stronger rear end

[hxcburrito]

if i was to beef up my leafs (possibly 2500) and replace my shocks with towing shocks, will this increase the lbs i can tow?

[AH64ID]

Oldme wrote:
Not legally.
The only legal way to do that is have a re-fitter make the modifications and
re-certify the rig.

In reality...most likely.
Remember that axle, brakes and tires are all figured in.

According to federal law you can modify/adjust your own GVWR/GAWR. No outfitter is required.

[Oldme]

Not legally.
The only legal way to do that is have a re-fitter make the modifications and
re-certify the rig.

In reality...most likely.
Remember that axle, brakes and tires are all figured in.

[christopherglen]

You said "WE", so the max specs don't apply. The "specs" are for a single driver, in a stripped truck. All weight (spare tire, back seats, etc) added beyond that, and don't forget the passengers and all carry on luggage, as well as the hitch are added to the weight of the truck, which comes off the "specs" weight you can tow. Your best bet - if wanting to stay within "specs" is to load the truck as if you were going camping, put the hitch in the receiver, and go hit a public scale. In this case, the only spec you are working with is GCVWR (the max weight for truck and trailer). Take the scaled weight and subtract it from the GCVWR, that is the MAX weight - dripping wet - of a trailer. Assume the trailers dry weight / shipping weight is a figment of someone's imagination, and go with the gross weight. Assume 15% of that is on the TV as pin / hitch weight. Is the rear axle within specs with 15% of the gross trailer weight? Is the truck within spec with 15% added to it?

[Cummins12V98]

hxcburrito wrote:
My truck pulls our tt just fine. A little slow on acceleration and up a grade. But, were thinking about a tt with a slide out. Majority that fall within our price range are around 5500 lbs +, and my truck is rated for 6500...... per specs and dealership. I was just wondering if I beefed up the truck or added a few mods, if that would help out any

Best mod that will help with towing stability on a 1500 is going to "E" rated tires.

[quingus]

Trying to magic wand the rear end with after parts on a specific load carry, would be a waste of money. IMHO, I would, if money wasn't an issue I would purchase a new tv. Gas or diesel is dealers choice. I ended up purchasing a 6.0 gasser dually, just because diesel is/was 6k more and diesel fuel was is at a rediculous price. My 6.0 3500 pulled my 31' tt like nothing and used it pull a 30' 5er. This is just an opinion as assisting other rv folk, with either been there done that info to help. In the end you have to do what works for you. Good luck. BTW stick withe data plates, keep you safe.

[AH64ID]

Your limit is going to be RAWR, and the axle is only rated for what the door tells you. All 1500's are limited to 3,900lbs, and if you haven't weighed your truck with the family and current TT (guessing not based on the brochure numbers being quoted) you will probably be surprised.

The tow rating is based on a single 150lb driver and nothing in the cab/bed (floor mats, bed liner, etc).

Dry weight is a fairly useless number, and I bet you are over your RAWR/GVWR with the smaller trailer already.

If you want a bigger TT you probably need a bigger TV.

[hxcburrito]

05 RAM 1500 2WD, 4.7L, 3:55 gears rated 6500lbs (dealer says it has the hd springs, shocks, oil & trans cooler)

current tt is 29' skyline nomad, 4450 dry, 1550 payload, 475 hitch

tt were looking at is 28' keystone outback, 5831 dry, 540 hitch

tt the dealer suggest is a 32' coachman apex, 4842 dry, 7000 gross, 585 hitch

our current TT suits us fine, but wed prefer to have a slide out now that our family has grown in size. i have a better trade in offer on our TT then i have on my truck, so that will get paid off quicker, if i even have to finance

[Unit505]

Tow ratings vary by vehicle options. Long wheel base, short wheel base, reg cab, ext cab, manual or automatic, etc. You CAN throw certain parts at the truck to increase tow rating. We're upgrading the rear differential on our silverado from 3.42:1 to 3.73:1 and gaining about 1200 lbs. towing capacity. The 2002 4.8l 2wd silverado with 3.42:1 gear was rated at 6100lbs while the 3.73:1 was rated at 7300lbs. We're actually not looking for the added capacity as much as the easier towing of our current TT. The cost is $700 if I pull the rear end and take it to the shop to be rebuilt and reinstall it myself. We have no car note and don't plan on one when I can spend a few hours pulling the rear end and throw $700 in parts and labor and ease the stress on towing. Very worth the time and money and the truck is rated for the weight with only the gearing change. We've gone to the dealer, who wanted $2k by the way, and verified that there were zero differences between the factory 3.42 and the special order 3.73 as far as suspension, brakes, transmission or cooling. We've added an external transmission cooler which did help transmission temperatures on steep grades. Our total investment between the hd cooler and fan and gearing will be less than $1k.

[Golden_HVAC]

Why worry about the tow rating?

When you are talking about a 6,500 pound factory rating, and you might go over that by 1000 pounds?

You should still be well within your axle and tire weight ratings if you would be using a 2500 series truck. However if you are using a 1500 truck, you might have problems, in part because they come with passenger tires, and are not as strong as a 3/4 ton truck.

Many who buy a 3/4 ton truck then start thinking about getting a fifth wheel suddenly realize that the 3/4 ton truck that the GM or Dodge dealer says can tow anything really can not carry the weight that a 15,000 pound fifth wheel will put in the back of the truck.

You are talking about a travel trailer, and normally they will add 10% - 15% of the trailer weight on the truck. This is insignificant with a 3/4 ton truck. Even 1,000 pounds hitch weight with a 10,000 pound trailer is not a significant load on a 2500 series truck. Change those to a 15,000 pound fifth wheel and 2,500 - 3,000 pounds hitch weight, and it will significantly overload a 2500 series truck. Many fifth wheels can have 4,000 pounds of hitch weight. Most 2500 trucks can only carry from 1,500 - 3,000 pounds. Some 1 ton dually trucks from the 80's only had a 10,000 GVWR and 3,500 pound cargo rating.

So collect current information, get a towing guide for the vehicle in question, and go from there.

Changing the springs to those used on a 1 ton vehicle will not change your truck's ability. It is the "Total Package". So in 2004 Ford upgraded it's trucks from 8,800 GVWR to 10,000 for the F-250. This included larger disk brakes, 17" or 18" tires rated at more weight, slightly wider and thicker springs, among other things. Even the radiator has to be larger due to higher HP requirements to move all that weight, and the engine puts out more heat with each additional HP that is run full time.

Sure a 1500 series truck can make 300 HP for the time it takes to get the 7,000 pound truck from 0 - 70 MPH and not overheat. Now change that to pulling a total of 14,000 pounds up a 6% grade in 95F day and the light duty truck might not have a large enough radiator to keep making 300 HP all the way up the hill without overheating. While a 2500 or 3500 truck with the same engine and larger radiator, it will go up the same hill at a lower engine temperature, due to the larger radiator and many times larger fan blade.

Fred.

[Ron3rd]

hxcburrito wrote:
My truck pulls our tt just fine. A little slow on acceleration and up a grade. But, were thinking about a tt with a slide out. Majority that fall within our price range are around 5500 lbs +, and my truck is rated for 6500...... per specs and dealership. I was just wondering if I beefed up the truck or added a few mods, if that would help out any

What year and model is your truck?

[Chris_Bryant]

The "tow rating" is completely meaningless, and is usually based on a stripped model with a driver, nothing else. You need to find the Gross Combined Weight Rating, then actually weigh your truck as it will be while towing. Subtract the trucks weight from the gross combined figure- that will give what you can tow. That figure is often thousands of pounds below the "tow rating".

[beemerphile1]

An owner can make mods that improve the towing feel, nothing you do will change the tow rating as set by the factory.

[AH64ID]

hxcburrito wrote:
My truck pulls our tt just fine. A little slow on acceleration and up a grade. But, were thinking about a tt with a slide out. Majority that fall within our price range are around 5500 lbs +, and my truck is rated for 6500...... per specs and dealership. I was just wondering if I beefed up the truck or added a few mods, if that would help out any

What is the truck?

What are your RAWR/GVWR and RAW/GVW with the current TT? You will run out of RAWR/GVWR long before GCWR and if it's a 1/2 ton there isn't anything you can do to increase it.

1/2 tons are almost always rated at actual frame/axle capacity, but there is quite a bit of legitimate fudge room on a 2500 or 3500 SRW.

If you want an honest answer we need more information. I am not at all opposed to exceeding RAWR or GVWR (I do it on most camping trips), but there has to be some research and checks and balances on the components... we can't give you an honest assessment without knowing the platform.

[hxcburrito]

My truck pulls our tt just fine. A little slow on acceleration and up a grade. But, were thinking about a tt with a slide out. Majority that fall within our price range are around 5500 lbs +, and my truck is rated for 6500...... per specs and dealership. I was just wondering if I beefed up the truck or added a few mods, if that would help out any