Ram 1500 v6 towing weight

[Atcer2018]

As an owner of a 2018 CC V6 with 3:21 I’m going to say don’t do it. The V6 is severely lacking in torque even with its advertised 305hp, it comes at higher RPM. I use my vehicle for payload and the 4x4 on logging roads when hiking other than that it’s a highway Queen. While the mpg is decent it was not meant for towing especially with the 3:21s. I live at sea level in SE VA and I think nothing of having 1000 plus pounds in the bed but towing is a totally different ballgame. I towed my sisters dual jetski trailer with two skis through the Pocono mountains of PA and just 2000lbs was a chore. Yes you can tow a small boat but a square object being pulled behind you is a completely different experience. I rent a little 6 foot box trailer from uhaul to take my daughter to and from college out in the mountains of western VA and towing just that little thing with household goods in it is a workout for the V6. The Appalachians are foothills compared to the mountains out west so keep that in mind too. You’ll also add more weight to the vehicle when you add E load tires and if your truck is leveled like mine it only adds more complications. The V6 is just not a tow vehicle.

 

[Jeff Q]

I also have a 1500 V6 with 3.21 gears. Mine is a 2017 4x4 crew cab with the 5'7" box. I don't tow anything, but would the Tow/Haul mode make a difference? Mine has it, but I never needed to use it. I get that max trailer weight for this config is 4210lbs, and a truck with 3.55 gears is 7210lbs but does the Tow/Haul mode change the gearing at all?

 

[gfh77665]

I think the Tow/Haul mode electronically delays the transmissions shift points, letting you stay in lower gearing longer.

 

[JS4024]

Buy a bigger truck to pull a travel trailer! 2500 with a Hemi.....

 

[Charles Nails]

Is there a consensus that pulling even 3500-4000 lbs occasionally in the v6 Ram will wear it out prematurely? I love the truck, but I do need to tow stuff occasionally and I will have a small camper fairly soon. Final thoughts? Thanks as always

 

[moosejaa]

I have a 2018 RAM 1500 Express Crew Cab. I pull a 32' travel trailer that's 5000lbs dry and close to 8000 lbs when loaded up. I'm pushing it a little there and plan to upgrade the truck soon.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[ramffml]

Is there a consensus that pulling even 3500-4000 lbs occasionally in the v6 Ram will wear it out prematurely? I love the truck, but I do need to tow stuff occasionally and I will have a small camper fairly soon. Final thoughts? Thanks as always

I don't think anybody really knows. I'd be careful not to stress it so drive conservatively. But if you already own the v6 and the truck is treating you great, and you don't mind how it tows, then it might not make sense to upgrade to a hemi anyway because you're rolling the dice both ways; do you work the v6 too hard, or spend more money, get a hemi and maybe run into lifter issues.

 

[gfh77665]

Is there a consensus that pulling even 3500-4000 lbs occasionally in the v6 Ram will wear it out prematurely? I love the truck, but I do need to tow stuff occasionally and I will have a small camper fairly soon. Final thoughts? Thanks as always

Based on the information at hand, and focusing on the word "occasionally", I just do not think there will be undue wear. Yes, I know other opposing viewpoints exists, but '3500-4000 lbs occasionally' really should be within the capability of any modern 1/2 ton truck.

Try it. If it handles the load acceptably well, then keep your truck. I personally would want to know for sure that I really needed a heavier truck before I go out and buy one. You can always trade up later if necessary.

 

[dhay13]

I don't think towing close to limits occasionally will 'wear it out' but keep an eye on temps and see how it does. I'm not familiar with the V6 so can't help with temps or anything but I'm sure someone here can help with that.

 

[engineering]

On my '15 1500 V6, I first looked at a simple gear swap to help things out. On the OP's 4x4 - that is a much bigger expense for sure.
Perhaps, lower cost than a new or different truck though.

 

[csuder99]

Is there a consensus that pulling even 3500-4000 lbs occasionally in the v6 Ram will wear it out prematurely? I love the truck, but I do need to tow stuff occasionally and I will have a small camper fairly soon. Final thoughts? Thanks as always

Not any more that towing a 6000+ lbs trailer with the 3.55 gearing. The manufacturers don't pull those numbers out of thin air, nowadays they go by SAEJ2807 which has a number of performance requirements (repeated starts on a steep grade etc.). I wouldn't worry maxing out the tow rating but as I alluded to in my earlier response you might not always be able to climb grades at the speed limit. Just join the trucks in the right lane and draft behind them .

 

[engineering]

I wouldn't worry maxing out the tow rating but as I alluded to in my earlier response you might not always be able to climb grades at the speed limit. Just join the trucks in the right lane and draft behind them .

That was one of my complaints - maxing out at some very slow speed that even the 18 wheelers were blasting by. After adding ~100lb/ft torque with a supercharger, I can actually keep up with interstate traffic in a way that does not scare me.

 

[Charles Nails]

csuder99, tell me about your super charger? How expensive in general are they? Do they affect your everyday performance as far as gas mileage and so on?

 

[Anthony Musto]

Be aware that if you get in an accident and you are over what it says on your door sticker or even if you just get pulled over for a check and you are over that sticker you can get yourself in a lot of trouble. I would stay within the legal limit for your truck which is the number on the door. Stay under the payload which includes 10 to 15 percent of the gross trailer weight, people in the truck ,fuel, cargo and so on . Stay safe and good luck.

 

[engineering]

Be aware that if you get in an accident and you are over what it says on your door sticker or even if you just get pulled over for a check and you are over that sticker you can get yourself in a lot of trouble. I would stay within the legal limit for your truck which is the number on the door. Stay under the payload which includes 10 to 15 percent of the gross trailer weight, people in the truck ,fuel, cargo and so on . Stay safe and good luck.

I am curious how this works.....
The 3.21 gears and 3.55 gears have a very significant difference in the tow ratings - something like 2500lbs. If a 3.21 manufactured truck gets a stock 3.55 gear set, does the legal spec actually change. In real life - the sole difference is the gear ratio. I am curious how that would play out on a legal stage.

csuder99, tell me about your super charger? How expensive in general are they? Do they affect your everyday performance as far as gas mileage and so on?

There is a loooong and lively thread on the V6 Pentastar supercharger project.
https://www.ramforum.com/threads/2015-pentastar-v6-towing-supercharger-success.171807/

The everyday driving is smooth and easy - kinda forget that anything has changed. The mileage is slightly better or at least the same if driven the same as when it was stock.
The downside is that it was about $6500+ plus a total pain in the A$$ to install. The install pains are totally manufacturer (Sprintex Superchargers) induced by way of horrible documentation. Diablosport does the tuning and they had a huge pile of unexplained problems that took weeks of long phone calls and multiple tuners to get running.

Even though it has effectively solved my travel trailer towing concerns with my V6 1500 - it is unlikely that I would recommend it to anyone unless Sprintex gets their act together. They provide good hardware and engineering, but with dismal support. It is not a trivial installation, but can be rather straightforward with good instructions. It took me probably 40 hours to install. If I did it again, it would take about 6 hours. The extra 34 hours were spent dealing with bad information, no information, limited information, missing parts, and extra parts. After all that - I spent countless hours dealing with Diablosport trying to get the PCM programmed.

 

[gfh77665]

I am curious how this works.....
The 3.21 gears and 3.55 gears have a very significant difference in the tow ratings - something like 2500lbs.

Thats right. Thats exactly why I insisted on a 3.55 geared RAM when I was buying. In addition to the increased capacity, the MPG's are virtually the same as the 3.21. Win-Win.

My dealer went out of his way to find me a 3.55 RAM to make the sale. And this is coming from someone who does not tow much at all.