towing near max weight. advice?

jhill7 wrote:

I am seriously considering putting some money into suspension upgrades. If I could make my rear end similar to a 3/4 ton then I may feel better.

Do yourself a favor. Load up your truck just as you would for a trip (fuel and everything), find a scale and weigh your truck. Take this weight and subtract it from the GVWR on the sticker in your truck. This is your actual payload.

Next, find the GVWR of the trailer you want. Multiply that number by 0.13 (average tongue weight). If that number comes out to be less than your available payload, then you're good to go on that trailer (theoretically). Some don't like to use the trailers GVWR because they pack super light and have no hope of ever hitting that number. Unless you come from a backpacking/hiking background, you'll probably have average 1000-1500 of cargo. You can add that to the actual dry weight (not the brochure) and use that number.

You'll never get your truck to approach the performance of a 2500. The suspension is such a small part of the equation. You have axles, tires, joints, transmissions, frames, coolers, brakes, and a ton of other small components that are all rated for HD service. Towing near or even a little over your max is perfectly possible. Tons of people do it daily. But remember you'll risk wearing out your truck lot faster and you'll have to take it easy (like real easy) or you'll end up in some ditch. I don't have your sticker weights, but 6900 is up there for an 07 Hemi especially if it has 20's. Even loaded it's not totally out of range, but it's pushing it pretty good. It's all about your comfort zone. Some are comfortable with cruising at their GVWR with P tires and taking the risk. Some are comfortable at only 80% capacity. Ask the dealer for a test tow, that will give you a whole lot of info instantly.