Best 1/2 ton configuration for towing

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Riccochet

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Riccochet curious what weight distribution hitch were you using towing your TT with that 1500?
Started with an EAZ-LIFT with 800 lb bars, went to 1000 lb bars and dual friction anti-sway bars. Just trash. Went to a Equalizer 4P which helped a lot, but still kinda sucked. Bought a used ProPride. And while it towed ok, it was freakin heavy. You're adding 200 lbs of tongue/payload.

I don't even need a WDH to tow with my 2500 if I'm only going 30-60 minutes away. Couple inches of sag and it tows straight. If I know it's going to be really windy or I'm going long distance I use the Andersen WDH. Light weight, easy to connect and disconnect, quiet. Does really well.
 

JerryETX

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Started with an EAZ-LIFT with 800 lb bars, went to 1000 lb bars and dual friction anti-sway bars. Just trash. Went to a Equalizer 4P which helped a lot, but still kinda sucked. Bought a used ProPride. And while it towed ok, it was freakin heavy. You're adding 200 lbs of tongue/payload.

I don't even need a WDH to tow with my 2500 if I'm only going 30-60 minutes away. Couple inches of sag and it tows straight. If I know it's going to be really windy or I'm going long distance I use the Andersen WDH. Light weight, easy to connect and disconnect, quiet. Does really well.
Gotcha thanks for the feedback. Like you said that's a heavy load for a 1/2 ton. I forget the figure but I've heard from many say an 8k lb travel trailer is equal to (I want to say 20%) a 10k load on a flatbed trailer. The wind drag is substantial. It may even be more than 20%. I don't think it's less.

Our 38' TT is 9600 lbs. with right at 10% tongue weight and it drops the truck almost 3 inches but I don't need a wd hitch either if I'm not going far. Most of the time I use my Weigh Safe wd hitch though to be safe. 38' is a long TT.
 
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OLEJOE

OLEJOE

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I forget the figure but I've heard from many say an 8k lb travel trailer is equal to (I want to say 20%) a 10k load on a flatbed trailer. The wind drag is substantial. It may even be more than 20%. I don't think it's less.
And the faster you go the worse it gets. I don’t remember what the formula is but increased speed increases wind drag dramatically.
 

Farmer Fran

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Started with an EAZ-LIFT with 800 lb bars, went to 1000 lb bars and dual friction anti-sway bars. Just trash. Went to a Equalizer 4P which helped a lot, but still kinda sucked. Bought a used ProPride. And while it towed ok, it was freakin heavy. You're adding 200 lbs of tongue/payload.

I don't even need a WDH to tow with my 2500 if I'm only going 30-60 minutes away. Couple inches of sag and it tows straight. If I know it's going to be really windy or I'm going long distance I use the Andersen WDH. Light weight, easy to connect and disconnect, quiet. Does really well.
Wow,

I had/have zero issues with the EAZ-Lift 1000. Just goes to show, every situation is very different.
 

ShortyV8

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No it's not. If I'm towing in 6th gear with the 3.21, my gear ratio is 3.21. If a 3.92 is towing the same load, his equivalent transmission gear is 7th at 3.2144 (8hp75).

In fact, I'm towing in "direct gear" (6th) which has a transmission ratio of "1", whereas he's towing in overdrive with a ratio of "0.84". I'd be more worried about that, if there are any stresses that are not equivalent in this scenario it'd be that the 3.92 would be towing more often in an overdrive gear whereas mine would be less inclined to tow there.

But ask yourself how often you see any sort of drive train related posts on these forums. They never pop up. Nobody replaces their rear end gears or their drive shaft or even their transmission.

In short, it's a complete non issue. If you're towing that kind of load that often where it might become a problem, you're really in the wrong truck and should be driving a 2500 anyway.
When going down the road at a steady speed (ie not foot to the floor WOT) a certain amount of torque is required in the drive axels to pull the load down the road. For any given set of conditions (trailer size and weight, grade, vehicle speed, etc) the torque at the drive axels is the same regardless of the gearing.

The 3.92 gears provides a greater torque multiplication than the 3.21, at all times, in all conditions. Because of the greater multiplication, the torque at the input to the differential of the 3.92 is about 22% less (3.92/3.21=1.22) than the torque input to the 3.21 to get the same torque output at the drive axels.

The torque input to the differential comes directly from the torque at the transmission output shaft. Therefore, with the 3.92 gears, the torque going through the transmission is less than with the 3.21 gears. The tradeoff of course is that the transmission output shaft (and diff input shaft) must rotate at a higher speed.

The fact remains that the torque through the transmission, when pulling steady, is 22% less with the 3.92 gears and the transmission output shaft must spin 22% faster. Either the engine RPM is higher or the transmission is in a lower gear, but the fact remains the torque through the transmission (at steady speed) with 3.92 gears is sig less than with 3.21 gears.

Reduced torque in the transmission means reduced stress and reduced heat in the transmission, hence the greater tow rating with 3.92 gears.

To say the only difference with the 3.92 gears is faster acceleration in 1st gear is patently false. The most important difference with 3.92 gears, by far, is reduced load (torque) on the transmission.
 

Socalramfan

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The ram with highest rated towing is a 2wd quad cab and 6'4" bed with 5.7 hemi etorque and 3.92. That gives you 12,700 pounds of towing.

The problem is that for towing RV's, you'll never exceed trailer weight or GCWR, you'll exceed payload first. So stick with a tradesman or big horn and keep the heavy features off, like Etorque, panaromic sunroof, ram boxes. Some features do reduce payload but help with towing, like 4x4 and the 32 gallon tank so it's a trade off there.

I have a 4x4 bighorn with 3.21. My max trailer weight is about 8200 pounds IIRC, but my available payload is 1750 which is way above average for Ram halftons. Considering RV's typically run at 12 to 13 percent tongue weight, 8200 * 0.13 = 1,066. So say by the time I add my hitch I'm at 1100 pounds, that leaves 650 pounds for passengers + cargo in the truck. IMHO this is a perfect balance of GCWR and Payload. Both will max out at roughly the same time.

Worth noting that I have the 3.21 gears. Adding the 3.92 would give me another 3100 pounds of GVWR according to Ram. That's a paper win only. On the city, or passing on the freeway, or holding steady at 65 mph, there is no difference between the two trucks and both will feel 100% identical in terms of (passing) power because the transmission just runs in one lower gear, completely cancelling out the 3.92. The 3.92 gets you started from a dead stop quicker/easier. Once you're moving and shifted out of first/second, the 3.92 has no advantage anymore.

So to answer your question: you get the highest towing with the most basic truck and the 3.92 gears. Every feature you add, adds weight and cuts down on your payload. Payload matters more than GCWR as you will exceed payload long before you exceed GCWR. Some people ignore payload and focus on Rear axle weight rating only. It's the same idea, you will probably hit the RAWR before GCWR.

Good write up :waytogo:
 

ramffml

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When going down the road at a steady speed (ie not foot to the floor WOT) a certain amount of torque is required in the drive axels to pull the load down the road. For any given set of conditions (trailer size and weight, grade, vehicle speed, etc) the torque at the drive axels is the same regardless of the gearing.

The 3.92 gears provides a greater torque multiplication than the 3.21, at all times, in all conditions. Because of the greater multiplication, the torque at the input to the differential of the 3.92 is about 22% less (3.92/3.21=1.22) than the torque input to the 3.21 to get the same torque output at the drive axels.

The torque input to the differential comes directly from the torque at the transmission output shaft. Therefore, with the 3.92 gears, the torque going through the transmission is less than with the 3.21 gears. The tradeoff of course is that the transmission output shaft (and diff input shaft) must rotate at a higher speed.

The fact remains that the torque through the transmission, when pulling steady, is 22% less with the 3.92 gears and the transmission output shaft must spin 22% faster. Either the engine RPM is higher or the transmission is in a lower gear, but the fact remains the torque through the transmission (at steady speed) with 3.92 gears is sig less than with 3.21 gears.

Reduced torque in the transmission means reduced stress and reduced heat in the transmission, hence the greater tow rating with 3.92 gears.

To say the only difference with the 3.92 gears is faster acceleration in 1st gear is patently false. The most important difference with 3.92 gears, by far, is reduced load (torque) on the transmission.

The fact remains, it's actually easier on your transmission to tow in 1:1 (6th with the 3.21) than it is in overdrive (7th with the 3.92).

We can talk about potential transmission/driveshaft wear all we want, but it's all very beefy components and nobody needs to worry about failures as it doesn't happen. Considering these transmissions are used with the hellcats and demons putting out 700 to 800 hp, it's not an issue. Read the forums, I haven't come across a single towing related failure. My transmission runs cool while towing, about a max of 85C IIRC. My hemi heats up far more and you'd know all this if you towed with these trucks. If I have to stop due to heat issues, it'll be because the hemi is too hot.

And if you're towing 9000+ pounds so often that this might crop up, you're in the wrong truck regardless of gear ratio.

It's a paper win my friend. You can't reduce max towing down to a single number.
 

JerryETX

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When going down the road at a steady speed (ie not foot to the floor WOT) a certain amount of torque is required in the drive axels to pull the load down the road. For any given set of conditions (trailer size and weight, grade, vehicle speed, etc) the torque at the drive axels is the same regardless of the gearing.

The 3.92 gears provides a greater torque multiplication than the 3.21, at all times, in all conditions. Because of the greater multiplication, the torque at the input to the differential of the 3.92 is about 22% less (3.92/3.21=1.22) than the torque input to the 3.21 to get the same torque output at the drive axels.

The torque input to the differential comes directly from the torque at the transmission output shaft. Therefore, with the 3.92 gears, the torque going through the transmission is less than with the 3.21 gears. The tradeoff of course is that the transmission output shaft (and diff input shaft) must rotate at a higher speed.

The fact remains that the torque through the transmission, when pulling steady, is 22% less with the 3.92 gears and the transmission output shaft must spin 22% faster. Either the engine RPM is higher or the transmission is in a lower gear, but the fact remains the torque through the transmission (at steady speed) with 3.92 gears is sig less than with 3.21 gears.

Reduced torque in the transmission means reduced stress and reduced heat in the transmission, hence the greater tow rating with 3.92 gears.

To say the only difference with the 3.92 gears is faster acceleration in 1st gear is patently false. The most important difference with 3.92 gears, by far, is reduced load (torque) on the transmission.
Shortyv8 I hear you the issue is you are communicating with someone who apparently thinks he's right and the thousands of engineers that have designed trucks over the past decades are wrong. Unfortunately you're probably wasting your time on this one.
 

ShortyV8

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The fact remains, it's actually easier on your transmission to tow in 1:1 (6th with the 3.21) than it is in overdrive (7th with the 3.92).

We can talk about potential transmission/driveshaft wear all we want, but it's all very beefy components and nobody needs to worry about failures as it doesn't happen. Considering these transmissions are used with the hellcats and demons putting out 700 to 800 hp, it's not an issue. Read the forums, I haven't come across a single towing related failure. My transmission runs cool while towing, about a max of 85C IIRC. My hemi heats up far more and you'd know all this if you towed with these trucks. If I have to stop due to heat issues, it'll be because the hemi is too hot.

And if you're towing 9000+ pounds so often that this might crop up, you're in the wrong truck regardless of gear ratio.

It's a paper win my friend. You can't reduce max towing down to a single number.
The gear (5th or 6th) makes no difference to the torque output required at the transmission output shaft to keep the truck rolling down the road. The fact is, less real world load on the transmission is a real world win, not just a paper win.

As to towing 9000+ lbs with a 1500, you are making my point. A 1500 with 3.92 can tow 9000lbs safely, albiet not particularly comfortably. A 1500 with 3.21 towing 9000lbs is well past its rating and you are asking for trouble.

I tow a 6000+lb boat with my 1500 Tradesman hemi with 3.92 and the drivetrain is unfazed, engine and tranny temps are normal. This is well within the rating of the truck. If I had two identical 1500 trucks side by side except for the rear end ratios and I was hooking up a 6500lb trailer, I know which truck I would choose, every time.
 

ramffml

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The gear (5th or 6th) makes no difference to the torque output required at the transmission output shaft to keep the truck rolling down the road. The fact is, less real world load on the transmission is a real world win, not just a paper win.

As to towing 9000+ lbs with a 1500, you are making my point. A 1500 with 3.92 can tow 9000lbs safely, albiet not particularly comfortably. A 1500 with 3.21 towing 9000lbs is well past its rating and you are asking for trouble.

I tow a 6000+lb boat with my 1500 Tradesman hemi with 3.92 and the drivetrain is unfazed, engine and tranny temps are normal. This is well within the rating of the truck. If I had two identical 1500 trucks side by side except for the rear end ratios and I was hooking up a 6500lb trailer, I know which truck I would choose, every time.

No, it's easier on your transmission to not be in overdrive. If you're lacking power with the 3.21, you won't gain any performance with the 3.92 beyond that initial dead stop tug. Simple physics, what matters is the gear ratio at the wheels, and that is identical between the two once you're moving in the city or on the freeway. But (and this is the point) if you find yourself towing so much and so heavy that you actually start to worry about drive train wear, then you're in the wrong truck regardless of gear ratio.

As for towing 9000 pounds, considering the average 1500 has a payload of 1400 pounds or less, at 13% tongue weight that costs you 1170 pounds. Add the WDH at 50 pounds, you're up to 1220. Add your average American driver at 200 pounds and you're overweight without adding your wife or any other passengers or cargo to the truck.

So no, you're not towing 9000 pounds safely regardless of gear ratio unless you get a "max tow" 1500 or a stripped down bighorn.

With these 8 and 10 speeds, and the focus on daily driving/family comfort, the 3.21 is the obvious choice for these half tons unless you need to offroad or run bigger tires.
 

ShortyV8

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No, it's easier on your transmission to not be in overdrive. If you're lacking power with the 3.21, you won't gain any performance with the 3.92 beyond that initial dead stop tug. Simple physics, what matters is the gear ratio at the wheels, and that is identical between the two once you're moving in the city or on the freeway. But (and this is the point) if you find yourself towing so much and so heavy that you actually start to worry about drive train wear, then you're in the wrong truck regardless of gear ratio.

As for towing 9000 pounds, considering the average 1500 has a payload of 1400 pounds or less, at 13% tongue weight that costs you 1170 pounds. Add the WDH at 50 pounds, you're up to 1220. Add your average American driver at 200 pounds and you're overweight without adding your wife or any other passengers or cargo to the truck.

So no, you're not towing 9000 pounds safely regardless of gear ratio unless you get a "max tow" 1500 or a stripped down bighorn.

With these 8 and 10 speeds, and the focus on daily driving/family comfort, the 3.21 is the obvious choice for these half tons unless you need to offroad or run bigger tires.
As I said, the gear of the transmission has no impact on the required torque at the transmission output shaft. There is no debate on this. It's a simple fact. It's a simple fact there is less torque at the transmission output when matched with a 3.92 rear end. It's a simple fact that reduced load on a transmission is better for heat and longevity of the transmission. It's a real world win, at the expense of daily driving, commuting, etc fuel economy.

As to towing 9000lbs. If you have ever towed boats, you would know the tongue weight of a boat trailer is between 5% and 10% of total loaded trailer weight when the trailer is properly matched to the boat. Pulling boats with 1500 trucks generally does not overload the payload, even with 2 people and some stuff.
 

ramffml

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As I said, the gear of the transmission has no impact on the required torque at the transmission output shaft. There is no debate on this. It's a simple fact. It's a simple fact there is less torque at the transmission output when matched with a 3.92 rear end. It's a simple fact that reduced load on a transmission is better for heat and longevity of the transmission. It's a real world win, at the expense of daily driving, commuting, etc fuel economy.

As to towing 9000lbs. If you have ever towed boats, you would know the tongue weight of a boat trailer is between 5% and 10% of total loaded trailer weight when the trailer is properly matched to the boat. Pulling boats with 1500 trucks generally does not overload the payload, even with 2 people and some stuff.

Lol, well in your very specific scenario towing 9000 lb boats you do you and tow with your 3.92. Original post in this thread is a 7K TT.

In the meantime, my 3.21 pulls my 7000 TT with my transmission only 2 to 3 degrees hotter than empty. Paper win my friend, your hemi will overheat long before your transmission will.
 

airrecon

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From my own experience a Hemi with 3.92 gears. Just watch your payload and axle weights, and make sure your hitch is rated to handle the tongue and tow weights. The 5.7 with 3.92’s is extremely quick and capable
I agree. I have a TT about the same weight, Live in the NM Rockies and do a lot of travelling in the mountains. Been up to over 10K feet with no issues. Tow at 65MPH on interstates, good roads, have not met a mountain I cannot climb easily without losing speed. My 2019 1500 has auto leveling system which sure makes towing nicer, and hook-up is a breeze
 

Riccochet

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I used a 3.21 truck to tow my trailer once. Numbers or not it was miserable vs the 3.92
These modern trucks with the 8 speed the rear gear ratio means very little. The only place it matters is on take off. Once you are moving the transmission will shift to where it needs to be in order to apply the needed torque.
 

ShortyV8

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These modern trucks with the 8 speed the rear gear ratio means very little. The only place it matters is on take off. Once you are moving the transmission will shift to where it needs to be in order to apply the needed torque.
Honest question - A forum member posts their personal experience. Why would you respond with a post that, in so many words, tells that member their own personal experience is wrong?
 

Farmer Fran

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These modern trucks with the 8 speed the rear gear ratio means very little. The only place it matters is on take off. Once you are moving the transmission will shift to where it needs to be in order to apply the needed torque.
I actually did it, was not the same.
 

Saddleup

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??? On this thread, what ply tires and pressure should be run, the factory 4plys at 40 # doesn't seem like enough,
 

RafaMexico

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I have a 2018 32 foot Passport Ultralight 5850 dry, 7200 wet. I just changed from a Silverado 2500HD and I was a little worried about using a 1/2 ton also. Tow every Summer from Sierra Vista, AZ to Spokane, WA. Live in Mexico so found a 2021 1500 crewcab, what they call down here the "Hemi Sport" 5.7, 8 spd, 3.92 rear, heavy duty suspension and cooling without air suspension. I installed xhd back springs and slipped a couple of airbags inside (about an hours worth of work) and added the trailer brake module, which didn't come with it. Towed this Summer from AZ, NV, UT, ID, OR to WA. Towed like a bullet, plenty of power, I don't go over 70, semi's did not rock it when passing, side winds only minimal effect. Got 13mpg by the calculator. Thought smaller tank would be a problem, but decided to stop at 1/2 full and refill. Worked out to about 3 hours, stop, get a snack, refill then on my way. No later arrival. Only thing I noticed is if you let it wind up on a steep hill over 3500 seemed to warm up in 115 degree weather. Keep the rpms down around 3000, let it drift down to 60 on steep hills, no warm up. Had 70 more HP and 70 more ftpds than the Silverado and worked out well.
 
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