Towing maxed out.

Anyone ever max out their 2500 towing? Factory says mine is rated at 15.5k (6.4L with 4.10 gears). I'm about to test that claim on a 500 mile trip from NC to Ohio up 77 through the mountains.

Just wondering if I should make sure my AAA and life insurance are current before I leave.

I've gotten within 282 pounds of max GCVWR, which is the rating for the combined truck and trailer, when towing my 5'vr.

No problems at all.

What are you towing?

Going to drag a Chaparral 310 home.

I have the 6.4 with 4.10s too, I'm curious to how yours performs. Did you buy in NC? If so, was it worth the trip?

Sandbox said:

I have the 6.4 with 4.10s too, I'm curious to how yours performs. Did you buy in NC? If so, was it worth the trip?

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I'm getting the boat in NC. Bought the truck in Ohio a couple years ago.

I've got the 3.73 gears and haul an 11K loaded 5th wheel + probably another 500-1000# of people and gear. That puts me right up against my GCWR of 12.5K. It does okay for the most part. When I can get the RPMs in heart of the power band I feel like I can go any speed I want up just about any hill. Your 4.10s should help out a bit at lower speeds where I struggle.

Are the receivers rated for that much weight? For some reason I was thinking they maxed out at 10K but have never checked.

Edit: Nevermind - just checked. Class V rated for up to 17,000# trailer weight, 1700# tongue weight. Damn that's a lot.

init6 said:

Going to drag a Chaparral 310 home.

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What is the beam on that boat? I know in VA the max width is 8' 6" to be pulled on the highway.


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Sandbox said:

What is the beam on that boat? I know in VA the max width is 8' 6" to be pulled on the highway.


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10.6. Need permits in 4 states to get it home.

I don't have any input, but curious to hear how the tow ends up. Also sweet boat, do you have any pics or more specs on it?

adboyd06 said:

I don't have any input, but curious to hear how the tow ends up. Also sweet boat, do you have any pics or more specs on it?

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Going to see it Saturday. Will take quite a few pics between myself and my wife! Only pics I have now are from sales add and those concentrate on well, selling. I'll put a couple good ones up on here this weekend.

As far as specs, 33' length overall. 10.5 foot beam. Can sleep 6 adults and two kids. Way more than any sane person would try to pull.

I imagine that you will have ZERO problems. When approaching hills, I recommend you manually downshift though. My friend has a 6.4 and when its in drive he says that the engine bogs down in 4th gear, then slams into 2nd and races the engine trying to gain speed again. It completely skips over 3rd gear, which is the gear that he feels is best for pulling western PA mountains.

That boat will tow a heck of a lot better than a camper, so you should be fine! It'll drink the fuel though, just be ready for that!

spoon059 said:

My friend has a 6.4 and when its in drive he says that the engine bogs down in 4th gear, then slams into 2nd and races the engine trying to gain speed again. It completely skips over 3rd gear, which is the gear that he feels is best for pulling western PA mountains.

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This pretty much nails what mine does. I always shift manually and had almost forgotten just how annoying it was. 3rd gear is funny on this truck. It's almost like the computer forgets it's there. If left to it's own decision making it just bounces between 2 and 4. I agree that 3rd is a great gear for moderate grades. 2nd has some balls when needed though.

The grade going into VA from NC is 7% I think for quite a few miles. I can foresee the right lane with hazard lights on with the big rigs.

I just checked and the biggest highway I've pulled with my 11K 5th wheel is Hwy 26 over Mount Hood here in Oregon. The highway peaks at about 4500' so there is a bit of elevation to take away some power. The grade sounds similar at around 6-7% in places.

I was able to maintain 55-60 up the steepest parts in 2nd gear at about 4500rpm. I'm thinking your 4.10 gears vs my 3.73 will put that power down closer to 45-50mph in 2nd gear. Of course, 4K more load with your boat is a lot of weight. Wind resistance is hard to say. The boat should have a bit lower sharper profile but that couple feet wider could be an issue. I'm thinking you'll do a bit better than you fear. It all depends if you can hold 2nd gear. This is the real killer of the 66rfe tranny with the Hemi. The 1-2 gear spacing is ridiculous. As long as you can get into the hills with some decent momentum and hold 2nd gear you should be able to pass the big rigs. If you can't hold 2nd and drop to first you're looking at hazard lights with the big rigs. I can pull 35mph in 1st at about 5000rpm (I don't do that for long though). 30 is somewhat comfortable. Again, with the gear difference you'd probably be closer to 25. But let's not even think of that. The Hemi is a beast. You'll hold 2nd

Ive pulled my 28 footer quite a few times last year on long trips, of course none of them with heavy grades. have the same setup on mine, 6.4 with 4.10 gears. my boat sits around 12.5K fully loaded with water, gear, gas, etc. it pulled like it wasn't there and didn't have to use trailer brake controller really. i think you'll fair better than you think.

init6 said:

Anyone ever max out their 2500 towing? Factory says mine is rated at 15.5k (6.4L with 4.10 gears). I'm about to test that claim on a 500 mile trip from NC to Ohio up 77 through the mountains.

Just wondering if I should make sure my AAA and life insurance are current before I leave.

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Did you make the trip yet? If so, how did it go and where are the pics?

We made the trip to see the vessel and sea trial it. Going through surveys now. Not expecting any problems. If all goes well with the survey I'll be pulling it home mid to end of march.

Here's a sneak peak of the boat in the water.

Thanks for sharing - sweet boat!

I have a fifth wheel that weighs 13,700 dry so I'm probably usually pulling closer to 14,500, I've never actually weighed it so I'm guestimating. My truck is also a 2500 with the 6.4 and 4.10 gears and it honestly has to be a really steep hill to give me any problems and then I think I have still been able to maintain 45 MPH with little effort, 60-65 MPH most of the time.

rontimmer said:

I have a fifth wheel that weighs 13,700 dry so I'm probably usually pulling closer to 14,500, I've never actually weighed it so I'm guestimating. My truck is also a 2500 with the 6.4 and 4.10 gears and it honestly has to be a really steep hill to give me any problems and then I think I have still been able to maintain 45 MPH with little effort, 60-65 MPH most of the time.

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How is the gap between 1st and 2nd? Towing heavy with my 3.73 gears that is really the only annoyance. Either wind it out in 1st or let it fall into 2nd and likely slam back into 1st in 5-10 seconds. I'm thinking of a re-gear and am trying to decide what ratio to go with. I'll definitely go past the 4.10s, looking at either 4.30 or 4.56. I'm hoping the different gears tighten up that gap enough. Also, right now all my power is in 2nd at 50-60mph or so. Hoping with the new gears to have better pulling in 2nd in the 40-50mph range. My 5th wheel is 11K loaded.