2018 Ram 2500
Trying to figure out the towing capacity for 2018 Ram 2500 6.4 hemi with 3.73 axle short bed crew cab. We are looking into buying a 14000 lb fifth wheel. Has anyone pull this heavy of a fifth wheel w...
Forum Discussion
all what Grit said plus, a 2018 crew cab short box 2500 will defiantly exceed the payload capacity if the 5th wheel is properly loaded. with a payload of only 3000 lbs, a 14000lb 5th should have a pin weight of approximately 3500lbs. then add 200 lbs for the 5th wheel hitch and we are at 3700lbs and we haven't filled up the gas tank or put people or pets in the truck yet.
now Grit will probably tell you Dodge's run on unicorns and pixi dust and will handle it.. most truck will but it will not be safe with out some modifications to the suspension and then you will still be non compliant with the Law haha
Well, yeah it will handle a 4klb pin weight with just some airbags. Not unlike your Ford. Although the Ram 2500 coils are not my first choice for heavy loads, they doo fine. They also make heavy duty coils for about the same $ as a basic set of bags.
The parts of the truck that care about the pin weight from a structural standpoint are the same on a 2500, 3500 and dually, save for springs.
Yes the OE rims will be at or near their load rating. I won’t digress into the millions of miles that are racked up on slightly overloaded (based on conservative mfg ratings, imo) srw rims without issue.
And there’s not a “law” to break regarding this unless maybe the OP is your neighbor. Not a thing in the US of A.
“Safety” of it is all relative. But to your point, someone who’s got a wholly underpowered truck asking this basic of a question may want or need to err on the side of being extra safe with the equipment to help with their lack of experience.
But regardless, the powertrain is wholly under sized for pulling that kind of weight and wind resistance unless out in the prairies, IMO.
you guys can't get a fine for being overloaded in the US of A? if not why are so many people posting about it all the time?
ya I am not sure why they ever went to coil springs in a 3/4 ton, I can see in a 1/2 ton but oh well.
and the parries can be the worst toing you ever do, I have got my worst fuel milage in the flat lands because of the dam head and side winds. I live in the heart of the rocky mountains and usually don't get great milage to start with but I go to Alberta of Saskatchewan if the wind is up say good buy to any fuel savings 🤣
Stir crazy,
Yes, I can get a fine for being overloaded per say. It will not be because I am over a manufacture limit! It will be because I have not bought enough tonnage. IE in my 1500's case, If I had bought gotten a 6000 gvw plate vs the 8000 I chose, went down the road at 7200 lbs per GM's warranty weight rating, I am 1200 lbs overweight per my paid for registration. "GENERALLY SPEAKING" I would not get an actual ticket. Probably a 10 day up my registration by 2000 lbs to 8000. We buy tonnage here in Wa state by 2000 lbs increments. I had this happen in my dump truck one. Cost to me, $15-20 IIRC. Approximate cost per ton I pay for my trucks. Personal or commercial use.
I've seen a person or two in Oregon say they got weighed and had to buy a new truck with correct tonnage to pull there RV. I would swag probably they had not BOUGHT enough tonnage for the truck/trailer combo they had to pull their RV. All they really had to do was pay more tonnage on their current truck/trailer combo. BUT the story goes they had too small of a truck!
A vehicle with a gcwr of 12K with a V6 vs a V8 at 15000. The V6 rig at 15000 is no less or safer than the V8. OTHER THAN it can pull grades faster! Or it might be able to pull a steeper grade in 1st grade with-out stalling. Then again, as I have had rigs with BIGGER Motors get out pulled by rigs I've owned with smaller motor, due to lower overall gears in axel and transmissions, allowing them to pull a steeper grade without stalling.
Above hence why a GCWR is a performance rating. WHAT is the spec that this rating meets? What I want the truck to do, vs you, vs an engineer at the manufacture? OR how much does the manufacture want to limit their warranty pay out for parts that break.
I only know of one jurisdiction that truly enforces the manufactures weight ratings, that is British Columbia. IF a US state only enforces the manufactures ratings, then as I've noted many times, that state is not enforcing the "Federal Bridge Laws" which is the truck weight law in our country. That states federal dollars for road maintenance and new roads can be withheld. This is the engineer spec that LEO/CVEO enforce. What the roads are designed to carry per axle. A state can go higher, ie Wa st if you have a dually you can put 600 lbs per inch width of tire on that vehicle up to 20K lbs per. singles it is 500 lbs. If a state enforces less than 500 lbs, they are going against the minimum std of the FBL. A state can allow more. More damage to the roads can occur.
With ALL the above said for who knows how many times I have posted this, an leo/cveo can get you off the road if you are a menace to society. Generally speaking, it can be because of weight only. Brakes are over loaded and do not meet a field test, ie stop on a level from 10 mph in X feet. Battery on the towed rig has a 11.5V or less to activate the trailer brakes. Trailer brakes so not hold the Truck at a stop or at least have all the tires locked up when starting up. I do not know of a law that says the truck has to stop the trailer! These are things that can stop most of us, as we have some time or electric braking system. Surge has other field tests to see if the brakes work etc for the trailer or some laws state "Towed vehicle" meaning a literal trailer or a towed car.
I can give more examples etc of what can get you off the road. Literally being overweight as most of us would think of being overweight is few and far between. Even with semi commercial vehicles.
MartyYes, I can get a fine for being overloaded per say. It will not be because I am over a manufacture limit! It will be because I have not bought enough tonnage. IE in my 1500's case, If I had bought gotten a 6000 gvw plate vs the 8000 I chose, went down the road at 7200 lbs per GM's warranty weight rating, I am 1200 lbs overweight per my paid for registration. "GENERALLY SPEAKING" I would not get an actual ticket. Probably a 10 day up my registration by 2000 lbs to 8000. We buy tonnage here in Wa state by 2000 lbs increments. I had this happen in my dump truck one. Cost to me, $15-20 IIRC. Approximate cost per ton I pay for my trucks. Personal or commercial use.
ya, and this concept is forging to anyone in Canada as we cannot do this. the weight on the sticker is the weight they will weigh against to determine if you are overloaded or not.
you buggers can probably convert a SRW to DRW and then just up the weight on the reg to handle it , while we are still limited by the weights associated with the vin number. I would love to be able to do this as I would just put the DRW spring set in my truck, switch to 19.5" rims and change my GWVR to give me a 8000lb payload haha
Nope. But you’ve been here long enough to be part of hundreds of these inane conversations spurred by lack of knowledge and experience.
Also not so surprisingly antagonistic, “prairies can be the worst”. Yup there’s wind, great.
But a NA gasser on big grades and at altitude will show it’s poorly dealt hand quicker than rolling across Saskatchetoon….loloh ya, any time you hit a hill you going to know it if your driving a gasser, why do you think I am in a diesel now LOL. I forst got my old 28 foot tow behind I had a ford f150. coming over the pass on the island where I lived at the time I could only get to 30MPH by the summit, I did that one trip then traded it in on a 3/4 ton diesel. milage went from 8mpg to 19mpg and I was able to accelerate to 70mph on that same hill 🤣
