Towing 9K pound loaded trailer with Ram 2500
Hi Everyone- I have a 2024 Ram 2500 CC tradesman 6.4 hemi with 4.10 gears and a GVWR of 10,000 lbs. I am looking at buying a TT that is 7800 lbs unloaded, loaded looking at around 9000 lbs or so. ...
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As noted, that should not be an issue.
Places it can become an issue, ie like myself at one time, a crewcab with 4 adult sized teens along with mom and dad. 1200-1300 lbs of payload gone with people. A couple of malamutes in crates in the bed, rack, cross bed tool box, maybe a canoe and bicycles in the bed, you might have room for a 6-7000 lbs trailers hitch wt of 750 lbs! Much less the 1200-1500 for the trailer you are looking at.
EVERYONES situation is a bit different. Some might manage that trailer with a heavier 15 series truck from GM or Ford. Most of the Dodge ones do not have the payload, much less a beefier suspension to handle that trailer. POWER wise just about every truck no matter the gvw has the HP etc compared to when I started pulling trailers in the late 70's. A 250/400 hp torque motor was a monster motor.....compare that to todays diesel with 500/1000 power specs, 10 gears in the trans vs 3....PAYLOAD is the key today with most rigs.
Marty
Agreed on power. My Dad had a late 1970's Dodge van with the upgraded 360 and I think is was 225hp. I had a 1992 f250 7.3l diesel that had 180hp and was a towing machine in it's day..
Now I don't think you can find a 6cyclinder with less than 300hp and the turbo 4 bangers are well north of 300hp. For 3/4 or 1 ton trucks, they mostly start around 350hp and going above 400hp is common without even getting into the diesels.
My first NEW truck was an 81 C2500 with a 120'ishHP 292 I6. Compared to my current 1500 with a 285/305, I've pulled a 4% grade at 50-53 mph with an 8500 lbs trailer behind me! That 292 would be in 2nd gear of a muncie 4sp barely doing 20-25mph. The gearing in it made it pull steeper grades at heavier gvw than the BB V8's with the 3 sp TH400 behind them. I stalled them puppies out more times than I care to admit!
Amazing what a little more HP and torque, add in 2-7 more gears, and you have the ability to do better! I can imagine my 96 6.5td with an NV5600 vs the 4500, having to drop from 50 at 1700 rpm on a hill, to 50 at 3200 redline, dropping to 35 at 2600 for a smoother quieter drive up a 4% freeway grade,. the 6 sp would have put me at 40-45 at 2600 rpm due to being a 1.3 vs a 1.6 gear below direct!Marty
