First Tow with 2016 3500 Ram
Good afternoon,
Today I went and picked my fiver up after it had some routine maintenance and 3 new axles installed. I used to tow it with a 2012 3500 that had the same gearing and Laramie features. The one big difference is the tranny and auto level air bag system. My 12 had the 68 tranny and Firestone air bags.
The first think I noticed was how quietly the truck aired the bags up after I hooked up to my fifth wheel hitch. By the time I was done plugging in the electric cable and putting a few landing gear blocks away the truck leveled out nicely. As I pulled away from Affordable RV repair shop the one thing that was more apparent was the lack of any cab shudder from dead stop. My camper weighs a bit over 19,000 lbs. with a 4100 lbs tongue weight. My 12 would shake the cab a little until the truck started to get rolling. I always apply the throttle gently so it gives the truck a chance to engage.
Going down the road the air bags did better than I imagined. The truck stayed planted and did not bounce around like I anticipated. I figured it might due to not being able to put as much air in like I did when I had the Firestone air bags. It was a solid feel. The truck steered better as well. You could feel the road better in the wheel and the body seemed a lot more stiff as the road imperfections started to come along. As for going from 800 to 900 lbs. of torque, you definitely feel the difference on the hills as well as on the long inclines that may only be 2 or 3% grades for a mile or so. I also had 40 gallons of fuel in my aux tank and roughly 25 gallons in my main tank.
I am very happy to say that the truck was worth the trade up. Look forward to hitting the larger grades this spring and summer when we hit the road. Just wanted to share.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/YnotTurbo/Mobile%20Uploads/image_20.jpeg
Today I went and picked my fiver up after it had some routine maintenance and 3 new axles installed. I used to tow it with a 2012 3500 that had the same gearing and Laramie features. The one big difference is the tranny and auto level air bag system. My 12 had the 68 tranny and Firestone air bags.
The first think I noticed was how quietly the truck aired the bags up after I hooked up to my fifth wheel hitch. By the time I was done plugging in the electric cable and putting a few landing gear blocks away the truck leveled out nicely. As I pulled away from Affordable RV repair shop the one thing that was more apparent was the lack of any cab shudder from dead stop. My camper weighs a bit over 19,000 lbs. with a 4100 lbs tongue weight. My 12 would shake the cab a little until the truck started to get rolling. I always apply the throttle gently so it gives the truck a chance to engage.
Going down the road the air bags did better than I imagined. The truck stayed planted and did not bounce around like I anticipated. I figured it might due to not being able to put as much air in like I did when I had the Firestone air bags. It was a solid feel. The truck steered better as well. You could feel the road better in the wheel and the body seemed a lot more stiff as the road imperfections started to come along. As for going from 800 to 900 lbs. of torque, you definitely feel the difference on the hills as well as on the long inclines that may only be 2 or 3% grades for a mile or so. I also had 40 gallons of fuel in my aux tank and roughly 25 gallons in my main tank.
I am very happy to say that the truck was worth the trade up. Look forward to hitting the larger grades this spring and summer when we hit the road. Just wanted to share.
http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/YnotTurbo/Mobile%20Uploads/image_20.jpeg
