Unhappy with 1500 towing. Need Help

[IvoryHemi]

Well I’m very tempted to start looking at 2500’s or (shutter to think) F-250’s! My 2020 only has 12k miles on it so maybe it’s worth a decent trade-in amount. Of course on the other end of that the 2500’s aren’t cheap either and now that I have grown accustomed to the Longhorn luxuries I would have a hard time with a heavier duty truck without the goodies that I have on the 1500. I’m not sure I’m ready for a diesel. I guess I’ll do some research on the 6.4.
Thank you guys for all of your suggestions. It’s been a big help.
Hank

Careful... payload on a diesel 2500 isn’t significantly higher than 1500

 

[barr0208]

Well I’m very tempted to start looking at 2500’s or (shutter to think) F-250’s! My 2020 only has 12k miles on it so maybe it’s worth a decent trade-in amount. Of course on the other end of that the 2500’s aren’t cheap either and now that I have grown accustomed to the Longhorn luxuries I would have a hard time with a heavier duty truck without the goodies that I have on the 1500. I’m not sure I’m ready for a diesel. I guess I’ll do some research on the 6.4.
Thank you guys for all of your suggestions. It’s been a big help.
Hank

you can get the bells and whistles and the 6.4 2500 has lots of payload

 

[392DevilDog]

Thank you ranffll. So I’m surmising that several of you are saying indirectly that in reality I’m expecting too much from my Longhorn with respect to my particular tr

Well I’m very tempted to start looking at 2500’s or (shutter to think) F-250’s! My 2020 only has 12k miles on it so maybe it’s worth a decent trade-in amount. Of course on the other end of that the 2500’s aren’t cheap either and now that I have grown accustomed to the Longhorn luxuries I would have a hard time with a heavier duty truck without the goodies that I have on the 1500. I’m not sure I’m ready for a diesel. I guess I’ll do some research on the 6.4.
Thank you guys for all of your suggestions. It’s been a big help.
Hank

The 6.4l Hemi has to rev too. You do not need a 2500...but a longhorns is a fat truck. You could get a decently optioned Bighorn...or even a Laramie and with 3.92 alot of your issues will be fixed.

But...any gasser has to sing. It is their anthem.

And diesels are just so finiky these days. And diesel here just hit 5.15 a gallon.

Your truck will do the job....
You just need to understand it.

 

[White six four]

How often and how far of trips do you plan on taking with the camper? Is your 1500 your daily driver? Although the 6.4 makes more power in lower rpms compared to the 5.7 it will still have to rev to make power. If the 1500 is your daily you won't like the mpg using a 2500 as your daily. Unless you don't drive much or maybe that doesn't matter to you. I have a 2500 6.4 and love it but if it's just me and I don't need the truck or I'm going to work I take my car. Which is a 5 speed and ironically runs at 2700 rpm in 5th at 70 mph on the interstate. You'll get used to it.

 

[Bricknhank]

Yep, it’s my daily driver but I’m retired so some days I drive, some days I don’t. I’m not sure how much camping we will be doing. Based on my initial drive, not as much as I thought.
I like what 392devildog had to say. My truck will do the job I just need to understand it. If I stay on flatland it might do he job for a while. If I plan to go any distance or explore into the mountains, I think it will struggle.

 

[dhay13]

Agreed with 392DevilDog. While a 2500 would be better you may not NEED it. I mentioned earlier that I towed my sons brand new 2018 GD Imagine 2670MK with my 2013 1500. My son then bought a 2018 2500 6.4 and towed it about 9000 miles. I went with him on his trip from Pittsburgh to Baytown, TX (1400 miles) and the 6.4 never knew it was there. We got about 8.5 MPG towing it. I also have a 2018 2500 6.4 wiht 4.10's. Mine is loaded except leather, heated seats and sunroof so you can get plenty of luxury options. A diesel is overkill but would work great. And as mentioned, a 2500 Cummins is payload limited also. Payload is calculated by taking GVWR and subtracting curb (base) weight. My payload is 2973lbs (10,000 - curb weight-7027lbs). A Cummins weighs about 900lbs more than a 6.4 so most have about 2100lbs of payload. You would have plenty of room with your current TT but if you ever decide to move up to a 5th wheel then you will be maxing out a 2500 Cummins and likely be over payload.
If you plan on going long distances or towing every weekend you might want to think about a 2500. It will be a much more relaxed trip.
My advice is to load up the truck and trailer as you normally would then head to a CAT scale (most truck stops have them) and get a weight. Be sure you are not over GRAWR. You can find that on that black and silver sticker you posted earlier and should be about 3900lbs. If you are over that then you definitely need to change something. That is a number you want to be sure to stay under. Going over that can cause premature axle wear (bearings, etc). We never weighed my son's 2670 with a 1500 but my step-son has a 2021 GD Imagine 3250BH and he weighed it with his 2020 Tundra and the rear axles was about 400lbs over GRAWR. That TT weighed 9300lbs. I towed it home with my 2500.
Here is the CAT scale slip from my sons 2670MK and his 2500 6.4. He was living in his camper so was loaded pretty heavy. He had 1100lbs tongue weight. With the 3250BH we had 1300lbs tongue weight

 

[ramffml]

Absolutely true. Towed the same trailer with my buddies 3.21 and my 3.92. Big difference. 3.92 comes off the line way better, passes better, pulls hills better without hunting gears or getting down in the tranny so far.

Absolutely not true. It doesn't matter what you say you pulled; mathematically, the same gear ratios are available at highway speeds between the 3.21 and 3.92. Other than "off the line" which is true, everything else you said is factually not possible.

He's not complaining about "off the line". He's complaining about sitting at 2700 RPM's in 5th gear at 62 mph, with the 3.92 he'd be in 6th gear at 62 mph at 2700 RPMs.

 

[IDSandman]

Absolutely not true. It doesn't matter what you say you pulled; mathematically, the same gear ratios are available at highway speeds between the 3.21 and 3.92. Other than "off the line" which is true, everything else you said is factually not possible.

He's not complaining about "off the line". He's complaining about sitting at 2700 RPM's in 5th gear at 62 mph, with the 3.92 he'd be in 6th gear at 62 mph at 2700 RPMs.

You literally just backed up my post by trying to contradict it. Lol!!

 

[ramffml]

You literally just backed up my post by trying to contradict it. Lol!!

You can't read. I said the only thing in your statement which is true, is that the 3.92 gets off the line easier.

What you said that is not true: "Big difference. passes better, pulls hills better without hunting gears or getting down in the tranny so far."

All that is not true.

And if you read his original post you will see that he's not complaining about off the line, he's complaining about sitting at 2700 rpms in 5th gear. A 3.92 just means he's sitting now at 2700 rpms in 6th gear but there will be no difference/increase in power or decrease in RPMs.

In other words; the 3.92 won't correct the problem he has.

 

[KKBB]

My take is if you are not towing a bunch or going very far then just slow down and take your time and it will be fine. You are retired, so it you are wanting to go camping alot, and or travel far when doing so I would upgrade to a 2500, or 3500 diesel. I have always had a cummins until now. I have the 6.4 hemi now and it pulls our 11k fifth wheel fine. It is not a cummins by any means, but gets the job done. We only go about 55 miles to our favorite spot. I went with the gas because I like the quick warm-ups in Iowa winters, and I only drive 1 mile to work which would not be great on the cummins emissions system at some point.

 

[Bricknhank]

Well here’s a bummer. Apparently all 2500’s are made in Mexico!

 

[crash68]

Apparently all 2500’s are made in Mexico!

There was talk about moving production of the HD trucks to the Warren Truck plant (where the 1500 Classics were/are built) but it's changed to the Grand Wagoneer now.
Some 1500 configurations are built at the Saltillo Truck Assembly along with the HDs but as of now all Gen5 body 1500s are built at SHAP(couple miles from Warren Truck in Michigan).

 

[rp709]

Don’t worry, your truck is running fine. You must use tow haul all the time with that load. The Ram has 2 overdrive gears and driving in 6th is to be expected. The 3:21 gears drop the tow rating about 3k Compared with the 3:92. Remember, the rating is based on uphill AND downhill—the tow haul mode is necessary. The Hemi tranny is programEd to up shift to hold around 4,200 rpm for peak torque. You can do this all day long and the cooling is designed for this on really hot days and steep grades. A Hemi will not match a turbocharged Ford Ecoboost or a turbo diesel at high altitudes towing at the rated limit. How often will you be in this acute situation? The Hemi will manage and you won’t have to live with a diesel 99% of the other times. Enjoy your Ram!

 

[Bricknhank]

Thank you rp

 

[tron67j]

Well I’m very tempted to start looking at 2500’s or (shutter to think) F-250’s! My 2020 only has 12k miles on it so maybe it’s worth a decent trade-in amount. Of course on the other end of that the 2500’s aren’t cheap either and now that I have grown accustomed to the Longhorn luxuries I would have a hard time with a heavier duty truck without the goodies that I have on the 1500. I’m not sure I’m ready for a diesel. I guess I’ll do some research on the 6.4.
Thank you guys for all of your suggestions. It’s been a big help.
Hank

As you are new, it is a different experience. Tow a few times and see if you can get to a comfort level in your drive. Keeping weight down, switch on tow mode, and drive a decent speed, you might find it works for you. If not, 2500 is a good truck, on my second and it gives me more than enough capacity (2900lbs payload for my configuration) plus a lot of trailer weight. If you do start shopping, open the doors and look at the numbers on sticker.

 

[corneileous]

Today I picked up my Grand Design Imagine 2600rb. I’m a first time RV’r. I was incredibly disappointed as to how the 75 mile ride home went. It was all expressway and mostly flat (It is Illinois) and my truck rarely made it out of 5th gear! My truck is a 2020 Longhorn with a towing capacity of 8120 lbs with a max payload of 1770lbs. 5.7 Hemi with e torque and 3:21 gears. 8HP75 transmission. The trailer weighs 5800lbs dry and since it was new there was nothing loaded in the trailer yet. I used a weight distributing hitch, Equal-I-Zer brand.

At 62mph (with everyone passing me) in a 70mph limit, the truck was revving at 2700rpm’s in 5th gear. I did use tow haul to enter the expressway but turned it off once speed increased. There were a few times on a slight downgrade that the transmission shifted into 6th gear and one time coasting it briefly went into 7th gear but it was brief. The Electronic Range Select (ERS) was not engaged. Upshifting and downshifting were fine.
I have never had any problems mechanically with this truck and up until today (with exception of some Rambox latch problems) I have loved this Longhorn. The 5.7 has always been a good runner for me.

So, please, I’m looking for suggestions from experienced RV’rs asto what is going on here? Is the 3:21 gear the culprit? Did Ram overstate the towing capacity? Just because the truck’s frame and axles can physically carry the weight, maybe the transmission isn’t equipped for towing. I’m leery to add the usual weight of daily necessities for a trailer trip let alone hitting any hilly areas. After at $70K for a truck and another $40K for the trailer it quite disappointing. I’m desperately seeking experienced analyses.
Thanks in advance,
Hank

I hate to break it to you but your gears is what's holding you back just despite the fact that you have over 8,000-pounds in towing capacity. Those trucks with the 3.21 gears just weren't made to tow stuff like that unless you're towing very light and for short distances. You really need an ecodiesel with the 3.55‘s or the 3.92's in the Hemi. I'm not saying you can't do it with your truck, I'm just saying this is going to be how it is unless you at least, if anything, upgrade your diffs to the lower 3.92's.

 

[IvoryHemi]

You really need an ecodiesel with the 3.55‘s

3.55 is only with the 3.6L or 6.2L

EcoDiesel is also 3.21 or 3.92

 

[corneileous]

3.55 is only with the 3.6L or 6.2L

EcoDiesel is also 3.21 or 3.92

My bad, I was thinking the Eco did or at least at one time come with the 3.55’s but either way, anything’s better than those redundant 3.21’s.

 

[crash68]

My bad, I was thinking the Eco did or at least at one time come with the 3.55’s but either way, anything’s better than those redundant 3.21’s.

The EcoDiesel DT body is 3.21 or 3.92 where as the DS body is 3.55 or 3.92.

 

[corneileous]

The EcoDiesel DT body is 3.21 or 3.92 where as the DS body is 3.55 or 3.92.

I was gonna say, I was thinking I was right that at least the older body-style Eco’s had the 3.55 option but whatever, the OP doesn’t have either so it doesn’t matter anyway.