Towing with lift

I have a 2011 Ram 1500 SLT/Outdoorsm Regular Cab, with a Hemi. My question is if i put a 6 inch lift and Maybe a Body lift, Because i would like to put 37 tires on it. How would that affect if i bought like an20 foot travel trailer and towed it. I already have a Trailer brake

You would just need an appropriate drop hitch to handle the height difference.

Thats what i was thinking. But when i asked the "After Market/Accessory shop" at my local dealer they said it wouldn't be a good idea to do if i planned on getting a camper.

Well it really all depends on how high the hitch point is on the trailer, TT's can be lifted as well to make them higher. Try and stay in the relm of available drop hitches or you will have to go custom. It can be done though, don't let that stop you lifting your truck.

Captain mcgillicutty power wagon is huge n I thought I saw a pic of him towing. Hes got like a 10" drop or something around there. Plenty of guys I see towing with it. Just gotta set it up right

Ok thank for the advise.

There are specifically built for this purpose drop hitches with up to 14" of drop.

The problem with lifts is some compromise the bed load carrying capacity.

Maddog...When you say compromise the bed load carrying capacity...are you refering to how much weight i can put in it...if so the most ill probly haul would be an ATV with hunting gear.

Cormier3288 said:

Maddog...When you say compromise the bed load carrying capacity...are you refering to how much weight i can put in it...if so the most ill probly haul would be an ATV with hunting gear.

Click to expand...

Out here in California guys do it all the time with their toy haulers. It's no big deal. You will need the appropriate hitch. Easily obtainable. Maybe some airbags to keep from squatting. Again, easily obtainable. Go for and enjoy,

I personally wouldn't lift too much if I ever planned on towing because it changes the geometry of way too many things on the truck IMO.

First off a Class IV hitch with a 2" drop hitch, and a 10 k trailer (a relatively standard set-up) puts the moment arm point almost in line with the trailer hitch creating very little torque (T=F*D if D is almost 0, then T is almost 0, obviously your trailer hitch sticks out a few inches behind the back of your truck so this is not perfectly true...) if you have to slam on your brakes (like you inevitably have to do when some moron cuts you off). Add an 8" drop hitch to that like the one myyoung84 has in adjacent thread and suddenly slamming on your brakes creates a lot of torque. Basically though your truck stops from 60 mph in (130+/- ft I think somewhere about there) which is -9.07835 m/s. 0^2=26.8224^2+2*A*39.624 where 26.8224 is 60mph and 39.624 is 130 ft in meters (sorry I actually like to use intelligent units... lol). Throw in your 5k trailer (let the brakes do half the work) and we know the force the trailer exerts on the hitch is F=m*a, m=2267.96 kg*9.07835=20,589 N. T=F*d where d is 8 in and you have over 3000 pound feet of extra torque on your hitch. This isn't even taking the static loading and tongue weight of your trailer into account, and we all know tongue weights gets really really high when you slam your brakes. This **** scares the engineers that built your truck's chassis, and hitch every time they see you driving down the road.

This is all not even taking into account what happens to your tall ass truck when everything starts fishtailing.

I am not opposed to lifting, don't get me wrong, I just think that if you lift your truck you need to be very conscious of the stresses you are exerting on the components, and make smart choices. Towing a camper or something will probably not get you into any trouble, but do keep in mind all the factors at work here.

All my trucks (minus my pissant 1500) get used for goosenecks anyway (the best way to haul real loads IMO) so I never do more than a couple inches of lift with a set of tall tires, but even then a squirelly bumper pull is not fun lol

Keep in mind, lifting a truck won't change how it can tow, except for the items stated already.... however, if you put larger tires on the truck, you reduce the applied torque to the wheels so your ability to tow effectively will be reduced. You may/will need to gear down your rear end to maintain the same ratio so power gets to the street.

Something to keep in mind.

Cthulhu said:

Keep in mind, lifting a truck won't change how it can tow, except for the items stated already.... however, if you put larger tires on the truck, you reduce the applied torque to the wheels so your ability to tow effectively will be reduced. You may/will need to gear down your rear end to maintain the same ratio so power gets to the street.

Something to keep in mind.

Click to expand...

I beg to disagree with the comment on it not changing how it will tow. Although I agree with the reduced towing torque (also reduces the braking torque which is a plus...? lol) You will end up with a lot more slack in the system from getting the forces from the trailer hitch to the ground (longer springs, longer cross braces, much higher center of gravity). The entire system is much more dangerous than towing with a vehicle of normal height.

JLB.....My brain is on overload...That was an awesome write up and explanation. Thank you. I defiantly need to sit down and figure out my plans for this truck.

Ok....So say a 4/6 inch lift with 35/37 tires. and figuring out what gears my rear end has(if bad then switching) all in all i should be ok for the ocational hunting trip or family vacation. This is all new to me so i really appreciate the different point of views. and i agree with the goose next towing. it's just a not in the budget right now. lol. A big key note i see is that if your truck is lifted to try and not get a big heavy camper say keep under 7,500, and to be very aware of whats going on on the road around you. This Forum is truly Ram owners best friend!

Well I am glad my post made sense lol, and I think you understood my meaning. Like I said I am not trying to discourage you at all from getting a lift, and you see guys going down the road with this stuff all the time (and most of them are still alive lol). My goal was just to express how important it is to be conscious of this stuff.

I think you have the right idea. Hauling a reasonably sized camper with some gear in the back of your truck you should be fine, and will probably never have a problem.

As far as the gooseneck thing goes, I have a 85 chevy k2500, and my dad has a 11 ram 3500 CTD, those have gooseneck hitches, but a gooseneck hitch really has no place on a 1500 lol I tow bumper pulls with my 1500 all the time, and it does a great job. You will be really happy with the way your hemi tows (they get a little washy in the rear when you load them heavy, but I am used to 3/4 ton+ trucks so my opinion might be a little biased)

What gear ratio is your rear-end?

I used an 11" drop hitch for my old camper. My new one sits high enough. My hitch is a Quality S brand, had to special order it. just the drop was $160. this got me a few inches lower than the regular one