Could it be true?

[ADUBIS]

I looked up towing and payload capacities on my truck. According to Ram with my V6 gas motor, 3.21 rear end a 4WD, max towing is only 4800 pounds. I can't help but wonder if Ram is rating the towing weight low to discourage people from over loading?

I am building a small travel trailer from the ground up which shouldn't weigh in more than 2000 pounds when it's done. No where near the limit of this truck. That's probably the heaviest thing my truck will haul aside from the occasional couple motorcycles here and there.

Anyone else have this set up that can give me some real world input?

 

[Haaken675]

It wouldn't surprise me if they underrated the capacity to push people towards the larger, more expensive models...But then again, I have no data to verify that. I have pretty much the same truck and will be towing a large enclosed trailer during my move in the next few weeks, so i'm sure I will find out then.

 

[stimpy433]

Looked up my 2014 V6 4x4 with 3.55 gears and according to the RAM website when I enter my vin my payload is 1570, max towing 7050. That's quite a difference compared to yours....

 

[ADUBIS]

It seems odd to me that the truck comes with a brake controller and a hitch but no tow mirrors. Ive towed a few trailers in my day and certainly no expert. does the brake controller make things that much easier with only 5000 pounds behind you?

 

[Haaken675]

the simple answer to that would be yes. More brake is always good in a panic stop situation.

 

[EJR_3]

It seems odd to me that the truck comes with a brake controller and a hitch but no tow mirrors. Ive towed a few trailers in my day and certainly no expert. does the brake controller make things that much easier with only 5000 pounds behind you?

My truck also have the tow package and no tow mirrors. However, I enjoy the color match and power fold over the tow mirror and my trailer sits low so I don't really need them.
The brake controller does make things easier, especially doing down hills or emergency situations as stated before. That's only if you install brakes on your trailer when you make it. Never seen a DIY of making a trailer, you should make a thread on it. I would recommend you keep it under 5k pounds if your max towing is 4800 tho.

 

[Batram]

I looked up towing and payload capacities on my truck. According to Ram with my V6 gas motor, 3.21 rear end a 4WD, max towing is only 4800 pounds. I can't help but wonder if Ram is rating the towing weight low to discourage people from over loading?

I am building a small travel trailer from the ground up which shouldn't weigh in more than 2000 pounds when it's done. No where near the limit of this truck. That's probably the heaviest thing my truck will haul aside from the occasional couple motorcycles here and there.

Anyone else have this set up that can give me some real world input?

That sounds about right. Unfortunately that combination of engine and rear end makes for poor tow ratings.

There are things you can do to make the tow more comfortable and feel safer, but nothing will change the numbers on your sticker as far as DOT goes.

 

[DannyMK2]

It seems odd to me that the truck comes with a brake controller and a hitch but no tow mirrors. Ive towed a few trailers in my day and certainly no expert. does the brake controller make things that much easier with only 5000 pounds behind you?

this may sound a bit redundant but the brake controller is useless unless your trailer has electric brakes on it. as far as tow mirrors go ive never felt i needed them, then again i dont tow any trailers long enough or short enough where they would be of greater help compared to the regular mirrors. i guess its all preference and /or your setup.

 

[ADUBIS]

Come to think of it, my last Ram had tow mirrors and I never opened them up even when I was towing. The travel trailer I am building will not have electric brakes due to the hub configuration. I suppose I should try and figure out how the brake controller works since I will occasionally use a trailer with electric brakes at some point.