Towing with a lift

[qkrx7]

Towing with a lift?

First I want to say a lot of you guys have some nice trucks I can only hope to aspire too. Also I may be over analyzing this but I don't want to buy the wrong truck and waste money. Sorry for the long post and lot of info.

I am trying to figure out if I should buy a new truck with a hemi or the Cummins. I question witch one to buy only because of what I will be towing a Cummins maybe over kill, but then again maybe its not for were I will be towing . I am hoping to get some advice from people who actual drive these trucks.

I would like to do a lift on the truck once I get it. 5-6 inch would be nice. thinking 35 inch for the tires. When I buy the truck I am planning 3:92's for gears.

Currently towing a trailer and RZR at about 1800lb plus another 500-700lb of stuff. Have plans to buy a second one plus a new trailer. This will put the trailer and 2 rzr's any were between 3600 and 4200 depending on the type of trailer pluse the 500-700 more lb.

I am a stay at home dad so out of the about 11000 miles a year I drive about 8000 of those will be towing. We do about 4200 miles a year from Denver going west threw the mountains to Moab, Vegas, And brain head. About 1000 miles is threw the mountains to different trails here in Colorado. I do another 2800 miles going east back to the family farm in Missouri.
I am not really worried about the towing going east I am more concerned about go west threw the mountains. Currently my big fat pig Chevy avalanche will tow what I have ok, but after a 100k miles a working the crap out of it, it is on it last leg.

1. Just wonder with the lift and tires will the hemi be able to handle this with out me running the crap out of it going threw the mountains?

2. With the Hemi will I be able to add more power to make up some loss from the tires?

3. On the other hand I worry that getting the Cummins would be over kill an do just as much damage by not working it hard enough and just more truck then I well ever need?

Not sure if I should have put this in towing or lifted. went with lifted thinking more directed to people with lifts.I am hoping to get as much input as I can and hoping some consensus on direction I should go. Thanks to everyone's help on this and again sorry for being so long would rather spend money on mods and not a truck that wont work.

John

 

[Bgrthnurhemi]

The hemi will be fine. I have a 2011 Dodge Ram 4x4 Quad Cab Laramie that had 3.92s with 33s on 20s from the factory. I towed with that setup for over a year before deciding to lift my truck. I first leveled the truck, installed a set of air lift bags in the rear coils and put a set of 35x12.50r20 on the factory 20s. I towed with that setup for about 6 months before deciding to pull the trigger on a suspension lift. I currently have a RCX 6" lift, with Kore Bilstein 5100s up front set at 1.4 and custom 6" rear coil springs from Valley Spring Works in California. So roughly 7.5" lift up front and 6" in the rear. My truck sat dead level with the RCX 4" rear lift coils that came with the RCX lift, but when I would attach either of my trailers they caused it to squat quite a bit. That's why I opted for a true 6" progressive rate coil rather than a linear coil like that in the RCX kit. My tires are still 35s, but I've since swapped in a set of 4.56 gears. All in all the truck tows great.

Now let me tell you a little bit about what I tow. I have a 22 foot boat on a tandem axle trailer that weighs anywhere from 4000-5000 lbs. I tow that every weekend in the summer. Every other weekend I tow my 95 YJ rock crawler on a 20 foot steel deck car hauler with tandem 5200 lb axles. That load tips the scales at 7500 lbs. With that load, I use a weight distribution hitch and it does fine.

I currently live in Oklahoma, but am from Colorado and used to have a 2004 Hemi that towed my jeep and trailer to Moab twice a year. My 2011 has a lot more power and lower gear ratio than what my 2004 did and that truck had 37s and 3.73 gears .

I thought about getting a Cummins when I bought my 2011, but knew it was overkill for what I needed. If I had a toy hauler, or fifth wheel, or needed the truck for work and would be towing 8000 lb plus everyday then that's one thing, but for what I tow the hemi has more than enough power.

So unless you might end up towing more than your current weight of 5000 lbs, the Cummins is overkill, not to mention a lot more cost up front and in fuel.

 

[qkrx7]

I kind of figured the hemi would be plenty for me to tow what I am planning. I also figure that if I need a Cummins then I have more toys then I need. Thank you very much for you input and all the info you provided. I think I will stick with the hemi. I am sure I wont be needing a Cummins for at least 3-4 years. I was a little worried I would buy a hemi then turn right around and need the Cummins wasting time and money on a truck I was not going to keep for very long. Once again thank you this helped me out a lot and convinced me on what to buy.

John

 

[Bgrthnurhemi]

You're welcome. You will always have people say "man you should've gone with a Cummins", but for what you are looking to tow it's overkill. Just make sure you get a Hemi with a tow package and 3.92 gears and you will be okay. If you find out when towing over Eisenhower Tunnel that your truck still feels a bit sluggish with 35s and 3.92s, you can always add basic bolt-ons like a tuner, intake, and exhaust. If that's still not enough, then you can install lower gears to compensate for the 35s. Even after adding all those performance mods, you will still save thousands over the cost of a 3/4 ton Cummins.

 

[qkrx7]

I was thinking just what you were saying about the bolt-ons. I kind of figured that with the 3:92 I would be able to add enough power that it would at least feel close to stock. well I guess the hemi it is. Saving the money over the 2/4 ton will let me buy more toys. thanks again.

John

 

[cableguy_hd]

I tow 7000lbs pretty damn good with a 3.92 rear end.

 

[mcompany]

I tow a Ranger bass boat. For those of you who know boats, complete rig, trailer boat gear, weighs damn near 8k. A hemi is plenty man. And my 4.56 gears are overkill, although awesome haha. 3.92s will be good. I used to tow same rig with my old 08 1500

 

[qkrx7]

Thanks everyone on this. Time to do some shopping to find just the right tuck.

 

[Disturbed]

Bgrthnurhemi do you happen to have any pictures of you towing with the WDH?