Most weight you've pulled with your 6.4?

I have seen a thread for "what do you tow". So, I thought this would be a little more relevant to me.I apologize if I shouldn't have started another thread. I'm trying to see people's performance when really pushin truck to its limits. I have seen as high as 13k . I have the 4.10 so I'm a little over 15k and some change for towing cap. And just under 3800 for payload with the bh trim. I'm trying to find a toy hauler. I saw one that I really liked A lot. It's a road warrior 410 from heartland. it's somewhere around 38 or 40 feet. i have also looked at raptor s , cyclones etc. But I feel in love with the rw. You can never tell unless you actually measure cause all manufacturers list their weights differently Which is really stupid. At least that's what a dealer told me. The dry weight of it is almost 13k but the gvwr is 18k! Of course, I would never travel with water and any unnecessary in the rv. The payload is just under 3k so if I'm careful I think I would be ok. I am only going to tow it for the occasional camping trip ( 2-3x) per month max. i think that rig is a good candidate for a diesel dually for best towing experience. I'm just wondering what it would be like on truck. Most I'll have in it is 2 motorcycles at about 1400 pounds. I decided not to go with diesel for several reasons ( price , frequency towing, living in Cold climate , toomuch idling time, price of fuel)etc. I well get a rv for the truck not The other way around. I do want my truck to last though. I don't care about changing rotors frequently but I don't want to bake my tranny. What do you guys think? Good thing is the truck gets to rest a lot cause I won't work it much more than that. Thanks

I would go to the RV.Net forum. There would probably be more people able to answer your questions there. There is a huge difference between towing 10k pounds with no wind resistance, and towing a 10k pound RV that is like a sail in the wind.

Here is the link.... RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Tow Vehicles

Edit: Just researched a Road Warrior 410. The ones I see are a little over 14k lbs. Is that what you plan to tow?

Are you kidding. Most people there think you need a diesel dually to pull any 5er. Idk the one i saw was 12900 for the dry weight. Some manufacturers include everything except water, propane, (basically fluids) etc. in their specs. No, i wouldnt touch one that was 14 dry> you need a semi to pull some of these things. I have heard of people with diesels even struggling in the hills.

SouthTexan said:

I would go to the RV.Net forum. There would probably be more people able to answer your questions there. There is a huge difference between towing 10k pounds with no wind resistance, and towing a 10k pound RV that is like a sail in the wind.

Here is the link.... RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Tow Vehicles

Edit: Just researched a Road Warrior 410. The ones I see are a little over 14k lbs. Is that what you plan to tow?

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cc rider said:

Are you kidding. Most people there think you need a diesel dually to pull any 5er. Idk the one i saw was 12900 for the dry weight. Some manufacturers include everything except water, propane, (basically fluids) etc. in their specs. No, i wouldnt touch one that was 14 dry> you need a semi to pull some of these things. I have heard of people with diesels even struggling in the hills.

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So you are looking at something that is 13k dry. Mine is 13k dry, but by the time I load it is around 14k. I don't know about that much weight for a 6.4L, but hopefully there is someone with a 6.4L that has pulled that much with an RV to help you out.

check out the livin lite line up.. Their stuff is made from full aluminum, and weighs damn near nothing for what it is. I think their big 5ther weighs in at like 7k.. and leaves you like 5k of wet weight. It's been a while since I have looked at their stuff.

Why not? As long as its not over. I have seen posts on that forum with people pulling 13k and having no problems whatsoever. 15640 cap. on the ram leaves over a TON to play with. Ram is supposed to be one of the more conservative manufacturers with their figures too from what i have read here and other places. Here is a video of the 6.4 pulling 14k. This is by one of the guys on the forum you mentioned. He hangs around there. I have read some of his posts so I know hes legit. I would definitely want to weigh a trailer and test it with those weights. As long as youre not doing hills /mountains......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NfODxFED7I

SouthTexan said:

So you are looking at something that is 13k dry. Mine is 13k dry, but by the time I load it is around 14k. I don't know about that much weight for a 6.4L, but hopefully there is someone with a 6.4L that has pulled that much with an RV to help you out.

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Thanks. Looking for something with beds in garage that raise and lower

Ratket said:

check out the livin lite line up.. Their stuff is made from full aluminum, and weighs damn near nothing for what it is. I think their big 5ther weighs in at like 7k.. and leaves you like 5k of wet weight. It's been a while since I have looked at their stuff.

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one thing that u may want to consider, most state/national parks have a length limit, When I get ready to buy, I will be double checking this as I want take my kids and stay at a few national parks.

cc rider said:

Why not? As long as its not over. I have seen posts on that forum with people pulling 13k and having no problems whatsoever. 15640 cap. on the ram leaves over a TON to play with. Ram is supposed to be one of the more conservative manufacturers with their figures too from what i have read here and other places. Here is a video of the 6.4 pulling 14k. This is by one of the guys on the forum you mentioned. He hangs around there. I have read some of his posts so I know hes legit. I would definitely want to weigh a trailer and test it with those weights. As long as youre not doing hills /mountains......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NfODxFED7I

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There is a big difference between going 0-60 in a 14k RV and keeping that speed especially up hills. I am not trying to pick a fight with you, but believe me there is a huge difference. If you don't believe me, then listen to the very same guy in that video.....

ib516 said:

No problem James.

I tow in the Canadian Rockies every year (Banff/Jasper/Kananaskis). I have only been on one hill that I could not accelerate on so far, and I had my foot buried in the floor. It did hold speed though, but it was sure revving (5000 RPM or so going by memory). Looks like your RV will be ~1500# heavier than mine. My CGW is about 20,500#.

Performance satisfaction is an individual thing, what "tows it great" means to one person is not the same as another.

I would be OK towing that load with my truck. Just let it do it's thing as use high RPM when it needs to.

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http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28340170/srt/pa/pging/1/page/4

That is with a 2010 Cougar 322QBS 5er that weighs only 9,500 lbs dry. Imagine adding another 3,500 lbs(plus another 1,000 lbs for gear and water). It will pull it, but you may not like the way it pulls it especially going up hills. You said you heard of diesels struggling towing 14k up hills. What do you think that thing will do with 14k up hills? Like I said I am not trying to pick a fight, but 13k dry(add another 1k after loaded) is a lot for that truck and engine combo no matter what Ram rates that thing at.



I also don't believe that Ram is "one of the more conservative manufacturers" when it comes to figures based on my experience with heavy, medium, and light duty fleets, but that is just my opinion based on my own experiences.

yeah i know, i thought about that with the longer ones.

Ratket said:

one thing that u may want to consider, most state/national parks have a length limit, When I get ready to buy, I will be double checking this as I want take my kids and stay at a few national parks.

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'rider, you mentioned that you will only have two motorcycles in the toy hauler. Does that mean there is only two people going camping when you use the RV? What I'm getting at is that you are at an age where I would guess (since I don't know you) you may have a wifey and several/three kids. For 2, 4 or 5 people is a 41' trailer really necessary? My buddy pulls a 38' toy hauler and it is he and his wife and two young boys and one is special needs. They haul a four seat san rail in it and they went a bit bigger to have more space for the youngest son with special need to have more room to roam and hang out outside. His 5er toy hauler dwarfs his Chevy 3500 SRW.

Curious, do you really need such a large trailer for your needs? Anything over 36' + is ginormous IMO. Only asking so don't take offense.

Lets not turn this into 6.4 vs. 6.7 #2 LOL. Ill tell you if i didnt live in upstate ny and i lived more in the south , i would have bought the cummins and just ate the extra cost of the motor and the running fuel. I know youre not picking a fight. Its just a discussion.... ahem. Just kidding Seriously, who ever said anything about me pulling it up hills? I would never try to pull that kind of weight with a gasser up hills unless I had to. Everywhere I live near or go is flat except for when we went to virginia. For each post that you bring up showing someone unsatisfied towing 10k with the 6.4, I can show you one where someone was very satisifed towing 13k+ I have them in my history. Its like the guy says, everyone has different opinions on what is acceptable. Are you saying he's not satisified with the performance towing the cougar up hills? Cause in this other video, if you go down to his 9th or 10th reply, youll see he would be contradicting himself. Am i right? Or am I not understanding you correctly? Here is his reply that im referring to :

"I have now towed this RV into the mountains (Canadian Rockies). I am very happy with the way it performed. I averaged 8 to 9 mpg over the 3000 km (1900 mile) trip. I towed in all kinds of conditions, wind, rain, hills, and mountain grades. No regrets on going to the Hemi from the Cummins. The tuned 5.9L Cummins I used to tow this RV with would get about 11 mpg in similar conditions. No lack of power, and most of the time I was in 5th at ~2100 RPM. "

SouthTexan said:

There is a big difference between going 0-60 in a 14k RV and keeping that speed especially up hills. I am not trying to pick a fight with you, but believe me there is a huge difference. If you don't believe me, then listen to the very same guy in that video.....


RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Tow Vehicles: One year update on my 6.4L Hemi

That is just with a 2010 Cougar 322QBS 5er that weighs only 9,500 lbs dry. Imagine adding another 3,500 lbs(plus another 1,000 lbs for gear and water). It will pull it, but you may not like the way it pulls it especially going up hills. You said you heard of diesels struggling towing 14k up hills. What do you think that thing will do with 14k up hills? Like I said I am not trying to pick a fight, but 13k dry(add another 1k after loaded) is a lot for that truck and engine combo no matter what Ram rates that thing at.



I also don't believe that Ram is "one of the more conservative manufacturers" when it comes to figures based on my experience with heavy, medium, and light duty fleets, but that is just my opinion based on my own experiences.

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Yes i do need one that large. Now stay out of it! No, I dont. Seriously, it's like rat says with the parks. They have so many trees and crap that you have a hell of a time manuevering even a smaller rv. What they call pull through sites is a joke in some places. I might take the bikes with us to the motogp. Last year me and the girlfriend loaded our bikes up (she has a harley, I have hondas, yes im the brains of the operation and went to thousand islands and did some sightseeing. Or my son and i might load up atvs . He is 20 and we have a 13 yr old and another 20 yr old girl.
So.......the way i see it is the bigger the rv, the better the layout. Better space, beds for all the kids, etc. Some even have a bath and a half. Its not a necessity, just a want like everything else. Oh and the bigger the rv, the bigger the garage! And we all know how we like big trucks

Skrap said:

'rider, you mentioned that you will only have two motorcycles in the toy hauler. Does that mean there is only two people going camping when you use the RV? What I'm getting at is that you are at an age where I would guess (since I don't know you) you may have a wifey and several/three kids. For 2, 4 or 5 people is a 41' trailer really necessary? My buddy pulls a 38' toy hauler and it is he and his wife and two young boys and one is special needs. They haul a four seat san rail in it and they went a bit bigger to have more space for the youngest son with special need to have more room to roam and hang out outside. His 5er toy hauler dwarfs his Chevy 3500 SRW.

Curious, do you really need such a large trailer for your needs? Anything over 36' + is ginormous IMO. Only asking so don't take offense.

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cc rider said:

Lets not turn this into 6.4 vs. 6.7 #2 LOL. Ill tell you if i didnt live in upstate ny and i lived more in the south , i would have bought the cummins and just ate the extra cost of the motor and the running fuel. I know youre not picking a fight. Its just a discussion.... ahem. Just kidding Seriously, who ever said anything about me pulling it up hills? I would never try to pull that kind of weight with a gasser up hills unless I had to. Everywhere I live near or go is flat except for when we went to virginia. For each post that you bring up showing someone unsatisfied towing 10k with the 6.4, I can show you one where someone was very satisifed towing 13k+ I have them in my history. Its like the guy says, everyone has different opinions on what is acceptable. Are you saying he's not satisified with the performance towing the cougar up hills? Cause in this other video, if you go down to his 9th or 10th reply, youll see he would be contradicting himself. Am i right? Or am I not understanding you correctly? Here is his reply that im referring to :

"I have now towed this RV into the mountains (Canadian Rockies). I am very happy with the way it performed. I averaged 8 to 9 mpg over the 3000 km (1900 mile) trip. I towed in all kinds of conditions, wind, rain, hills, and mountain grades. No regrets on going to the Hemi from the Cummins. The tuned 5.9L Cummins I used to tow this RV with would get about 11 mpg in similar conditions. No lack of power, and most of the time I was in 5th at ~2100 RPM. "

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I was not turning this into a 6.4L versus a 6.7L and nowhere was I even insinuating that. The only reason why I said anything about diesel is because you said "No, i wouldnt touch one that was 14 dry> you need a semi to pull some of these things. I have heard of people with diesels even struggling in the hills." Which I in turn stated "You said you heard of diesels struggling towing 14k up hills. What do you think that thing will do with 14k up hills?*". That was my only mention of a diesel here so please do not turn this into a 6.7L versus 6.4L. I am also not going to touch on why you would rather spend 8K in other options rather than 8K on a diesel option. That is your preference and it has nothing to do with what we are discussing here.

I was was stating that a 13k dry RV is quite a bit for your set up. I have only been in a 6.4L(not driving) towing about 10k and never anything that much so I don't have the experience there. Which is why I said to post up at the RV Net site because you will have more 6.4L owners there that have experience pulling that heavy of a load (or closer to it) than here. I already asked your question in there btw. Here is is if you want follow it.


RV.Net Open Roads Forum: Tow Vehicles: One year update on my 6.4L Hemi

I pull 15k to 17k once a month. The truck pulls it fine. My trip is 15 miles one way with a few small hills. Evic shows 9-10 mpg @ 55 mph. After unloading, the trailer goes 7100 lbs and you can't tell it's back there. Mpg is 13 coming back empty.

Are you comfortable exceeding the manufacturer specs for payload? Roughly 20% of the fiver's total weight will be on the pin. Easy to get to 3k pin weight on a big toy hauler. Some people are comfortable with exceeding the payload, some are not. Judging from the number of big toy haulers I see going down the road on the back of 3/4 tons, I think in my area most are comfortable or don't know.

I'll chime in. I've towed my nephews 12k mini. With the 20' equipment trailer it weighs in close to 15k. Now I only had to haul it 12 miles or so. Some decent hills. I only have 3:73's, and she did fine. Ya the rpm's were up there, but I never had to hold it to the floor.
If I had a 14-15k TH, I'd be comfortable towing it with a 3500 DRW 6.4 w 4:10's. But It would depend on how often, and where I was traveling. That is definitely diesel territory.

mowin said:

…If I had a 14-15k TH, I'd be comfortable towing it with a 3500 DRW…

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This, and once I go to DRW I want the 850lb-ft Cummins.

10 mpg up hills with that weight. Is this a joke?

6.4 dude said:

I pull 15k to 17k once a month. The truck pulls it fine. My trip is 15 miles one way with a few small hills. Evic shows 9-10 mpg @ 55 mph. After unloading, the trailer goes 7100 lbs and you can't tell it's back there. Mpg is 13 coming back empty.

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Tex, I'm just busting balls. I'm not going to turn this into a 6.4 vs 6.7. But, even if I had the diesel I would be overweight with that road warrior if you're talking loaded to max and going by specs, Right or wrong? The gvrw is 18k. With the Cummins on my setup (4x4, crew) I was looking at around 17k and some change as far as capacity. With the rvs that I was just "considering", it's near that line where I should have a diesel dually(possibly with aisin). I'm sure my truck COULD pull that road warrior, but it SHOULDN'T. I don't want to beat on my engine and tranny. I would like to know what it's limits are. That's the reason for the thread. I'm going to get an rv for the truck that I have NOW. I have been looking at raptors and we are thinking hard about a heartland tq301. My significant other has a say cause she is going to help pay for it. It's a little smaller and not a 12' garage which I would like but....I think when I retire I'll get something more like a road warrior or even better with a dually Cummins and beefy tranny
But, to answer you about my purchase of the hemi instead of the Cummins, and I know the suspense is killing you there are several reasons. I was very close to getting the 6.7. The options have nothing to do with it. I would have the same options if I chose the 6.7. I just didn't need it right now. I don't tow enough. I didn't want to pay the higher fuel price, I have read many threads about emissions issues, I live 4 miles from work and I would have to let it idle a LOT in the freezing ny winters . Basically, it would never warm up. By the way, the same guy that you talk about in the forums and the videos shares some of the reasons for getting the 6.4
You said you think that 13k would be a bit much for the hemi and then you say you have no experience towing heavyweights with that motor???
When u posted the question in the rv forum you stated that my truck is a 2500 with under 3000 payload which is wrong.