2001 Dodge towing chart

Sorry ...wrong column on the chart actually is 13,450 lbs. Still the older high quality units are at the upper end.

Had an 01.5 HO 6spd dually with 3.55. At times I ran near a 20k weight trailer, scaling 27-28k combined.

The trailer weight you mention sounds right. I want to remember the GCWR on the truck being 20k.

Those trucks are WAYYYYY under rated. I would not hesitate towing a 18K RV with that truck just make sure the trans has been built to handle it! If the truck does not already have them add BOSCH 275 HP RV injectors. You will have more power and better mileage.

As long as you aren't exceeding your tire or axle weights with all the pin weight of the FW then you can go as heavy as you want. Tow capacity is not a legally enforceable issue, that is, no one's going to ticket you for towing over the number you found in the manual.
The heavier you tow the slower you will be going up hills. That can be addressed by modifying the truck and transmission for more power or you can just live with the slow ascent.
You also need to pay attention to your state's tag weight laws. If your truck is only tagged with passenger car tags rated 7,500 pounds and it actually weights around 12,000 pounds hitched up you could get a ticket for that.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Those trucks are WAYYYYY under rated. I would not hesitate towing a 18K RV with that truck just make sure the trans has been built to handle it! If the truck does not already have them add BOSCH 275 HP RV injectors. You will have more power and better mileage.

And you have an exhaust brake installed with something to keep the torque converter locked.

Chris

I would be more concerned with proper fuel pressure for the injection pump.

I agree, My truck is a 2000 single, with 500 HP, 1200 ft lbs of torque(stays cool while towing heavy), Allison 5 speed transmission, 271 Ford transfer case, 2007 front brakes, Dana 80 rear end, exhaust brake, 19.5 wheels and tires, 60 gallon fuel tank, big front bumper better steering box and linkage, new trac bar and bracket. Truck weighs in around 7400 lbs and if I were to go by the GVW rating on the truck it would be unusable with a 8800 lb rating. I regularly have up to 5000 lbs in the bed it always sits level. Would a duelly be better, yes, but I hate driving them when not towing.

I don't believe I will have a problem with towing, or braking, if I take it easy......What do you think?

Weak links on old dodge trucks:
53 engine block
poor steering linkage and steering boxes
Bad track bar design
Automatic Transmissions
Lift pump
low power
weak front brakes
poor headlights
dashes crack
Dana 70u rear ends
some transfer cases are light duty

fix most of these issues and you should be good to go for a very long time.

You can see I had all of these issues, My truck was mainly used for towing and it went through six transmissions. even built ones before I gave up and went with an Allison. :).

I had a 2001. The limiting factor is the auto transmission and the 3:55 gears. Back then the manual transmission trucks were rated quite a bit higher. The srw can actually pull more than the duelly because the truck weighs less. Of course it can’t carry as much. Going to 4:10 gears will get you another 2000 lbs. That’s what I did because a lot of my towing is in the mountains. My 5th grossed out at just over 10K and I wouldn’t have wanted to go much higher. If you tow mostly on the flat, you should be OK with more. Invest in a transmission temperature gauge.

wcjeep wrote:
I would be more concerned with proper fuel pressure for the injection pump.

I am willing to bet that truck and near every VP44 out there have been rebuilt including a new lift pump or at the minimum a better lift pump.

"rbcamping" your tq and hp numbers are not what I would expect for a 24V 2nd gen your TQ for 500 hp is on the high side. Numbers from an actual Dyno? Or a guesstimate?

SIX transmissions??? I'm guessing they did NOT know what they were doing. The 48 can be made VERY dependable by many builders and is a preferred trans for racing.

Sounds like you spent as much money as just buying a new fully capable truck. Hey been there and dunn that!