2500 vs 3500 for an AEV Prospector XL Conversion

[392DevilDog]

Quick question.

2012 5.7l Hemi 8800 GVWR 2013 9000 GVWR

2012 Cummins 9600 GVWR 2013 10000GVWr.

2014 the 6.4l HEMI comes to town. GVWR 10000k.

So if 10000 is just an emission thing. Why was the Cummins below it til the redesign and the 5.7l Hemi couldnt reach it?

Seems something else is the reason.

And the same with the 1500. For 2018 it was 6900...5th gen got 6 lugs and bigger brakes...now it is 7100. And then why not just rate it the 8000 of the axles? Because its class us 6001 to 8500.

Seems it is because of an actual limit.

Ok. I am done. Lol.

(I will be back)

 

[SouthTexan]

I agree with both sides of the payload argument.

But lets say a 2500 has 2500lbs of payload and a 3500 has 3500lbs of payload.

You load 3000lbs in each. The 2500 being 500 over and 3500 being 500 under. Not gonna notice, probably no adverse effects.

Now load them both to 4500lbs. 2500 is 2000lbs over and 3500 is 1000lbs over. The 2500 will have an issue. The 3500 still okay.

For what you are doing. Get the 3500.

Why do I jeep replying to these...lol.

I agree. The 3500 will have a higher limit that will exceed the capabilities of the 2500. There are aftermarket options that will make the 2500 as strong if not stronger than the 3500 stock suspension such as my Summo-Spring Rebels that I had to put on when I leveled the front end. They only come into play once my coils drop an inch so I don't loose my ride comfort when unloaded. It takes roughly 1.5-2k to get the coils to sag an inch to make these Rebels come in contact. Once they do, the truck doesn't sag much after than unless I put some real heavy weight in the back.

I would recommend the 3500 if I were loading it past 3.5k. If your are only panning on staying below 3k then I would get the 2500. Between 3k and 3.5k depends on how often.

I also went with the 2500 is because I take my truck off the beaten path at the farm and deer lease a lot and there are times where the road to get there is washed out or worse. This is where the coils shine over the leaf's of the 3500 and allows the back end to articulate for better traction on both tires instead of having one tire in the air due to the stiff springs in the rear.

 

[warrantchief]

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice. I bought the 3500 and I'm pretty excited. I'm considering chickening out on the whole AEV package. With options it's like $24k. I could do a top tier carli suspension and buy a lot of accessories if I was happy running 35s or 37s and still spend less than half.

The truck camper I'm looking at is 2800lbs dry. Full up with gear, water, propane, and people I figure we're looking at 3500+. I also want some capacity for a trailer at the same time, so I need some payload for that as well. I'll just have to live with the empty ride.

 

[GsRAM]

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice. I bought the 3500 and I'm pretty excited. I'm considering chickening out on the whole AEV package. With options it's like $24k. I could do a top tier carli suspension and buy a lot of accessories if I was happy running 35s or 37s and still spend less than half.

The truck camper I'm looking at is 2800lbs dry. Full up with gear, water, propane, and people I figure we're looking at 3500+. I also want some capacity for a trailer at the same time, so I need some payload for that as well. I'll just have to live with the empty ride.

That's awesome man! Congrats!

 

[warrantchief]

Truck is finally en route to me. It's coming from NC all the way to CA. It's a CPO 2018 Tradesman with 11k miles on it. About the only option it has that isn't what I wanted is the electronic t-case control, but I can live with that.

I switched gears entirely from the AEV after I digested the prices for a while. My current plan is:

8.4" uconnect OEM upgrade
Power Wagon fender flares
Thuren .5" lift coils and leafs (w/ sway and track bar)
AEV 17x8.5" wheels
BFG KO2 35x12.5"

Still trying to decide between the King 2.5 and the 3.0, but otherwise I'm feeling pretty good about this plan.

Thanks for the help everyone

 

[dhay13]

So maybe insurance covers or maybe it doesn't. I'm not willing to take that chance. But what if there is a fatality? Maybe your insurance covers but is maxed out on your limit? Now the family sues you because you were overloaded? Where if you are not overloaded they have less of a case (if any). Just throwing that out there. I'm not willing to be the one to find out so I make sure I'm legal and as safe as I can be

 

[NaughtyBadger]

That is a sweet truck warrantchief! Your truck sounds a lot like mine. So do your reasons for wanting it. I saw the writing on the wall and decided to bite the bullet and custom order my ideal truck back in April of 2018 so I could get EXACTLY what I wanted – color and all. If your truck has the AED and AJY equipment group with the RA2 radio it is effectively the same as a standard trim SLT which I find has plenty of comfort and convenience to be getting on with, I don’t find myself pining for anything. Like you, I specifically wanted manual control for both the transmission and the transfer case and I was willing to give up any luxury feature to get that (heated seats is the one that hurts the most though!). I bought a 2500 chassis because much like SouthTexan it suits my objectives and use pattern better than the 3500 would have, but from the sounds of it the 3500 is a better choice for you. Payload for my truck is 2187lbs which would have been inadequate for your needs. Congratulations! You will find it to be a joy to drive – I sure do!