towing and capacities?

So I currently have a 2013 1500 Express Hemi QC with 3.55 and 6 spd auto 4x4. My truck is rated to tow about 8600lbs. I have a 25' boat with a dry weight of 6600lbs and my trailer weighs 1300lbs. I know with the boat loaded with fuel, batteries, etc. I'm probably around 9000-9300 or so. Been thinking about a new(er) truck and considering a 2500 gasser. My truck tows the boat just fine with no issues at all but I want to be sure I'm legal. I towed it 90 miles last week. The newer 1500's with the 3.92s are rated to tow ~10,500 so I should be ok there. I have noticed very few new 1500's have the 3.92s, most have the 3.21's, which are only rated to tow about 8100lbs.

Part 2 of my issue, I want to stay under $40,000 so likely going slightly used so looking at trucks with under 20,000 miles so I can't just order one off the lot. I only tow this boat a few times a year a total of about 50 miles but might decide to take it to Lake Erie or something so need to be able to have the ability to tow further.

If I go 2500 it will definitely be a gasser. Can't justify a diesel. I only put about 5000 miles a year on it so it would take forever to recoup the cost of a diesel. And I plan to keep this truck for 5-7 years minimum (had this one 6 year and kept my last one 6 years).

So 1500 with 3.92 gears or 2500 gasser? Oh, and I read somewhere where the Class IV hitch on the 1500 is only rated for about 5000lb? And if towing anything heavier it is recommended to have a Class V hitch put on it? Does the 2500 already come with the Class V hitch?

And not looking for completely loaded but want most options. Don't care about sunroof, leather, or nav but want everything else including the large touchscreen so would be looking at upper end packages.

Thoughts or advice?

Go 2500 for sure - 6.4 Hemi would be a great fit. SLT or Big Horn model has nice options but not excessive. You could land one new for the low 40s.

Have you ran the truck and boat fully loaded over a set of scales to get an actual weight? and if so are you over the trucks GAWRs(3900lbs) or GVWR(6800lbs)?
Unless your state requires you to elect a GCWR or has one set based on vehicle class and your not over the GAWRs /GVWRs your still legal. The Ram GCWR rating for your truck is 14150 lbs.
If the 1500 can do the job, it rides better than a 2500. The 2500 will just allow you to go heavier and you can get 4.10 gearing from the factory.

The factory 1500 Class IV receiver is rated for 1100 tongue/12K when a WDH is used. It is the hole in the bumper that is 500/5000 lbs rated

first off, i have never seen a WD used on a boat trailer, since they have surge brakes ... be careful of the Ram.com weight tables, they generally will mislead you, they give maximum not what you are driving ... look at the driver door stickers for payload capty .. and the surge brakes brings another problem to the table, you need to already be stopping with force to activate the surge brakes so i would not pull a loaded boat near the top end of tow rating ... i once did not follow my own advice and in an emergency stop had to find another lane to skid thru the scene, kinda scary

should not be hard to find a ram with the 3.92's. there were plenty at every dealer I checked when truck shopping..maybe if you're looking at inner city dealer where they dont get much requests from people with boats and trailers. the ram with 5.7 or 6.4 hemis pull like crazy and have great brakes but they are are a little short on cargo capacity.

slim chance said:

first off, i have never seen a WD used on a boat trailer, since they have surge brakes ... be careful of the Ram.com weight tables, they generally will mislead you, they give maximum not what you are driving ... look at the driver door stickers for payload capty ..

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Boat trailers also use electric and electric over hydraulic brakes(the WDH reference is just for the receiver capacity rating). Class IV rating without a WDH is 1K/10K
The "payload" rating and GCWR is an estimation, check any SAE J2807 chart for this disclaimer. The GAWR and GVWR are listed on the door VIN sticker(they match the RAM charts) and along with the trucks actual weight is what you go by.
Another thing to keep in mind, the truck rated to tow 8600 lbs has the same brakes as the one rated to tow 10K. The same 9K load would push either rated truck through a sticky situation.
You are correct about the Ram website number being incorrect, according to the website I have a 0 lbs payload (yes zero).

Yeah understand about the brakes being equal no matter the tow capacity. I have been towing trailers for over 30 years but never really pushed a truck to it's tow limits like this so never paid much attention to it.

Good to know my hitch is up to par and no, no WD hitch on the boat trailer. My trailer is hydraulic braking, no electric. I did tow my son's 2018 Grand Design Imagine 2670MK with my truck a few times with a WD hitch and I have electric brakes installed for that too. Dry weight on that is about 6500lbs.

Haven't seen many 2018 or 2019 1500's around here with 3.92s. From what I have seen I'd say 95% of them around here have the 3.21's. My step-son bought a 2019 recently and the dealer didn't have any on the lot with the 3.92s so he got one with 3.21s.

Haven't been on scales yet but hopefully I can do that soon. The boat is at the canvas shop now so can't do anything with it.

I found one a couple hours from here (I'm near Pittsburgh) that looks good for about $46k > https://www.wallyarmour.com/inventory/new-2018-ram-2500-big-horn-4x4-crew-cab-3c6ur5dj6jg336294

That's about the cheapest I have found around here. Hoping to hold off until the end of this year so that one won't be around then but just planning now.

I just bought this 6.4 2500 4x4 with 4:10’s for $36,200 plus tax and fees.
Hoblit Ram Woodland,Ca.

Watch out for the finance guy he will try to sell you everything under the sun.

He snuck $1050 paintless dent repair in on me. Currently fighting it.

There prices are great though.

So I went out and checked my door sticker. There are no GVCR #'s on it but it does say 'The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed 613 kg or 1352 lb'. So does this include the fuel in the truck, etc? That is on the yellow sticker. There is also a white sticker that says GAWR Front: 3900 lb, GAWR rear: 3900 lb. It does say GVWR 6800 lb.

I'm guessing this truck weighs about 5500 lbs? So add the 1352 to that to get the 6800 lbs?

If my boat and trailer combo total about 9000 lbs then I would guess my tongue weight is about 900 lbs? That leaves 452 lbs for all passengers and cargo. What else is included in that? Fuel? Battery?

Either way sounds like I'm over by a little.

If you are approaching the 9K-10K weight I would be looking at a 2500. While you may be able to get a 1500 with gearing that is rated to tow that it will be much more stable and enjoyable to tow with a 2500.


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mtnrider said:

If you are approaching the 9K-10K weight I would be looking at a 2500. While you may be able to get a 1500 with gearing that is rated to tow that it will be much more stable and enjoyable to tow with a 2500.


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That's kinda what I'm thinking. Mine is perfectly stable towing my boat but when I towed my son's camper the wind did move me around a little. Don't have that issue with the boat.
The biggest reason I'm holding off till later this year is my job situation. Currently I work from home so gas mileage isn't much of a concern but my company lost the contract and there is a slim chance I may have to start going back into the office later this year. That's a 50 mile one way commute so the difference between a 17 MPG 1500 and a 12 MPG 2500 will be quite a bit. I know when I was commuting every day I was filling up 3 times a week. So trying to hold off until this is all figured out. At that point it might make more sense to go diesel if I'm driving that many miles.

Key capacities are paylaod and hitck weight NOT towing!

Class 4 he has hitch covered. Boats will be and or should be loaded to 10% tongue weight so even at 9k that would only be 900 pounds tongue weight. He should not be anywhere near his 3,900 pound axle ratings but could be near his 6,900 GVWR if that matter to you. You say it tows it well now why not roll it over a CAT scale before doing anything unless you are just looking to justify buying a new truck. I mean its America if you have the money you can buy a new truck just because you want one. CAT has a free app for your smart phone with GPS directions to find one nearby or on your next trip. As mentioned its typically like $10 initial weigh $2 each additional weigh. If its only a double axle trailer it may not weigh as much as you are estimating.

If you do decide you want a 2500 gasser wait a bit and get one with the 8 speed transmission. It should be a pretty dramatic improvement over the old 6 speed. Towing mileage performance and durability. 535,000 on my 8 speed used commercially for towing TTs behind 465TQ tuned Ecodiesel nothing but fluid and filter changes.