New to the Forum, questions to ask

Hello All,

I just got a Ram 1500 Express with 5.7 Hemi, 3.55s, Factory TB Control and Factory Class IV Hitch.

Ram Website says I am good to 8800lbs Towing and a Payload of 1661lbs. I am not stranger to towing (other brands, Yes Ford and Chevy) but I am a stranger to Ram trucks and towing

I am looking at a Wildwood 27RKSS rated at

6355 Unloaded Vehicle Weight
1327 Cargo Carrying Capacity (But should only see 800 - 900lbs)
720 Dry Hitch

With me and the family, dogs and little stuff in the cab I am looking at about 800lbs payload, maybe stretching to 1000 max.

The Ram should easily handle this trailer, correct?

I have WD hitch, Airbags on order (Air Lift 1000), Trailer Brake Control. And no plans to put more than maybe 1000lbs of payload in trailer.

Thanks All,
Farmer Fran

welcome to RF, i don't know about towing but someone that does should chime in

Welcome Farmer Fran!!

Of course a WDH and brake controler are a must. Adding Airlift bags will help the ride tremendously and are easily worth the time and $$ invested.

That being said you will be pushing the limits of the truck. You should be able to stay with the the recommended specs but depending on where you plan on camping, and the roads you have to travel, will define how satisfied you are.

Our Jayco 267BHS (which we love by the way...) has the same tongue weight but is about 1000 lbs lighter than the Wildwood you are looking at. We pulled it with our '09 1500 HEMI also had the 3.55 gears and Airlift bags.

We take our TT out 6-7 times a year. Pulling the camper on relatively flat interstates was fairly easy on our 1500. The HEMI had plenty of power for interstate travel. Trips to the foothills however were another matter. Navigating the grades and twisty back roads were definitely harder on the transmission.

Our last trip had the trans temps hanging around 210F which is a little hotter than i liked. We were only about 120 miles from home and did not have any troubles but is not something that I wanted to put my truck through on a regular basis.

The RAM you bought is a very capable truck. I am not saying you shouldn't do it, you just may have to service your trans a little more often than you may be use to.

Greg

Welcome to RF.

Welcome aboard!

I have to agree with Power247; sounds like you will be pushing it. The airbags DO help tremendously with rear end sag and sway, but those 3.55's are your achilles.
Try and keep the weight down where you can, keep an eye on your trans temp while pulling and you'll be fine.
I would HIGHLY suggest you roll across some scales all loaded like you'll camp before you head out, too. Not only will you know where you sit as opposed to guessing, but it will help you by knowing your tongue weight in case you need to shift weight F>B (or vice-versa)

Thanks all (so far) for the suggestions/comments. I have the "Premium Display Package" So I have the Trailer Brake and Trans Temp on the center screen. I have a buddy that has race scales and I can use them for weight.


And to be "****" I will weigh the entire carry load in the truck and trailer to make sure we are good.

If I need to I will swap out the 3.55 for the R/T 4.10s --- It cannot be that hard.?.

Yours is a 2WD?

Similar experiences of those above. Had a 11 1500 QC 4x4, pulling a XLR 27' TH. 6200lbs dry. weight dist hitch, no air bags.
On the flats truck pulled no problem, once into the hills it struggled to maintian 65 mph, don't get me wrong it would do it but the motor was screaming.
What got to me was when I had to slam on the brakes for traffic, I felt like a toy poodle being ****** by a mastiff, things got pretty hairy.
Witch led me to my 2500 CTD. Things feel much better with a 3/4 ton in front of my toy hauler.

audio1der said:

Yours is a 2WD?

Click to expand...

Yes. We do not get any of that white stuff here.

I'm no expert and may get corrected here, but I THINK you should be able to swap out your gears for 4.10's from an R/T, but let's see what the experts say. At least you have only 1 axle to worry about

I have swapped out the 3.55s for 4.10s when I first got my truck. I have never gotten a chance to really tow with it but I'm in the market for a travel trailer as well