whats a 1500 truly capable of?

[xj-JEEPER]

what is a 1500 truly capable of towing?? i want to see pics. a little story of the build, engine size, estimated load lbs. problems if any? just curious, looking at dodges for a light duty pulling rig in the first place..

 

[Bigtman07]

Well what are you looking to pull? How often and what year? I have a 98 and with a few supporting mods my truck can handle a payload of about 3200lbs. Not saying its good for it but it does the job.

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[xj-JEEPER]

i would like to pull my jeep loaded with gear and make my jeep an offroad vehicle only, i dont want to pull it very long distances maybe 200mi round trip... real reason for wanting a ram is to pull my tent trailer which my jeep does, it just doesnt like me very much when we go camping

 

[Bigtman07]

I see very good. Most Rams will be able to pull a tent camper no problem. If you stay below or around 7k for trailer weight you will be fine. I have pushed mine a bit over the limit with a 12k camper. But my setup is a 2500 in a 1500 trim.

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[suzukiquadrider]

14x7 enclosed, 2 utility atvs, mini trailer for atvs to pull, 4 deer stands, water, food, sleeping accommodations for 4 people for a week in the woods. and later one more utility atv was added to the truck bed. making for 3 atvs in the total load. something in the 5000 pound range
2002
5.9 gas
getting between 4-6 mpgs pulling this load for a 600 and odd mile round trip.

i'm basically at the point where i should have a 2500 i pull a lot, i mean a lot at least half of the miles i have owned the truck have had some kind of trailer behind it, boat, enclosed atv, flat bed. ect ect.

3 sleds and a sledbed 3 place

 

[xj-JEEPER]

very nice there sounds like a fun weekend. would you say your ram was happy with the load or sluggish, aside form you 4-6 mpg

 

[suzukiquadrider]

very nice there sounds like a fun weekend. would you say your ram was happy with the load or sluggish, aside form you 4-6 mpg

Well, it was a very very windy day we drove up to the lease, with the enclosed, my truck was not happy with the load, it was sluggish, it was floored to get it to go 55 (on a 70 mph road). I had to give it a lot of gas to keep it going, had the overdrive off. I make this run twice a year, i drive the sleds around as much as i can with the snow available. I am most likely going to upgrade to a newer/bigger truck/suv or sell the toys and buy a car.
this is behind the burban but i pull this every-weekend all summer, no struggles with the atv trailer, it pulls the sleds well but not as well as the 2500 HD, i get ike 8ish pulling the sleds at 60

 

[Nickxxxr]

No pics but i have towed a 7k double axle trailer with an 07 commander on it with zero issues. Towed a Honda accord like 300 miles no issues. Yanked around a ford escort no problem. A quad and trailer full of dirtbikes all the time. I use my truck alot and never had an issue.

Yes i realize i go over my load rating alot but oh well. I use my truck as a truck and wasnt spending 50k on one. Airbags are in my future.


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[pd298]

Mine pulls our 21 foot Yamaha jet boat with out any problems. If I were to guess boat and trailor loaded are around 5k pounds or better. I have also pulled an industrial grade carpet steam cleaning rig. It has alot of tongue weight. Not really sure about total weight but it's heavier than the boat I'm sure.

 

[pd298]

Then again I just realized this is in the older ram forum.

 

[suzukiquadrider]

I noticed it was 2nd gen but since i have the 5.9 i posted, nice jet boat btw.

 

[xj-JEEPER]

yeah i was specifically after the 2nd gen crowd here but always open for any gen. great pics lets keep it moving.

 

[DukeCity]

I pulled a full size bobcat and a trailer that you load sand into I don't have any pics but loading the bobcat lifted the back end of the truck a little. The 5.9 can easily handle it breaks not as much but it was all hilly.

 

[Bigtman07]

Well if you are targeting us guys. Lol

Here is a list that I have.

Lifted livestock trailer about 4k
Regular livestock trailer about 5k
Pulled a sunk in 8k trailer from a 2ft deep hole with no tires
Pulled a loaded uhaul at 6k a total of 1100miles to texas and back
Also pulled loaded derby car and trailer at 7-8k plus parts in the bed
3k in the bed of gravel and sand
Pulled 12k double axle camper
Pulled down 2 trees
To finish off also about a cord and a half of wood.

I have the 5.9 in my 98 with 150k on the clock. She has yet to hesitate on me. Only time she lacked some go power was on the highway pulling the u haul. But I didn't want to push her too hard on the trip. Cruised at about 70 most of the way there. Only mods that I did for towing was a set of Load springs for the rear. Engine has a Super chips tuner on it but doesn't make that big of a change.

Load shocks:

Pics:
Trailer with no tires. Also didn't have shocks. Factory leaf only.

Loaded u haul. Also with no shocks.

Derby Car Loaded.

3k of gravel.

12k trailer. No Weight bars on yet.

Cord of wood.

Ok thats all I got.
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[xj-JEEPER]

thanks tony i am convinced now lol

 

[txbass06]

Here's proof that he made it to Texas with the uhaul lol


I've only towed a few things with mine. Had to pull a brand new 3500 cheby back to the lot when I worked at the local dealership and pulled a buddy's dirt track car and gear to Nashville and back. Didn't have any issues whatsoever but I'd suggest using a trailer with brakes and adding a controller if you're gonna do that a lot. Braking isn't the greatest especially with a load behind

 

[jbmobbs]

5.2 v8, automatic,NO problems, 101.000 miles

 

[Bigtman07]

thanks tony i am convinced now lol

Glad I could help. Lol

Just dont let people try to tell you all Dodge trans suck. The only ones that suck are the ones that weren't taken care of. Mine is all original and I have it serviced every year.

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[Okiespaniel]

The 1500 will pull your camper fine....the jeep...without deeper gears, some tranny mods and airbags...not so hot.
You can see from the pics how poorly the rear suspension of 1500 hates large weights.

The first tow was a 70 Mustang on a U-haul across Phoenix in Saturday afternoon traffic. OD off, running 55-60 mph. No acceleration without downshifting. Got about 8 mpg.

Then I pulled a 6x12 Uhaul from Phoenix to OKlahoma with a bed full of tools and cab full of misc crap and it cost me 1800oo for a new tranny which I changed the fluid in yearly and had a shift kit installed. It never overheated...just burned the clutch facing out of the convertor, then OD.
It's not a matter of if but when, and never when you'd expect it

After the rebuild I pulled two cords of wood on a U-haul about 55 miles and twice had to pull uphill from a dead stop. I don't know who was sweating more, me or the tranny.
3:55s and 33 inch tires do not make a good tow rig for heavy loads.

 

[Joshwaa]

I used to pull a 36' camper behind mine. Think total weight was 8400lbs. Had to use a leveling device and sway control but it pulled nice.