I'm kind of pissed......

Bullitt5339 · Aug 9, 2016

The wife and I are searching for small RVs that I can tow behind the truck. Being a V6, the tow rating is 3300lbs which is seriously limiting our selection. That's OK, we can get what we need and stay under 3300lbs.

I looked at one that would have been absolutely perfect, but it had a dry weight of 3300lbs, which would have been way over by the time we added water and supplies, so I was a bit bummed. So close, but no cigar.

Then a Honda Minivan came into the dealership towing the exact RV that we were looking at. I was kind of confused. They had said that it was too heavy for my Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, but a minivan is towing one. So I had to ask.

Turns out, the Honda minivan has a 4500lb tow rating........

I'm not happy right now.

07MegaCabRam · Aug 9, 2016

I think you'd be more pissed driving a Honda Mini van! LOL

The towing rating of 4500 is pretty high. You sure about that?

Even if it was, the van would have to be empty, so you wouldn't be able to have passengers.

Your truck should have around 6500 tow rating.. if I am not mistaken....
I'll have to go look it up now..

depends on the year, wheels/tires/gearing too.

dkmesa · Aug 9, 2016

sorry for your frustration. thanks for the laugh. maybe time to trade for a hemi.

sandawilliams · Aug 9, 2016

Bullitt5339 said:
The wife and I are searching for small RVs that I can tow behind the truck. Being a V6, the tow rating is 3300lbs which is seriously limiting our selection. That's OK, we can get what we need and stay under 3300lbs.

I looked at one that would have been absolutely perfect, but it had a dry weight of 3300lbs, which would have been way over by the time we added water and supplies, so I was a bit bummed. So close, but no cigar.

Then a Honda Minivan came into the dealership towing the exact RV that we were looking at. I was kind of confused. They had said that it was too heavy for my Dodge Ram 1500 pickup, but a minivan is towing one. So I had to ask.

Turns out, the Honda minivan has a 4500lb tow rating........

I'm not happy right now.

I think I would double check my trucks tow rating. That sounds pretty low for any pickup.

Bullitt5339 · Aug 9, 2016

I have too much work into mine to trade it in, but it may be time to pick up that 3500 dually that I've been eyeballing to join the V6 1500.

Bullitt5339 · Aug 9, 2016

sandawilliams said:
I think I would double check my trucks tow rating. That sounds pretty low for any pickup.

I quadruple checked it because I couldn't believe it was that low. V6 with 5 speed is horrible. V6 with Auto is terrible. 4.7 with 5 speed is bad. 4.7 with Auto is meh... 5.7 is damn good.

MADDOG · Aug 9, 2016

Well that sucks.

The GVWR for the Hronda and your truck may be about the same, though, because the mini is lighter than the Ram so it could have a higher tow rating.

Kytow · Aug 9, 2016

Sorry. Had to

Sent from somewhere with confusion.

R/T_Fire · Aug 9, 2016

dkmesa said:
sorry for your frustration. thanks for the laugh. maybe time to trade for a hemi.

That's a no brainer, its always time for a Hemi!!

And 4500# towing on a minivan is BS highest of any type of minivan I could find is 3800# Honda Oddessy is 3500#
2016 Honda Odyssey towing capacity

But what I find is 3300#-3500# for a 04 V6 equipped ram... Might be time to get a new truck as a tow pig.

xb1230 · Aug 9, 2016

Bullitt5339 said:
Turns out, the Honda minivan has a 4500lb tow rating........

That's BS. The Odyssey had a Towing Capacity of 3500lbs.

Biggest capacity I have seen on an import minivan is on the Toyota Sienna and it is not even 4000lbs.

That being said, the 3500lbs capacity of your V6 might be increased by changing the Diff gear ratio... Might be a cheap upgrade.

Heck if you can find a complete rear end with Leafs, you could have a swap going on depending on when you tow or not...

Just an idea.

ST-8 · Aug 10, 2016

It's the manual that kills a lot of your tow rating. V6 sure don't help either.. When I saw what mine was rated at I bout **** myself an I have 4.56s LOL

xb1230 · Aug 10, 2016

ST-8 said:
It's the manual that kills a lot of your tow rating. V6 sure don't help either.. When I saw what mine was rated at I bout **** myself an I have 4.56s LOL

I don't disagree with you completely. The manual is there for 2 things:

1. Put limits so the warranty is not abused
2. Put guidelines for idiots who don't know what they are doing.

All of that being said, if you know what you are doing, monitor and respect your vehicle's limits you can tow more than the rated towing capacity.

Things to monitor:
Engine temp, Transmission temp, (EGT's on a Diesel,) "are you sure you want to go up that hill with that X000lbs rig at 55mph?", "are you sure you need to go up that hill with that X000lbs rig at 55mph?", "Maybe you need to go up that hill with that X000lbs rig but how about at a slower speed?", "How about a few more miles to get there without a hill?"... You get the idea... :crazy:

ST-8 · Aug 10, 2016

xb1230 said:
I don't disagree with you completely. The manual is there for 2 things:

1. Put limits so the warranty is not abused
2. Put guidelines for idiots who don't know what they are doing.

All of that being said, if you know what you are doing, monitor and respect your vehicle's limits you can tow more than the rated towing capacity.

Things to monitor:
Engine temp, Transmission temp, (EGT's on a Diesel,) "are you sure you want to go up that hill with that X000lbs rig at 55mph?", "are you sure you need to go up that hill with that X000lbs rig at 55mph?", "Maybe you need to go up that hill with that X000lbs rig but how about at a slower speed?", "How about a few more miles to get there without a hill?"... You get the idea...

Your second point up there is kinda where I was going with it. I can imagine if your novice at towing/hauling you can ruin the trans pretty quick

pajeepman · Aug 11, 2016

Bullitt5339 said:
I have too much work into mine to trade it in, but it may be time to pick up that 3500 dually that I've been eyeballing to join the V6 1500.

Here is what we got. 17' hybrid, sleeps 6. 3250 max gvw. Got it because my Jeep Cherokee was rated to tow 5k. It hated it. Notice the one picture it has a PSD f250 in front of it(it *** that bad wih the 4.0 Cherokee.) Now I have a 03 1500 5.9 qc laramie. Jeep might have towed a 5k trailer that was smaller with less frontal area. Plan on dragging it 12 hours to Bar Harbor Maine next month.

Check CL and local rv dealers if you have any for single axle hybrid travel trailers.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Tapatalk

Bullitt5339 · Aug 11, 2016

This is the one that we are looking at. It's a lightweight 15ft (19ft total) Coleman. Brand New for $10k. Dry weight is 2883, which should put it right at the V6's limits when loaded. I don't worry about the suspension at all, I have helper bags in the rear.

justin13703 · Aug 11, 2016

Personally, I wouldn't buy a camper to fit your truck. I would buy a truck that can pull the camper that you REALLY want. because in all honesty, you will have the camper longer than you will have the truck. And chances are, you won't be happy with the way the v6 pulls it anyway even if it is within its weight rating and will end up with a different truck pulling it anyway, and then wish that you had a bigger camper. Lol

Core-Lokt · Aug 11, 2016

xb1230 said:
I don't disagree with you completely. The manual is there for 2 things:

1. Put limits so the warranty is not abused
2. Put guidelines for idiots who don't know what they are doing.

All of that being said, if you know what you are doing, monitor and respect your vehicle's limits you can tow more than the rated towing capacity.

I think the "manual" you quoted was referencing a transmission and not the operational guide.

Core-Lokt · Aug 11, 2016

What I would want to know is why there's such a low rating. That could be (say) conditional upon the tire rating/GVWR and if so going with LT-series tires instead of P-metrics might give you the margin you need.

Something else-does your truck have a towing package (or was one even available with the base drivetrain)? Engine cooling might be the issue or if it didn't have a receiver hitch as-built.

I wouldn't think the drivetrain is incapable. I had an F-150 4X4 with the 300 I-6 and Mazda-sourced 5-speed manual that pulled a much heavier trailer five days a week for several years and the only issue I ever had was those junk Valeo ***** cylinders and s*it B-W 1350 TC.

xb1230 · Aug 12, 2016

Core-Lokt said:
What I would want to know is why there's such a low rating. That could be (say) conditional upon the tire rating/GVWR and if so going with LT-series tires instead of P-metrics might give you the margin you need.

Something else-does your truck have a towing package (or was one even available with the base drivetrain)? Engine cooling might be the issue or if it didn't have a receiver hitch as-built.

At the end of the day, my point is as you just mentionned temperature...

If the suspension holds the weight, and you can keep operating temperature of the engine tranny and everything else within normal operating limits, there should be absolutely no issues. (Let's not forget the Differential oil also, but it is a little harder to monitor... Just be aware of it)

Having higher quality lubricants also helps in keeping those temperatures down. Semi or Full Synthetic oils can help.

P.S. : For those of you with a HEMI, do know that the 4.7L V8 and 3.7L V6 are very similar engines and they do tend to run a little hot without any load which doesn't help in the first place on temperature management...

Demon-HeMi · Aug 17, 2016

Bullitt5339 said:
This is the one that we are looking at. It's a lightweight 15ft (19ft total) Coleman. Brand New for $10k. Dry weight is 2883, which should put it right at the V6's limits when loaded. I don't worry about the suspension at all, I have helper bags in the rear.

had a camper similar to that, and I towed it with a 2nd gen V6 stripped down model ram, and didn't really have an issue towing

I'm kind of pissed......

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Out Exploring Arizona

Senior Member

Senior Member

Hobby Mechanic

Senior Member

Hobby Mechanic

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Hobby Mechanic

Senior Member

Similar threads

Forum statistics

Share this page