, 1900 seemed a bit light for an equipment hauler, but it's printed on the title so I'll buy it. I'd guess you're getting slightly worse fuel economy due to pulling enclosed vs an open trailer, definitely a lot more drag there.

As far as the 3/4 ton gas trucks go, the power difference is negligible. What is a bit noticeable (not surprising) is the 1/2 tons aren't as sure-footed. 3/4 tons have typically wider frame rails and a significantly stiffer rear suspension, not to mention they're all leaf sprung vs our link design. For the amount I tow (~3 times a month during peak wheeling season, not often over the winter) I think the benefits of owning a 1/2 ton for daily driver duties far outweigh the addition cost (both sticker and operating) of getting in to the 3/4 ton market.

audio1der said:

That's a lot of weight to pull without a weight distribution hitch; would that also help the ride?
Great to hear the truck pulled the load so well.

Click to expand...

The weight distribution hitch would be an excellent way to go, the sway bars go a long way in preventing trailer sway when towing heavier, unbalanced loads...this is much more pronounced when towing an enclosed trailer vs the open trailer I pull.

I have a bit of work I'll be doing to my trailer before next spring. I'm upgrading my Jeep to some Dana 60's (kingpin front, full float rear) so my axles are going to be a bit wider. Going from a 64" WMS to a 70" WMS. At my current wheel base I rub the inner fenders on my trailer when loading, so I'll be converting to a drive-over style fender, as well as widening the deck. This would be a great time to convert the tongue to a weight distributing system.

Yea bigboi thats the kit i have on mine i just need to spend the change to get the onboard compressor setup so i dont have to keep dragging out the pump each time i tow something, im lazy lol which is at leat once a week especially in the spring summer and fall not so much in the winter. Really i only need them with my enclosed trailer, i can pull my 22' bullet with the air let out since the tounge weight isnt bad on it. The bullet is my first baby and im proud of her, thats a pic behind my 07' which you can barely see......

unclemark said:

Get youself a set of in-coil bags first, they will do the job your looking for and cost around $100. You can even get fancy for a little more with a compressor and switch so you can inflate *** deflate on the move. I have the red ones on my 10' and they work perfect pulling my 18' enclosed total weight around 6k. With 15 lbs in them it would return the stance back to factory and now that Im lowered 4" in the rear it takes a little more like 20-22psi to do the same. Have the squat problem I believe is your trailer, an equipment tralier is made with a lot heavier beams than a standard car hauler, theres not doubt its gonna squat you down. Your sayin 1900lbs on the trailer seems light, my enclosed is heavier than that by around 600-700lbs. Shoot ill go so far as to say that my ram pulls just as good as the GMC 3/4ton 4x4 with the 6.0 gas motor did that I traded on it. Only difference Ive noticed is in the real hilly areas it can seem to lug a little, but thats alright because I can get 10 towing and 18 highway not towing where as my 3/4ton got 10 highway and 7-8 towing.

Click to expand...

Are you talking about the Airlift's that are posted up on the beginning of this page?

Glad you had a good trip - I've given people the kind of fears you described while towing!

When I had a 1/2 ton I always knew I could pull/haul whatever as long as the springs didn't break. The Hemi's got more than enough for that.

I know the savings is hard to deny in using a 1/2 ton instead of a 3/4 ton truck, but it's dangerous as well. My buddy mangled his 1500 Ram pretty bad recently trying to sneak it into 3/4 ton duty - the trailer pushed the truck, jack-knifed, took out the rear quarter, exhaust, bumper, etc.

Sagebrush2500 said:

Glad you had a good trip - I've given people the kind of fears you described while towing!

When I had a 1/2 ton I always knew I could pull/haul whatever as long as the springs didn't break. The Hemi's got more than enough for that.

I know the savings is hard to deny in using a 1/2 ton instead of a 3/4 ton truck, but it's dangerous as well. My buddy mangled his 1500 Ram pretty bad recently trying to sneak it into 3/4 ton duty - the trailer pushed the truck, jack-knifed, took out the rear quarter, exhaust, bumper, etc.

Click to expand...

I'm not too worried about the springs, I'm a good 1000 pounds less than the max tow rating...that being said I am going to add a set of air springs for piece of mind.

I'm pretty experienced with towing in general...quite used to having a 32' triple axle with 4 scissor lifts behind me back in my contracting days. Yeah it's towing it with a 1 ton diesel but the same rules apply. If I was towing more than 3 times a month, I would have definitely gotten a 3/4 ton truck. For the most part my tow trips aren't much more than 250 mile round trips, just important to remember what the limitations of the truck are and drive within them.

Sounds good - be safe out there. I tend to sometimes push my truck a little further than I should but I know some friends who push it further.

a weight distribution hitch would be the first thing I put on. They pretty much double as a sway control too, though an aditional one can be added if you have a bugger of a trailer. Then I would look at air bags as a second backup option to help the first out if you still have problems.

My family hates moving with me because I will stop about every 20 miles or so untill I get my load distributed right for the trailer and truck. I am picky like that but when you pick up and move across the continent every few years its a good thing.

Ya a weight distrubution hitch will take care of most of your problem . They work really well.

Once you tow with WD hitch you will never tow with out one again!!!!!!

I know I will never be with out WD hitch, mine has square bars and the bars rest on hangers on the trailer, these hangers have 6" of brake pad material on them.

When you load the wd properly all the weight is transferred to these bars and is built in sway control.

My wd is unlike the round bar or other types where you have to add 1 or 2 shocks to the wd for sway control.

I purchased a 14k with 1400lbs tongue weight which is over kill for my 10k trailer but better overkill than not enough and the price at the time was about the same for other types of wd.

link to square bar WD .

http://www.etrailer.com/Weight-Distribution/Reese/RP66155.html

Reese SC Weight Distribution w Sway Control - Trunnion - 15,000 lbs GTW, 1,500 lbs TW Reese Weight Distribution RP66157

Which ever you buy make sure you set it up correctly so that it transfers some of the weight to the front of the truck!!!

THOSE WHITE KNUCKLE MOMENTS TAKE YEARS FROM YOUR LIFE!!

Regards
Don