AEV Ram 3500 Towing Question

Greetings all...new here so please forgive if this has been asked before.

I have a 2016 Ram 3500 with AEV 3" lift and 40" tires...also have compound turbo, Bully dog tuner, EFI live...with 6 speed manual (6.7 turbodiesel) and geared 410. (also crew cab, 4x4).

I am pretty sure the hitch is class V but would appreciate clarification if possible. I am wanting to rarely haul a John Deere 5100M tractor with loader and potentially bush hog (8750+1063+620 [bucket] + 2240) for a total of 12,673. I can of course take the bush hog off if need be. I am wanting a Hudson deckover tandem axle and prefer the dual tire...which weighs 5740. My dealer tells me with my gearing I can tow 18k...but somewhere on the Ram site it says > 12k should use GN or 5th wheel. I planned to use a pintle hitch...thoughts? I suppose I could look at a GN but with my lift and tires it's pretty high. The better choice is likely the non-dual deckover which can haul 14k and weighs 3970...but I sure like the dual tires on tandems...would be grateful for any expertise on this. Thanks so much.

South Texan may have an answer if he is around.

I'd be more worried about pulling that weight with 40" tires....lots of sidewall there to flex and give problems.

It's a Class V hitch..

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I hear y'all and thank you. So perhaps with the 40" tires, would it make more sense to keep this setup as a pintle pull? It would be a once a year pull about 15 miles when needed. Otherwise, the trailer is 5740 and I'd be hauling much less on other occassions.

jlane said:

I have a 2016 Ram 3500 with AEV 3" lift and 40" tires...also have compound turbo, Bully dog tuner, EFI live...with 6 speed manual (6.7 turbodiesel) and geared 410. (also crew cab, 4x4).

I am pretty sure the hitch is class V but would appreciate clarification if possible. I am wanting to rarely haul a John Deere 5100M tractor with loader and potentially bush hog (8750+1063+620 [bucket] + 2240) for a total of 12,673. I can of course take the bush hog off if need be. I am wanting a Hudson deckover tandem axle and prefer the dual tire...which weighs 5740.

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Check your owners' manual, under the section "Trailer Hitch Type and Maximum Trailer Weight", the 2500s and 3500s come with a Class V receiver. Maximum trailer tow weight for the Class V is 18,000 pounds and maximum tongue weight is 1,800 pounds.

Most Class V hitches are rated for 12,000 pounds so when shopping for the hitch, make sure you get one specified for 18,000 pounds.

You want to set up the hitch drop so the trailer is sitting level allowing the trailer's axels to equally share the loaded weight.

I don't have any knowledge on how your lift will affect your ability to safely tow. The lift will make it difficult to find a drop hitch that will allow the trailer to sit level while having an 18,000-pound tow rating. The deck over is a good choice since the extra height should reduce the hitch drop needed.

Ok thanks again for the input. So in your opinion, is it reasonable for me to do this with a pintle hitch setup, as opposed to the GN/5W option? I am thinking this will be a rare occassion that I pull my tractor...I'm just wanting to have the capacity should I need it. The John Deere folks typically come pick it up anyway so that is certainly easier and less time for me.

The manuals are pretty much worthless now...they basically refer you to a website for towing information which is lacking. I am certainly a novice to all this but the website did not help me at all.

Good rule of thumb is for every inch of lift reduce your towing capacity by 10%, especially with 40" tires. With a three inch lift and 40's your center of gravity has already been raised quite a bit.