Should i upgrade my rear suspension?

hi everyone, i have an 08 1500 w\hemi. i recently purchased a 26ft travel trailer (5700 lbs dry). after getting it setup properly with the hitch height and weight distribution hitch (i shoulda took a picture) it seemed to sit pretty well. my question is that i am going to be traveling a lot of the times with 2 motorcycles in the bed and combined they roughly weigh 650lbs. should i upgrade the rear end suspension of my truck? and if so i have been looking at the Timbrens or airbags. any thoughts, advice would be greatly apprieciated.

We're looking at 7000 lbs between the load in the bed and the trailer. That's not including you, any passengers and any gear you might have in the truck.


Your 1500 isn't going to last long towing that for any length of time, helper springs or not. I would be looking at upgrading to a 2500 personally, Cummins or not, a 2500 will be able to handle that load more reliably and with more comfort in that it's a heavier duty truck.

Ooo. Adding that much weight into the bed in addition to what is on the tongue, I would imagine it will squat pretty badly when all loaded up and ready to go, with fuel, fire wood, water and gear in the trailer, etc.

Pounds can grow pretty quickly when it comes time to really pull out of the drive, rather than on paper estimating.

Simple test is to do a "dry run". Load it all up as though ready to leave and see how it goes around the block.

I bet you will need Air Bags.

I only have a 24' trailer (3200# dry?) and when I loaded up the Generator and DRZ400-SM in the bed with a little Firewood, etc it pushed the tail of the 2500 Power Wagon down pretty good. It looked, and felt OK, but I started making every one made after dark on the two lane country roads, because my headlights were shining up like they were on HI. Pic provided, just because I'm a photo *****.

You do have the 3.92 gears and coolers of the factory Tow Package, correct?

yes i have the big horn edition with the 3.92 gears. everything stock except bolt ons diablo, intake and exhaust.

yea a dry run would be good but im pretty sure ill need somthing to help. i thought the towing capacity of my truck was around 9K? so i figured if its right around 7k with the bikes and trailer, factor in another 1k for gear, equipment, people it should be ok?

8k is going to be pushing it.

And you'll be needing load range D or E tires to be safe while towing that much weight around.

I concur.

8,000 pounds is a little much. I'd at the very least suggest a good air bag kit to help. Even with an air bag kit it is going to stress everything else to the max. If this is a common type of a trip for you you may want to look into the 2500 range. I know it isn't the easy answer but It is the best answer...

Yea If I could go back I'd look into 2500's. with the bikes it'll only be 7 times a year to race weekends. The nice thing for those is there all only about 3 hour trips and there not over any big mountain ranges.

Any recommendations on airbag kits or timbres? Also should I look into LT tires as opposed to P rated?

haburaboi said:

Yea If I could go back I'd look into 2500's. with the bikes it'll only be 7 times a year to race weekends. The nice thing for those is there all only about 3 hour trips and there not over any big mountain ranges.

Any recommendations on airbag kits or timbres? Also should I look into LT tires as opposed to P rated?

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You might look into Timbren Helper Springs or something of the like.

And YES. What wheels do you have right now? If you have 20's, ditch them for a set of 17's and get LT265/75s at a Load Range E in a highway tread if you can. You will be a road hazard towing that much weight on P-metric tires.

Currently yes it has the stock 20s. It's says 2200 lbs rating with 44psi. They are p rated but they may be the xl version. Seems like a pretty high weight rating.

I wouldn't run 44 in them. lol

I'd also be ditching the 20's in a hurry if I was towing.

haburaboi said:

hi everyone, i have an 08 1500 w\hemi. i recently purchased a 26ft travel trailer (5700 lbs dry). after getting it setup properly with the hitch height and weight distribution hitch (i shoulda took a picture) it seemed to sit pretty well. my question is that i am going to be traveling a lot of the times with 2 motorcycles in the bed and combined they roughly weigh 650lbs. should i upgrade the rear end suspension of my truck? and if so i have been looking at the Timbrens or airbags. any thoughts, advice would be greatly apprieciated.

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Please take what people give for advice with a grain of salt. There are people who believe that you shouldn't tow anything without a 1 ton diesel dually.

That said, there are some 08 Hemi's that are only rated for 5,500lbs towing. If you have not done so already, verify your tow capacity with Dodge here. Also obtain the curb weight and max weight of the axles off the data plate on your driver's side door pillar.

The ratings that Dodge and Goodyear give are rather conservative thanks to lawyers. It is fairly safe to say that if you stay within your tow capacity, axle ratings, tire ratings, and registered weight, you should be OK from a safety and legal standpoint. The tongue weight of the trailer goes against the GVW of the truck and reduces its cargo capacity. Do NOT exceed the weight limits of the truck. It is illegal and unsafe.

I drove my fully loaded 20" tires once at 34psi across Nevada and into California where a belt split and I got a blowout. Tire shop guy told me I should have been running 44psi. High load tires run at a higher pressure and they need to be at full sidewall pressure to handle their full load.

The best answer I can give to your question is for you to try it out. Hook it up, load it up, and take a look. You may find that you need air bags or you just might need some helper shocks.

RK