Towing with Pentastar V6 pickup truck
Hello, I would like to hear from anyone towing a travel trailer with a Ram 1/2 ton equipped with 305 hp 3.6L Pentastar V6, 8 speed ZF automatic, & 3.21 axle ratio. It appears that the truck is rated t...
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If the only difference really is the rear end gear (the cooling and everything else stays the same), I have always felt that the transmission can be downshifted to get the RPMs back up where they need to be for good torque & HP output. But if your rear end gears are smaller and lighter weight than the 3.55 set, they could be damaged (Toyota Tacomas, for example, put a smaller diameter gearset in the rear end of a 4 cyl than what their V6 model gets).
That said, I think you will be pushing your drive train harder than you like to tow that trailer. In practice, your loaded weight will probably be more like 5500 lbs once you add LP, battery, water and gear to that dry weight. (And your hitch weight could easily exceed 700 lbs if you aren't careful how you load it.) I towed 3000-3500 lb (loaded weight) trailers all over the country with a 270 HP V6 in a Toyota, and I know I would not have wanted to try towing the unit you mention with that size V6.
The Pentastar was rated for 290 HP just a couple years ago; when they tweak for more HP, the torque usually doesn't increase correspondingly. It would struggle hard on any long or steep grades.
That said, I think you will be pushing your drive train harder than you like to tow that trailer. In practice, your loaded weight will probably be more like 5500 lbs once you add LP, battery, water and gear to that dry weight. (And your hitch weight could easily exceed 700 lbs if you aren't careful how you load it.) I towed 3000-3500 lb (loaded weight) trailers all over the country with a 270 HP V6 in a Toyota, and I know I would not have wanted to try towing the unit you mention with that size V6.
The Pentastar was rated for 290 HP just a couple years ago; when they tweak for more HP, the torque usually doesn't increase correspondingly. It would struggle hard on any long or steep grades.
