Towing upgrades

[AWLINK]

Checking to see what I can do to help my 2018 Ram Tradesman to tow better. It has the 3:92 gears, trailer brake control, towing mirrors, air bags, equil. hitch. The camper we are pulling has a weight of 6500lbs. Towing cap. of my truck is 10,300lbs. I am going to change the tires to e rated . Thanks

 

[Ohio5pt7]

Weight distribution hitch would be good. My tt is heavier and I have 3.21s rated @ 8200 and it has 0 issues including in mountains. The 5.7 has plenty of power. I would say upgrade brakes maybe and sway bars.

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[mtnrider]

What do you mean by Tow better? Are you looking for more power or more stability? (or both). Sounds like you have everything you can for stability already. Is the trailer weight fully loaded or is that the base weight of the trailer?

 

[McBroom]

The real question is that is the trailer loaded properly? Too much weight nose or tail will make a huge difference in how it trails. Making it hard to pull. The load has to be balanced.
WHD don't matter if there's too much weight in either place.

Blue Mule

 

[dhay13]

Sounds like you have most of the bases covered. Not sure what else you would do. Keep up with maintenance, air pressures, etc

 

[gofishn]

Stiffer spring
Slotted brake rotors - so they can cool quicker
better brake pads
new shocks at all 4 corners. preferably something designed for Loads
sway bar upgrade

 

[mtofell]

E rated tires may be overkill. The rear axle rating (aka RAWR on your door sticker) is the most you can safely carry so getting tires with much more capacity than that is just hurting your wallet and the ride of the truck. A buddy has a similar truck and trailer and I think his tires are D rated @ 2520#/each which is more than enough - I want to say his RAWR is around 3900#. So, having 5000# of tire capacity is more than enough. E rated at 3000#/each for 6000# is a waste.

 

[Ohio5pt7]

E rated tires may be overkill. The rear axle rating (aka RAWR on your door sticker) is the most you can safely carry so getting tires with much more capacity than that is just hurting your wallet and the ride of the truck. A buddy has a similar truck and trailer and I think his tires are D rated @ 2520#/each which is more than enough - I want to say his RAWR is around 3900#. So, having 5000# of tire capacity is more than enough. E rated at 3000#/each for 6000# is a waste.

Not entirely true less sidewall flex can help. But you are correct its gonna turn the ride into a wagon most likely.

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[cwendel]

Um, get rid of the air bags and buy the foam load cell bump stops. They will help with the ride.
Second, either add a turbo or supercharger if you need more power. Had the same issue with a coyote f150, ended up getting rid of it for a 6.7. No more issues except the wife now wants a bigger TT.

2013 2500 6.7 cummins crew cab. white and stock as can be
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[Travelin Ram]

I would expect that combination to tow very well indeed. Does the truck steer and handle well alone? What is it about the driving you don’t like?

What’s the hitch weight (is the trailer properly loaded)?

How is the weight distribution setup adjustment done? Using scale weight, suspension height, or ??? Setting up WD in combination with airbags can be tricky.

 

[mtofell]

Not entirely true less sidewall flex can help. But you are correct its gonna turn the ride into a wagon most likely.

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Can 1/2 ton rims take the full 80 PSI of E-rated? I'm just going through this with my 5th wheel but am just going from D to E (65 psi to 80 psi) which the rims were rated for.

 

[OMW2SKI]

I think the E tires might be overkill. However, upgrading to LT is helpful, IMHO. I went with D rated and noticed a difference towing a similarly sized TT. I also noticed an improvement with the Helwig sway bar. Next on my list are shocks. Debating right now between Bilstein 5100 or 6112/5160. Also, like a few others have mentioned, make sure your WDH is setup properly. That makes a bigger difference than any of the mods.

 

[Gero]

Are you 100% your wdh is optimally set? Meaning you did it yourself and took measurements before and after? If you left it up to the rv shop....then

Id suggest readjusting the wdh, adding a helping rear away bar and LT tires.

 

[62Blazer]

What do you mean by Tow better? Are you looking for more power or more stability? (or both). Sounds like you have everything you can for stability already. Is the trailer weight fully loaded or is that the base weight of the trailer?

I was going to ask the same question. Are you having some issues with how it tows now? You don't mention any problems. To be honest if the loaded trailer is only 6,500 lbs. that's not much of a load at all especially with the additions you have already made and assuming it's at least halfway setup correctly.

 

[Floyd1979]

Equalizer 4 way
E rated tires on truck and TT
Go to a scales and weight it

 

[billyw]

I also think E rated tires are overkill. Just make sure your OEM tires are aired to max for best control. I'm currently running P rated tires and tow a 6500 lb travel trailer with ZERO issues. Most of my towing is in the Rockies of the northwest and the Cascades, and everything in between. I did add stiffer springs because I carry a fair amount in the bed most of the time too. I have used the 4 point Equal-I-zer hitch for 16 years now. My trailer is 100% tamed, and follows where ever the truck leads. As mentioned before, tongue weight really should be in the 12-15% weight range. JMHO

 

[AWLINK]

The truck has plenty of power, to much sometimes. The weight of the trailer is base weight, not loaded. I have the larger bump stops already. I got them before the bags,but when we went to Gettysburg and would hit a pothole or something ,the hit felt very hard inside the truck. Adding the airbags helped this a lot. I was mainly wondering if there was anything else I could do to help it be better. My goodyear wranglers squat quit a bit when the camper is hooked up. Thats why the change to e-rated tires.The tounge weight of my camper is 963lbs. I have the eq. hitch with the sway bars.

 

[69GWC]

The Hellwig sway bar will help.
I also feel the my upgraded track bar helped as well.
I also have Tufftruck 1211 springs and Timbergrove air bags.
I just replaced my control arms with Core arms but have not towed my camper to see how it is effected towing yet.

Stock tires suck and I dont think a P rated tire should even be on a truck unless you just use it like a car so a D or E rated tire is a must imo, I run my Es at 65psi .