2017 1500

[Blaze2021]

I have a 2017 ram 1500 with a 5.7 and 3.55 rear end. The specialist sheet says may towing is almost 9 thousand pounds.
I am looking at a 5 th wheel that is 7600 dry weight and paylost of 2300 pounds hitch weight of 1321. If I install the balloons on rear springs would it be possible to tow.

 

[RamInfo]

You are in 3/4 to one-ton territory with that trailer- your 1500 probably doesn’t have the payload capacity or axle rating to carry that pin weight, which is probably going to be 10-15% higher than what the mfgr is quoting when the trailer is loaded and ready to go. Check the yellow sticker in the driver side door frame- that will give payload and axle loading figures you can use to do the math.

Best,
RI

 

[09SilverRam]

5th wheel is a no go in a half ton. Ford has a heavy duty payload package that ends up in a tiny amount of their trucks that lets the manufactures say “half ton towable” but that’s a BS phrase.

Travel Trailer that weighs more than 7500 or a fifth wheel pushes the dodge firmly into 3/4 ton and 1 ton SRW range. The payload just isn’t there.

Your truck has a payload sticker of 1541 pounds. No one goes camping by themselves so let’s say you have 350 pounds for a driver and passenger and you add a sliding 5th wheel hitch and rails that’s another 100. So with nothing else in the truck that didn’t ship from the factory you have 1091 pounds of payload left. So with the published pin weight you are already 231 pounds over the GVWR of the truck.

Then you have to remember that that pin rating from the brochure is dry, and may not include the same options in the trailer you pick. Real world weight with some propane, water, options, and stuff in the camper and you just went from being 231 pounds over to 700+ pounds over your GVWR and you are now over the rear axle weight.

If you want a 5th wheel get a 3/4 ton gasser or 1 ton diesel.

 

[Blaze2021]

Thanks for all the replies. Did not think it would be possible but had to ask. I see a lot on highway that are 1/2 tonne trucks. Wil not risk my family though. Will keep looking for a pull behind

 

[mtofell]

The specialist sheet says may towing is almost 9 thousand pounds.

Yeah, truck manufacturers don't do us any favors by only focusing on what a truck can PULL. What it can CARRY is usually the limiting factor. The dirty fine print on that 9000# towing is it can only be achieved with nothing in the truck but a driver in many/most cases.

 

[GTyankee]

Even with this type setup, they recommend a diesel




this kind of Dolly has 1 Ton Brakes

 

[2003F350]

I have a 2017 ram 1500 with a 5.7 and 3.55 rear end. The specialist sheet says may towing is almost 9 thousand pounds.
I am looking at a 5 th wheel that is 7600 dry weight and paylost of 2300 pounds hitch weight of 1321. If I install the balloons on rear springs would it be possible to tow.

Possible? Yes. Safe? Going to argue no. The number of fifth wheels that don't put a half-ton truck over its payload AND RAWR are slim to none depending on the half-ton.

The other thing you need to think about is that that's usually the ADVERTISED dry weight and DRY hitch weight, you might get the specific dry weights to the camper 'as-built' but anything added to it throws that number right out the window. The reality is, once you're loaded up, there's a strong chance your camper is going to be closer to 8500 lbs for a weekend and have a hitch weight MUCH closer to 1800-2k lbs since most of the storage in an RV is in FRONT of the axles, not over or behind them.

A lot of the guys in half-tons you see pulling fifth wheels are either older trucks that they've beefed up (or came with leaf springs in the rear so they're a bit stiffer anyway), OR they just don't care and added air bags to level it out, despite being way overweight. Same goes for a lot of 2500's - you can get most of the 'half ton towable' fifth wheels behind them but there are some that are out of reach.

There was a time when yes, half-ton trucks could handle fifth wheels, because a 'camper package' made them almost a 3/4 ton. That's just not the case today.