'96 1500 4x4 - Towing Issues

[TikiGod77]

I have a '96 Ram 1500 (standard cab, 318 Magnum, 4x4, 3.55 gears) that I use to pull my 4 wheeler around with. I do a lot of mountain driving in east TN and I did not have a problem with my smaller ATV and 4x8 trailer. Bought a new ATV (Can-Am 800cc), put it on a larger 6x10 trailer, and now I have a really hard time pulling up some of the mountains. If I load that beast in the truck bed and leave the trailer at home, it does a little better, but not much.

Any ideas of what has happened to my ram? Its just not pulling like it used to...

 

[Okiespaniel]

How much heavier is your new atv and trailer than the old one? If you added a few hundred lbs of weight it's not gonna pull as well.
Yes, it makes that much difference~!

 

[TikiGod77]

I went from a Honda 450 Foreman 4x4 to an 800 Can Am Outlander 4x4. I know its more weight, but my buddy has an extended cab '97 Ram 1500 4x4, same setup as my truck and he runs off and leaves me and he's pulling a 900 cc Polaris RZR UTV. We can't figure out what the difference is...

 

[Okiespaniel]

He's running a 318/5spd right?

Whats his differential gearing.

Are both trucks original with no mods?

 

[jbmobbs]

Mine did that but I was hauling my dads car and all I did is upgrade my gearing on my 97 ram..... I put a 373 and it pulled like a charm lol but if u really want pulling power put a 4.60 lol my 96 I.have now has it lol and pulls great ( minus the gas lol)

 

[TikiGod77]

Both trucks have 318 (5.2L Magnum) V8s, both are automatic, both have 3.55 gear ratio. He has a cat back Flowmaster exhaust, mine has a cat back Gibson that exits before the rear wheel. Both trucks have 265/75R-16s and other than the exhaust, neither truck has any mods. The only difference is that my truck is a '96, his a '97, my truck is a standard cab and his is extended, my truck is black and his is red.

 

[Okiespaniel]

Now here's the trick. If your truck runs fine empty and not when loaded it could be the wieght difference. But the heavier load could have brought some other issues to light. Is your new Can-am an outlander or UTV?

When you tow do you run your OD? Does your friend?

Perhaps he tows with his OD off which would give him more power. He would easily walk away from you on a hill even with a larger load. If that's not the situation then you may have a powertrain issue.

I'd have my converter checked. The earlier style cats are known for plugging and perhaps yours has decided to check out. You should notice a difference when you are driving without a load.

 

[jloewenstein]

I have a 96 ram 5.2L punch cat no muffs with K&N air filter and mine has pulled a 16ft trailer with 2 pallets of cinder blocks a cement mixer and all my tools with 2 bucket loads of sand in the bed.. mine is a short bed reg cab 4x4 and i had to take it from chattanooga up across Mount Eagle to winchester tn, Not that i would want to do another load like that.. But your rig should pull it just fine.. I would first take it to walmart do a fuel injection cleaning and then go to a dyno shop to see what HP and TQ you are getting...you should be at 220hp and 295tq stock so any mods you should be higher

 

[jloewenstein]

I have a 96 ram 5.2L punch cat no muffs with K&N air filter and mine has pulled a 16ft trailer with 2 pallets of cinder blocks a cement mixer and all my tools with 2 bucket loads of sand in the bed.. mine is a short bed reg cab 4x4 and i had to take it from chattanooga up across Mount Eagle to winchester tn, Not that i would want to do another load like that.. But your rig should pull it just fine.. I would first take it to walmart do a fuel injection cleaning and then go to a dyno shop to see what HP and TQ you are getting...you should be at 220hp and 295tq stock so any mods you should be higher

 

[RamV10]

As said, how does your truck perform next to your friends when empty? does he walk away then?
Have you run a scanner to see if you have any codes?