96 dodge ram 5th wheel limits

its almost the exact truck you just described. 1996 dodge ram 1500, extended cab, short bed. 5.9 V8, 4X4. automatic. so it looks like i would have no room to work with. :(

Could you be more specific about the truck?
I had a '96 Dodge 4wd 1500 short bed ext. cab. It weighed 5,300 pounds empty. The truck's GVWR was 6,400 if I remember correctly. That only left 1,100 pounds of payload. A few passengers and a FW hitch could eat that up without even hitching the trailer.
If you've got a 2wd reg. cab you might be able to make a very small FW work.
I used to have the Dodge towing guide for that truck but I can't find it. I must have thrown it away when I sold the truck. I think the max towing capacity was 7,250 pounds. Of course, that would be with an empty truck.

dang, not the answer i was hoping for , but thanks for letting me know. looks like i will just be getting another TT.

Very little...I doubt you can find anything that was built recently that would work. Some of the older 20 ft fifth wheels with the crawl in bedroom might work. I had one like yours and it was WAY overloaded pulling a 26 ft travel trailer. White knuckles all the way. I didn't keep it very long..

B.O.