Ram question 3500

Here is the single best source and or web site I found to "SAFETY" match a tow vehicle/truck to a RV/ 5th wheel. Wished I found this site years ago. You can stop and start the video any time along the way to make notes. Also you can write to them and the customer service is excellent.

RVSEF

Web site: rvsafety.com

Match Truck to Trailers


Charles in Salem Or.

You might look at FW that you like and then pick the truck. When she walks in some beauty with 3 slides and all the gizmos, you could be standing there telling yourself you should have bought a dually or a diesel.

good rule of thumb, 10,000 lbs and under good for gas combo....above 10,000 lbs go diesel.

Click on "lookup my vehicle" on this url for a RAM Towing Guide and put in the VIN #. Don't forget payload weight.

Cdaddy wrote:

Any help to figure out what kind of 5er we could get with this

I have that exact truck and am pretty much maxing it out with my 5th so I can probably help:

5th "dry" brochure weight is 9040#. Much more than that and you will likely overrun some number... or, you may even with that weight.

I'm closest on my payload of 2940# and am sometimes a couple hundred over but am still under my rear axle and tire ratings. 250#+ of my payload is eaten up with a heavy slider hitch that you can forgo with the 8' bed. Also, I travel with wife + 3 kids which is more off the payload.

There are a lot of numbers that come into play and it can be confusing for sure. In the past I've added roughly 2000# of "stuff" to the dry weight of a trailer. Depending on what you pack it could be more or less.

One annoyance every time this comes up is the "just go by the trailer's GVWR" crowd. Honestly, that's crappy advice. A trailer's GVWR is determined by what a trailer "could" carry not what you will put in it. Take the dry weight and account for what you are going to put in it. Also, realize the dry weight may be without batteries, propane tanks and definitely is without water.

Learjet wrote:
good rule of thumb, 10,000 lbs and under good for gas combo....above 10,000 lbs go diesel.

X2. In addition to this if you plan on keeping the truck for a long time go for the Cummins. After having my Cummins for just over 3 years now I can tell you I would not even consider a gasser.... :B

mtofell1 wrote:


One annoyance every time this comes up is the "just go by the trailer's GVWR" crowd. Honestly, that's crappy advice. A trailer's GVWR is determined by what a trailer "could" carry not what you will put in it. Take the dry weight and account for what you are going to put in it. Also, realize the dry weight may be without batteries, propane tanks and definitely is without water.

A very true statement. When we ordered our trailer, we upgraded the axles from 5000# to 6000#. This added a lot to the GVWR, without adding much to the dry weight of the trailer. We can carry 3600# of cargo, but at the last scale weighing, we were only carrying 1800# of cargo. Know your numbers. It can all be very confusing.

Even with the lower cargo weight of the trailer at the scales, my 2007 one ton dually was just 200# under GVWR. The truck had a lot in the bed though, so it was carrying extra cargo (firewood, bikes, hammocks, tools, pallet step).

Mark

Buying a new 3500 RAM it's not that much of a jump to go Cummins. Then there is the AISIN and Rear air Option.

Spend money wisely as in buy it once and be done with it! Don't forget resale.

SanMarMor wrote:

mtofell1 wrote:


One annoyance every time this comes up is the "just go by the trailer's GVWR" crowd. Honestly, that's crappy advice. A trailer's GVWR is determined by what a trailer "could" carry not what you will put in it. Take the dry weight and account for what you are going to put in it. Also, realize the dry weight may be without batteries, propane tanks and definitely is without water.

A very true statement. When we ordered our trailer, we upgraded the axles from 5000# to 6000#. This added a lot to the GVWR, without adding much to the dry weight of the trailer. We can carry 3600# of cargo, but at the last scale weighing, we were only carrying 1800# of cargo. Know your numbers. It can all be very confusing.

Even with the lower cargo weight of the trailer at the scales, my 2007 one ton dually was just 200# under GVWR. The truck had a lot in the bed though, so it was carrying extra cargo (firewood, bikes, hammocks, tools, pallet step).

Mark

One really needs to look DRY and GVWR!!

It is really surprising how low some 5er's payloads are. 30'+ with 1,200# payload is really bad, then you have the Arctic Fox at 35' and almost 5,000#.
The issues with a gas one ton is NOT going to be payload, it will be what it can pull. The 6.4 Hemi is a strong engine, and if most towing is mostly flat good to go, personally I would consider 12,000# about max for comfortable tow.

Looking at the original post it says "2015" so I assume he is considering a specific used truck.
Or maybe it's a typo.