Can this truck with 3.92 rear tow 8k - 9k lbs safely

[GOATram]

I am looking at a crew cab, Laramie. I was wondering if this can tow 9k lbs comfortably in the mountains. What has been your experience?

Also how does this compare to an Ecoboost 2.7 with the same load?

 

[adrianp89]

https://www.ramtrucks.com/towing-guide.html

While optioned right they can be up to 12.7k. Either way if you are towing 9k often you should be looking at a 2500. I know I would want a diesel 3/4 ton if towing 9k through mountains.

However between the two 1500s - the Ram all day due to its much superior braking power, especially with etorque.

 

[MADDOG]

https://www.ramtrucks.com/towing-guide.html

While optioned right they can be up to 11k. Either way if you are towing 9k often you should be looking at a 2500. I know I would want a diesel 3/4 ton if towing 9k through mountains.

Agreed. What about the specs on the truck? 5.7L? 1500? Ecodiesel?

In any event, if this is a 1500 by the time you load up the truck with fuel, gear, passengers, etc...then add the weight of the trailer you are very close, if not over, the GCVWR of the truck.

 

[WilliamS]

The 2.7 Ecoboost in the Ford tops out at 9000 absolute perfect order packages. That is not the motor I would be using in the mountains. The 3.5 Ecoboost is the right motor for that job.

Even that being said, how often are you pulling this camper around? If its more than monthly you should consider a 3/4 ton.

 

[GOATram]

Just to add to the above, it will be a 2019 Ram 1500, 3.92 rear axle, 5.7L Hemi. I am not foreseeing towing that much often. We are thinking of getting a TT close to 6K – 7K # range, but wanted to future proof if in case we change our minds later. It won’t be a regular thing, but once or twice a month at most.

 

[adrianp89]

Future proof - get a 2020 Ram HD. I think you would be fine with the 1500 with etorque though.

 

[ISellRams22]

i tow my 4 horse steel trailer with 2 horses and a living quarters to prescott az and back once a month. i have the 2018 5.7 with 3.92 gears and my trailer weighs in at 9,300 loaded. its heavy but i feel so much safer then when my dad tows my trailer with his 3.5 ecoboozyy. the ram feels solid and doesnt sway and the braking power is night and day difference. go RAM. the ecoboost is quicker empty but with the trailer his 2018 ecoboost struggles really bad on the hills where my ram does better under pressure than when its empty

 

[VernDiesel]

I have a 4th gen 3.92 Ecodiesel with airbags plus tune with turbo brake. (The turbo brake with TBC controls hill descent speed to keep truck brakes cool and fresh on a mountain decent.) I Transport TTs commercially. Have towed a dry 37' ball to bumper 3 slide 9,082 pound TT over 1,000 miles from Oregon to LA area which goes over Mt Shasta and up the grapevine on the 5 coming into LA. It did it and safely but I am also very experienced at setting up the WDH and truck & trailer by the scales in order to make it stable. Aided by a WDH with built in sway control. Combined vehicle weight was a little over 15,000. (lol it pulled down to 52 mph on the climbs)

I don't care if the new truck is rated to tow a 12k flat bed on flat ground. I agree that if you are buying a truck to tow a 9k TT that you should be looking at HDs. 8k is the practical limit for a properly specked and properly set up 1/2 ton & TT/TH. If you are too lazy to learn and set it up by CAT scales best to back that off another 500 or 1,000 pounds. Also the most common wet weight is 1,000 pounds over the dry weight on the TT. So if you buy a 6k TT its going to be 7k by the time you get batteries propane some water and supplies in it.

So 7k wet is practical limit for someone unwilling to set it up via scales. 8k wet with proper distribution per scales.


IsellRams, I get that you sell Rams and all but the 3.5 turbo-ed EB should pretty confidently out pull the Ram at altitude. But I agree that the Ram is easier to set up for stability and has it where it counts for towing heavy.. good frame and better axle ratings. Well except for Fords special order only heavy axle pkg whatever they call it.

 

[GOATram]

I have a 4th gen 3.92 Ecodiesel with airbags plus tune with turbo brake. (The turbo brake with TBC controls hill descent speed to keep truck brakes cool and fresh on a mountain decent.) I Transport TTs commercially. Have towed a dry 37' ball to bumper 3 slide 9,082 pound TT over 1,000 miles from Oregon to LA area which goes over Mt Shasta and up the grapevine on the 5 coming into LA. It did it and safely but I am also very experienced at setting up the WDH and truck & trailer by the scales in order to make it stable. Aided by a WDH with built in sway control. Combined vehicle weight was a little over 15,000. (lol it pulled down to 52 mph on the climbs)

I don't care if the new truck is rated to tow a 12k flat bed on flat ground. I agree that if you are buying a truck to tow a 9k TT that you should be looking at HDs. 8k is the practical limit for a properly specked and properly set up 1/2 ton & TT/TH. If you are too lazy to learn and set it up by CAT scales best to back that off another 500 or 1,000 pounds. Also the most common wet weight is 1,000 pounds over the dry weight on the TT. So if you buy a 6k TT its going to be 7k by the time you get batteries propane some water and supplies in it.

So 7k wet is practical limit for someone unwilling to set it up via scales. 8k wet with proper distribution per scales.


IsellRams, I get that you sell Rams and all but the 3.5 turbo-ed EB should pretty confidently out pull the Ram at altitude. But I agree that the Ram is easier to set up for stability and has it where it counts for towing heavy.. good frame and better axle ratings. Well except for Fords special order only heavy axle pkg whatever they call it.

Vern, do you recommend ecodiesel 3.92 for about 7k - 8k pulling. I was offered 18k off of an ecodiesel from a local dealer who literally has hundreds of them on the lot. I was a bit worried about the horror stories and the lack of acceleration because it will also be my DD.

 

[VernDiesel]

So 7k wet is practical limit for someone unwilling to set it up via scales. 8k wet with proper distribution per scales. (Thats any Mfg 1/2 ton with proper motor & gearing)

Edit This is towing a TT IE with aero drag in the mountains windy plains whatever. If towing flatbed on more flat land I've seen people drag 10k ok.

Yea especially with a tune. With a tune & 3.92 mine is easy to drive aggressive in traffic not that its fast as a Hemi but it is responsive and has great torque without dropping gears and spinning it up. Best is to go test drive the truck and know for your self.

 

[crash68]

Vern, do you recommend ecodiesel 3.92 for about 7k - 8k pulling.

I was just towing a 28' enclosed car hauler that was pretty close to 8K loaded. Mine is a CCLB 4X4 3.92 and it towed beautifully. I could keep the cruise set @ 65 mph and the truck would keep the rpms between 2K - 3K, the temps all stayed in check. Traveling 450 miles towing half of that without having to refuel, truck only has 26 gallon tank.
Like I've said to other people inquiring between the Hemi/EcoD, if you like using the GO pedal over fuel efficiency you will probably be happier with the Hemi

 

[GOATram]

So 7k wet is practical limit for someone unwilling to set it up via scales. 8k wet with proper distribution per scales. (Thats any Mfg 1/2 ton with proper motor & gearing)

Edit This is towing a TT IE with aero drag in the mountains windy plains whatever. If towing flatbed on more flat land I've seen people drag 10k ok.

Yea especially with a tune. With a tune & 3.92 mine is easy to drive aggressive in traffic not that its fast as a Hemi but it is responsive and has great torque without dropping gears and spinning it up. Best is to go test drive the truck and know for your self.

Ok thanks .

 

[GOATram]

I was just towing a 28' enclosed car hauler that was pretty close to 8K loaded. Mine is a CCLB 4X4 3.92 and it towed beautifully. I could keep the cruise set @ 65 mph and the truck would keep the rpms between 2K - 3K, the temps all stayed in check. Traveling 450 miles towing half of that without having to refuel, truck only has 26 gallon tank.
Like I've said to other people inquiring between the Hemi/EcoD, if you like using the GO pedal over fuel efficiency you will probably be happier with the Hemi

Thanks for that info. I would like some response in acceleration and as long as it is not extremely slow I'd be fine. I have seen some videos which takes about 10 seconds to get to 60 mph. About 8 seconds is okay especially in light of the terrific fuel economy.

How many miles do you have on yours? Any problems/issues?

 

[crash68]

I found this: I usually have remind myself to keep my foot out of the throttle to keep from breaking the back tires free(especially while turning or when wet). I have an Outdoorsman so Auto 4X4 isn't available.
To me it feels like the truck is quicker accelerating if you keep the rpms under about 3500. There's no lag while towing if you need to accelerate and I haven't noticed the "unlocked" torque converter feeling like with a gassers.
I'm at about 26K now but is just weekend driven and so far no issues other than not being able to drive it more.

 

[Angelo44]

The 2.7 Ecoboost in the Ford tops out at 9000 absolute perfect order packages. That is not the motor I would be using in the mountains. The 3.5 Ecoboost is the right motor for that job.

Even that being said, how often are you pulling this camper around? If its more than monthly you should consider a 3/4 ton.

I pull a 8,000 lb loaded camper with a 2016 ram 1500 with 3.55 gears. 5.7 hemi . I added air bags, Tranny cooler, Kn air filter, heavy duty shocks. I pull thru Maine and Nh no problems with plenty of power. It was much cheaper than going out and trading my truck in for a 3/4 ton.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[runamuck]

Just to add to the above, it will be a 2019 Ram 1500, 3.92 rear axle, 5.7L Hemi. I am not foreseeing towing that much often. We are thinking of getting a TT close to 6K – 7K # range, but wanted to future proof if in case we change our minds later. It won’t be a regular thing, but once or twice a month at most.

I just bought one like this last week to tow our 6000# travel trailer. my son has a similarly equipped '17 and a similar trailer and his tows great. mine is a 4x4 laramie with the sports package and all the tow options. the only hickey I found is that the door sticker shows only 1380# payload and that is not near what the ram website shows in the specs for this truck. one of the main reasons I traded my 2017 sierra was for the extra power of the 5.7 and the supposed increased payload capacity..dont know what gives but will be towing soon and report back.

 

[Angelo44]

I just bought one like this last week to tow our 6000# travel trailer. my son has a similarly equipped '17 and a similar trailer and his tows great. mine is a 4x4 laramie with the sports package and all the tow options. the only hickey I found is that the door sticker shows only 1380# payload and that is not near what the ram website shows in the specs for this truck. one of the main reasons I traded my 2017 sierra was for the extra power of the 5.7 and the supposed increased payload capacity..dont know what gives but will be towing soon and report back.

You will not have a problem at all. I towed that with 3:55 gears easily.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Firebird]

In the 9000+ range, I would recommend a 2500. Even though the 5.7 has plenty of horsepower, there is absolutely no comparison to the stability and security of a 2500.

 

[runamuck]

I was just towing a 28' enclosed car hauler that was pretty close to 8K loaded. Mine is a CCLB 4X4 3.92 and it towed beautifully. I could keep the cruise set @ 65 mph and the truck would keep the rpms between 2K - 3K, the temps all stayed in check. Traveling 450 miles towing half of that without having to refuel, truck only has 26 gallon tank.
Like I've said to other people inquiring between the Hemi/EcoD, if you like using the GO pedal over fuel efficiency you will probably be happier with the Hemi

what mileage did you get. I got the 33 gal tank and am glad I did as I am only getting 8 pulling 28' 6000# trailer at 68 on mostly flat roads. I use cruise and see mostly 2200 rpms

 

[slim chance]

IF you plan on towing the 8,000# TT much, be careful of the towing capacity charts ... they lead you to believe that you can tow anything up to 12,700# with the tow package ... this turn out to NOT be fully true ... i have the trailer tow package, 392 rear, hemi 5.7 and am towing a 7000# gross travel trailer ... when you calculate the tongue weight (700#) and base payload (400# for 2 passengers and 300# of gear=total payload 700#) i only have 400# of excess towing capacity .... so the truck gvw is set to 7100# and trailer is gvw is 7000# to total 14,000# and gcvw is supposed to be 17,000# by the Ram online chart .. somewhere i lost 2,700# ... for a 8,000# trailer i would look at a 2500 Ram