First Tow With The New Ram!!!

[americanthunder]

Just wanted to share my experience with our shiny new 1500 towing our sort of heavy TT. Coming from a 3/4 Duramax I expected things go be a little more "difficult" but as it turns out this 5.7 Hemi paired with the 8spd and 3.92 Gears is a towing machine! No worries about power here. Here is a pic of our setup at camp:



The load: A 2012 North Country Lakeside 29ODK. Tag reads 7400 Dry from the factory. I've added a toolbox on the tongue that contains four GC batteries, 4 solar panels on the roof, and an 2000 Watt Pure Pure Sine Inverter. Loaded with a weekend full of fun I've weighed it in the past and its usually right around 8400 with a full water tank. Tongue weight is right at 980. Im currently using a WD hitch with 800lb bars with dual friction sways.

Cab of the truck contained me, my wife, my son, and our dog. Left the bed empty except for a few small items. Overall we are right at our trucks max payload when factoring the tongue weight which concerned me right off the bat.

The Journey: We traveled from Tucson to the Greens Peak Arizona and back. Basically from around 2600 feet to 9500 feet. Temps ranged from over 100 degrees to the mid 50s during our travels. Plenty of nice long steep grades both coming and going, more going

I prepped in advance by setting up the hitch. I used the the method where you put the truck into "Jack Mode" while I adjusted the bars. The truck was in normal ride height and I was able to get most of the squat out before turning the air back on which leveled the truck right off. Right off the bat I noticed the truck felt very well planted but at freeway speeds any wind or tractor trailer would send me into white knuckle mode as the trailer would start to sway violently taking the truck with it. I stopped on two occasions to readjust the tension on the bars and it appeared that LESS tension and more weight on the truck improved straight line but the front end felt light. Any feedback ya'll can give me here is appreciated!

Ok so I'm still not confident in the handling department and I'll work on that hopefully with the help of everyone here but onto that engine...All I can say is WOW. I don't know how they did it but the trans and engine work in complete harmony. It took me a bit to learn to just let the engine "sing" as I wasn't used to turning those kinds of RPM's but over the course of the trip there was never a moment I felt the truck was underpowered and it held speed up every grade. Coming back down the transmission downshifted and again the engine was singing but very rarely did I need to apply the brakes and when I did, the built in trailer brake controller worked flawlessly. I did have to set it to "Heavy Trailer" mode and right around 7.5 to get just the right feel but I felt confident if I needed to stop I would.

Most of the trip the cruise was set between 55-60 mph as thats as safe as I could feel given the swaying issue. Overall the trip was 537.7 miles and we used a whopping 60.4 gallons of mid grade unleaded. For those math wizards out there thats just under 9 MPG (yea I used a calculator) so the little Hemi is THIRSTY but it got the job done! On a side note my Duramax would get about 11 on this exact same trip but did it without breaking much of a sweat it it cruised all day at 70-75.

In the end I'm extremely happy with what this little truck did. If I was going to be travelling any further than our favorite spots, I'd get a bigger truck (and after getting to know this truck it would probably be a Ram) because its just too stressful. Maybe if I can get the handling worked out I'd change my mind. Hopefully some of the experts in here can chime in and tell me what I may be overlooking without telling giving me the big trailer little truck line. I should be able to drive in a straight line on flat ground at 55mph...I think..LOL

I'll leave you with another photo of the setup. Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[B-Shot]

Maybe a Hellwig #7709 swaybar may help the stability when towing but IDK if it works the air ride you have, but it made a helluva difference on my 2012 1500.

 

[cheeseball]

If it were me I'd be running load D or E tires to cut out any tire flex or wandering.

 

[americanthunder]

If it were me I'd be running load D or E tires to cut or any tire flex or wandering.

You know I was just in the garage looking at the sidewalls of the tires they put on these things. Technically they are not overloaded BUT there gotta be a ton of sidewall flex. That would explain alot of what I'm feeling. How shall I explain this to the wife again?

 

[cheeseball]

You know I was just in the garage looking at the sidewalls of the tires they put on these things. Technically they are not overloaded BUT there gotta be a ton of sidewall flex. That would explain alot of what I'm feeling. How shall I explain this to the wife again?

It's just money! Some E-rated Toyo AT2 ' S would probably tow very well

 

[audio1der]

Yeah, those Goodyears are a joke for towing, but they make the ride so comfy for all the soccer moms who use RAMs, so we're likely the minority.
Exactly which hitch are you using? You may be able to dial it in to your liking a little more; I spend over a season playing with my Reese dual cam setup before I was happy.
You MUST be over your payload with a tongue at 980lbs?! That's part of the problem with a truck with so much power; it could really use stronger bones.

 

[BoldAdventure]

Man, big trailer! I'm totally over payload with our hitch weight, but I don't care much so long as the distribution of weight front to back is right and the axle weights are within spec. However, my Airstream was probably clocking in at around 6100lbs. Very interesting to read your experience, as I just towed with my Ram for the first time, coming from the Chevy world myself. I had zero problems with sway and barely noticed the trailer behind us while pulling. Set the brake controller to 10 after manually adjusting it and averaged hand calculated 12.4mpg. I've often wondered how those big trailers with all that open space under them fair on these lighter trucks.

And as much hate as the Goodyears get, I was surprised with how they faired. I planned on swapping to General Grabbers from the get go, but I'm honestly re-thinking. However, I still need to set out rig up for us before making final decisions. Right now, she was partially empty.

 

[americanthunder]

Yeah, those Goodyears are a joke for towing, but they make the ride so comfy for all the soccer moms who use RAMs, so we're likely the minority.
Exactly which hitch are you using? You may be able to dial it in to your liking a little more; I spend over a season playing with my Reese dual cam setup before I was happy.
You MUST be over your payload with a tongue at 980lbs?! That's part of the problem with a truck with so much power; it could really use stronger bones.

Well when we aren't camping it is my soccer mom who drives it..LOL

As for the WD hitch, its an EAZ-LIFT. Never really liked it but it has served is purpose across three trailers.

Your right I am over on payload. Truck tag says 1384. 1384-980 tongue-500 People/dog= -96. That said some of that weight is shifted back onto the rear axle of the trailer due to the WD hitch correct? I have toyed with the idea of building a small rack under the trailer between the axles for battery storage. That would take a significant amount of weight off the tongue.

To be completely honest I've towed alot of things over the years with everything from S-10 pickups on up and I NEVER looked at the tag till I got this truck. Must come with age

 

[americanthunder]

Man, big trailer! I'm totally over payload with our hitch weight, but I don't care much so long as the distribution of weight front to back is right and the axle weights are within spec. However, my Airstream was probably clocking in at around 6100lbs. Very interesting to read your experience, as I just towed with my Ram for the first time, coming from the Chevy world myself. I had zero problems with sway and barely noticed the trailer behind us while pulling. Set the brake controller to 10 after manually adjusting it and averaged hand calculated 12.4mpg. I've often wondered how those big trailers with all that open space under them fair on these lighter trucks.

And as much hate as the Goodyears get, I was surprised with how they faired. I planned on swapping to General Grabbers from the get go, but I'm honestly re-thinking. However, I still need to set out rig up for us before making final decisions. Right now, she was partially empty.

There was a time when we actually were thinking about going bigger! After this past weekend the conversation around my house has been about going smaller so we can get back into those hard to reach places we went to when we had a smaller trailer and it would be easier to tow. In fact I think we are going to go look at some this weekend We love the airstreams but still need something with some height to it since we don't stay in campgrounds and I don't need the trailer hanging up on something nine miles off the beaten path. The space underneath could have something to do with it I suppose.

Overall the trailer towed quite nicely but misbehaved mainly on the way home when the wind picked up. Anyone who has ever driven the I10 between Tucson and Phoenix knows its almost always WINDY and there's a reason for the blowing dust signs

I did notice on the last gas stop the front of the trailer seemed to be higher than the rear which would cause some sway issues. When I have time we have a nice level rest area near my house I'm going to go do some tweaking and see if I can dial this puppy in.

 

[WulfGang]

If it were me I'd be running load D or E tires to cut out any tire flex or wandering.

It's just money! Some E-rated Toyo AT2 ' S would probably tow very well

Words of wisdom.

You have slightly heavier tow than I have. My truck is older and the camper is say, 3 ft? shorter.

My first tow anything above 50mph felt like I was flirting with death.

Changed to ... crap. Can't remember. lol
Toyo AT2 Etremes @ 265/60/20?

Total difference. I can tow at 75mph easy now IF I wanted to.
I have a bit more road noise and the ride MAY (or may not really be) more harsh.

I tow @ 60PSI.
I run them normally 35psi front & 32psi rear.

I paid $1,300 m&b and at the time I was like... SOB...
But on my 2nd tow (with the NEW tires) I was nothin but smiles

 

[WalterG]

I have a 25' TT that we recently purchased and I tow with my 02 QC, I have the 20" wheels with the Goodyear SRA tires. While I agree they are not the best for towing, since they seem to have a fair amount of sidewall flex, they do ok.

My WD is also an EAZ-LIFT setup. I have 1000# bars with mine. I set up the WD hitch per the specs I found by searching the internet on setup. This is from Curt, but I found that while most were about the same practice for their setup, this was the best video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkewkvU8Ot8

I spent the time to check to see if mine was setup correctly and had to make some adjustments to get it within specs from the first time I towed to the second and it definitely made a difference in the way my TT towed. I also have a Curt friction sway control, only one, and even though I still experienced some movement from wind, it wasn't anything that made me white knuckle.

I haven't towed it on the interstate yet so though I have had truck trailers pass me going the opposite way on two lane highway at 65 MPH, I haven't had any passing me the same direction to know how that will affect the sway.

WalterG

 

[StevoTee]

I also run Toyo AT II Xtremes..

First tow I had them set at F/R 45PSI. It's pretty bouncy and squishy.
Second tow I had them at F 45PSI, R 65PSI. 20 PSI made a world of difference. Felt planted and gave me a bit better traction.

I'm heading out this weekend and going to up them to F 60PSI, R75PSI.

I've got a 31' Trailer at GVWR 7500lbs. Haven't weighed fully loaded with the quad, but I'm definitely over the GVWR of the truck. It's not by much (couple hundred lbs), but I'm stil within the GAWR. It feels solid and tows very nicely.

Nothing like hearing that HEMI sing at 4500rpms, going up a grade for 1-2mins!!!
Wife looks over at me and asks "Are we going to make it?"... I just roll my eyes, don't talk about Ramada like that!!

 

[RamRodRic]

congrats on the new truck...you're right, these hemi's don't ever seem down on power
seems your hitch may not be adjusted properly if the trailer is nose high. on mine, my trailer coupler is right @ 29" when level and disconnected. setting my ball that high on the truck makes it REAL close to a lowered tailgate so be careful there.
your rig should be level or trailer slightly nose down when hooked up properly. maybe the 800lb bars aren't stout enough for the 980lb tongue weight? just a thought.

 

[PippinAin'tEasy]

OP, Did you put your tongue on a scale after installing the 4 6v batts and the tool box?

 

[americanthunder]

Just wanted to update this thread. Well I tried and I tried but I just wasn't completely confident pulling that much trailer in the Mountains with our new Ram. Frankly I never really enjoyed towing that trailer much anyway. So me and the little lady made a big decision...We went trailer shopping and dumped the beast ! Here is our new setup at camp last weekend:





Its a Lance 1985. We lost about 11 feet of length, about 18 inches of height, but we cut our load in 1/2!!! Decided to put the Andersen WD hitch on based on reading I did on the Lance Owners forum and it TOWS LIKE A DREAM. Now I'm totally confident on the tightest mountain roads. Kinda wish I had gotten rid of that beast sooner!

Thanks for everyones input!

 

[toofart]

Good move on getting something more adequate for that truck.

 

[smurfs_of_war]

Definitely more suitable for a half ton. Vacations are about relaxing, not pulling the seat covers out of your ass.

Nice setup

 

[Bigdaddy]

Just wanted to update this thread. Well I tried and I tried but I just wasn't completely confident pulling that much trailer in the Mountains with our new Ram. Frankly I never really enjoyed towing that trailer much anyway. So me and the little lady made a big decision...We went trailer shopping and dumped the beast ! Here is our new setup at camp last weekend:





Its a Lance 1985. We lost about 11 feet of length, about 18 inches of height, but we cut our load in 1/2!!! Decided to put the Andersen WD hitch on based on reading I did on the Lance Owners forum and it TOWS LIKE A DREAM. Now I'm totally confident on the tightest mountain roads. Kinda wish I had gotten rid of that beast sooner!

Thanks for everyones input!

Awesome trailer so how much do that weight?

 

[hounddog]

Two words of advice. Lippert now owns Dexter axle, so bear that in mind.

Also, lippert is under NHSTA investigation for axle grease seal failures, the super cheap single lip seals are failing at nearly 100% rate. So you might want to have your hubs taken apart and gone through and checked for leaks. If you find grease in the hubs as soon as you break them open start taking LOTS of photos. Per Lippert safety warning the ENTIRE hub will need to be replaced, brakes and ALL. If its still under warranty have your dealership do it. If its OK when it comes apart repack the bearings using the "light hand pack" method and replace with Timkins or other high quality USA made double lip seals.

Many many people have experienced bearing failure, and some have lost the wheel and dropped the axle on the ground in transport. So don't take this advice lightly, please.

Also, your camper likely has Chinese tires. All Chinese made tires are suffering significant numbers of tire failure resulting in some pretty significant damage. Might want to look at Maxxis ST tires. They're made in Taiwan, but they have a very very good track record. You won't find ANY ST tires made in the US anymore. Not even Carlisle.

Lastly, its likely your ST tires are rated at 65mph. If they're a Chinese tire, which they most likely are, you will probably want to keep that limit in mind.

Free advice, take it or leave it. But these things are serious and significant issues in the current RV marketplace.