I got it narrowed down between 2 tow vehicles. Both should be WELL within my towing capacity. I tow a 26' wildwood tbss travel trailer loaded down at 6,700#'s...FIRST, I have found a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 5.7 Hemi 57,000 miles 4x4 w/ 3.92 rear end with tow capacity of 8,500#s specs are below...(With 3.92 Axle Ratio Axle Ratio You Can Tow 8500 lbs Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) = 6700 lbsPayload = 1347 lbsCurb Weight = 5353 lbsCurb Weight Front/Rear = 3120 lbs/3120 lbsGAWR Front/Rear = 3900 lbs/3900 lbsGross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) = 14000 lbs )SECOND, I found a 2005 Dodge 2500 4x4 quad cab w/ 3.73 rear end and 5.7 Hemi. Very very low miles. Towing capacity of 8,800#sSpecs are below...With 3.73 Axle Ratio Axle Ratio You Can Tow 8800 lbs Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) = 8800 lbsPayload = 2730 lbsCurb Weight = 6070 lbsCurb Weight Front/Rear = 3471 lbs/3471 lbsGAWR Front/Rear = 5200 lbs/6010 lbsGross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR) = 15000 lbs I am looking for Dodge owners input and advice on which truck would be better. I am upgrading so now I can ACTUALLY have control over my travel trailer, and the necessary power. The 2006 1500 4x4 was registering 15mpg when towing..? Will the 2500 get comparable?Looks like dam near same towing capacity...The 2005 2500 is priced lower than the 2006 1500.THANKS!

I'd get the 2500. Even with my 3500 I'm surprised how close to my max. payload I sometimes get.

MPG's will be barely .5-1mpg different, if comparing GM 5.7 votecs in 1500's to my 2500. The thing about a 2500, is you have PAYLOAD, which frankly is more important than tow ratings. Even if the 2500 had a gcwr of 14K vs 15K for the 1500, I will recommend the 2500! I would rather be over a gcwr with a slightly impaired power wise correct chassis rig, than an over to correct powered under chassi'd rig. Been in both places in the past, will ALWAYS take the higher gvwr chassis. Marty

I had a 2007 Ram 1500 with Hemi 3.92 rear and traded it for 2012 Ram 2500 with Hemi and 4.10 rear because I was short on payload. Big difference in towing with the 2500. I would go for the Ram 2500.

will the 3.73 rear end in the 2500 be a good combo? Will it have the power needed to pull 6,700#'s? its ironic the smaller 1500 has the bigger rear end ratio (3.92)

2005 ram 2500 4x4 quad vs. 2006 ram 1500 quad 4x4

29 Replies

bimbert84
Explorer
Aug 17, 2013
No doubt the 1500 will pull it fine. I had almost the same truck, but mine was a 2003. It had plenty of power. The real problem will be payload. Mine was a 4x2, and I was right at my payload limits. Your trailer is 800# lighter than mine, but that translates to only 120# (15%) less weight on the tongue. Your 4x4, however, will have 300-400# less payload due to the weight of the transfer case.
jbres
Explorer
Aug 17, 2013
boost- I did spend about 30 minutes in the parking lot with my big wrenches adjusting the wd system and lowering the hitch being this dodge 1500 was much higher off the ground than my current Tahoe.
Overall it towed much better than my short wheelbase Tahoe, but I still felt my 6,700 trailer pushed this 1500 ram around slightly.
On occasion I tow with my fathers 2013 2500HD and my travel travel doesn't stand a chance pushing around that heavy truck. I think I am just going to hold out for a 2500 truck.
boosTT
Explorer
Aug 16, 2013
Ofcourse a 2500 will tow better and ofcourse a 1500 will get better MPG (non-towing) and ride much better. You need to weigh out how much you tow with how important mpg and ride when not towing is. Sure seams like a lot members on this forum push people towards heavy duty trucks. Maybe because they are retired and don't need to suffer the daily driver MPG and ride?

IMO, 6700# is fine for that truck. I also HIGHLY doubt you adjusted your WDH for this truck. If you hitch was not setup correctly, the test drive with the trailer was worthless.
maxwell11
Explorer
Aug 16, 2013
jbres,

when an 18 wheeler goes flying by you and you are caught up in his wind wash.
nothing is better than having some weight on the front of your rig to help you keep things pointed in the right direction.

again, those emergency braking situtations, bigger truck, bigger brakes

I feel much more in control with the larger truck, the fifth wheel type trailer will give you even more control.

note what type truck/trailer the large over the road truckers use,

good luck and stay safe,
jbres
Explorer
Aug 16, 2013
Update #2- Test towed the 2006 Ram 1500 4x4 Quad Cab 3.92. Good news is the motor was as strong and powerful as I could hope. Bad news I decided not to buy the truck as I still did not feel 100% comfortable towing with it. Overall I thought I had pretty good control over my 6,700# trailer, but not 100% control. It moved the truck around slightly still even with my double anti-sway friction type sway bars. I decided its going to be to hold out for a 2500 or 250 series truck.
I feel like I would feel more comfortable towing with a vehicle that is just as heavy or heavier than the trailer I am towing.. Any comments on this??
Thanks!
maxwell11
Explorer
Aug 15, 2013
I have a 2005 dodge 2500 diesel. 2x4

if you are sure both trucks can pull your load, the main advantage I see is the 2500 will have much larger brakes.

when some dude pulls out in front of you, you cannot have enough braking capacity.

my 2500 pulls our 27Ft trailer great, but it is a diesel,

however, the brakes are disc all around and much better than the brakes on my old chevy 2500 with drum brakes on the rear.

I have enjoyed owning my dodge 2500 truck quad cab, drives good, rides good and has power out the yang yang, plus with the larger disc brakes it stops good.

so far, I am sold on the 2005, 2500 dodge

I would buy another one,
MegaCab_PL
Explorer
Aug 14, 2013
I had 1500 MegaCab which was basically a 2500 model with solid front axle and 8 lug wheels. It was extremely solid platform to tow, but the mpg difference would be big in my opinion. I was lucky to get 12 mpg combined on empty truck.
t-smith
Explorer
Aug 14, 2013
Agreed. You have done your homework. While the additional payload is nice, if you know you won't be over it, the 1500 will work great. I would definitely take the dealer up on that test tow. Then you know for sure. We don't have to be happy, just you :)
Vanished
Explorer
Aug 14, 2013
Yep - the 1500's got the new 545rfe in 2003 IIRC (2002 was the changeover year that had the new body with the old 5.9l with the 46RE... All Hemi's have the 5 speed which was a great improvement over the older 4 speeds. :) No concerns towing with this transmission as it's the same as the 2500 and 3500 V8 gasser transmission during that era...
jbres
Explorer
Aug 14, 2013
yes the 2006 1500 has the 5 speed automatic 545RFE transmission according to specs. Is this a solid tranny?