Cold air intake for 5.7 Hemi pulling a horse trailer

Jmphotog · Dec 15, 2017

Hello, my daughter has a 2013 Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi Big horn edition. She travels around with a 3 horse goose neck trailer pulling 1 horse occasionally 2 (about 4000 to 5000 lbs) competing on the college team. I was wondering if a cold air intake would provide any benefit to her truck in terms of efficiency of towing which is mostly pulling on highways in the southeast. Yes, I understand diesel would be a better option, but this is what we have and I would appreciate any input you may have. Thank you for your time.

69GWC · Dec 15, 2017

I wpuld just do a good drop in filter, these air boxes are eay better than the old ones and the only real bennift you will get is more noise from a aftermarket set up.

Devin1349 · Dec 15, 2017

Hold on a second, your telling me your daughters 5.7 Hemi 1500 has a gooseneck setup. that horse trailer must be light as hell for that to work. either that or that horse must be small lol I know my Hemi would be screaming and sucking fuel to handle my Horses

Nick@GotExhaust · Dec 15, 2017

I believe there would be a small benefit but not very noticeable. It’s more costly but a big improvement would be long tube headers and a tune then a better flowing muffler

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Jmphotog · Dec 15, 2017

Devin1349 said:
Hold on a second, your telling me your daughters 5.7 Hemi 1500 has a gooseneck setup. that horse trailer must be light as hell for that to work. either that or that horse must be small lol I know my Hemi would be screaming and sucking fuel to handle my Horses

Yes. The trailer weight is around 4000 and the horse is about 1000.

CostaRam · Dec 15, 2017

For pulling that weight and size you should think about getting a 2500 with a cummins.
That will make pulling the horse trailer much more relaxed and the fuel bill should be lower.
However, as already said, the 2011+ HEMI have already a CAI an the performance gain of another CAI is neglectable.
It would be a wiser (and better) decision to get a tuner with a special trailer tune.
Chris

Jlh hemi · Dec 15, 2017

Why would she need a bigger truck? My bumper pull horse trailer is 4400lbs empty and about 6300lbs loaded. Hemi pulls it just fine. I bet even though hers is a GN it's probably aluminum so the truck handles it easy. I would start with an exhaust and tune before I did intake. Also check out which gears she has in the rear ended.

big13 · Dec 15, 2017

Intake and ported throttle body.
<<< my new no DRONE muffler in picture
check out AFE for a nice exhaust. and I2 Diablo tuner.

Devin1349 · Dec 15, 2017

trust me a bumper pull horse trailer hauling a 1000lb pound horse is fine I do it all the time but the most these trucks should be pulling at most is two, Ive seen from experience doing this that these 1500's with Hemi's will be thirstier and holding gears much longer when in tow haul mode. but as far as going with a gooseneck goes its a little scary because these trucks were not designed for this work but hey Cowboy up right? at least thats my 2 cents on that. another question I have is how much gear is she pulling along with the trailer and horses ie saddles, water, feed, clothing, food. all this adds up when your hauling during Rodeo season. Now as far as fuel savings goes a few things you can do to save a couple bucks I use a roll up tonnaeu cover, I use the MDS on the highway even in tow haul mode, as far as a CAI ive heard it helps with up to 2mpg. I know this is long winded sorry.

CTD · Dec 15, 2017

My vote would be a 180 t stat and a DS I2 or I3 with a 89 octane custom tow tune from hemifever. This will actually produce results. I am not knocking CAI's has I have one myself and IMO they do help some with other supporting mods but you will probably not get what you are looking for from a CAI.

tcazes · Dec 16, 2017

definitely can attest to them pulling horses just fine. hell we just retired the 96 with 350k on the clock and now i pull with my 2013 laramie longhorn 1500. i pull a 3 horse slant bumper pull though. i can attest to the fact that 180t stat and an 89 hemi fever tune really didnt do anything at all for me.... i just change my plugs at 30k like recommended for the 13 models and pony up for the fuel bill....i can say that my 2wd 13 gets like 3 miles to the gallon better than the 13 4wd does pulling the same trailer though...

demort71 · Dec 18, 2017

LOL A Cummins diesel and a 3/4 ton model to pull 5000lbs.? You have to be kidding or a former Ford or Chevy truck owner to suggest that to this guy. That's overkill in my book and a waste of money.

I had a 05 Hemi Quad Cab 1500 and pulled a 24 foot enclosed car trailer and 4500 lb. 71 Challenger. It had the 3.91 axle and trailer tow package on it. It was 2 WD. Sucker was fast without the trailer. Pulling it did 10-11 mpg. It did great hauling around the Midwest. Of course we don't have too many mountains, but it did fine lugging that load up longer and steeper hills. For what the guy wants to use the truck for, his current rig is fine.

I now have a 04 Ram 1500 Rumble Bee with a Hemi and the same trailer tow package. I just stuck in an AES brand fresh air filter to replace the stock filter. It's better than a K&N filter which you have to clean with oil. They are about $50 and the same or slightly less than the K&N filter. Less mess when it comes time to clean the filter out. It might be a little more efficient at filtering than the K&N too. That's what I did. Works fine and easy enough to install.

I did install a Volant fresh air ram air system in my 08 Charger and it sure woke it up! That system has a enclosed box with a ram tube feeding fresh air into the box from below the grill. Pretty nice set up! It improved fuel mileage slightly by 1 or 2 mpg on the highway.

A fresh air set up will do less for you on a truck, which is as aerodynamic as a lifted brick! Every little bit helps though and it may improve mileage a tiny bit when empty or when there is no wind or hills. You are fighting a lack of aerodynamics as opposed to engine efficiency with a truck.

MT Hillbilly · Dec 21, 2017

I just put a drop in K&N, I agree, for the most part Dodge/Ram gets the least benefit from an after market intake, they already breath pretty well!

huntergreen · Dec 21, 2017

Imho, no an aftermarket intake will not do anything except let more dust in from the outdoor ring. The hemi should easily handle the weight posted.

CostaRam · Dec 22, 2017

If you use K+N or similar airfilters and drive frequently on dusty roads, please check your rubber hose between the airbox and the trottle body.
After some time you will find a very fine white powder on the inside of the rubber hose (and inside your engine)
I had this issue with several cars until i switched back to normal, good quality paper filters.
Chris

Fieldoc · Dec 22, 2017

Wow, some of you guys amaze me. Should not be pulling this with a hemi? Get real. It will handle that weight all day every day. While the mpg are bad nothing else is a problem, mine is rated at roughly 9800 towing. To the OP sorry for all the remarks about towing but tow on and as has been stated cai is not worth it, just change the filter out and see if that helps. Good luck.

eside61 · Dec 22, 2017

I have a 2014 1500 5.7, 7” lift, 35” tires on 20” rims. I haul my 22’ boat with a full load in the bed when we camp and my Hemi pulls it like a rag doll. The boat and trailer combined is roughly 5,000 lbs. I have a Super Tuner installed and use the tow option on it. I also have a K & N Cold air intake to help it breath as well as a 2 chamber flow master. To the Lake and back is about 180 miles round trip and I average 14.5 mpg. Thats because I bypass traffic and hit side streets, stop signs, lights etc. Rule of thumb..when pulling, tell your daughter to not fill up the gas tank even if its long distance. Gas is a lil lighter than water and weighs about 6lbs per gallon. Basically a full tank weighs more and will contribute to poor gas mileage.

xracer · Dec 22, 2017

I have a 2016 RAM 1500 5.7L Hemi quad cab (6 ft. bed) 4x4 with cooler package. My daughter is a barrel racer and tows a 3 horse goose neck trailer all over Michigan. The horses are 1200 lb+. When she bought the trailer I questioned pulling with a 1500, but the trailer owners (we know them) said that's all they used......Dodge 1500, except traveled out west and into Canada.

The trailer is a Exiss 306 SS

The truck squats slightly but is not out of the ordinary, especially for a Dodge coils. I'm thinking about air bags.

I've had 3500 owners with diesels come and talk to us. They are amazed that we get 11-12 mpg loaded up with two horses on the E-Way. We get better than that @55 mph. On the highway @55 I get 24-26+ mpg no trailer, to work and back 20 miles each way mixed, 18-20. It pulls straight and true, brakes fine, trailer brake used. No engine strain or down shifting except on hills. Oil/engine/trans temps remain normal. It has 3:21 gears. Yep, that's right. No 3:54 or 3:92 gas pig gears; don't need it for 6-8000 lbs. A 8 speed with 3:21 has a mathematically lower gear than a 3:92 with a 6 speed.

The improvements made on newer trucks are amazing. Like many, I was living in the past. It's 2017 guys, forget about the "good ole days". They sucked. I still have my 1982 Dodge 360 1 ton dually 4 door, with 4 speed and creeper. Sure it would pull/haul anything, but top speed was 50-55 and fuel mileage was 10 mpg whether empty or full. I was still living in the 90's at the latest before getting this 2016 RAM. It's a different world now.

Go to any horse show and you'll find 1500 Dodge/Ram 5.7's pulling goose necks, but you won't see a Ford or a Chevy 1/2 ton. Why? They don't have the horsepower is my guess. Only until the 2017 GM trucks put the 6.2L in could they compete. I don't care what the tow rating is on the Fords/Chevy's......people aren't using the 1/2 tons to pull heavy stuff, and definitely not goosenecks.

Could not find picture with truck connected, but this is the model trailer.

huntergreen · Dec 23, 2017

huntergreen said:
Imho, no an aftermarket intake will not do anything except let more dust in from the outdoor ring. The hemi should easily handle the weight posted.

xracer said:
I have a 2016 RAM 1500 5.7L Hemi quad cab (6 ft. bed) 4x4 with cooler package. My daughter is a barrel racer and tows a 3 horse goose neck trailer all over Michigan. The horses are 1200 lb+. When she bought the trailer I questioned pulling with a 1500, but the trailer owners (we know them) said that's all they used......Dodge 1500, except traveled out west and into Canada.

The trailer is a Exiss 306 SS

The truck squats slightly but is not out of the ordinary, especially for a Dodge coils. I'm thinking about air bags.

I've had 3500 owners with diesels come and talk to us. They are amazed that we get 11-12 mpg loaded up with two horses on the E-Way. We get better than that @55 mph. On the highway @55 I get 24-26+ mpg no trailer, to work and back 20 miles each way mixed, 18-20. It pulls straight and true, brakes fine, trailer brake used. No engine strain or down shifting except on hills. Oil/engine/trans temps remain normal. It has 3:21 gears. Yep, that's right. No 3:54 or 3:92 gas pig gears; don't need it for 6-8000 lbs. A 8 speed with 3:21 has a mathematically lower gear than a 3:92 with a 6 speed.

The improvements made on newer trucks are amazing. Like many, I was living in the past. It's 2017 guys, forget about the "good ole days". They sucked. I still have my 1982 Dodge 360 1 ton dually 4 door, with 4 speed and creeper. Sure it would pull/haul anything, but top speed was 50-55 and fuel mileage was 10 mpg whether empty or full. I was still living in the 90's at the latest before getting this 2016 RAM. It's a different world now.

Go to any horse show and you'll find 1500 Dodge/Ram 5.7's pulling goose necks, but you won't see a Ford or a Chevy 1/2 ton. Why? They don't have the horsepower is my guess. Only until the 2017 GM trucks put the 6.2L in could they compete. I don't care what the tow rating is on the Fords/Chevy's......people aren't using the 1/2 tons to pull heavy stuff, and definitely not goosenecks.

Could not find picture with truck connected, but this is the model trailer.

Tuft progressive springs might help if you are trying to reduce or eliminate the "squat".

xracer · Dec 23, 2017

huntergreen said:
Tuft progressive springs might help if you are trying to reduce or eliminate the "squat".

Dang if I can find a picture with the truck hooked up. Honestly the squat is not bad, and if the springs are replaced, won't the ride suffer? The 1500 has such a nice ride.

There was a lady at a show recently with a 1500 towing a GN that had air bags. I've read a lot about different brands. The ones she had were not expensive and finished up their second season.

P.S. the reason the squat may not be worse is because we keep the payload as low as possible over the springs, and the horses are loaded into the #2 and #3 stalls which distributes the weight better.

Cold air intake for 5.7 Hemi pulling a horse trailer

Junior Member

Power Wagon

Senior Member

Senior Member

Junior Member

Senior Member

Junior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Junior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Member

Junior Member

Junior Member

Senior Member

Junior Member

Similar threads

Forum statistics

Share this page