Towing advice please

[mrtibbs]

Hi all, I have joined his forum from the UK (small island on the other side of the pond) as I am about to buy a 2004 Ram 1500 Laramie quad cab with the 5.7 Hemi Magnum engine and 5 speed auto. The main reason for buying this truck is to pull a 5th wheel.
We recently sold our GBM Landau RV and now want to get a 5th wheel for our camping weekends. I have been told that the Ram above that I want to buy may not be able to pull a reasonably lightweight 5th wheel, I have read that it should be able to haul roughly 8000lbs, which I think should be OK.
Can any of you offer advice regarding this please? Can this truck do what I want it to do and are there any simple (read affordable) mods that i can do to improve matters?
Many thanks in advance

Keith

 

[MegaMouseGW]

You would be pushing it with a 1500. A better choice would be a 2500. Even with what I have in my truck: V10 from a viper and a reworked viper transmission, I would have trouble safely pulling a 5th wheel. Its not that the 1500 will not pull it but the frame and other major components are not really up to the task. The 2500's have a beefier frame that is much better suited and would be a better choice. I do pull a 18' travel trailer though which is what I would recommend the largest to be safely pulled with any 1500.

Maybe someone else will have a bit more to say on this matter.

 

[03MopaRamman]

Its a No go in My Opinion. I have thought about it and decided to get a pull behind. I just downgraded to a 6850 Trailer with 750 Tongue weight. I have HD springs with load leveling shocks and when I hook up I become level from a 2 " rake. To maintain the 65 MPH speedlimit on hilly terrain will put me running too hot in the coolant departement even with E-fan. My truck is upgaded in HP and has a stall Converter and 4.56 gears. Had to go down from 35's to 33's. So a fifthwheel even with airbags I would go 6500 Lbs max. Even a 2500 in the 3rd Gen with Hemi although HD enough for the task I beleive the Hemi would struggle with an 8K trailer but if modded with a cam, headers, pulley, efan and tuning would work. But then again you would be married to 91 Octane fuel and the costs would be alot. I lived in the UK for 3 years (02-05) and fuel was I think a Pound 89 a liter for regular and the ram has about an 85L tank and your mileage on an unmodded truck would be about 30-32 L per 100KM (60) miles so 180 Miles a Tank. But I also understand a 50 Mile trip in the UK is an Outting so if you are not going far then thats a Bonus. Sorry for rambling on Mate but you need a 28 footer Lightweight Tow behind if you are going to shoot for the Ram Mentioned.

Welcome to the Forum Keith.
Danny

 

[mrtibbs]

Thanks for the replies guys. There seem to be a lot of people (well a few dozen any way as it is a small community) that tow light weight 5th wheels around using Japanese trucks, not sure how they manage?
Fuel in the UK is now £1.35/litre so in your terms = $8.65 per gallon however the Ram that I have put down a deposit on has an LPG conversion fitted, so that should about halve the fuel running costs hopefully.
I think I am going to go ahead with this Ram, as my towing will be very limited and as said earlier, not huge mileages so I am confident that a Ram will perform better that a small *** truck.....
Proof is in the pudding as they say (they do in England anyway )

Keith

 

[MegaMouseGW]

Thanks for the replies guys. There seem to be a lot of people (well a few dozen any way as it is a small community) that tow light weight 5th wheels around using Japanese trucks, not sure how they manage?
Fuel in the UK is now £1.35/litre so in your terms = $8.65 per gallon however the Ram that I have put down a deposit on has an LPG conversion fitted, so that should about halve the fuel running costs hopefully.
I think I am going to go ahead with this Ram, as my towing will be very limited and as said earlier, not huge mileages so I am confident that a Ram will perform better that a small *** truck.....
Proof is in the pudding as they say (they do in England anyway )

Keith

Damn that is expensive for gas. Seeing as you have decided to go with the truck you mentioned you WILL want to get a better transmission cooler, and add an oil cooler for the engine. Maybe even upgrade the radiator to a bigger one also. Check the gearing in the rear-end to be sure it can handle the towing duties also. Have installed a good 5th wheel setup. If you can get one I would recommend a removable setup like this: Hitches - Fifth Wheel Hitch From Reese

The above is the exact one I have for my brothers trailer (which I have moved one time). It works well and can be removed when not needed.

 

[Mega-Hemi]

Since it's a quad cab, I'm assuming it's a short box. That means you will want to pick up a sliding hitch. Keeps from destroying the back of your cab during tight maneuvers. Look here: 2004 Dodge Ram Pickup Fifth Wheel Hitch | etrailer.com for better prices on complete units. They've also got a great instructional section that will answer just about every question you can come up with.

PS: I would also suggest going with the CUSTOM bed rail instillation kit. Stay away from the UNIVERSAL ones. It is about $100 more but in my opinion well worth it. Especially when it comes to ease of instillation.

 

[mrtibbs]

Thanks for the replies guys, very helpful

Keith