Towing Advice R/T

[redrt_12]

Hey guys i have a 2012 ram rt and the other day i had to pull my friends silverado 4 door with the trailer and the rear of my rt was almost hitting my tire. What do you all recommend me to put on the rear so the cab doesn't go all the way down and i can pull trailers with weight like nothing? I heard something about airbag 1000 and 5000 i want the best airbag kit and the one the holds more weight. I want to have my truck ready in case of an emergency that i have to pull something heavy even though i may not use it frequently. Thanks in advance ill post pics later

 

[14hemiexpress]

The air lift 1000s do a great job for 100 bucks they are rated to 1000lbs you will still get some sag. There is a guy on here just installed the total load control bags and they look great and look like they will hold some serious weight. You have to be carful that you don't overload your rear axle if you go up to the 5000's doesn't mean you should have 5K in the bed you'll wreck you axle. That's the only thing I would warn you against.

 

[redrt_12]

The air lift 1000s do a great job for 100 bucks they are rated to 1000lbs you will still get some sag. There is a guy on here just installed the total load control bags and they look great and look like they will hold some serious weight. You have to be carful that you don't overload your rear axle if you go up to the 5000's doesn't mean you should have 5K in the bed you'll wreck you axle. That's the only thing I would warn you against.

Thanks for the info 14hemiexpress appreciated

 

[redrt_12]

Image posted

 

[redrt_12]

If i buy the 5000 one would the rear axle still hold?

 

[14hemiexpress]

Wow that's bad but it looks like you have room to move the truck back on that trailer, it would help a ton!

You can put the air lift 5000's witch I believe are rated for 5000lbs but your axle is only rated to carry 3900 I believe, so I wouldn't run out and put 5000lbs in your bed because you have the bags. The goal of the bags is to level the truck for a more stable towing always go by your payload capacity witch should ok the tire pressure stick on the door jamb.

 

[clh1220]

You have way too much tongue weight on there. Try backing that truck on the trailer, and see how it looks.

 

[redrt_12]

Yeah we move the truck back a little but still it was not much of a difference...i think ill buy the airlift 1000 the 5000 is to much for the axle..thanks guys

 

[PippinAin'tEasy]

Check some of the earlier how-to threads when you get them and learn from our mistakes. They'll do you just fine and give that r/t some attitude.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk

 

[Galion]

First off you're way overloaded, but ignoring that , for a load like that, I'd of put the truck on the trailer backwards, most of the weight is in the front of the truck so that would help get the weight off the tongue and onto the trailer axles instead. But really, this is just a matter or either too much trailer for the truck, or not enough truck for the trailer.

 

[regularcab2500]

Hes probably not overloaded at all actually. Its just that its an r/t and shouldnt even have a trailer hitch let alone 8000lbs behind it. You still need to back that truck onto the trailer and put as much weight over the trailer axle as possible.

Personally i feel if you need airbags to make it look like your truck can handle the load, you need a bigger truck.

 

[redrt_12]

Besides the weight of the truck it was the only trailer we had and it was heavy af 8 studs double axle...sometimes i get dissapointed because i know this trucks have alot of power to pull alot of weight but thanks to the rear springs they suck

 

[Dubstep Shep]

This is my truck with the belltech 2-4 drop and the shorter Airlift 1000 bags with about 36psi in them:

Were I you, I would get the airlift bags and move his truck further back on the trailer. Usually you want your load mostly centered on the wheels of the trailer, with just enough tongue weight to level the truck out.

 

[Galion]

Hes probably not overloaded at all actually. Its just that its an r/t and shouldnt even have a trailer hitch let alone 8000lbs behind it. You still need to back that truck onto the trailer and put as much weight over the trailer axle as possible.

Personally i feel if you need airbags to make it look like your truck can handle the load, you need a bigger truck.

I'm 100% sure he is. That trailer alone probably weighs in the neighborhood of 3000-3500 Lbs, the truck on top around 5500 to 6000 Lbs. A 2012 R/T is rated for 5050 Lbs towing. And that's not even considering how insanely tongue heavy that setup is.

 

[Dubstep Shep]

I'm 100% sure he is. That trailer alone probably weighs in the neighborhood of 3000-3500 Lbs, the truck on top around 5500 to 6000 Lbs. A 2012 R/T is rated for 5050 Lbs towing. And that's not even considering how insanely tongue heavy that setup is.

Have you ever stopped to think about WHY the R/Ts towing capacity is so much lower?

It isn't the axle. That's the same as the rest of the trucks. In fact the R/T has the 3.92s, so it's axle is BETTER suited for towing.

It isn't the suspension. The R/T has the exact same suspension components as the other Rams. It sits just as high from the factory.

It isn't the drivetrain. It has the biggest motor you can get in the Ram, plus the axle ratio as I said before.

It isn't the hitch. You can get the same class IV hitch, trailer brake controller, and towing mirrors that you get on any other 1500.

The only difference is the wheels. The 22" wheels aren't load tested as high as the 20" wheels. It basically comes down to how much sidewall they have and the load rating of the tire.

Throw some stock 20" on your R/T and you essentially have what any other 9,000lb tow rating Ram does. Or get high load rated tires for the 22" wheels.

 

[smurfs_of_war]

All speculation about overloaded/ not overloaded aside, go with the airlift 1000's and be done with it. They will help a good amount for infrequent towing and hauling. If you aren't hauling weight a lot of the time or towing, it's a cheap solution to help with the ass dragging. Let's face it- I really doubt any of us here can say we haven't overloaded the **** out of our trucks from time to time to get **** done. It happens. So, if it's infrequent- why spend crazy money if you don't have to?

 

[14hemiexpress]

Have you ever stopped to think about WHY the R/Ts towing capacity is so much lower?

It isn't the axle. That's the same as the rest of the trucks. In fact the R/T has the 3.92s, so it's axle is BETTER suited for towing.

It isn't the suspension. The R/T has the exact same suspension components as the other Rams. It sits just as high from the factory.

It isn't the drivetrain. It has the biggest motor you can get in the Ram, plus the axle ratio as I said before.

It isn't the hitch. You can get the same class IV hitch, trailer brake controller, and towing mirrors that you get on any other 1500.

The only difference is the wheels. The 22" wheels aren't load tested as high as the 20" wheels. It basically comes down to how much sidewall they have and the load rating of the tire.

Throw some stock 20" on your R/T and you essentially have what any other 9,000lb tow rating Ram does. Or get high load rated tires for the 22" wheels.

You have to remeber the R/T has some stall to the converter it could have something to do with that and heating up the Trans if you tow to heavy just a thought. I don't personally think 22's would make much differnce especially sense the tires really aren't much if any taller as they have lower profile tires you should still have the same mechanical advantage and the wheels will be heavier but the tires will be lighter, I don't see 4k towing difference being wheels.

 

[Galion]

Have you ever stopped to think about WHY the R/Ts towing capacity is so much lower?

It isn't the axle. That's the same as the rest of the trucks. In fact the R/T has the 3.92s, so it's axle is BETTER suited for towing.

It isn't the suspension. The R/T has the exact same suspension components as the other Rams. It sits just as high from the factory.

It isn't the drivetrain. It has the biggest motor you can get in the Ram, plus the axle ratio as I said before.

It isn't the hitch. You can get the same class IV hitch, trailer brake controller, and towing mirrors that you get on any other 1500.

The only difference is the wheels. The 22" wheels aren't load tested as high as the 20" wheels. It basically comes down to how much sidewall they have and the load rating of the tire.

Throw some stock 20" on your R/T and you essentially have what any other 9,000lb tow rating Ram does. Or get high load rated tires for the 22" wheels.

Well good luck trying to argue that with the cop writing the ticket and calling the tow truck. It's not just a matter of wheels. Regardless of any of that it's simply unsafe. That truck would easily be thrown around by the trailer. The wheelbase is short, the truck is light, it's a combination of factors that come into play. What's going to happen if you suddenly had to swerve around something in the road? The truck isn't going to be able to control that load. I'm not usually the guy who's too concerned about going a bit over the ratings, but when I see something like that that is clearly unsafe, I'm not going to beat around it.

 

[regularcab2500]

I never would have guessed the rating for the r/t was that much lower especially with the 4.10 rear end. That is pushing it a bit. I actually agree with smurfs though for the amount you would really overload your truck its not a big deal. Law enforcement would be a bigger concern.

 

[Dubstep Shep]

Well good luck trying to argue that with the cop writing the ticket and calling the tow truck. It's not just a matter of wheels. Regardless of any of that it's simply unsafe. That truck would easily be thrown around by the trailer. The wheelbase is short, the truck is light, it's a combination of factors that come into play. What's going to happen if you suddenly had to swerve around something in the road? The truck isn't going to be able to control that load. I'm not usually the guy who's too concerned about going a bit over the ratings, but when I see something like that that is clearly unsafe, I'm not going to beat around it.

I've never even HEARD of someone getting pulled over for their trailer being overweight