2018 Power Wagon with 5th Wheel?

[AngryPills]

I just noticed some of the guys bringing up some of the older model years. I just wanna be clear I’m talking about a 2019+ Units like mine. I have no idea how the older power wagon stacked up.

 

[Moose2]

1ton for sure.

 

[olyelr]

I hear you fellas but all you’re doing is repeating the same Miss information we’re all working with. I have checked just about every component against a regular 2500 and I just can’t say it enough it’s either the same or stronger.

The only tangible difference that would affect towing would be our taller softer springs, I currently have stock units I am going to upgrade to Carleys 2K springs not to gain extra towing ability but mostly because supposedly they ride even better than the OEMs. Just to be clear I tow maybe 10% of my miles so I’m not recommending the power wagon as an every day tow rig.

Our trucks are soft sprung and towing is also very mushy nobody is denying that.

I’m guessing the reason they derated the power wagon so much so people don’t put a giant bed house on it and expected to perform off-road. It’s sort of a way to maintain high off-road performance with minimal load. Obviously when you tow your you don’t need any off-road performance.

Mechanically, the power wagon is basically the same as a normal 2500. That isnt the towing issue. Its the soft suspension that kills the payload and tow ratings. Therefor, the power wagon simply dosnt tow as well as a regular 2500. Thats all we are saying.


I have an 8000+ pound travel trailer which i tow around with my wagon and it does it just fine. But if I was going to tow quite a bit more heavier than that, I would certainly want a diesel.

 

[olyelr]

I just noticed some of the guys bringing up some of the older model years. I just wanna be clear I’m talking about a 2019+ Units like mine. I have no idea how the older power wagon stacked up.

Suspension wise (and mechanically), the ‘14 and up is basically identical. In ‘19 and up they did gain a few mm of lift up front though.

 

[Dean2]

It never ceases to amaze me how many PHD educated automotive engineers there are on this forum. Mopar spends years and billions designing and building these trucks but there are no end of guys who have owned one or two of them and think they are FAR more qualified to opine on just how wrong Mopar is on virtually every point and recommendation.

You bought an 8000 pound truck as an off roader and now you want it to be a haul vehicle to. They are neither the best off road machine due to their size and weight nor a great tow vehicle but there is a huge market for them none the less. Overload your Power Wagon using whatever justifications and convoluted comparisons you want to cause it is apparent no one is going to talk a lot of you guys out of it.

 

[Moose2]

It never ceases to amaze me how many PHD educated automotive engineers there are on this forum. Mopar spends years and billions designing and building these trucks but there are no end of guys who have owned one or two of them and think they are FAR more qualified to opine on just how wrong Mopar is on virtually every point and recommendation.

You bought an 8000 pound truck as an off roader and now you want it to be a haul vehicle to. They are neither the best off road machine due to their size and weight nor a great tow vehicle but there is a huge market for them none the less. Overload your Power Wagon using whatever justifications and convoluted comparisons you want to cause it is apparent no one is going to talk a lot of you guys out of it.

It’s the American way. Tell someone that can’t do something and they will prove you wrong. We’ve all done stupid things, hopefully we learn as we get older.......

 

[AngryPills]

I bought my power wagon because it was a perfect fit for my job and it’s the best riding 2500 there is. If you can show me an engineer that I actually drove this truck for nearly 200,000 miles already and done all the things I’ve done with it I will listen to him.

Unfortunately most engineers that I have met are quiet stupid in the real world matters, they have their place but the same amazing engineers are responsible for just about every major failure and issues we all love to bag on.

******** engineers can’t design a ******** lifter for a hemi. Same ******** engineers decided to put a stud in the manifold for the egr connection instead of a holes with pass through bolts. The reason I now have to replace a manifold.

Spare me you overhyped opinion of these super engineers they wrong as much as they are right in the real world.

If you can explain to me how softer springs and 1.9” lift front and 1.5” rear lift can account for over 7000lb of towing derating I am all ears.

While you’re at it why don’t you explain to me how the tremor keeps most of its tow ratings, granted the suspension upgrade it gets are pretty pathetic.

 

[matemike]

I don’t own a PW, but I want one, so close enough.

I would not 5th wheel a PW. Not even a small 5th wheel. It’s not what they are for. That being said I do plan to pull our 7,000lb loaded weight and 700lb tongue weight camper with a PW. WD hitch to be used as well. I’ll air bag the PW if we ever get a larger camper.

My 10 year old Sierra 1500 pulls the camper today. It’s within spec of the truck. But the truck is getting tired, little rickety.

But also my family is getting bigger. By that I mean my three kids are, not my wife, I’d never say that about her, haha. When kids get bigger, not only do THEY weigh more, but they pack more stuff, bikes are larger, they need more food. And aside from weight, they and all their stuff take up more volume. So I’m looking into a 2500 size truck mostly for more room.

I only pull the camper ~500 miles a year. I average 14,000 miles a year in current truck. That’s 3.5% towing. The non towing miles are probably 80% highway and 20% on rough city, train yard and port roads. I don’t want a regular 2500 as I feel it will be too rough and bouncy for most of my driving. Obviously gas mileage is not a concern.

Don’t want to get into another 1500 or 150 because daddy wants a big truck now. And lastly, there happens to be a PW for sale near me with everything I want and not too bad on price. These days with economy and availability on anything, if you see it and want it, better get it. I just need to find time to get over there to the dealer.

Oh, and I agree 100% with AngryPills about engineers being wrong sometimes. I work in marine/maritime industry and I have seem more jacked up designs and plans made by brainiac desk driving engineers than I can remember. When and IF they ever do get out in the field they look lost at first then usually come around to seeing their designs in real life and get that sudden realization look at how messed up things are. They try with the “well, ! my calculations proved…” well your calculations just put a fire extinguisher behind a water fountain or a door swinging into a hand rail after six inches or the best one ever was a staircase going to nowhere. Not all of them, most are good at what they do, but some of them are glorified Paper pushers and and desk drivers who mess up more than they get right. But in the end we have to live with ‘em and abide by their calculations for the vehicle we want to drive.

 

[MoparProud]

I bought my power wagon because it was a perfect fit for my job and it’s the best riding 2500 there is. If you can show me an engineer that I actually drove this truck for nearly 200,000 miles already and done all the things I’ve done with it I will listen to him.

Unfortunately most engineers that I have met are quiet stupid in the real world matters, they have their place but the same amazing engineers are responsible for just about every major failure and issues we all love to bag on.

******** engineers can’t design a ******** lifter for a hemi. Same ******** engineers decided to put a stud in the manifold for the egr connection instead of a holes with pass through bolts. The reason I now have to replace a manifold.

Spare me you overhyped opinion of these super engineers they wrong as much as they are right in the real world.

If you can explain to me how softer springs and 1.9” lift front and 1.5” rear lift can account for over 7000lb of towing derating I am all ears.

While you’re at it why don’t you explain to me how the tremor keeps most of its tow ratings, granted the suspension upgrade it gets are pretty pathetic.

You answered your own baseless question. Tremor isn’t a Power Wagon and never will be, so the comparison is mute.

Angry pills indeed. Although you’re not wrong about engineers

 

[Neil E]

My 2500 Hemi would do fine with that. The power wagon would not, the softer suspension of the power wagon brings the tow rating way down.

 

[Grand Mesa]

And lastly, there happens to be a PW for sale near me with everything I want and not too bad on price. These days with economy and availability on anything, if you see it and want it, better get it. I just need to find time to get over there to the dealer.

Until yesterday, a white 2020 Power Wagon "WAS" for sell at Garlyn Shelton Automotive Group Buick GMC located in Temple, Texas. It wasn't too bad on price either, but then it's no longer listed.

 

[BowerPower]

Been having a similar conversation on another thread. But I thought I could add something to this.

The GVWR and tow rating is determined by the J2807 standards and test for light duty vehicles. Manufacturers are not required by law to submit their vehicles to these tests. Commercial vehicles are a different story.

Towing laws vary by state so keep that in mind when telling people what they can and can't do legally. In most states, as long as you're not swerving or driving dangerously police aren't going to care. Also in many states, the only limitation is over a certain weight or trailer length a cdl is needed.

There is NOTHING about the power wagon that is 1/2 ton. The power wagon has softer springs, a lift, and the "articulink" control arms on the front. When the power wagon, goes through the J2807 test, it's gonna be less controlled when towing heavy because of more squat and taller stance. There are ways to fix that.

Some people say changing springs or adding airbags don't change anything towing wise to a trucks but let me as you this. What's the difference between a 2500 and a 3500 srw? Axle don't change, frame doesn't change... oh wait the springs change. 2500s have coil springs rear and the 3500s have leaf springs.

Me personally, I got a power wagon, not just because it's the coolest unknown truck, but it's a 2500. It will do everything I ask it 98% of my use is 1/2 ton truck stuff but when that 2% comes up it can do that too. It would be nice to have the option of having a power wagon with normal 2500 suspension. I would like a 5th wheel/ gooseneck option, not that I couldn't have that installed. If you have lockers then it shouldn't be a big deal if the axle don't flex as much. Granted what I just asked for is a ford tremor but thats still not as nice of a truck.

 

[olyelr]

Been having a similar conversation on another thread. But I thought I could add something to this.

The GVWR and tow rating is determined by the J2807 standards and test for light duty vehicles. Manufacturers are not required by law to submit their vehicles to these tests. Commercial vehicles are a different story.

Towing laws vary by state so keep that in mind when telling people what they can and can't do legally. In most states, as long as you're not swerving or driving dangerously police aren't going to care. Also in many states, the only limitation is over a certain weight or trailer length a cdl is needed.

There is NOTHING about the power wagon that is 1/2 ton. The power wagon has softer springs, a lift, and the "articulink" control arms on the front. When the power wagon, goes through the J2807 test, it's gonna be less controlled when towing heavy because of more squat and taller stance. There are ways to fix that.

Some people say changing springs or adding airbags don't change anything towing wise to a trucks but let me as you this. What's the difference between a 2500 and a 3500 srw? Axle don't change, frame doesn't change... oh wait the springs change. 2500s have coil springs rear and the 3500s have leaf springs.

Me personally, I got a power wagon, not just because it's the coolest unknown truck, but it's a 2500. It will do everything I ask it 98% of my use is 1/2 ton truck stuff but when that 2% comes up it can do that too. It would be nice to have the option of having a power wagon with normal 2500 suspension. I would like a 5th wheel/ gooseneck option, not that I couldn't have that installed. If you have lockers then it shouldn't be a big deal if the axle don't flex as much. Granted what I just asked for is a ford tremor but thats still not as nice of a truck.

Although not an option when buying the truck, it would be super simple to put in regular 2500 coils if thats what you want.

The AEV suspension (spacer) kit highly recommends the pw coils be swapped out for the regular 2500 coils, just because of the better towing capabilities (which in turn is a downgrade for offroad usage).

 

[AngryPills]

I don’t own a PW, but I want one, so close enough.

I would not 5th wheel a PW. Not even a small 5th wheel. It’s not what they are for. That being said I do plan to pull our 7,000lb loaded weight and 700lb tongue weight camper with a PW. WD hitch to be used as well. I’ll air bag the PW if we ever get a larger camper.

My 10 year old Sierra 1500 pulls the camper today. It’s within spec of the truck. But the truck is getting tired, little rickety.

But also my family is getting bigger. By that I mean my three kids are, not my wife, I’d never say that about her, haha. When kids get bigger, not only do THEY weigh more, but they pack more stuff, bikes are larger, they need more food. And aside from weight, they and all their stuff take up more volume. So I’m looking into a 2500 size truck mostly for more room.

I only pull the camper ~500 miles a year. I average 14,000 miles a year in current truck. That’s 3.5% towing. The non towing miles are probably 80% highway and 20% on rough city, train yard and port roads. I don’t want a regular 2500 as I feel it will be too rough and bouncy for most of my driving. Obviously gas mileage is not a concern.

Don’t want to get into another 1500 or 150 because daddy wants a big truck now. And lastly, there happens to be a PW for sale near me with everything I want and not too bad on price. These days with economy and availability on anything, if you see it and want it, better get it. I just need to find time to get over there to the dealer.

Oh, and I agree 100% with AngryPills about engineers being wrong sometimes. I work in marine/maritime industry and I have seem more jacked up designs and plans made by brainiac desk driving engineers than I can remember. When and IF they ever do get out in the field they look lost at first then usually come around to seeing their designs in real life and get that sudden realization look at how messed up things are. They try with the “well, ! my calculations proved…” well your calculations just put a fire extinguisher behind a water fountain or a door swinging into a hand rail after six inches or the best one ever was a staircase going to nowhere. Not all of them, most are good at what they do, but some of them are glorified Paper pushers and and desk drivers who mess up more than they get right. But in the end we have to live with ‘em and abide by their calculations for the vehicle we want to drive.

Listen when I bought my power wagon I bought it at the same time along with my trailer and yes I made sure both payloads and towing capacity as were within the power wagon sticker specs.

The point I’m trying to make is that after owning this power wagon for over two years and putting on over 180,000 miles on it including towing the trailer in bad conditions I can tell you that the actual truck is capable of far more and I wish I knew that then because I would’ve bought a slightly bigger trailer.

That’s the whole point of my comments on this thread is that the power wagon is capable of safely handling trailers into 13-14k without making it unsafe or compromising anything. Same thing goes with the payload it can handle a lot more without bottoming out or affecting anything else.