Travel trailer towing.

kodiakcanuck wrote:

dvitale300 wrote:
Tell me more! I have an 09 ram with the 5.7 hemi. When I tow I have it in the tow/haul mode but the dash indicator says 5. On the las tr yesterday, my trns temp never went more than halfway on thegause of between 200-300. I think it's tiowas 228, with an average on the highway of 215. Should I have this in 4 when on the frreewY? If not, when? Thanks

That seems a tad high but depends on the outside temperature. The max I hit towing in the summer up some Adirondacks mountains was 225. But on the interstate I was around 205 - 210 in 5th. They say over 230 you should consider flushing the tranny, over 250 and you could be doing some damage. If you have it in tow/haul it defaults to 5th gear, meaning it wont go higher into overdrive. If you hit the minus symbol it will drop it to nearest lower gear (unless you are stopped or going very slow it will drop to 1st gear). In 4th I could usually keep it around 185 - 195. But if you are driving much over 60 mph in 4th you are really running higher rpm's and consuming more gas. I tend to mix up between 4 and 5th when the temps started to climb a bit. I'll have to see how the 3:92 rear end handles the temps.

Thanks. I drive with CC at 62. Maybe I should also consider turning off cruise control when I hit hills and letting the speed drop down a bit?

dvitale300 wrote:
Tell me more! I have an 09 ram with the 5.7 hemi. When I tow I have it in the tow/haul mode but the dash indicator says 5. On the las tr yesterday, my trns temp never went more than halfway on thegause of between 200-300. I think it's tiowas 228, with an average on the highway of 215. Should I have this in 4 when on the frreewY? If not, when? Thanks

That seems a tad high but depends on the outside temperature. The max I hit towing in the summer up some Adirondacks mountains was 225. But on the interstate I was around 205 - 210 in 5th. They say over 230 you should consider flushing the tranny, over 250 and you could be doing some damage. If you have it in tow/haul it defaults to 5th gear, meaning it wont go higher into overdrive. If you hit the minus symbol it will drop it to nearest lower gear (unless you are stopped or going very slow it will drop to 1st gear). In 4th I could usually keep it around 185 - 195. But if you are driving much over 60 mph in 4th you are really running higher rpm's and consuming more gas. I tend to mix up between 4 and 5th when the temps started to climb a bit. I'll have to see how the 3:92 rear end handles the temps.

And where do you think that information came from? The truck itself.

The fact remains that Ram has the weakest payload of the 1/2 tons. You can't change that fact no how hard you want to.

PS: I'll rock your world. The "Hemi" in your Ram is not a Hemi. The marketing department claims a Pentroof design is a Hemi but it's not. And the Hemi design was not even a Chrysler design.

itguy08 wrote:

kodiakcanuck wrote:

Not true...only the loaded Laramie or Big Horn's with the 3.0L diesel are under 1,000 lbs. True Ram owners know you need a HEMI to tow, but thanks for your concern :B

http://www.rambodybuilder.com/2014/docs/ram/rammlup1500.pdf

Without getting into a urine match, that is false:
i

The fact is Ram has the lowest payload of all 1/2 tons. They have not posted a new comparison test, but I don't believe, outside of the 2015 Ford models much has changed for all of them.

According to Google (amazing what it will find):
Hightest: 2015 F150 Payload: 1,654 to 2,286 lbs
Middle: 2015 Silverado payload: 1,738 to 2,011 lbs
Lowest: 2015 Ram 1500 Payload: 1,415 to 1,895 lbs

No Guts, No Glory, Ram.

I quoted the manufacturer's website, you quoted an internet article :B The above stats paint a better picture than your earlier claim that Ram's are under 1,000 lbs. You would have to compare each individual option and engine combination on every truck and manufacturer to get the accurate picture.

Still a Ram fan, I've driven a a Ford and Chev before...No thanks :W

kodiakcanuck wrote:

evanvalk wrote:
Thanks to everyone that replied, All good informative answers, as Usual, Best to all, Ed.

To the OP, you have lots of replies, but not from many that actually have this same truck for towing. I thought I would provide you with my experience.

I have a hitch to bumper 29 ft rear hard slide trailer that weighs 5214 lbs from the factory, although I have never had it weighed, with propane, gear etc I estimate it to be a 6,200 lbs.(max capacity would be 6,600 lbs) The hitch weight is a little heavy with my trailer, 736 lbs, likely due to the balancing of 2 slides and a rear slide.

My last Ram (4x4 quad cab)was a 2010, it was the Hemi with 3:55 rear end. I previously had a 2004 Ram with the 4.7l towing a lighter, smaller trailer.

I will tell you the Hemi makes a huge difference in terms of towing power and ease of merging into traffic. The 2010 Ram handled my trailer with little issues; an upgrade to LT tires might have made things a little better, but I had zero issues with sway using a Husky Centerline weight distribution hitch. This hitch is similar design to the Equilzer and I highly recommend this type of hitch to control sway for the length of trailer you have.

The 3:55 rear end was adequate, but I did experience gear hunting especially in hilly terrain or maintaining an interstate speed. Nothing too serious,but watching the trans temp gauge, it was often heating up considerably during the gear hunting. Locking the trans in 4th helped solve this, but I did experience a bit more gas consumption.

My combo was also likely pushing the CCC on the truck with the whole family and gear, but I honestly did not experience any issues. I will tell you this is likely the max trailer length and weight I would tow with a half ton, you could go higher, but I feel comfortable with my set up.

I just upgraded to a 2014 Ram with 3:92 and the 8 speed tranny, so I am hoping this solves the gear hunting issue, but I have yet to tow it (still snow on the ground here :M )

Good luck with your set up...

Tell me more! I have an 09 ram with the 5.7 hemi. When I tow I have it in the tow/haul mode but the dash indicator says 5. On the las tr yesterday, my trns temp never went more than halfway on thegause of between 200-300. I think it's tiowas 228, with an average on the highway of 215. Should I have this in 4 when on the frreewY? If not, when? Thanks

kodiakcanuck wrote:

Not true...only the loaded Laramie or Big Horn's with the 3.0L diesel are under 1,000 lbs. True Ram owners know you need a HEMI to tow, but thanks for your concern :B

http://www.rambodybuilder.com/2014/docs/ram/rammlup1500.pdf

Without getting into a urine match, that is false:
i

The fact is Ram has the lowest payload of all 1/2 tons. They have not posted a new comparison test, but I don't believe, outside of the 2015 Ford models much has changed for all of them.

According to Google (amazing what it will find):
Hightest: 2015 F150 Payload: 1,654 to 2,286 lbs
Middle: 2015 Silverado payload: 1,738 to 2,011 lbs
Lowest: 2015 Ram 1500 Payload: 1,415 to 1,895 lbs

No Guts, No Glory, Ram.

itguy08 wrote:
Ram has the lowest payload and weakest drivetrain of all the 1/2 tons. We're talking most are less than 1000 lbs payload. You will most likely hit the payload wall with that truck and trailer.

Not true...only the loaded Laramie or Big Horn's with the 3.0L diesel are under 1,000 lbs. True Ram owners know you need a HEMI to tow, but thanks for your concern :B

http://www.rambodybuilder.com/2014/docs/ram/rammlup1500.pdf

evanvalk wrote:
Thanks to everyone that replied, All good informative answers, as Usual, Best to all, Ed.

To the OP, you have lots of replies, but not from many that actually have this same truck for towing. I thought I would provide you with my experience.

I have a hitch to bumper 29 ft rear hard slide trailer that weighs 5214 lbs from the factory, although I have never had it weighed, with propane, gear etc I estimate it to be a 6,200 lbs.(max capacity would be 6,600 lbs) The hitch weight is a little heavy with my trailer, 736 lbs, likely due to the balancing of 2 slides and a rear slide.

My last Ram (4x4 quad cab)was a 2010, it was the Hemi with 3:55 rear end. I previously had a 2004 Ram with the 4.7l towing a lighter, smaller trailer.

I will tell you the Hemi makes a huge difference in terms of towing power and ease of merging into traffic. The 2010 Ram handled my trailer with little issues; an upgrade to LT tires might have made things a little better, but I had zero issues with sway using a Husky Centerline weight distribution hitch. This hitch is similar design to the Equilzer and I highly recommend this type of hitch to control sway for the length of trailer you have.

The 3:55 rear end was adequate, but I did experience gear hunting especially in hilly terrain or maintaining an interstate speed. Nothing too serious,but watching the trans temp gauge, it was often heating up considerably during the gear hunting. Locking the trans in 4th helped solve this, but I did experience a bit more gas consumption.

My combo was also likely pushing the CCC on the truck with the whole family and gear, but I honestly did not experience any issues. I will tell you this is likely the max trailer length and weight I would tow with a half ton, you could go higher, but I feel comfortable with my set up.

I just upgraded to a 2014 Ram with 3:92 and the 8 speed tranny, so I am hoping this solves the gear hunting issue, but I have yet to tow it (still snow on the ground here :M )

Good luck with your set up...

evanvalk wrote:
I would like some input from those who pull a travel trailer with a Ram 1500 Hemi 5.7 with the 355 Ratio rear end, Regarding speed, handling fish tailing any pro ot con, mostly Trailers over 30 ft. Thank you all. Ed

Good luck. Ram has the lowest payload and weakest drivetrain of all the 1/2 tons. We're talking most are less than 1000 lbs payload. You will most likely hit the payload wall with that truck and trailer. Remember those dry tongue weights are just that - dry.

Suggest you upgrade to a Ford or GM with the max tow if you want to stay with 1/2 ton and that size of trailer. Or go to 3/4 ton but with modern 1/2 tons and good loading practices you should be fine.

I want to thank all who commented But to be clear I was not looking for approval of my choice in truck or trailer, I had a Class C four wind for 6 years pulling Jeep, I sold the Motor Home and the jeep, Bought the Ram 1500, For about 95% of my Driving, Then we decided to get another Trailer, the one of many that we looked at was the Hartland Wilderness 33ft.But not being hasty as I stated in my original post I wanted input from those who had experience with the equipment that I was considering, And I am still weighing all of the great information from everybody, So thanks to all even those who only had personal opinions. Best to all, Ed