Towing Setup to Improve 2017 Laramie Longhorn

[indept]

My experience with a 2 horse trailer has been pretty positive, I have a 2017 Crew Cab 4X4 Hemi with the 3.92 rear end. First two times were hay runs and truck did just fine. Last weekend acted as horse Uber, hauling 4 horses (2 trips) with a different slant trailer. Tack room was lightly loaded, no hay and the rental trailer did not have a water tank.

My truck is NOT leveled. The hay runs were on the stock Goodyears, now have Toyo Open Country AT2 in the stock P-metric size.

If anything I would prefer a weight distribution hitch, if we buy a trailer will add for sure

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Damn, those horses have nicer homes than a lot of people do.

 

[McBroom]

I need help - I've been given 2 distinctly different directions from 2 dealerships when looking for setup advice.

I have a 2017 Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn 4x2 with 3.92 rear and the 5.7L HEMI.

Goal: To pull a bumper pull horse trailer weighing 3200lbs empty safely. I just bought the truck a year ago so I would prefer to NOT upgrade if I can at all avoid it.

I have the stock tires so thing I considered are
1) upgrading tires AND wheels but what would be best
2) leveling the front end - Does this REDUCE my towing capacity?
3) upgrading shocks
4) Weight Distribution (which one should I choose)


Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. I can't help it I love my truck but now I wish I'd gone bigger already AND gone with a 4x4 but man was this thing expensive.

#4 definitely
You might also consider a set of air bags that would be the best thing for you. Tires yes but rims are not necessary unless you just want new rims.
Tires go up on load ratings. A D rating would go great without sacrificing ride quality much. An E rating is a 10 ply tire real heavy hard riding when empty.
How many animals do you plan to haul with this truck


I Love My 2018 RAM 2500HD 4x4 6.4L. USMC (ret)

 

[McBroom]

So your live tow weight is 6000 lb. First, your truck will handle that. I do understand why you would feel more comfortable with a 3/4 2500. But your question is about safety and what would be the best things to do to pull safely and comfortably. My thought would be to focus on the trailer. In TX I suspect most of your towing would be flat pulls. Making sure that your trailer tires, wheels, axle bearings and springs are in good condition is what I would focus on first. Now, if you have made some pulls and you feel your truck is struggling or not handling well, then focus on suspension, tire and wheel. My wife towed a 2 horse bumper pull with her 03 SLT quad cab 5.7 2wd for 12 years. Her camp gear live tow weight was 6000 to 6600.
Not sure about your question regarding leveling the front end means.

Lifting the front of the truck with spacers to make the truck sit level. I don’t think he should do that because it will make it nose high when towing


I Love My 2018 RAM 2500HD 4x4 6.4L. USMC (ret)

 

[McBroom]

Thanks so much for the information! Pulled on 1 trip and had no passengers and one horse and the thing pulled really well, but when I got to my clinic I had some folks suggest I was overloaded for a half ton so I started second guessing everything.

As far as leveling, when I went to the dealership "custom" shop to upgrade the tires, they suggested wider wheels and mentioned the front end sits lower so there is less space in the wheel well in the front than the back so by leveling - that distance would match the rear. I have the 20" wheels now with street tires that they all come with from the factory.

They were bull****ting you into spending money on unnecessary junk.


I Love My 2018 RAM 2500HD 4x4 6.4L. USMC (ret)

 

[LarryA]

Ha, now one of the other riders upped the game. While she doesn’t have a tow vehicle, she bought a clean used trailer for all of us to share. Very kind of her, except it is a 3 horse slant load with a ramp. I can’t find exact specs for it, 2003 Sundowner 727, but I think it’s dry weight is ~ 3,750 pounds. It is also ready for a WDH. I told them I think I can pull it but 2 horses max, and the tack will have to go in somebody else’s car. It does not have a water tank.

We shall see how it goes

 

[sequoia464]

Thanks so much for the information! Pulled on 1 trip and had no passengers and one horse and the thing pulled really well, but when I got to my clinic I had some folks suggest I was overloaded for a half ton so I started second guessing everything.

As far as leveling, when I went to the dealership "custom" shop to upgrade the tires, they suggested wider wheels and mentioned the front end sits lower so there is less space in the wheel well in the front than the back so by leveling - that distance would match the rear. I have the 20" wheels now with street tires that they all come with from the factory.

You need to seriously find another tire shop. That 'leveling' suggestion is ridiculous - when you load the truck the rear end settles.

You do not need wider wheels either - I have a 17 Bighorn and tow a 6500 lb travel trailer extensively - really - go to another shop, this is the worst advice I have ever heard.

Absolutely get a weight distribution hitch - I swapped out my rear springs for some larger capacity towing springs.

 

[mohemipar]

All I can come up with is this place was just trying to sell this guy stuff and screw him with ridiculous suggestions. It is high up there on the list of dumbest advise ever. The HD trucks come with an 8 inch wide wheel, (which is actually less wide than what the 1500’s come with), so going by that well thought out logic I guess Ram engineers have failed the market miserably lol.

And why they would tell the guy to raise the front end even higher is beyond me. The stock 1500s already suffer from sag as it is with the factory rake, and they tell someone that putting more height in the FRONT will help? Most people who level the front end up putting a small spacer in the rear to keep the truck more level when there is weight in it. Even very common on HDs that tow regularly.

 

[Danny5]

I don't tow horses, but I do have a pretty heavy camper. The reason the 1500s sag is because they are coil sprung, which gives a better ride, but doesn't handle heavy loads well. I added some inexpensive air bags to help with the squat:



Then I added an Equalizer hitch. I've towed this configuration at 7500lbs up a 6% grade, and the 1500 does great.

I don't see why you couldn't do 3 horses, as long as you have a good brake controller. We use a Tekonsha Primus.

 

[LarryA]

I don't have easy access to a scale, my hunch is fully loaded with 3 horses would put the tongue weight near 1,000 pounds, and with a driver and gas would put my truck over it's 1,200 cargo capacity. I think my only option is the WDH to push some of the load back on the trailer axles.

 

[crash68]

I think my only option is the WDH to push some of the load back on the trailer axles.

A WDH helps put weight back on the front wheels of the truck, it doesn't lower the tongue weight. Yes you do want to use a WDH and set it up properly before adding airbags.
You would need to move the load in the trailer more centered over the trailer axles to lower the tongue weight.

 

[SSgtRoof]

I have a 5k pound travel trailer, with 60 gallon fresh water tank. Once loaded, the rear squatted pretty bad. Keep in mind, I have the Bilstiens in the front set at 2". I added the Bilstien rear shocks, and it was an improvement, but the WDH made all the difference. I imagine my squat was worse because of the front end, but I don't tow frequently.

I agree with most on here. Set your WDH up right, and get a quality brake controller. Should be good. Less gas mileage