Towing Advice

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BDodson

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Looking to get some help with a current situation I am boggled by. I have a '13 ram 1500. 4x4 Tradesman Express.

This coming year I want to use it to tow the family and race car around. I'm curious if I am going to have any issues. Its a open car hauler. 18', so around 2,000lb. Car will be roughly 2600lb.

Myself, wife, 3 kids. Overnight bags occasionally and then some tools and extra parts in the bed.

Curious if its going to tow fine or I'm going to need to start looking at a bigger truck.
 
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BDodson

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BruceMorgan

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Short answer: you can use your truck just fine, with a weight distributing hitch, trailer brake controller, and maybe some airbags to help with porpoising. You may want to get some practice time before loading everybody up.

Long answer: Easy comfortable trailering, especially for newbie tow drivers, is under about 80% max payload as shown on your yellow door sticker. Things get more dicey as you get heavier than that. At or beyond max payload, it's a more white-knuckle affair. You feel every bump in the road as the trailer starts bouncing you back and forth.

To avoid sway, you want no less than 10% of the trailer weight on the ball, ideally more like 12-13%. Your combined car+trailer is 4600 lbs. so 13% is 600 lbs on the ball. If your max payload is 1500 lbs, then 80% of that is 1200, so 1200-600 = 600 lbs left over for everything else you want to haul. You plus 3 kids, bags, tools, and parts probably come close to 600 lbs. At 80%, you'll feel some bouncing from the trailer even with a weight distributing hitch so you may want airbags. 1500s have coil rear spring suspension which gives a comfortable unloaded ride but when hauling heavy loads like 1200 lbs, the rear suspension is too soft.

I haul a 5000 lb trailer around with my 1500, with an Equalizer hitch, but my wife and I and a 30lb Corgi plus camping gear. It took me a little while to get used to it but now I feel comfortable driving it. I do get some porpoising so I ordered a set of Timber Grove airbags to stiffen up the rear when loaded.

You'll also want to see what rear gears you have. I have a 3.92 with factory tow package.
 
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BDodson

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Short answer: you can use your truck just fine, with a weight distributing hitch, trailer brake controller, and maybe some airbags to help with porpoising. You may want to get some practice time before loading everybody up.

Long answer: Easy comfortable trailering, especially for newbie tow drivers, is under about 80% max payload as shown on your yellow door sticker. Things get more dicey as you get heavier than that. At or beyond max payload, it's a more white-knuckle affair. You feel every bump in the road as the trailer starts bouncing you back and forth.

To avoid sway, you want no less than 10% of the trailer weight on the ball, ideally more like 12-13%. Your combined car+trailer is 4600 lbs. so 13% is 600 lbs on the ball. If your max payload is 1500 lbs, then 80% of that is 1200, so 1200-600 = 600 lbs left over for everything else you want to haul. You plus 3 kids, bags, tools, and parts probably come close to 600 lbs. At 80%, you'll feel some bouncing from the trailer even with a weight distributing hitch so you may want airbags. 1500s have coil rear spring suspension which gives a comfortable unloaded ride but when hauling heavy loads like 1200 lbs, the rear suspension is too soft.

I haul a 5000 lb trailer around with my 1500, with an Equalizer hitch, but my wife and I and a 30lb Corgi plus camping gear. It took me a little while to get used to it but now I feel comfortable driving it. I do get some porpoising so I ordered a set of Timber Grove airbags to stiffen up the rear when loaded.

You'll also want to see what rear gears you have. I have a 3.92 with factory tow package.


Awesome, thanks for the insight. It to me seemed we'd be at almost max capacity which was what had me worrying. I have a set of airlift airbags (not installed yet). 3.55 gear and no tow package. I installed a hitch and wanted to get the oem brake controller.

Love the truck, but have been heavily leaning to getting either a 4th gen cummins, or a newer 6.7l powerstroke due to its being so close. I'd like to upgrade to an enclosed down the road in a year or two, and the I know I'll be over max weight.
 

mtnrider

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Awesome, thanks for the insight. It to me seemed we'd be at almost max capacity which was what had me worrying. I have a set of airlift airbags (not installed yet). 3.55 gear and no tow package. I installed a hitch and wanted to get the oem brake controller.

Love the truck, but have been heavily leaning to getting either a 4th gen cummins, or a newer 6.7l powerstroke due to its being so close. I'd like to upgrade to an enclosed down the road in a year or two, and the I know I'll be over max weight.

If you are going to go enclosed that is big enough to haul the race car around you are definitely going to want a HD truck. Not only for the additional weight but they are a little tougher to tow when you factor in the effect the wind and drag has on them. I have a 18ft enclosed (as well as a 20ft flat trailer) and I can't imagine towing it with a 1/2 ton.

.
 
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BDodson

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If you are going to go enclosed that is big enough to haul the race car around you are definitely going to want a HD truck. Not only for the additional weight but they are a little tougher to tow when you factor in the effect the wind and drag has on them. I have a 18ft enclosed (as well as a 20ft flat trailer) and I can't imagine towing it with a 1/2 ton.

.

Thanks alot for the insight on that. Kinda what I wanted/needed to hear. Someone who has one would they use a 1/2 ton or am I correct in thinking I need a 350/3500.
 

MADDOG

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250/2500 will tow an enclosed trailer with the same weight as you posted above just fine.

With a 2500 you'll have room to grow into a larger/heavier trailer if you want. You could even go with the 6.4L HEMI if you want to stick with gas vs. going diesel.
 

VernDiesel

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Bruce Morgan had a good reply. The 8 speed will tow it much better with less fuel than the 5 if you have it. Regardless you are fine with good loading. Figure the positioning of the car & or WDH by CAT scale results once you know where the car & or hitch needs to be positioned just do it the same way each trip & you don’t have to return to scale. CAT has a free app with gps locator.

In addition to getting your tongue weight right you want want the WDH (with built in sway control) to replace your unloaded steer axle weight. Do this and she won’t sway she will be stable in wind etc and have full braking power/traction.
 
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