Towing a 11000lb 5th wheel with my 2000 Ram 2500

[588Moparmuscle]

Hey Guys I have a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 with the 5.9 Cummings
I was given a 5th wheel camper from a relative that weights around 11000 Lb
And need to add a 5th wheel plate or maybe a goose-neck
How much weight can actuality be put in the bed
Will my Dodge need better leaf springs and upgrades?
Can the 5.9 Cummings with a auto trans handle pulling this 5th wheel
I have seen much larger 5th wheels pulled down the road with 2nd gen trucks
Are they modified to do this. I have added all the gauges and really take care of my Ram
I just dont want to overwork it.
All the help will be appreciated

 

[Randy Grant]

Hey Guys I have a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 with the 5.9 Cummings
I was given a 5th wheel camper from a relative that weights around 11000 Lb
And need to add a 5th wheel plate or maybe a goose-neck
How much weight can actuality be put in the bed
Will my Dodge need better leaf springs and upgrades?
Can the 5.9 Cummings with a auto trans handle pulling this 5th wheel
I have seen much larger 5th wheels pulled down the road with 2nd gen trucks
Are they modified to do this. I have added all the gauges and really take care of my Ram
I just dont want to overwork it.
All the help will be appreciated

look on the door sticker for payload, which includes bed and passengers. If that doesn't work, do a VIN lookup. The overall weight (GVWR) should be fine, but the tongue weight will be the biggest factor.

 

[hemihustlin]

hopefully yours has the disc brakes in the back

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

Hey Guys I have a 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 with the 5.9 Cummings
I was given a 5th wheel camper from a relative that weights around 11000 Lb
And need to add a 5th wheel plate or maybe a goose-neck
How much weight can actuality be put in the bed
Will my Dodge need better leaf springs and upgrades?
Can the 5.9 Cummings with a auto trans handle pulling this 5th wheel
I have seen much larger 5th wheels pulled down the road with 2nd gen trucks
Are they modified to do this. I have added all the gauges and really take care of my Ram
I just dont want to overwork it.
All the help will be appreciated

Cummins. No “g”.
Look at the door sticker for the total payload.
For a fiver that weight, pin would be around 2000lbs plus.
Springs or airbags won’t change the payload rating. Only helps keep the rear bumper from dragging.

 

[588Moparmuscle]

look on the door sticker for payload, which includes bed and passengers. If that doesn't work, do a VIN lookup. The overall weight (GVWR) should be fine, but the tongue weight will be the biggest factor.

My model truck does not have a sticker on the door only has stuff for tires. As far as tongue weight From what i read the dry hitch weight is 2680 is that how much weight is sitting on the goose neck ball in the bed ?

 

[588Moparmuscle]

Cummins. No “g”.
Look at the door sticker for the total payload.
For a fiver that weight, pin would be around 2000lbs plus.
Springs or airbags won’t change the payload rating. Only helps keep the rear bumper from dragging.

So are you thinking that i should be good for towing the 5th wheel The info i got about the 5th wheel says 2680 dry hitch weight and 10680 unloaded. My truck does not have that sticker on the door it only has one that has tire stuff

 

[mtofell]

Two numbers - what can your truck CARRY, what can your truck PULL? People typically run out of carry weight before pull weight. Especially, with a diesel that adds weight to the truck (therefore, taking it off available payload. Quick net search says the payload on your truck is somewhere between 2700# and 3400#). The higher end of that range will be a 2WD (4WD adds weight to the truck) with no options. Even at 3400# I'm going to tell you it's not going to work and stay within weight. That dry hitch weight will easily be a few hundred pounds heavier once loaded, add in a hitch and a couple people in the truck and other things and you'll sail over.

 

[Dean2]

My 1996 2500 with the V10, which weighs about the same as the Cummins, has a GVW of 8800 lbs and it is the heavy duty version of the 2500. Weigh your pickup empty, should be around 6000 lbs, deduct that from 8800 and you know what your payload is. You should be good to go with the new trailer.

The V10 put out the same torque as the Cummins and 100 HP more and actually had a higher tow rating than the Diesel. Also has way more scat empty but the Diesel did get much better mileage.

2nd Generation 5.9L Cummins Specs - 12V and 24V Dodge Cummins

Complete Guide to 2nd Generation 5.9L Cummins Specs, background info, Towing specs, and horsepower/torque numbers for 1994-2002 12V and 24V Dodge Cummins...

dieselresource.com

Max 2nd Gen Cummins Tow Capacity (Based off of 2002 Numbers)​

Model:	Max Tow Capacity
2500 regular cab 4×2 regular cab 4×4 quad cab 4×2 quad cab 4×4	see below 14,100 lbs 13,650 lbs 13,800 lbs 13,400 lbs
3500 regular cab 4×2 regular cab 4×4 quad cab 4×2 quad cab 4×4	see below 15,150 lbs 14,700 lbs 14,700 lbs 14,300 lbs

 

[nlambert182]

So are you thinking that i should be good for towing the 5th wheel The info i got about the 5th wheel says 2680 dry hitch weight and 10680 unloaded. My truck does not have that sticker on the door it only has one that has tire stuff

Don't know about this specific truck, but NEVER use dry hitch weight or unloaded weight of the trailer because those numbers are gone the second it leaves the factory. Look for the dry weight and the max cargo weight. Add those 2 numbers together and multiply by 20%. THAT is the pin weight that you could potentially see on the truck if you load up the trailer.

Then figure out your usable payload capacity.

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

.

 

[Ritchie_Rich]

So are you thinking that i should be good for towing the 5th wheel The info i got about the 5th wheel says 2680 dry hitch weight and 10680 unloaded. My truck does not have that sticker on the door it only has one that has tire stuff

I thought you were talking GVWR of 11k. Not advertised dry weight, which you should never go by. Loaded that trailer will likely weigh about 14k. That’s what my fifth wheel weighed loaded and I feel I was at the max for my truck. And I have the 6.7 CTD.

 

[rzr6-4]

With the cummins you should have a plenty of power but that pin weight will be the top end of what you can handle. Trailer is ok but add a couple hundred pounds of random stuff and it will be pushing it if I had to guess. If you are getting it regardless I'd give it a shot, take it for a test drive down the highway and whatnot and see how it does. If it doesn't feel stable then you know you will need to figure something out.

 

[gsfitzsr]

If your 5th wheel has a pin weight of 2680 lbs, then you will probably be overweight for sure and exceeding the 10,000 lb. gross limit of the 2500. Once you add the 5th wheel hitch in your bed, that will reduce your payload even further. And, if you were to get in a wreck with the RV and the insurance company found out you were overweight.. claim denied!

I had a 2018 model 2500 CTD and a Grand Design model 303 with a 2000 lb pin weight. I took it to a truck stop scale and found out I was overweight by 600lbs at the rear axle. The axle and tires could handle it, but I was over the 10,000lb. rating of the truck. I since purchased a 3500 SRW and life is good.

 

[davesue4b]

.

Your weak point is the Transmission. You are overloaded as it is. Consider trading for a lighter 5iver. Axel ratio is another matter also.

 

[Exiledinaz]

I had a 2000 Dodge Quad cab 4x4 short bed 2500 some years ago. The leaf stack is pretty stout. I pulled a 1998 Alpenlite 36 Stone creek RL with mine. I did have a aftermarket trans in it. I would DEFINITELY put a exhaust brake on it and some mods to the trans. Brakes will be ok. You have drums on the 2000. Disc came in 2002. I was not going to be impressing anybody with the power of the 2000 5.9, but it will get you there.